Introduction
Upton Sinclair once said: It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it. Lets see where our elected officials stand on the issue of climate change and, just as important, where they get their campaign contributions. Is there a relationship between our elected officials position on climate change and the amount of money they get from the fossil fuel industry? Correlation is not causation but we may find some interesting results!

Assignment
First, choose a member of the House of Representatives or senator from one of the following energy-producing states: Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, or Wyoming at https://www.house.gov/representatives or https://www.senate.gov. Then go to the League of Conservation Voters scorecard webpage at http://scorecard.lcv.org. Click on your state and find your elected official. What is their 2019 score? What is their lifetime s

Find a minimum of 5 sources that relate to any one of the above topics (Coastal Erosion) These articles must be from textbooks, newspapers, journals, or the Internet (see below). Use the information in these articles to write your paper. In your paper, discuss briefly the main issue or concept involved; what ideas, solutions, or input to this topic you have; and how this topic relates to you. If space permits, mention what you found that was particularly interesting.
MUST USE THESE TWO SOURCES OUT OF THE 5: https://www.nps.gov/articles/coastal-processes-erosion.htm (Links to an external site.)
https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/coastal-flood-risk/coastal-erosion

Population Pyramid Assessment
Assignment

MID-TERM PAPER

Research activity

Select one country and assess its population pyramids for this year, and 20 years before and after. Take screenshots of the pyramids to include in your essay. Use those pyramids to assess and reflect on "Population pyramids: Powerful predictors of the future" regarding changes and shifts in your country's population and the potential for overpopulation. Consider which stage of the demographic transition your country is in. Additionally, you are also required one outside source that addresses birth rate, death rate, life expectancy or migration rate for your selected country.

Items you should note:

The population pyramids and their shape, compared to Figures 3.18 and 3.19 (73-74)

A discussion of demographic transition for your country

A discussion of an additional population statistic from an outside source.



Be sure to record correctly formatted

In 2-3 paragraphs, describe thoroughly, clearly, and in detail the pattern of changes easily visible in the apparent position and motion of the Sun in the sky over the course of a year, as observed by ancient astronomers and discussed in our class.

The short answer response will be graded based on its content and thoroughness (60%), the clarity and accuracy of your response (20%), and the use of details , evidence, and examples (20%). For example, if your writing is generally correct, but vague ("Astronomers figured out that the Earth orbits the Sun"), then you may lose points for details and example (When did that happen? Who was involved? What was the evidence?). You should also remember to stay focused and answer the questions; essays that do not directly address the questions given in the prompt--including long essays that wander off topic-- will lose points for clarity and accuracy.

One of the key starting points for understanding environmental movements of the past, present, and future is making sense of how we think and talk about nature.

1) In the topic of your post, name an environmental issue you are interested in.
2) Then, post a paragraph (~200 words):
- why this issue is interesting to you, and how you are involved in it (can range from simply learning/reading about it to organizing protests about it)
- connect it to the readings with citations (Author, Date)

3) respond to at least 2 of your classmates, drawing connections to other issues you see posted, relevant readings, current events, etc. (i.e. don't just say "that's interesting!," bring something to the conversation)

This is the classmate discussion post which I want you to respond:
Fires in Southern California
Living in Southern California has exposed me to multiple fires throughout my lifetime that have threatened my, along with countless others, safety and sen

A literature review is a synthesis of chosen evidence and resources on a topic of interest. Your assignment is to select a topic of interest and complete a literature review. You are expected to select a minimum of 5 articles. Your review should be between 6-8 pages (not including title and reference page). It is imperative that  APA (6th edition) formatting is utilized.

Essential Steps of the Literature Review:

Define the research problem/topic
Determine key terms
Select primary sources of evidence
Read and synthesize evidence
Write a synthesis of findings that compares and contrasts findings


Components of a Literature Review

Introduction

The introduction serves the purpose of presenting the problem and briefly explaining the significance of the topic. You should also share your search strategy with the reader.

Body of Literature Review

The body synthesizes the findings from the studies reviewed. You will first com

Title
Describe what main result you would anticipate seeing in the paper, based on the title alone in as much detail as possible. Its ok if this differs from what is actually found in the paper.


Abstract
The first sentence of this abstract usually sets up a large, motivating context for the paper. This is the main reason that the authors believe you should consider their work important or the overall context into which the authors believe the work will fit. Restate this context in your own words.


The next sentence usually narrows down the motivating context to a specific area of research and implies an experimental question. Can you state the question or hypothesis in your own words? You can keep moving through the abstract and come back to this if you feel stuck.


Next, the abstract will usually state the main experimental approach (experimental design). Try to summarize the approach in your own words. You could also make a flowchart of the exper

Because it draws from other fields such as bio-statistics and social sciences, epidemiology is described as being interdisciplinary. From which aspects of other disciplines do you feel epidemiology borrows? In what ways does epidemiology differ from those disciplines? When responding to your classmates, provide additional connections between epidemiology and other disciplines. Support your response with specific examples.

(1) Answer the posted "Five Questions about Light".

(2) Write a 1-page essay on one (just one; pick your favorite!) of the topics , (a) "Light Pollution", or (b) "Radiation from Mobile Phones: Dangerous or Not?". As usual, cite on a separate page the references you consulted. In either essay stick to what can be said about the respective topic from a scientific point of view. You may express your personal opinion but only at the very end.

If you pick Topic (a): Describe what is meant by light pollution, what adverse effects it causes and why, and what can/should/will be done to reduce the problem. (Btw and FYI, to raise awareness of the issue, many cities worldwide are involved in "Dark Skies" night, with all but the most essential lights everywhere turned off!

If you pick Topic (b): The issue of potential dangers of the radiation emitted by mobile phones is a highly politicized and emotionally charged topic. Try to de-mystify it by separating facts from speculatio

Assignment: Political Geography
For this assignment, you will be required to watch a series of videos and compare ideas within them by answering the following questions.  Turn in a word document (or equivalent) of 300-500 words to the instructor before the assignment due date for week that includes all parts as instructed below.

China on the World Stage
We have covered political geography in the textbook.  Lets focus on recent efforts from China in its political geography endeavors.  Do you know the history of trade in China?  Have you been paying attention to what China has been up to recently?

Watch the following videos and answer the questions.
The Silk Road: Connecting the ancient world through trade - Shannon Harris Castelo TedEd
https://youtu.be/vn3e37VWc0k
Belt and Road Initiative explained South China Morning Post
https://youtu.be/8mlIfNoLMaM
China's trillion dollar plan to dominate global trade Vox
https://youtu.be