FALL 2007
Monday and Wednesday 5:00 – 6:25 p.m.
Johnson 308
Professor Matsuoka
Office hours: Monday/Wednesday 1:15 – 3:00
Room 201, UEPI and by appointment
Phone: (323) 259-2971
email: matsuoka@oxy.edu
Environment and Society is an introductory course on the environment. It is designed for students with an interest in environmental issues who might want to pursue further studies in Urban and Environmental Policy as well as for those interested in the topic even though they may be pursuing another major. As an introductory class, the materials covered will be broad with readings, discussions, presentations, and class exercises designed to introduce important entry points for the broader discussion of environment and society.
The course will provide students with an overview of contemporary environmental issues and public policy debates. Through the course, students will gain the analytic skills to make connections between the issues of urban development, environmental protection and conservation, the relationship between environmental issues and community and regional planning and development, labor and workforce development, and community organizing and advocacy and its effect on public policy and decision-making. Through lectures, presentations, films and speakers students will gain insight about the nature of environmental problems and their possible solutions.
The course will be organized around five broad topic areas designed to cover a
broad range of environmental issues and policy debates. Working individually
and in small groups, students will participate in class discussions,
presentation sessions, and write a research paper and short essays. The class
will also participate in a bus tour/field trip that explores Los Angeles’
environment and development patterns.
The course will cover five topic areas for the class that encompass different ways to understand and frame environmental issues. These areas include:
Students are required to attend class, complete all assignments and participate in the Bus Trip/Field Trip. Grades will be based on the following:
1. Participation in class (25% of grade)
Participation and active engagement in class discussions, exercises, and assignments is core to the course and to your grade. Students are expected to do the reading on time, participate in class discussions and complete writing assignments on time. Participation in class means of course, that you must attend and that you must be on time.
2. Reflection Essays
Students will write three 2-4 page essays. While I will not grade these essays, they are required and students will receive credit for them. As with all written assignments, reflection papers must be typed, double-spaced in 12-font, with your name and date on the first page. In addition to the hard copy, written assignments should also be emailed to me.
Reflection Essay #1: Environmental Problems and their Solutions
Due: Wednesday, September 5th
Students will write a 2-4 page (double spaced) essay reflecting your current perspectives on the urban environment. Your essay should address the following:
§ What key experiences/events/people have most shaped how you think about the environment?
§ What do you think are the key environmental conditions or issues today?
o What do you think it would it take to address and solve these environmental problems?
Reflection Essay #2: Climate Change Film Review and Critique
Due Monday, September 17th
Students will compare and contrast two recent films on the topic of climate change: “An Inconvenient Truth” (available on reserve in the library) and “The 11th Hour” a film currently showing in theatres.
Reflection Essay #3: Observations and Insights from the Bus Tour/Field Trip.
Due Wednesday 10/31
A 2-4 page reflection paper that describes your experience and thoughts about the Bus Tour/Field Trip.
3. Small Group Presentations (35% of grade)
By Wednesday 9/5, students will sign up for one of the five topic areas to form small working groups. In these small groups, students will:
§ Lead one 30-minute class discussions on selected topic area (15% of grade). Each small group will meet together to identify key issues and questions for class discussion and develop an outline and necessary handouts for class discussion. Groups will review their outlines with me before their scheduled class discussion (preferably a week before). Presentation teams are encouraged to develop an imaginative and lively session to capture key issues and arguments.
§ Final Presentation (20% of grade)
Students will work in small groups defined by their Topic Area to develop and conduct a 30-minute presentation to the class with 15 minutes of Q/A and discussion. Groups will develop a presentation that highlights individual research projects and identifies key themes and issues across these projects. Group presentations will be evaluated by the following: 1) ability to synthesize research papers into a single presentation; 2) effective visuals, graphics and/or handouts; 3) clear, organized presentation style; 4) overall group ability to elicit and answer questions by the class.
Key tasks and due dates:
§ Meet together as a group to develop presentations:
§ Develop an draft outline for the group presentation. Due to me by Wednesday, 11/28
4. Research paper (40% of grade)
The paper (approximately 10-12 pages in length) focused on a specific topic, issue or question within your topic area.
Key tasks and due dates:
§ Identify topic: By Monday, 10/29
§ Develop an annotated bibliography: By Monday, 11/12
§ Turn in outline of paper: By Monday, 11/19
Paper due: Due Week of December 10th on date designated for final exam.
Academic Integrity
Occidental College assumes that students and faculty accept and respect the principle of academic honesty. The policies for cheating, plagiarism and academic misconduct are outlined in the Student Handbook (available online at: http://classic.oxy.edu/resources/studenthandbook/Academic_Policies.htm) .
Classroom Responsibilities
Teachers and students share the responsibility of learning and teaching. I see my responsibilities as creating the space and stimulating enthusiasm for learning, coming prepared to class, creating the goals and structure for a course, introducing concepts and ideas, and facilitating the sharing of knowledge amongst the students and between myself and the students. Students are responsible for attending and participating in class, completing assignments in a timely manner, and being prepared to discuss readings and material in class. Students are also responsible for engaging in respectful, open and thoughtful discussion with each other and the professor.
Support Services
The college provides a set of resources to students to support them in learning. The Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) provides writing assistance to students to develop ideas, draft, and revise papers. See www.departments.oxy.edu/cae.
If you have specific physical or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that we can meet your learning needs. The Center for Academic Excellence also provides services to assist students with physical or learning disabilities; these students need to contact Linda Whitney or Diana Linden in Academic Support Services in the Center for Academic Excellence (x2545).
The Emmons Health and Counseling Center provides support for issues of stress, medical and mental health. www.departments.oxy.edu/emmons
The course relies heavily a class reader available on electronic reserve through the library. On occasion I will hand out articles or readings in class and send you additional electronic readings related to issues raised in class discussions. Students are strongly encouraged to read at least one daily source of news. The most useful are the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. These are accessible on campus in the library and also available for purchase in the bookstore. In addition, students should also review weekly “opinion” publications (either in print or on the web) that are published by various political, environmental, feminist, religious, etc. perspectives. Grist (www.grist.org), Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org) and AlterNet (www.alternet.org) are samples of on-line news sites that feature stories on the environment and social movements.
NOTE: There are a number of class sessions that will be held jointly with POLS 204 from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Room TBD.
Introduction to the Course
Wed. 8/29 Overview and Course Introduction
Mon. 9/3 Labor Day – No Class
Wed. 9/5 Environment and Society: Framing the Course
Reflection Paper #1: DUE
Sign up for Topic Area of interest.
Robert Gottlieb, Mark Vallianatos, Regina Freer, Peter Dreier. “The Urban Environment,” Excerpt from Chapter 4 of The Next Los Angeles: The Struggle for a Livable City.
James Gustave Speth. “A World of Wounds,” and “Ten Drivers of Environmental Education,”, Chapters 1 and 6 in Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment, pp. 13-22 and 119-139
Martin Melosi. “Environmental Crisis in the City: The Relationship Between Industrialization and Urban Pollution,” Chapter 2 in Effluent America: Cities, Industry, Energy, and the Environment, pp. 23-48
“Ecological Footprint Per Person in Selected Nations, 1995,” Table 1-2, p. 11 in Vanishing Borders: Protecting the Planet in the Age of Globalization, Hilary French, 2000
Personal Ecological Footprint Evaluation, Redefining Progress, at www.myfootprint.org (Note: Please go to the website, conduct your own footprint analysis and make note of your impact for class discussion).
Mon. 9/10 Development and Sprawl
Hank Dittmar. “Sprawl: The Automobile and Affording the American Dream” in Sustainable Planet: Solutions for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Juliet Schor and Betsy Taylor, pp. 109-127
Robert Putnam. “Mobility and Sprawl”, Chapter 12 in Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, 2000, pp. 204-215
Howard Frumkin. Health, Equity, and the Built Environment. Environmental Health Perspectives • Volume 113 | Number 5 | May 2005
Gary Polakovic. “At Crossroads of Growth and Preservation, Redlands Peers Into the Future”. Los Angeles Times. September 24, 2006
William Fulton. “Trading Places”, Los Angeles Times. Sunday, July 29, 2007.
Wed. 9/12 No Class
Climate Change Film Assignment and Reflection Paper (due Monday, 9/17)
Mon. 9/17 Freeways and Automobiles
Reflection Paper #2: Climate Change – DUE
L.A. Freeway, David Brodsly, pp. 1-59; 96-109 (in four parts)
Doonesbury on SUVs, November 2002
“Did My Car Join Al Qaeda,” Woody Hochswender, New York Times, February 16, 2003
Melvin Webber. “The Joys of Automobility,” in The Car and the City, edited by Martin Wachs, pp. 274-284
Ralph Vartabedian. “Honk If You Love Quiet,” Los Angeles Times, April 22, 2004
Invited Speaker: Malcolm Carson, Transportation Commissioner, City of Los Angeles
Wed. 9/19 Are there alternatives?
Students lead topic discussion
Lester Brown. “Redesigning Cities for People,” Chapter 9 in Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, pp. 187-208
David Zahniser. “What's Smart About Smart Growth? LA Weekly, May 30, 2007
Marcus Renner “The People’s Freeway,”, Orion, May-June 2004
Conservation Law Foundation. City Routes, City Rights: Building Livable Neighborhoods and Environmental Justice by Fixing Transportation, pp. 3-17
Joseph Romm. “Lots of Hot Air About Hydrogen” Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2004
Mon. 9/24 Chemicals
Gary Polakovic. “Chemicals in Home a Big Smog Source,”, Los Angeles Times, March 9, 2003
Anne Platt McGinn “Phasing out Persistent Organic Pollutants,”, in State of the World 2000, pp. 79-100, Worldwatch Institute
Samuel Loewenber. “Precaution is for Europeans,” New York Times, May 18, 2003
Sharyle Patton. “Toxic Trespass,”, One Planet, pp. 24-26. UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Report on Women, Health and the Environment. Vol 15, No. 2,
Wed. 9/26 Solid Waste/Materials
Kenneth Geiser. “Materials Matter: Toward a Sustainable Materials Policy.” Chapter 1, Material Incompatibilities, pp. 1-15
Maureen Smith. “The U.S. Paper Industry and Sustainable Production”, “Nonwood Fiber Resources for Paper, pp. 89-105
Lester Brown. “Designing a New Materials Economy” in Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, pp. 121-143
Patrick McGreevy. “Voters Seek to Block Sludge.”. Los Angeles Times. January 2, 2006
Mon. 10/1 Pollution, Precaution and Prevention
Students lead topic discussion
Nancy Myers. “The Precautionary Principle. The Rise of the Precautionary Principle: A Social Movement Gathers Strength. Pollution, Precaution, and Prevention.” Multinational Monitor. September 2004. Vol. 25, No. 9
Mayer, Brian, Phil Brown and Meadow Linder. “Moving Further Upstream: From Toxics Prevention to the Precautionary Principle” Public Health Recorder. November-December 2002.
Environmental Health Coalition. “Victory! California Environmental Justice Groups Make History.” Toxinformer. October 2003.
Wed. 10/3 Pollution and Climate Change
“Pollution and Climate Change in a Full World,” Chapter 3 in Red Sky at Morning, pp. 43-73
Richard Turco. “Smog: The Urban Syndrome” in Earth Under Siege, pp. 139-156
“Diesel: Heavy Use and Heavy Exposures” Chapter 1; “Human Health Impacts” Chapter 2; and “Who’s Most at Risk” Chapter 3, in Exhausted by Diesel, Natural Resources Defense Council and the Coalition for Clean Air, pp. 1-12
“Diesel’s Stranglehold on Economy is Hard to Break,” Marla Cone, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 2000
Mon. 10/8 Alternative Energy and Policy Challenges
Special Session: 4:00-5:30
Invited Speaker: Jose Carmona, The Verde Group/ Center For Energy Efficiency And Renewable Technologies (CEERT)
Dylan Loeb McClain. “Growing More Oil Dependent, One Vehicle at a Time,”, New York Times, June 20, 2004
“Grudging Nod to Hybrid SUVs,” Ariana Huffington, Los Angeles Times, January 9, 2003
Christian Parenti. “Big is Beautiful: Green Utilities Grow, But Not Fast Enough”. The Nation. May 7, 2007
Wed. 10/10 Policy Responses to Climate Change
Students lead topic discussion
“Energy and Smart Growth: It’s about How and Where We Build” Funders Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities. Translation Paper #15.
Sharon Begley. “Global-Warming Deniers: A Well-Funded Machine” in Newsweek. August 13, 2007
Michael K. Dorsey. “License to Pollute” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, Calif.: Apr 1, 2007. p. M.4
“Drunk on ethanol: Basing energy policy on corn could fuel a potential disaster.” Editorial. Los Angeles Times. August 20, 2007
A.C. Thompson and Duane Moles. “Don’t Bet on Offsets: Erasing your ‘carbon footprint’ is tricky business. The Nation. May 7, 2007
Mon. 10/15 FALL BREAK
Wed. 10/17 Food Systems
“Hamburger and French Fries: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things,” John Ryan and Alan Thien Durning, Race, Poverty and the Environment, Winter 2000, pp. 42-44
“Calling Fries Fresh Veggies Half-Baked, Critics Argue,” Andrew Martin, Chicago Tribune, June 15, 2004
“The Tomato as Agricultural Metaphor”, Lucille Salitan, Why Magazine, Winter 1996
“Food Miles: A Simple Metaphor to Contrast Local and Global Food Systems,” Rich Pirog, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Summer 2004
Read one or both of the following:
a. “Thinking Outside the Big Box: Food Access, Labor, Landuse and the Wal-Mart Way. Urban and Environmental Policy Institute. October 2004
b. Amanda Shaffer, Bob Gottlieb, et al. Shopping for a Market: Evaluating Tesco’s Entry into Los Angeles and the United States. A Report of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute
Mon. 10/22 Organics and Pesticides
”Organic farmers face ruin as rich nations agonise over food miles.” Times Online. August 2, 2007
“To Feed World’s People, Modern Practices Must Supplant Organic Fads,” Jim Wells, Los Angeles Times, June 4, 2002
“Can an Organic Twinkie be Certified?” Joan Dye Gussow, in For All Generations: Making World Agriculture More Sustainable, edited by J. Patrick Madden & Scott Chaplowe, pp. 143-153
“Uncle Ben: Goin’ Organic Just Like We Used to,” Jim Hightower, in Fatal Harvest, pp. 337-339
“Big-Brand Logos Pop Up in Organic Aisle,” Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2003
“Low Weight of Babies is Linked to Pesticides,” Richard Perez-Pena, New York Times, March 22, 2004
Wed 10/24 Alternative Food Strategies: Conditions and Challenges
Students lead topic discussion
Ronald Jager. “The Soul of Agriculture,” Chapter 10, in The Fate of Family Farming: Variations of an American Idea, , pp. 220-240
Brian Halwel. Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market, l, Worldwatch Paper No. 163, 2002
“Growers Struggle as Trade Barriers Fall,” Los Angeles Times. 12/4/05.
“Farmworkers in organic agriculture: Toward a broader notion of sustainability” Sustainable Agriculture.
Sat. 10/27 or Sun. 10/28 Class Bus Field Trip
The Landscape of Los Angeles’ Environment and Development
Mon 10/29 Reinventing Urban and Nature: Sustainable Approaches
Research Paper Topics – DUE
“The Greening of the City,” Jane Jacobs, New York Times Magazine, May 16, 2004
“He Measures Oakland’s Beat, and Parks Bloom in Return,” Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, March 21, 2004
“Design with City Nature: An Overview of Some Issues,” Michael Hough, in The Ecological City: Preserving and Restoring Urban Biodiversity, Edited by Rutherford Platt, Rowan Rountree, and Pamela Muick, pp. 40-48
Wed. 10/31 Water and Urban Ecosystems
Reflection Paper #3: Bus Tour/Field Trip – DUE
Special Session: 4:00-5:30
Invited Speaker: Paul Stanton Kibel, Golden Gate University of Law
Hilary Kaplan. “Los Angeles’ Lost River” The Next American City, Issue #2, 2003
Robert Gottlieb. “Rediscovering the River,” Orion Afield, Spring 2002, pp. 30-33
Robert Gottlieb and Andrea Misako Azuma. “Bankside Los Angeles” in Rivertown: Rethinking Urban Rivers. Paul Stanton Kibel, ed. 2007
Mon. 11/5 Open and Green Space, Parks
Students lead topic discussion
“Environmental Costs,” Chapter 4 in Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony, F. Herbert Bormann, Diana Balmori, and Gordon Geballe, 2001, pp. 66-89
“Reclaiming the Sacred Commons,” Karl Linn, New Village Journal, Issue 1: Community Revitalization. 1999
“Anatomy of the Urban Parks Movement: Equal Justice, Democracy, and Livability in Los Angeles,” Robert García and Erica S. Flores. Chapter 7 in The Quest for Environmental Justice: Human Rights and the Politics of Pollution. Robert D. Bullard, editor. 2005, pp. 145-167
Emerging Topics
Green Jobs, Labor and Workforce Development
Special Session: 4:00-5:30
Invited Speaker: Apollo Alliance-Los Angeles
Fred Rose. “Labor Environmental Coalitions” WorkingUSA, vol. 6, no. 4, Spring 2003, pp. 51–70.
Jenice L. View. “Just Transition Alliance: Frontline Workers and Fenceline Communities United for Justice” in Teaching for Change.
Urban Habitat and Apollo Alliance. Community Jobs in a Green Economy. 2007
Mon 11/12 Building a Green Economy – Part II
Green Buildings and Development
Annotated Bibliography --- DUE
U.S. Green Building Council. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Fact Sheet
City of Los Angeles. Building a Green Los Angeles. Mayor’s Office. 2007.
Google: A Clean Energy Future. http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/aware1.html
§ Reducing Our Footprint
§ Raising Awareness
§ Advancing Technology
§ Advocating Public Policy
Verne Kopytoff . “Google going green at NASA Ames site” SF Chronicle. January 6, 2007
Wed. 11/14 Global Trade and the Environment
Special Session: 4:00-5:30
Environmental Health Coalition. Globalization at the Crossroads: 10 Years of NAFTA in the Tijuana/San Diego Border Region. October 2004.
“The Greening of Ships: Can California Stop Air Pollution Out At Sea?” Judith Lewis. LA Weekly. December 16-22, 2005
William J. Kelly. “Ports of Cough,”. LA Weekly. September 23 – 20, 2005
“Smog Sick,” LA Weekly. September 2005
Jeffrey Rabin and Deborah Schoch. “Gov.’s Growth, Clean Air Plans Said to Clash” Los Angeles Times. January 7, 2006
Manuel Pastor, Jr. “Clean Air Action Plan Has Advantages Despite Flaws.” Los Angeles Business Journal. 7/23/2007
Optional:
The Modesta Avila Coalition. The View from Our Window: Goods Movement and Environmental Justice. 2005
Mon. 11/19 Greening Los Angeles: Local Responses to Global Warming
Research Paper Outline – DUE
Special Session: 4:00-5:30
Invited Speakers: Jonathan Parfrey, GREEN LA and Romel Pascual, Mayor’s Office
GREEN LA: Policy Brief. July 2006
City of Los Angeles. Office of the Mayor. GREEN LA: An Action Plan to Lead the Nation in Fighting Global Warming. See also www.lacity.org/mayor/indexright/mayorindexright243045238_05152007.pdf
Michele M. Betsill (2001). Mitigating Climate Change in U.S. Cities Local Environment. Vol. 6, No. 4, November 2001, pgs. 393-406.
Wed. 11/21 NO CLASS
Mon. 11/26 Tying it Together: Class Themes
Class discussion to integrate course themes across topic areas
Meet in small groups to prepare Group Presentations
Wed 11/28 The Military, Security and the Environment
Special Session: 4-5:30
Invited Speaker: Margo Okazawa-Rey, Professor, School of Human & Organization Development, Fielding Institute; Senior Research Consultant, Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling, East Jerusalem, Palestine
Group Presentation Outlines -- DUE
Student Environmental Action Coalition and Military Toxics Project. Military Toxics Map. http://www.stopmilitarytoxics.org/index.phtml
Explore this website and read about the military toxics in the U.S. by state.
David Whitney. “Military seeks a pass on pollution: Environmental laws wouldn't apply to the state's bases” Sacramento Bee, May 3, 2003
Arc Ecology. The Iraq War. Environmental Impact Statement. 2003. http://www.envirosagainstwar.org/know/arcecology/
(view online slide show).
Optional:
“Environmental Effects of U.S. Military ‘Security’: Gendered Experiences from the Philippines, South Korea and Japan,” Gwyn Kirk. 2006
Blackford., Mansel G “Environmental Justice, Native Rights, Tourism, and Opposition to Military Control: The Case of Kaho’olawe.” The Journal of American History; Sep 2004; 91, 2; Research Library Core. pg. 544 – 571
Mon. 12/3 No Class
In lieu of class, students will attend the “Moving Forward” conference on Friday (November 30) or Saturday (December 1)
Wed. 12/5 Final Group Presentations
Finals Week Final Group Presentations
Papers due.