5. Passive Designs part of Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability
Randolph Chambers, College of William and Mary
In this module, we consider how the actual design and placement of buildings can be important considerations for energy efficiency, thereby optimizing winter heating and summer cooling needs. One of the simplest ...

Unit 5.2 - Water Balance Impacts part of Critical Zone Science
Martha Conklin, University of California-Merced
This is the second module of a two week-long unit on hydrology in an upper-level undergraduate course on the Critical Zone. After Unit 5.1, students should have a basic understanding of the fluxes and reservoirs in ...

Unit 7.1 - Model My Watershed part of Critical Zone Science
Susan Gill, Stroud Water Research Center; Jim Washburne, The University of Arizona
Humans are agents of change in the Critical Zone. This unit focuses on the land/water connection and on how human-induced land use change affects local hydrology. Students will apply what they learned in the ...

Unit 2.1: Hydrologic Impact of Land-Use Change part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
John Ritter, Wittenberg University; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota; Ed Barbanell, University of Utah
In this activity, students model the impact of land-cover changes on stormwater runoff using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (Calculator). The students are introduced to the Calculator through a ...

Unit 4. Urban Landscapes and Water Use part of Water Sustainability in Cities
Gigi Richard, Fort Lewis College
Students are introduced to evapotranspiration (ET) and how ET varies with meteorological factors and plant factors. A pre-class video and worksheet introduce students to estimating landscape water needs from ET and ...

Unit 3.1: Land-Use Change and Stakeholders part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
Ed Barbanell, University of Utah; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota; John Ritter, Wittenberg University
The example of a proposed land-use change that was used in Unit 2.3 is built upon here. The activities in this unit are meant to broaden the discussion beyond calculating quantitative run-off changes. Now we will ...

Unit 2.3: Modeling Land-Use Change and Mitigation Strategies part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
John Ritter, Wittenberg University; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota; Ed Barbanell, University of Utah
In this activity, students model the impact of a proposed land-use change for a local site using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (Calculator). Given a description of the proposed land-use change, ...

Unit 2.2: Mitigation Using Low Impact Development (LID) Controls part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
John Ritter, Wittenberg University; Ed Barbanell, University of Utah; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota
In this activity, students model the impact of changes in land cover on stormwater runoff using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator. Students mitigate increased stormwater runoff resulting from ...

Unit 1.1: Mapping Ecosystem Services part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
Ed Barbanell, University of Utah; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota; John Ritter, Wittenberg University
In this activity, students are introduced to the concept of ecosystem services, provided with a tool for exploring these services in particular landscapes, and led through a few examples so that they will be ...

Unit 1.3: Understanding Perturbations to Hydrologic Systems part of An Ecosystem Services Approach to Water Resources
Ed Barbanell, University of Utah; Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota; John Ritter, Wittenberg University
In this activity, students examine the impact of land use on runoff. Using rainfall-runoff data for two small watersheds in Ohio, one dominated by agricultural land uses and the other dominated by urban land uses, ...