Environmental Issue Essay

This page is designed to help students select a topic for the Environmental Issue Essay assignment. Here are some suggested guidelines for getting started.

1) Read an article that covers the background of the topic. In reading the background article you should watch for terms that you could use for further searching.

2) There are several search strategies you may use to locate articles on specific topics. These include using Boolean operators, phrase search, using wildcard and truncation. There is more information on how to use these strategies in Churchill's computers curriculum.

3) The best sources to search are the library databases. The problem in going straight to google or some other search engine is that you need to evaluate the sources carefully. Most of these topics are controversial so there are web sites that reflect radical points of view. While they may contain statements based on fact, there are typically loaded with opinion. So, until you become an expert on an issue, you should limit your reading to magazines, journals and newspaper articles. The database providers are EBSCOhost and Infotrac.

4) You don't have to be at school to access the databases. However, you will need a password. There are bookmarks in the library that have the passwords. Stop by and pick one up to take home.

5) Do you need to cite the sources you use for your essay. Go to Citation Maker for help.

Environmental Issues

The issues are listed below. Each one has one or two links to articles that provide background information for that topic.

 

Issue

 
Background
Search Terms/ Strategy
Alternative Energy
 "alternative energy" "renewable energy sources"
Atmospheric and Climate Change
 "Milankovitch cycles", "global warming"
Automotive Technology
Fuel Cell

"fuel cell" AND manufacturability OR "notebook computers" OR "neah power" OR prototypes OR "microfuel cell" OR "new energy technologies"
Endangered Species
 "natural habitats",
exctinction, overhunting, biodiversity, "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species"
Environmental Politics
 environment AND politics
Ethnobiology
The plant lore and agricultural customs of a people.
Richard Schultes (father of ethnobiology)
 "botanical discoveries", plants AND medicine, tribespeople AND medicine, "indigenous issues"
Floods and Water Quality
 floods AND habitat OR waterfowl OR amphibians
"water quality" AND degradation OR soil erosion
Forests
 "boreal coniferous" OR "temperate angiosperm" OR "old growth" OR "tropical rain forest"
Forestry
 Forestry AND management OR "ecological change" OR "sustainable harvests" OR "endangered species"
Oceans
 Ocean AND overfishing OR development OR pollution OR "marine reserves"
Oil Spills
 oil OR oil tanker AND ecosystem OR sealife OR fisheries
Outdoor Recreation
"wilderness areas" OR parks
Overpopulation
 overpopulation AND consumption OR
"economic growth"
Pesticides
  
Pesticides in Agriculture
 "living organisms", "insect control" OR weeds OR pests, pesticides AND agriculture
Preservation Efforts
 "habitat preservation" AND wildlife management OR resources
Recycling
  
Restoration

Restorative Development

Healthy Forests Restoration Act (testimony of Dr Salwasser, OSU Professor, School of Forestry)

 "agricultural restoration" OR "fisheries restoration" OR "watershed restoration" OR "ecosystem restoration"
Salmon/Fisheries
 salmon AND "salmon recovery" OR dams OR farmers OR migration
Sustainable Agriculture
 "farmers' market" AND consumers OR "ecological farming"
Toxic Chemicals
 "toxic chemicals" OR "environmental hazards" OR "hazardous waste" OR carcinogenic OR "reproductive effects"
Wetlands
 ecosystem OR estuarian system OR freshwater system OR bogs OR swamps OR marshes AND preservation OR "property rights" OR environmentalists