Research Paper

Post a PDF file, perfectly formatted, on the discussion board. Name the file as:  familly name_119-01_F21_research paper.pdf

 

ENVS 119 Energy & the Environment - Final Paper (Fall 2021) 

 

 

Your final research paper will focus on the social and/or environmental impacts of one specific energy topic of your choice. You can choose to research any particular topic we covered in class this semester from coal to the renewables. First, Choose a topic that you are most interested in and you want to learn more about. Once you have your favorite topic, choose one primary source of information from the list given on the 2nd page of this assignment prompt. Read your chosen primary source very carefully by taking notes on the key points made by the author, and the reasoning behind each. The first paragraph of your paper should start describing your primary source. Start by introducing the author from your own research on him/her. Was he/she well placed professionally to enter in this debate? What are his/her credentials in the field of energy? The second and third paragraphs should cover the pros and cons around this particular topic, starting with the main points made within your primary source, and your own research around these arguments. Example: In the PBS/Frontline documentary “Coal miners, two generations betting on Trump” the producer leads us to see first hand how the closure of the coal mines is affecting two specific individual lifes. In your 2nd paragraph you may search for similar reporting on other cities/counties affected. Are all Coal communities equally affected in the US? Your 3rd paragraph maybe dedicated to a success story regarding a specific city or community that has benefited economically from the Coal mine closure (yes, there are some!). In these two paragraphs you must rely on at least 8 secondary sources from your own research (all properly cited in-text using. APA or MLA citation systems). The final paragraph - your conclusion - is expected to "wrap-up" your audience's mind on whether or not the primary source properly covered the topic of choice, and what your research has added to the story. Critical but constructive thinking will be assessed.

Note: Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work as if it were your own (or failure to properly reference the opinion or work of another author). There will be zero tolerance. Plagiarism will result in a zero (0) for the assignment. Cases will be referred to the Provost and Department Chair as is standard. For questions see: http://www.plagiarism.org You cannot submit the same paper for this course and another class. 

 

Format of the final paper
1.5 spaces, 12 pt. times or arial font, 1inch margins (exactly like the paragraph above) Top line/left side write in bold, First name, Name, ENVS119 Section xx, date on a single line. Word count: maximum of 1200 words (about 3 pages like the first page of this document)

 

Primary sources (choose one - most can be checked at SJSU library)

• “Big Coal, The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future” by Jeff Goodwell
• “Dark Money, The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right” by Jane Mayer
• “Energy, The Making of the Atomic Bomb, a Human History” by Richard Rhodes“The Water Will Come, Rising Sea, Sinking Cities and the Remaining of the Civilized World” by Jeff Goodwell
• “Cadillac desert: The American West and it’s Disappearing Water” by M. Reisner
• "Colossus. Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century" bu Michael Hiltzik
• “Green Illusions, the Dirty Secret of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism” by Ozzie Zehmer
• “Autonomy, The Quest to Build the Driverless Car and How it Will Reshape our World” by Lawrence D. Burns
• "Faster, Higher, Farther. The (Clean Diesel) Volkswagen Scandal" by Jack Ewing
• "High Voltage. The Fast Track to Plug-in the Auto Industry" by Jim Motavalli
• "Bottled Lightning. Superbatteries, Electric cars and the New Lithium Economy" by Seth Fletcher
• “The Great Transition, Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy” by Lester R. Brown
• "Reinventing Fire. Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era" by Amory B. Lovins
• “Solar Power. Innovation, Sustainability and Environmental Justice” by Mulvaney
• "A fierce Green Fire" by Philip Shabecoff
• "Toward a Zero Energy Home. A complete Guide to Energy Self-Sufficiency at Home" by David Johnston & Scott Gibson
• "Let it Shine, The 6,000-year Story of Solar Energy" by John Perlin
• “Solar Power, Innovation, Sustainability and Environmental Justice” by Dustin Mulvaney
• “The rule of five. Making Climate history at the Supreme court” by Richard J. Lazarus

 

** I have placed two asterisks before the titles that are available electronically.  

 

if you want to use a resource from the sjpl library, you will need to get an e-library card first:  https://www.sjpl.org/blog/sjpl-elibrary-card

 

• “Big Coal, The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future” by Jeff Goodwell (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has 0 ebook/audiobook copies. 

sjpl library has: 1 print copy:   https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2795627156 

  

** “Dark Money, The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right” by Jane Mayer (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 ebook copies; 1 print copy:https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71389693860002901  

sjpl library has: 1 ebook, 1 audiobook: https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/5380425156 Links to an external site.

 

• “The Making of the Atomic Bomb, a Human History” by Richard Rhodes (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 ebook copies.  1 print copy (long overdue): https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71424230350002901

sjpl library has 0 copies

 

• “The Water Will Come, Rising Sea, Sinking Cities and the Remaining of the Civilized World” by Jeff Goodwell (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 0 copies

 

• “Cadillac desert: The American West and it’s Disappearing Water” by M. Reisner (book) 

sjsu library has 0 ebook copies; 2 print book copies: 

https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71408649180002901 

https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71430733690002901

sjpl library has: 1 print book: https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/1194939156 Links to an external site.

 

** "Colossus. Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century" bu Michael Hiltzik 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 1 audiobook and 1 print book: https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/3952310156 Links to an external site.

 

** “Green Illusions, the Dirty Secret of Clean Energy and the Future of Environmentalism” by Ozzie Zehmer (book) 

sjsu library has: 1 ebook copy (covid-19 access: ebsco, project muse and proquest)

https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA51438855170002901

sjpl library has: 1 ebook and 1 print book: https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/4388741156 Links to an external site.

 

** “Autonomy, The Quest to Build the Driverless Car and How it Will Reshape our World” by Lawrence D. Burns (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

san jose public library has: 1 audio book: 

https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/5840723156 Links to an external site.

 

• "Faster, Higher, Farther. The (Clean Diesel) Volkswagen Scandal" by Jack Ewing (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 1 print copy, https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/5656375156 Links to an external site.

 

• "High Voltage. The Fast Track to Plug-in the Auto Industry" by Jim Motavalli (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 0 copies 

 

• "Bottled Lightning. Superbatteries, Electric cars and the New Lithium Economy" by Seth Fletcher (book) 

sjsu library has: 1 print copy, https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71419081220002901

sjpl library has: 1 print copy, https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/4112670156 Links to an external site.

 

• “The Great Transition, Shifting from Fossil Fuels to Solar and Wind Energy” by Lester R. Brown (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 1 ebook and 1 print book: https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/5850790156 Links to an external site.

 

• "Reinventing Fire. Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era" by Amory B. Lovins (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 3 print copies, https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/4211393156 Links to an external site.

 

** “Solar Power. Innovation, Sustainability and Environmental Justice” by Mulvaney 

sjsu library has: 

1 ebook: https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA991009827095802906

1 print book: https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71515219340002901

sjpl library has: 0 copies

 

** "A fierce Green Fire" by Philip Shabecoff (book) 

sjsu library has:  1 ebook access (covid-19 access thru ebsco & proquest):

https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA51438773980002901

sjsu library has: 1 print book: https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71371887450002901

sjpl library has: 0 copies

 

• "Toward a Zero Energy Home. A complete Guide to Energy Self-Sufficiency at Home" by David Johnston & Scott Gibson (book) 

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 9 print copies, https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/3950731156 Links to an external site.

 

• "Let it Shine, The 6,000-year Story of Solar Energy" by John Perlin (book)

sjsu library has: 0 copies

sjpl library has: 4 print copies, https://sjpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/4533581156 Links to an external site.

 

 ** “Gasland 2” by Josh Fox (movie) 

sjsu library has: 0 access

sjpl library has:  access through its hoopla database.  create a hoopla account using your sjpl account #: https://www.sjpl.org/eresources?subject=25  also in this database, the film is named: gasland, part II

access through vimeo: https://vimeo.com/97358756

 

• “The Crude Poker Game” (documentary) on HBO Go

sjsu library has: 0 access

sjpl library has: 0 access

available online through tubitv.com: https://tubitv.com/search/The%20Crude%20Poker%20Game

 

• “Deepwater Horizon” (movie) by Mark Wahlberg 

sjsu library has: 0 access

sjpl library has: access to the soundtrack through the Hoopla database: https://www.hoopladigital.com/title/11724113

multiple pay access sites: youtube, amazon prime, hulu, itunes, google play, etc.

 

** “DamNation” (documentary) a production of Patagonia film production 

sjsu library has:  streaming video: https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71369850230002901

sjpl library has: 0 access

 

• “Chernobyl” HBO (series - all episodes) 

sjsu library: 0 access

sjpl library: 0 access

hbo access:  https://www.hbo.com/watch-free-episodes   sub-title in film image reads: watch for free: 58:54

 

• “Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates” Netflix (series)  

sjsu library: 0 access

sjpl library: 0 access

Netflix:  30 days free access, https://www.netflix.com/title/80184771?source=35

Youtube:  brief overview, part 1: https://youtu.be/nPWWIxyRTvQ

                brief overview,  part 2: https://youtu.be/nPWWIxyRTvQ

                brief overview, part 3: https://youtu.be/XGJMIkwF4Lk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scoring rubric (100 points)

_______(20 points) Required components & fulfillment of assignment’s demands (answering all elements of the assignment - Topic and outline)

_______(20 points) Oral presentation (strength and articulation of argument, persuasiveness of choice) 

_______ (20 points) Evidence (inclusion of appropriate, pertinent, necessary information at a sufficient level of detail; presentation of credible and tangible critical evidenc)

_______(10 points) Visual presentation (numbered pages, clean text and quality, proper size font, too much white space, name, date, title)

______ (10 points) Clarity & succinctness of prose (word choice, syntax, voice, paragraph construction, logic)

______ (10 points) Correct use of written language (punctuation, grammar, and spelling; proofreading)

______ (10 points) References (correct format, proofread, erroneous information, contains all necessary information)