Readings on Sustainability and the Environment
NOTE TO STUDENTS: In order to access these readings, you will need an LCCC email address and password. When you click on the links below, you will be prompted to log in to the Bass Library system in the same way you log in to MyCampus and Canvas. Some of these links will take you directly to a PDF or HTML version of the reading selection. Other links will take you to the library’s catalogue page for the selection where you will have to use the “Full Text Finder” link to access the reading in a different database. You can read the selections online or print them, and many are available to download.
Scott Carlson, “Whatever Happened to the Drive for Campus Sustainability?”
Writing Questions:
- Carlson writes about how sustainability programs at colleges and universities have faded from a “buzz” to a “background hum,” asking “[w]hat happened?” to these initiatives. Write an Synthesis Essay about Lorain County Community College’s efforts toward sustainability by synthesizing Carlson’s article and an interview you conduct with a member of the campus community. Be sure to review the ethics of interviewing in Chapter 21.7 before writing your essay.
Jared Diamond, “The Last Americans: Environmental Collapse and the End of Civilization”
Writing Questions:
- Diamond draws connections between the collapse of ancient civilizations (such as the Maya) and the potential decline of the United States, arguing that both have roots in environmental instabilities. Write an Analysis Essay that examines Diamond’s rhetorical approach. What rhetorical strategies does he use to make his argument? How effective or ineffective is he in developing a convincing argument?
Robert Gifford, “The Dragons of Inaction: Psychological Barriers that Limit Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation”
Writing Questions:
- Write an Analysis Essay that examines a piece of media (a news article, broadcast, or a political speech) which challenges some element of climate change. Analyze this media’s rhetoric for evidence of the psychological barriers that Robert Gifford discusses in “The Dragons of Inaction”. Show how one or more of these barriers manifest in the media’s rhetoric.
Jim Manzi and Peter Wehner, “Conservatives and Climate Change”
Writing Questions:
- Manzi and Wehner argue that “the best approach to the problem of climate change is one rooted in deeply held conservative ideas,” further claiming that liberals in the United States have “seized upon outlandishly improbable climate scenarios to urge drastic and immediate action.” The authors reference some of Al Gore’s writing as examples of this claim. Write an Synthesis Essay that brings together Manzi and Wehner’s article and Al Gore’s “Climate of Denial” in support of your own position on the “best” approach or approaches to addressing climate change.
Michael Moyer and Carina Storrs, “How Much Is Left?”
Writing Questions:
- Write a Summary and Response Essay that describes what the world will look like assuming Moyer and Storrs’s text is accurate. Consider how the information in their article would impact such things as government infrastructure, politics, families, economies, and other social structures. Be sure to summarize the article as a basis for your response.
Additional Readings on Sustainability and the Environment
- Rachel Carson, “A Fable for Tomorrow”
- Al Gore, “Climate of Denial”
- Peter Poschen and Michael Renner, “Green Jobs”
- Bryan Walsh, “New Natural Selection”
