ENVS 196: Issues and opportunities linked to the carbon cycle
Winter 2019

Class meets at 11:40 am-1:15 pm, Tue. & Thu, 455 ISB

Instructor: Weixin Cheng

Office Hours: 10:00-11:00 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 416 ISB

Email: wxcheng@ucsc.edu

Phone: 459-5317

General Description:
This Senior Seminar (5 credits) focuses on environmental issues and ideas that are closely linked to the carbon cycle at regional and global scales.  This is an intensive reading, discussion, and writing course.  Students are required to search for relevant literature, read a selective set of key articles/books, participate in discussions, choose a focal topic of their own, and write a comprehensive senior paper. Students are expected to write a synthesis on a particular topic of their own choice such as:
(1) enhancing soil carbon storage;
(2) organic farming and carbon sequestration;
(3) what can be done to curb CO2 emissions locally and globally;
(4) technical and socio-economic issues in afforestation and reforestation for carbon sequestration;
(5) carbon tax;
(6) carbon trading; and
(7) carbon geo-engineering.

Evaluation:
Each student will be evaluated by his or her performance on participation (10%), leading discussion (10%), presentation (20%), and a synthesis/research paper (60%).  

Outline/Schedule:

January 8:

Course introduction, and scoping main issues of the course topics—Cheng leads the discussion

January 10:

The global carbon cycle-A brief review—Cheng leads the discussion

Readings:

The Global Carbon Cycle, Chapter 11, Schlesinger & Bernhardt 2013 (to be emailed).

January 15:

Human alterations of the carbon cycle and carbon sequestration—Cheng leads the discussion

Readings:

Schmitz, OJ., Wilmers, CC, Leroux, SJ, et al., 2018. Animals and the zoogeochemistry of the carbon cycle. Science 362: 6419, E-location-id: eaar3213, doi:10.1126/science.aar3213 (E-journal)

DeLonge M, Basche A. 2018. Managing grazing lands to improve soils and promote climate change adaptation and mitigation: a global synthesis. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 33: 267–278. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170517000588 (E-journal)

Lal, R. 2004. Soil Carbon Sequestration Impacts on Global Climate Change and Food Security. Science 304:1623-1627. (E-journal)

Fissore, C., J. Espeleta, E. A. Nater1, S. E. Hobbie, and P. B. Reich. 2010. Limited potential for terrestrial carbon sequestration to offset fossil-fuel emissions in the upper Midwestern US. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8: 409-413. (E-journal)

January 17:

Choose specific area for your synthesis paper and present an outline of your research paper—Initial feedback on the topics. (Each student has a total of 15 minutes).

January 22:  

Discussion: Biochar application and carbon sequestration —Cheng leads the discussion

Readings: to be sent soon

January 24:

Student-led discussion -1. (Each student is given the opportunity to lead a discussion session on the chosen topic of their research paper. Readings for the discussion session should be emailed to everyone at least one week before the time of the discussion.)

January 29:

Student-led discussion -2

January 31:

Student-led discussion -3

February 5:

Student-led discussion -4

February 7:

Student-led discussion -5

February 12 (Draft paper due to be received):

Student-led discussion -6

February 14:

Synthesis Discussion-I, Cheng leads

February 19:

Synthesis Discussion-II, Cheng leads

February 21:

Final report writing, and one-on-one discussion session

February 26 (Instructor’s feedback on draft paper back to students):

Final report writing, and one-on-one discussion session

February 28:

Final report writing, and one-on-one discussion session

March 5:

Final report writing, and one-on-one discussion session

March 7:

Final presentation-I. Each student has 35 minutes to present his or her findings in seminar format.

March 12:

Final presentation-II. Each student has 35 minutes to present his or her findings in seminar format.

March 14:

(No meeting, but, final version of the paper due)

Presentation

Each student is required to present (1) a research topic and the outline for the research paper, and (2) results found in their research paper.  Students will work individually during the quarter to study the issues of their choice and produce Powerpoint presentations that aims to inform a general audience about these issues and to suggest possible strategies for resolving this issue.  Note that given the time restrictions students will not be able to present all the information in their paper.  Presentations will be graded by the instructor and the peers. Grading will be based on the overall content of the presentation; content of individual sections; overall format, length, and clarity of presentation; and individual speaking skills. 

Students may send their Powerpoint/PDF files to the instructor (wxcheng@ucsc.edu) if it is smaller than 5 megabytes, or bring their Powerpoint files on memory stick, or their own computer. Please be aware of the possible incompatibility issues between PCs and Macs. Students are required to give a copy of their Powerpoint presentation to the instructor.

Papers:

Each student will individually write a paper on a certain topic.  The paper should provide a critical analysis of a specific issue. The paper should include extensive research, be well-organized, and be proof-read.  The paper should include the following sections:

1. A 1-2 pages general introduction to the problem being addressed to provide a context for your paper.

2. A paragraph that clearly states the goal of this paper and lays out your “roadmap” for the paper.  In other words, what question are you addressing and how is your paper structured to address this question?

3. 8-12 pages presenting the research you have done on your topic in an organized manner.

4. 1-2 page conclusion section in which you summarize the 3-4 specific conclusions that stem directly from the research you present  

5. A cover letter listing specific points on which you would like feedback and what you think are the strengths and weaknesses of your papers.  

The paper should have page numbers and should be double spaced.  Be sure to spell-check and proofread your paper, and include a list of references cited.

Revised paper:  The revised paper in its final form is due at 5:00 pm on the last day of class for the quarter, and should be 15-20 pages double spaced, plus a cover sheet explaining how reviewers’ comments were addressed.  The paper should include the same sections as above and be substantially revised to incorporate reviewer comments.  Papers will be graded on thoroughness of research, organization, writing style, and critical analysis, as well as addressing reviewers’ comments on the final paper.

Some notes about writing the paper:

The final paper may have the following characteristics:

Process - Developing research papers in Environmental Studies follows an iterative process.

• Developing an informal question or area of interest
• Doing library research to determine what other research has been done in this field.
• Developing a clear hypothesis/question
• Collecting data or reviewing relevant literature
• Critically analyzing this information to answer the hypothesis/question
• Drawing conclusions based on this analysis
• Relating the conclusions to the larger context of the field of study

Critical Analysis – The research paper requires interpreting data from a range of sources collected using differing methodologies.  The information must be compared, weighed and interpreted. Just because a book or article is published does not mean that its conclusions are well supported.  Any conclusions drawn in the paper must be substantiated by the material presented whether it is primary data or a review paper.  It is always important to distinguish between the opinions of others, your conclusions based on the information presented, and your speculations and opinions. 

Style - Good organization and writing style is essential to help the reader understand your main points.  Start with an outline and use it to organize your ideas.  Once you have done most of your research, you may write it in reverse sequence.  In other words, first think about your conclusions; then consider the information needed to support those conclusions; then write an introduction that gives your reader only the relevant background information to the rest of your paper.  In short, make sure there is coherence between the different sections of your paper.  Do not introduce new topics in the conclusion. 

• Clearly stated objective or hypothesis.
• Clear sequence of thoughts throughout paper.
• Judicious use of headings helps to provide the reader with a framework.
• Smooth transitions between paragraphs.
• Paragraphs with clear topic sentences.
• Correct spelling (use a spell checker), grammar and punctuation.
• Avoidance of colloquial (slang) phrasing.
• Succinct writing - fewer words are always better if they convey the same meaning.
• Use active voice when possible.
• Be consistent in your use of tenses. 
• Contractions are generally not used in formal writing.
• Remember to number your pages.  It helps reviewers in cross referencing.
• Demonstrate command of the language. Don’t use words just because they sound impressive.

Citing and Plagiarism - Identifying ideas or quoting passages to strengthen arguments and to acknowledge sources is essential and is the hallmark of scholarly work. Any writing which is directly copied or any idea not your own must be identified and cited. Not to do this is plagiarism, and is unethical. Essentially this is how scientific and scholarly writing differs from journalism: sources must always be disclosed for the purpose of verification. Acknowledgments must also be made for maps, tables, figures, and text, if they are copied.  See final page of this handout for citation format guidelines. 

SOURCES FOR INFORMATION:

Scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal articles – Most researchers publish their work in journals where the articles are reviewed by their peers.  This review provides a certain degree of quality control for their work.  Nonetheless, readers still need to review the work thoughtfully to determine if they agree with conclusions and supporting evidence.  A wide range of journal databases available to UC faculty and students are listed at http://guides.library.ucsc.edu/az.php.  Many journal articles are now available electronically, making access even easier (http://library.ucsc.edu/find/online-journals ).

Popular articles – Popular magazines publish articles written by professional writers (rather than experts in a particular field) and are written for the lay reader.  They are not generally used as references for research papers.

Books – Books are published by many publishing companies for a wide range of audiences.  They vary a great deal in the degree and type of review.  Most books for academic audiences are peer reviewed.  The UCSC book holdings (cruzcat) and the University of California holdings (melvyl) are accessible through the UCSC library web site http://library.ucsc.edu/.  Books at other UC campuses can be requested through Interlibrary loan, but this requires allowing sufficient time (at least a week) to get these sources.  It can be harder to find books on a specific topic as the search engines only search words in titles rather than in abstracts.

Government documents – All government documents owned by UCSC can be found using Cruzcat.  For some regional issues you may need to contact specific government agencies to determine where you can access specific documents, such as Environmental Impact Statements.

Internet – The internet may be the only source of information, but should not be the primary source of support for papers.  Be critical of sources found on the Internet. Think about who produced the information, their credentials, and their agenda. Since there is no overall quality control it is up to you to check the reliability of the information and whether or not it is refereed. The internet is also problematic because it is constantly changing, so a source you cite may not be there if a reader wants to corroborate your source.  If you end up using material from the Internet it needs to be cited in your bibliography, including the url, title, author, date posted, and date accessed. Give preference to refereed publications such as books and journal articles rather than those found on the Web.

Personal interviews – Personal interviews may provide key information on some environmental issues, but should be used judiciously to answer questions that cannot be answered by published material.  Also, as discussed earlier in the quarter, when approaching individuals be well organized, polite, and respectful of their time and the favor they are doing for you.

• Normally you cite references in the text by using the last name and year if there are one or two authors. 
• If there are more than two authors then put the first author's name and et al.  et al. = et alia so there is no period after et and there is a period after al.  Write out all the author's names in the references cited list.
• Normally the citations are put in parentheses with a comma or semicolon separating citations.  The period ending the sentence goes after the parentheses.

Ex.: Low seed dispersal commonly limits tropical forest recovery (Cubiña and Aide 1994, Holl et al. 2000).

• When you use direct quotes also include the page number – e.g. (Holl et al. 2000: 12)
• If the author is the subject of the sentence then the name is not in parentheses and the year is.

Ex.: Holl and Howarth (2000) report that restoration costs are often underestimated.

• It is always best to use a reviewed reference if possible, but if you only have the information from a conversation you can cite a "personal communication.

Ex: Development projects at UCSC often poorly mitigate for cumulative impacts (K. Holl, UCSC professor, pers. comm.).

• When citing a web page reference the author and year, like for other references.

Ex: Efforts to control pike in Lake Davis have been unsuccessful (SLDTF 2000).
Format for citing references

• You need to present all the information that a reader would need to find the reference themselves.
• There are many different formats for bibliographic citations.  You are welcome to use any format you like as long as you are consistent and provide all relevant information.  Below is a suggested format.

Peer-reviewed journal article
Holl, K. D., M. E. Loik, E. H. V. Lin, and I. A. Samuels. 2000. Restoration of tropical rain forest in
abandoned pastures in Costa Rica. Restoration Ecology 8:339-349.

Book
Gauch, H. G. Jr. 1982. Multivariate analysis in community ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Book chapter
Bradshaw, A. D. 1987. Restoration: an acid test for ecology. Pages 23-29 inW. R. I. Jordan, M. Gilpin, and J. D. Aber (eds) Restoration Ecology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Edited book
Pennington, T. D. and E. C. M. Fernandes (eds). 1998. The genus Inga. Continental Printing, Belgium.

Newspaper article
Knox, R. 1997. Please don't dial and drive, study suggests. Boston Globe, 13 February 1997: A1, A17.

Web pages
Save Lake Davis Task Force (SLDTF).[1] 2000. [2] Managing northern pike at Lake Davis: a plan for Y2000.
Retrieved January 5, 2004[3] from the California Department of Fish and Game web site <www.dfg.ca.gov/northernpike/mgpike.htm >.

Acknowledgement: Most of the instructions about writing papers given above are taken from Professor Karen Holl's ENVS 190 syllabus previously provided to students in her class.