Research
Presentation Topics (Groups of Two)
1.
Global
Climate Change: Myth Fact or Future?
2.
Renewable
Energy: is it a realistic feasible alternative?
3.
Ozone
Depletion: Causes, Changes, Future.
4.
Urban
Sprawl: Problems, costs, and solutions.
5.
Salt
Marsh Restoration Projects: Value, Costs, Status and Future needs?
6.
The
San Onofre Power Plant's history and its future?
7.
Urban
invaders: problem plants and animals in California Habitats: Who are they,
where did they come from, why are they here, and what are some environmental /
ecological solutions.
8.
California
Fisheries Regulations Laws and the ecological reasoning behind them.
9.
Bleaching
of Coral Reefs: Mechanisms and the future?
10.
Recycling?
Does it really help? How so? What still needs to be done? How does the USA
compare worldwide.
11.
Municipal
Water Treatment Facility for La Cañada.
How do urban centers handle water treatment? How does it work? What are
some progressive approaches to an age-old problem?
12.
Electricity:
It brought society out of the dark.
History and environmental impact, future alternatives – what is the best
way to go?
13.
Invasive
species in Southern California: Environmental Impact, solutions and restoration
costs.
14.
Endangered
Species Act. How do you get on the
list? Is the list universal? How is it enforced? How successful is it? Is it
fair to all?
15.
JPL
as a Superfund site? What are the laws
that regulate the Superfund? How is the Superfund run? What is the
Environmental impact?
16.
Asian
Shore Crabs, Green Crabs and other invasive marine crustaceans. Is it a problem? How wide spread is it? What are the ecological implications?
Economic implications?
17. Land preservation acts,
green space, open space – their value and costs, what are some successful plans
that have already been implemented?
18. Transportation it makes life
easy but at what ecological costs?
19. George W. Bush has vowed to open up the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
Is this a good idea?
20. California's tax
check-off for non-game wildlife ~ how it works, how well it's working, and what
it's doing for California wildlife; how much have the license plates made?
21. Should the
United States adopt a "bottle bill"? Should the federal government?
The Sierra Club thinks so. Why have such
attempts failed in the past?
22. Critically
review of Bill Clinton's environmental record (or record on energy
policies). How does he stack up
compared to past presidents?
23. The recent
controversy over the Spotted Owl may have done serious damage to the Endangered
Species Act. Why might it be tough to
get it passed when it comes up for renewal this year?
24. Compare the
major environmental organizations (National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, Izaak
Walton League, Defenders of Wildlife, Greenpeace, The Nature Conservancy, The
National Wildlife Federation, Earth First!, etc. ) What are their goals? How do
they differ? What do they do to try to accomplish their goals? Are they
successful?
25. The ecological
effects of nuclear war—the nuclear winter/nuclear autumn hypotheses.
26. Investigate
"green consumerism", or how consumers can have an effect on product
manufacturers by their buying habits.
Is there enough of a preference for ecologically 'friendly' products
(for example, eggs packed in recyclable cardboard cartons rather than
Styrofoam)?
27. Organic vs. traditional farming methods. Which is more productive? More
environmentally benign? Discuss topics like pesticides, no till farming, etc.
28. DDT — is it a
serious environmental threat, or just another phony crisis?
29. Was Lake Erie
ever dead? Why and how conditions deteriorated during the last century, leading
to the day the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland. Have things improved since then?
30. The problem of
exotic and introduced plants and animals in Florida —America's great outdoor
zoo.
31. How can we ask
Brazil to not cut the Amazon when we are cutting our own old growth forests in
the Pacific, also threatening species with extinction?
32. Conserving
germplasm — why are some scientists saving ancient strains of wheat and other grain
crops? Could we be doing the same for endangered species?
33. In the western
US, the major environmental problem is water.
Discuss this problem that sets farmers, ranchers, developers, and
environmentalists at odds.
34. China is the
most populous nation on earth. Discuss
the variety of pressures that have been used to cut the birth rate there. Which of these could you see working in the
U.S.?
35. Zero Population
Growth in the U. S. Can we reach it?
Should we? Some people think that we need to have another baby boom to support
Social Security in the future.
36. The problem of
too many immigrants and refugees in the U. S. -do we let them in or slam the
door?
37. Is the U.
S. an energy pig? Or, do our
contributions to the world in terms of technology and inventions justify taking
more than our share of world resources?
38. Do animals and
plants have population explosions? How does Mother Nature handle overpopulation
problems? How will she handle the human population explosion?
39. There is another
drought and famine imminent in Ethiopia.
Why haven't conditions improved since the last one just a few short
years ago?
40. What will life
be like when there are 16 billion people? Discuss a futuristic view of life
styles and personal freedom compared to today's world.
41. Evaluate the
Central Bucks plans for a recycling program for paper, aluminum, plastic and
glass. What are its strong and weak
points? How could it be made more efficient?
42. Investigate 'The
Hamburg Connection'. Is a Big Mac worth
cutting down the rain forests and destroying the ozone layer?
43. The use of
high-tech satellites to explore for minerals and other resources from space.
44. Extracting
minerals from seawater.
45. Scrap yards --
what they can recycle, and what they can't.
What do they pay for recycled materials; why does the market fluctuate
so much; how much do they make in this business?
46. Cogeneration —
cities that bum their garbage for heat and electricity. (Examples include Harrisburg, Columbus (OH),
and Akron (OH).
47.
There is a lot of land out there, so why are we running out of
landfills? What makes it so hard to site them? How safe are our landfills?
48. What would life
be like without petroleum and its products?
49. Trace the
refining of oil from the ground to your gas tank.
50. The sun is free
— so why isn't solar energy cheap, too?
51. A debate: your
town needs a new power plant. Should it
be a fossil fuel-burning plant, or a nuclear plant? Is there any other feasible
alternative?
52. What has
happened to the anthracite coal industry in Pennsylvania?
53. Three Mile
Island and Chernobyl — what happened, and how have these events affected the U.
S. nuclear industry? What about the
many other underreported nuclear accidents?
54. What is the best
way to handle the many nuclear wastes we have created?
55. Shippinsport —
the first nuclear reactor to 'die' of old age — what have we done with it?
56. Canada's Bay of
Fundy tidal power project—the pros and cons.
What ecological effects will it have? Is it worth the ecological costs?
57. Factoryville — a
town that has begun to treat its sewage—why hasn't it had to until recently?
Why do some small towns still dump raw sewage into streams? Do a comparison of
water conditions upstream and Downstream of the city.
58. What happens
when someone at East flushes the toilet? What does East do with its sewage?
59. Acid mine
drainage — how it kills streams.
60. Some parts of
Antarctica are badly polluted. How?
Why? Who owns Antarctica? What effect does tourism have?
61. Supertankers and
oil spills — their ecological aftermath.
How well did Alaska survive the Exxon Valdez tragedy?
62. The dangers of
plastics dumped overboard at sea — how they are killing turtles, birds and
whales.
63. A conflict of
interest — fishermen vs. oil drilling
on America's most fertile fishing grounds.
64. Acid rain --
California as both a source and recipient.
65.
The health effects of indoor air pollution. How does good insulation expose us to toxic
chemicals?
66. The asbestos
problem — why is it harmful? Is it worth the staggering expense to clean it up?
67. The economics of
acid rain—why the Midwestern states won't quit burning dirty coal.
68. What happens
when an endangered species meets a multi-million dollar dam? The story of the
snail darter vs. the Tellico Dam.
69. Fires burning
underground — mine fires in Centralia and other Pennsylvania cities.
70. The first Earth
Day was in the 70's — why did it happen? Is the thought still alive, or was it
a passing fad? What has changed since then?
71. Acid rain—its
effect on lakes and streams, forests, agriculture, and on human health.
72. The hole in the
sky—the threat to the ozone layer.
73. Mercury (or lead
or cadmium) in the environment. Where
does it come from — and how does it effect us?
74. Carcinogens in
the environment — how we test for them, and is it worth the time to worry about
them?
75. Are you a travel
& tourism enthusiast? Write on ecotourism—nature tours, African 'safaris',
swimming with dolphins, etc. Are these
things beneficial to host countries and to the animals?
76. Chemical
pesticides—an agricultural blessing or an ecological disaster? Why don't we
make greater use of biological pesticides, like insect pheromones?
77. Endangered
species in California — what is the commonwealth doing to save them?
78. Using maps,
figure out how much land around Bucks County is undeveloped. Do we have zoning laws against development?
Now use maps to check the amount of open areas in Montgomery County.
79. City
planning—how can you build an environmentally sound, beautiful, energy
efficient, recycling society?
80. Zoos — are they
becoming the last refuge for our endangered species? Discuss conservation
measures and captive breeding programs.
81. Mass transit is
a way to save energy and reduce pollution ~ why do so few cities use it?
82. America's love
affair with the car — how it effects our energy and resource supply, and the
environment. How would things change if
the rest of the world had as many cars as Americans?
83.
Design (that is, draw a very specific blueprint) an energy
efficient home.
84. Discuss the
problem of radon gas in our homes. Why
is it so prevalent across the country? Is it as serious as we are told? What
health hazards does it pose to us?
85.
Should we try to save endangered species—is it really worth it?
Should we save endangered snails, crickets, rattlesnakes, and mosquitoes?
86. The debt crisis
and the Third World — how does the interest burden from huge loans prevent
developing countries from pursuing an ecologically smart strategy? What role
does the World Bank play in international conservation (or the lack of it)?
87. Extinction is
nothing new. Did primitive humans cause
the extinctions of large animals like mammoths, mastodons, saber-toothed
tigers, etc.?
88. Smoky the Bear
should be snuffed out — or, why forest fires aren't such bad things.
89. We currently have
more forested land than probably existed when whites came to America. However, it is of much lower quality than
before. Additionally, it is becoming
very fragmented, a condition that poses perhaps more of a threat to bird
species than does the burning of the tropical rain forests. Discuss these notions.
90. More for an art
enthusiast. Compare the wildlife
artwork of such prominent wildlife artists as John James Audubon, Robert
Bateman, Roger Tory Peterson, Louis A.
Fuertes, and others.
91. Compare some of
the more prominent nature writers like Emerson, Thoreau, John Borroughs, Aldo
Leopold, Edwin Way Teale, Edward Abbey, etc.
Or read several writings by the same author and discuss his/her
philosophy of the natural world.
92. There is quite a
controversy between animal rights advocates and the fur industry. Present a discussion about this problem
giving both sides of the question, finishing up with your own opinion. (Conduct interviews with trappers, women who
own furs, and animal lovers.)
93. There are many fine
nature-oriented shows on TV (mostly PBS).
Discuss Nature, Nova, Wild America, National Geographic, World of
Survival, Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, etc. What are their goals? How do they effect the viewing public's
perception of the natural world?
94. Discuss the
growing field of environmental music.
Who are the artists? What have been their contributions? Play some
samples to the class.
95.
Numerous recent reports have claimed that the US is trailing far
behind other nations in science education.
Discuss these reports. Have you
been turned off by science? What are your experiences? Why does it seem to be
fashionable to say, "Oh, I just can't do math/biology/chemistry/
physics/etc. ? What needs to be done to the educational system to get students
excited about science again?
96. The atmospheric
greenhouse effect — are we headed for another Ice Age, a melting of ice caps,
or is it worth worrying about at all?
97. What has caused
the terrible forest fires of recent summers? Discuss the 'let burn' policy of
the National Park Service. What has
happened to Yellowstone? Has it recovered ecologically?
98. The Love Canal
mess.
99. The ten food
plants that stand between world starvation and us.
100.Minorities suffer more environmental insults than any other
group. Why? Some topics to include are
plans to site radioactive waste dumps on Native American reservations; the
presence of an inordinately high number of chemical plants and landfills in
poor neighborhoods.
101.Within 2 years California must begin operating a low-level
radioactive waste dump. What is the
process being used to site this facility? How will such a dump work? What
should local communities who do not want it do to keep it out?
102.Must business & environment always be at odds? Can
environmentalism be good business?
103.Zebra mussels, a clam-like invader from Europe, have
infiltrated the Great Lakes and the Susquehanna River. They are expected to cause a monumental
ecological problem. Discuss these
invaders.
104.Discuss George
W. Bush's environmental record as the
governor of Texas. Is he an
environmental President? Does it matter if he is or not?
105.Although Saddam
Hussein released massive amounts of oil into the Persian Gulf in an act of
ecocide, his is not the only warring country to have an effect on the
environment. Discuss the effects of war
on the environment (Viet Nam, Hiroshima, Nicaragua, World War HI, etc.)
106.Design an
environmentally friendly building for the 9/12 LCHS Science Department.
107.Create a GIS assignment
using ESRI about Biodiversity Hotspots
108.Create a GIS assignment
using ESRI about Air Pollution.
109.Create a GIS assignment
using ESRI about Water Pollution.
110.Create a GIS assignment
using ESRI about Superfund sites.
111.Create a GIS assignment
using ESRI about Urban planning.
112.Create a GIS assignment
using ESRI about Agriculture.