GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments

Throughout this course we’ve investigated the basics of sustainability (Social Ecology Model), what sustainability means to different economy sectors, the long- term and short-term processes that shape our landforms, how climates play a role in our lifestyles and how our lifestyles affect microclimates, the importance of climate change on flooding and droughts, the health of the SF Bay estuary and how urbanization has affected biodiversity, the benefits and impacts of agriculture, how intricate and vital water resources are for our future, the value and problems of transportation on society, current and future energy use in California, the relevance of trees, parks and wilderness to an urban environment, and the enormity of urban garbage and waste. Although it is impossible for one individual to enact immediate change in all these areas, making small personal changes every day can help move the Bay Area towards a sustainable future.

Project Summary

Your final paper will be a minimum 1,000 word written synopsis of your personal impact on the Bay Area Environment. You need to address the topics covered in this course and how your lifestyle choices relate to each topic (e.g. carbon footprint, water footprint, energy use, transportation habits, dietary habits, etc.).

You should consider formatting your paper around the central question of, “how can I change my lifestyle to promote a sustainable future?” To answer this question you should complete background research by gathering external sources to support your position, include data from your lab assignments (numerical values of your carbon footprint, water footprint, and trash audit), and discuss how both you and the Bay Area as a whole can make changes to be more sustainable going forward.

Deliverable

Your final paper is due by MIDNIGHT on Friday, December 17th. NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Your paper should follow a standard essay format of Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion, and References. Submit your paper via TurnItIn on iLearn as a PDF or Word Document.

GEOG 301: Bay Area Environments Fall 2021

Rubric I. Introduction (5 points)

• Address the main topic of the paper & its importance. (2 pts) • Provide the central question of your paper (i.e. how can I change

my lifestyle to promote a sustainable future?). (2 pts) II. Discussion

• Part I: (5 points) • Discuss your personal impacts on the Bay Area environment;

make sure to include data from your previous labs in this section (CO2 footprint, H2O footprint & Trash Audit results required). (3 pts)

• Include steps you can take to reduce our personal impact on the Bay Area environment. Discuss personal results and what results mean to you personally. (2 pts)

• Part II: (10 points) • Make connections between the different topics we’ve covered

throughout the semester (example: how water use affects the agriculture industry, the energy sector, waste management, and biogeography). Every topic we’ve covered in this class affects some aspect of the other topics, so connect the dots. I don’t want simple summaries of your favorite topics discussed in class, this final paper needs to connect things together. You need to have, at a minimum, three connections between topics covered in GEOG 301.

• Part III: • Discuss how the Bay Area as a whole can change to promote a

more sustainable future. You can discuss increasing our tree canopy cover, investing in green energy, improving our transportation network, etc. These are changes different from your personal changes discussed in Part I, but you can discuss how your personal changes will affect the societal changes (e.g. installing solar panels on your home).

• This section definitely needs supporting information from outside sources. There are numerous sources posted throughout our iLearn page to get you started. Don’t forget to cite the sources in the text of the paper and include a references section. Minimum number of references is three.

III. Conclusion (