exam

Cumulative Exam (contributes 20% to your final grade)
 * Sustainability Problems, Spring 2014 **

Answer ten of the following questions in essay form, using 300-600 words for each response. Please post your exam in your portfolio on the last day of class.

1) Identify ways that corporations are a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.

2) Describe how science can be a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.

3) Describe ways that mainstream media is a sustainability problem, referencing at least four examples from films you watched this semester.

4) Describe how the advertising industry a sustainability problem. Discuss the environmental implications of “communication for commerce,” the effort to create emotional connections between consumers, commodities and companies, and the cultivation of “loyalty beyond reason” ( // The Persuaders // ). Also discuss whether sustainability advocates should borrow techniques from the adverting industry to advance // their // message.

5) Discuss how Internet communication and other forms of new media are sustainability problems, as well as a means to sustainability solutions.

6) Identify key characteristics of the best environmental media (recognizing that few films or other media are likely to have more than a few of these characteristics). Reference examples from films we’ve seen this semester.

7) In a 2010 NY Magazine article, Jon Stewart describes his media team as "Soil enrichers. Maybe we can add a little fertilizer to the soil so that real people can come along and grow things.” What does Stewart mean, and how persuaded are you by the metaphor? The NY Magazine article is "[|America is a Joke] "

8) Design a film intended to educate a particular audience about a sustainability problem. Describe the audience you intend to reach, and its characteristics (biases, ignorance, expertise, etc); the aim of the film; its narrative structure and its content.

9). Many Americans are skeptical about climate change, and climate science. What do you think explains the skepticism? What do you think scientists should do to further enroll the public in concern about climate change? The articles listed below will provide material for your argument. Reference both articles in your answer. [] []
 * The Perception Factor: Climate Change Gets Personal. (Environmental Health Perspectives, 11/1/2010)
 * Heroes wanted in climate science story (USA Today, 11/20/2010)

10) Explain, from your point of view, what the US government should do to advance environmental sustainability. What should the US government // not //do? Together, your lists should include at least six items. Include concrete examples to illustrate your points.

11). Describe the key message of // Fresh //, providing illustrative examples from the film, then evaluate its strategy and effectiveness as environmental media.

12) Identify ten developments (in education, law, media, etc) that you think would help mobilize greater public awareness of and commitment to environmental sustainability.

13) Imagine that you are teaching high school seniors about environmental controversies. How would you advise them to make sense of the controversy around hydrofraking for natural gas? What questions would you encourage them to ask in analyzing all environmental controversies they encounter? In answering this question, you can draw on news accessible here: []. More resources available here: http://sustainabilitydebatesrpi.wikispaces.com/nyfrackingresources

14) Scientific research demonstrating a link between toxic chemicals and skewed sexual development has developed considerably in recent years. Describe how this could be effectively communicated. What audience would you target? What media form (film, website, radio show) you would use? What research studies would you highlight (see news coverage of some of this research below)? How would you represent the state of the science? What kind of environmental and scientific literacy would you aim to cultivate? What “go fix it” strategies would you suggest? In answering this question, you can draw on news accessible here: [].

15) Assess how each of these videos about problems with our food system would likely impact viewers. What message is delivered by each film? What does each accomplish, and not? Which audiences would be most responsive? Transport: Food Miles [] The Pig Picture [] The Meatrix http://www.themeatrix.com/

16) Write two exam questions that creatively test students’ analytic sophistication about environmental sustainability. Answer one of these questions.

17). Write a 400-word biosketch that describes where you will be and what you will have accomplished twenty years from now. The biosketch should be narrative rather than resume style. Include basic biographical and educational information, the expertise you have built and have become known for, and a brief description of important projects you have been a part of over this period of time. For an example, see the Wikipedia entry for Paul Farmer ([]

18. What attitudes and cultural constructs in the United States will environmental educators need to work against? Reference at least two films. Briefly describe at least one activity for k-12 students that would work against these attitudes and cultural constructs.

19. Outline a set of exercises that would enhance combined media and environmental literacy in middle school students. You can make use of these resources (or others you've found):
 * A website that that refers to H2O as “dihydrogen monoxide. ” http://web.archive.org/web/19961031232918/http://media.circus.com/~no_dhmo/ Read more about the hoax and see additional links at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_monoxide_hoaxRecommended as "an interesting way of teaching kids how to conduct research online."
 * Video presentation by Yoni Freedhoff on the food industry that outlines advertising that ‘tricks’ the modern consumer. __[]__
 * On the new Lorax as greenwashing. __[]__
 * London 2012: The Great Olympic Greenwash (25 minutes) __[]__
 * Set of short films from competition run by Greenpeace "to expose the Volkswagon behind the billboards." __[]__
 * Media guide for Toxic Sludge is Good for You -- pointing to greenwashing, and also to the way campaigns by environmentalists depend on a lot of the same strategies. __[]__

20. Describe a sustainability exercise for middle school students that prepares them to anticipate and respond to the the coupled natural-industrial disasters that are increasingly frequent, and an important sustainability challenge. Reference at least two published sources that describe disaster, including videos such as those here: __http://ecoed.wikispaces.com/Disaster __   21. Imagine that you are a member of the Board of Education in a school district in which teaching climate change has become controversial. Write a letter to the community describing the district's plan for teaching climate change that you endorse, and the rationale for this plan (anticipating the kinds of concerns some parents may have). See School Standards Wade into Climate Debate , Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2012:  <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">22. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">David Wong, writing in cracked.com, argues that the "monkeysphere" determines the limits of human empathy. While Wong doesn't address sustainability directly, it is easy to imagine the implications. David Orr's call to recognize how our actions implicate the life chances of future generations isn't very practical in the monkeysphere, for example. How can educators respond? What specific strategies could be used to educate //<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">beyond //<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> the monkeysphere? See __@http://www.cracked.com/article_14990_what-monkeysphere.html__ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">(profanity warning!!) Also see:  __[]__ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"> 23. <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Countries such as El Salvador has begun developing curriculum that teaches students not only to understand but also to adapt to climate change (and thus to adverse weather, changing agriculture conditions, etc.). See __[|Climate Change Enters the Curriculum in Salvadoran Schools]__ <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">  <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Describe three ways that curriculum could advance the climate adaptation skills of middle school students (in a setting of your choice). What skills do they need? How can they be cultivated? Conclude with a brief note on whether the EcoEd Research Group's list of literacy goals addresses the skills you have identified.