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Great US Ecological CatastrophesGEOG / HWRS / EVS 461
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| Course Details |
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| Course Description |
Click here for a short promotional video about this course. For this course, human-caused ecological catastrophes are defined as slowly developing, negative environmental changes that were caused at least to some degree by human actions. They were widespread spatially and long-term temporally, and they impacted society greatly. Six past catastrophes in US history of particular note ("Great") will be covered in depth:
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| Instructor | Paul Sheppard, Assoc. Prof. of Dendrochronology 407 Tree-Ring Building, sheppard @ ltrr.arizona.edu Office hours: MW 11:00 AM, or by appointment |
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| Prerequisites | Upper-division (junior or senior) standing Tier 1 and Tier 2 Natural Sciences completed |
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| Course Objectives | This course will cover:
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| Student Outcomes | Students will:
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| Course Outcome | This course could serve as an upper-division elective for majors/minors in Environmental Sciences (Soil, Water, and Environmental Sciences) or Environmental Studies (School of Geography and Development). | ||||||
| Grading |
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| Late work will be accepted, but let's stay on schedule. | |||||||
| Examinations | There will be no exams in this class. | ||||||
| Possible Fieldtrips | For each selected ecological catastrophe, a short trip in and around Tucson
might be possible. Small groups would take only the trip relevant to their
chosen catastrophe: • Dust Bowl: A local farm to view arid-land agriculture and dust abatement measures, and interview an expert • Passenger Pigeon: International Wildlife Museum, to see a mounted Passenger Pigeon, and interview an expert • Perfect Trees: Reid Park, to see Aleppo pines, and interview an expert • Forest Fire in the West: Mt. Lemmon, to see burn area of the 2003 Aspen Fire, and interview an expert • Lead in the Environment: An EPA air monitoring site for airborne lead, and interview an expert • Oil Spills!: A spill down by the airport, and interview an expert |
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| Attendance and Participation | Attendance in class will be expected and active participation in class will be appreciated. Absences for sincerely held religious belief, observance, or practice will be accommodated where reasonable. Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or dean's designee) will be honored. |
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| Readings and Texts | No single textbook exists for this course, but this course will be reading-intensive.
Students will be expected to read at least one book on the ecological catastrophe
chosen to study in-depth. These books are easily and economically obtainable on-line. Too busy to read books anymore? See this cartoon (password protected pdf). Students will also be expected to read many shorter articles on the ecological catastrophes covered. These articles will come from popular magazines as well as scientific journals and will be made available from this course website as password-protected pdfs. |
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| Special Materials | Producing videos requires software dedicated to this task. The UA provides all students access to the Adobe Suite, including the video software that will be used in this class. It is free to download, and it is also installed and freely accessible on computers of the UA Libraries. | ||||||
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| Special Provisions |
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| Subject to Change | Information contained in this course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice. | ||||||
| Course Schedule | |
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| Week |
Activity |
| 0 Jan 10 |
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| 1 Jan 15 (no class) & 17 |
Popular Magazine Articles & Websites • National Geographic (2009): Yellowstone–supervolcano • National Geographic (2012): Tsunamis • National Geographic (2014): Meteorites • Conserve Energy Future: Top 15 worst environmental disasters caused by humans • PRI: 10 worst man-made environmental disasters • History Channel: 7 deadly environmental disasters • List 25: 25 biggest environmental disasters in history • Owlcation: 13 worst man-made environmental disasters in American history • Awesci: Humans are to blame for these environmental disasters • Wikipedia: List of environmental disasters • Wikipedia: Environmental disaster Scientific Journal Articles • 2001 Interdisciplinary Science Reviews: Tree rings indicate past catastrophes • 2006 Quaternary International: Environmental catastrophe—Past and present • 2006 Phil. Trans. R. Soc.: Asteroid impacts: the ultimate environmental catastrophe – 2006 Phil. Trans. R. Soc.: Apophis Asteroid, a biggie, will come close – 2021 NASA: But, NASA says it'll miss us (video 1:35 min. long) – Jan. 18, 2022: A pretty big asteroid passing close today Assignment • 1-page single-spaced essay with sources cited, submit through D2L |
| 2 Jan 22 & 24 |
Books • Sheila Bernard: Documentary Storytelling: Creative Nonfiction on Screen (ILL, or search online outlets) – Relevant pages Copyright/Fair Use • Center for Social Media: Best Practices in Fair Use (only several pages long) • Beverly Boy: Fair Use in archival video documentary • Pedagogy: Legally Using images • Penn State: Free Media Library – Links to freely usable content – Be sure to listen to the audio podcast on copyright/fair use • Unsplash: Freely usable images • Pexels: More freely usable images • Smithsonian Open Access: More freely usable images • US Government Images: Government images • Openverse: Lots of freely usable assets Material • Videomaker: Videomaker website • Natural History: No Man's Land: Ken Burns on video and catastrophes • Video trailer: Ken Burns Masterclass on Documentary Filmmaking • 1993 Documentaries, A History: Just a few pages from this book • 2010 Planet: Bringing digital video into education • 2011 Journal of Geography in Higher Education: Video documentaries in Geography courses • 2012 Language Learning & Technology: Digital video storytelling • 2016 Journal of Teaching in Social Work: Integrating video documentary into a classroom • 2018 Marketing Education Review: Creating video documentary in education • 2019 SITE Conference: Video in education for telling true stories • 2022 Arcadia: Video essay in education • Forbes: 7 rules of effective video storytelling • Video: Ken Burns: Civil War opening • 60 Minutes 2020: Ken Burns: America's Storyteller • NRDC: Storytelling and climate change • Close to Home 2021: A comic about Ken Burns • Video: Paul: A trip video with background music Assignment • 1-page single-spaced essay with sources cited, submit through D2L Wednesday: Adobe accounts, accessing the programs, and storyboard • The UA Adobe Suite: UA Office of Digital Learning – If you can't download and install Photoshop, that may be accessed and run on most any Library computer – If you can't download and install Premiere, that may be accessed and run on OSCR computers – March 9, 2023: Adobe has announced that their programs don't execute on computers with recent NVIDIA drivers Adobe announcement. If this includes you, the OSCR computers could be useful, if not essential, for keeping up with the tech assignments in this course – Seen on campus: A Daily Wildcat box • Adobe Premiere tutorials abound: Tutorials on Premiere video effects • Adobe Creative Campus: The UA is listed here, with a link to a UA blog • Adobe Stock: How to obtain images from Adobe Stock • Tech Toolshed at Arizona: Recording equipment • Wikipedia: Storyboard • Jakob Nielsen: Storyboarding • How to collaborate on a storyboard: UA Box? • A recent example storyboard for Paul: Rose Bowl trip – The resultant video: Paul and Brian's Rose Bowl trip • Instruction sheet: How to mimic a storyboard • Analysis of Paul's Storyboards: what to expect for a 10-min. video Assignment • Become familiar with video resources, and ensure you have access to them • Become familiar with storyboarding and how it can assist the production of your class video • Nothing specific to turn in for this Wendsday session |
| 3 Jan 29 & 31 |
• Donald Worster: Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s (ILL, or search online outlets) – Section 2: Prelude to Dust – Journal of American History: Review of "Dust Bowl" – American Historical Review: Review of "Dust Bowl" – Reviews in American History: Review of "Dust Bowl" – Western American Literature: Review of "Dust Bowl" – Western Historical Quarterly: Review of "Dust Bowl" – Journal of American Studies: Review of "Dust Bowl" – Technology and Culture: Review of "Dust Bowl" – Aeolian Research: Review of "Dust Bowl" • Timothy Egan: The Worst Hard Time (TPPL, or search online outlets) – Timothy Egan: Author's website – Smithsonian: Review of "The Worst Hard Time" – Great Plains Quarterly: Review of "The Worst Hard Time" – Earth Island Journal: Review of "The Worst Hard Time" – Technology and Culture: Review of "The Worst Hard Time" – Journal of Forestry: Review of "The Worst Hard Time" – Journal of Applied Communications: Review of "The Worst Hard Time" • Kevin Sweeney: Prelude to the Dust Bowl: Drought in the 19th-Century Southern Plains (ILL) – Chapter 13: Skies Not Cloudy All Day – Epilog – Journal of Interdisciplinary History: Review of "Prelude to the Dust Bowl" Dust Bowl in Culture & Art • Historic video: The Plow That Broke the Plains (~25 minutes long) • Art: Alexandre Hogue • Photography: Dorothea Lange – Rare Historical Photos: The Migrant Mother – Wikipedia: Florence Owens Thompson • Literature: John Steinbeck, Grapes of Wrath Popular Magazine Articles • National Geographic (March 1941): Oklahoma grew up • National Geographic (January 1980): Tallgrass prairie • National Geographic (September 1984): Beyond the Dust Bowl • National Geographic (March 1993): Ogallala Aquifer, I • National Geographic (October 1993): American Prairie • National Geographic (November 1994): Buffalo back home on the range – Bison numbers: Bison numbers through time (data) • National Geographic (May 2004): American Great Plains • National Geographic (September 2012): New Dust Bowl • National Geographic (December 2013): Tumbleweed • National Geographic (August 2014): Crop subsidies • National Geographic (August 2016): Ogallala Aquifer, II • National Geographic (February 2020): Montana prairie and bison • Smithsonian (June 1989): Dust Bowl: Half a century ago • Natural History (): • Wikipedia: John Wesley Powell • Wikipedia: Hugh Hammond Bennett • Wikipedia: Laramide Orogeny • Wikipedia: Homestead Acts • Wikipedia: Cherokee Outlet • Wikipedia: Buffalo Commons • Wikipedia: "Rain follows the plow" • Wikipedia: The Great American Desert (hint: it's not the Sonoran Desert) • Wikipedia: Dust Bowl photography of Dorothea Lange • Wikipedia: Great Plains shelterbelts • History: The Dust Bowl • ThoughtCo: The Dust Bowl • Non-profit: National Association of Conservation Districts • PBS: In the Americas with David Yetman: Bison (27-minute video) • Yahoo News 2022: Bison are back • Economics Help: Price controls: pros and cons (focus on minimum prices) • NPR 2021: New evidence shows fertile soil gone from Midwestern farms (2-minute audio) • USDA Forest Service: Windbreaks (shelterbelts) • Youtube: The 100th Meridian, America's Line (20:41 min.) Scientific Journal Articles • 1935 Harper's Monthly Magazine: Dust blowing • 1936 Drought Area Committee: Report of the Committee • 1937 Journal of Farm Economics: Why the Dust Bowl? • 1943 Journal of Forestry: Dendro reconstruction of past rainfall of Nebraska • 1970 The Soil Conservation Service: Hugh Bennett's Dream • 1972 The Time of the Buffalo: Bison numbers • 1978 American Scientist: The lessons of the Dust Bowl • 1999 BioScience: Bison: a keystone species • 2004 Journal of Political Economy: Small farms and the Dust Bowl • 2013 Rangeland Ecology & Management: Bison versus cattle: are they ecologically synonymous? • 2013 Population and Environment: Dust Bowl: What was learned for today? • 2018 Western Watersheds Project: Are cows just domestic bison? Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on lecture and readings, how might lessons of the Dust Bowl apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Acquiring assets, making a first video Activity • Compiling still images, text, narration, and music into a video: It's not as hard as it seems – Premiere Gal: Cutting (editing) footage tutorial – Premiere Gal: Clever transition techniques – Premiere Gal: New (as of 2022): A library of Premiere Gal tutorials, all in one spot – Music files: Internet Archive Assignment • 1-minute video on anything, with still photos, text, narration, and music, submit through D2L |
| 4 Feb 5 & 7 |
Books • James Ralph Johnson: The Last Passenger (ILL, or online) – Kirkus Review: Review of "The Last Passenger" • Alan Eckert: The Silent Sky—The Incredible Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon (ILL, or online) – The Wilson Bulletin: Review of "The Silent Sky" • Joel Greenberg: A Feathered River Across the Sky—The Passenger Pigeon's Flight to Extinction (UA Library: QL696.C6 G74 2014) – Joel Greenberg: Author's website – The Independent Review: Review of "A Feathered River" – Environmental History: Review of "A Feathered River" – Journal of Field Ornithology: Review of "A Feathered River" – New York Review of Books: Review of "A Feathered River" (or a web version) • Mark Avery: A Message From Martha—The Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon and Its Relevance Today (ILL, or online) – Mark Avery: Author's website – The Well-Read Naturalist: Review of "A Message From Martha" • Errol Fuller: The Passenger Pigeon (available online from UA Library, lots of images) – Canadian Field-Naturalist: Review of "The Passenger Pigeon" (status quo) Popular Magazine Articles • American Field (1879): Efforts to Check the Slaughter of the Passenger Pigeon • American Field (1879): The Pigeon Butcher's Defense • National Geographic (September 1936): An ad invoking the Passenger Pigeon • National Geographic (October 1936): Game Birds of Prairie, Forest, and Tundra • National Geographic (August 2018): Extinction of bird species, including the Passenger Pigeon • Audubon Magazine (2014): Why the Passenger Pigeon Went Extinct • Northern Express (Michigan) (2015): The Passing of the Passenger Pigeon • Smithsonian (): • Natural History (): • Harper's Magazine (November 2015): Rethinking extinction • Letter to the Editor (June 2019): Passenger Pigeon persecution • Wikipedia: The Passenger Pigeon • Wikipedia: 1903 Pelican Island, 1st ever national wildlife refuge • Wikipedia: 1913 Weeks-McLean Act • Wikipedia: 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act • Wikipedia: 1973 Endangered Species Act – The ESA: The 1973 Endangered Species Act itself • Online: Project Passenger Pigeon • Online: From Billions to None – Youtube: The film itself (57:55 min.) • Youtube: Another cgi creation of a Passenger flock (2:01 min.) • Online: Northern Express: The passing of the Passenger Pigeon • Online: US Fish & Wildlife Service: From Many, to Few, to None • Online: Smithsonian: The Passenger Pigeon • Online: Audubon Society: 13 Memories of Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon • Online: Stanford: Paul Ehrlich comments on the Passenger Pigeon • Michigan Natural Resources: A centennial statement, and a patch • Cleveland Museum Natural History: remembering Martha, another centennial • Humor: A Passenger Pigeon cartoon • Humor: Another Passenger Pigeon cartoon Scientific Journal Articles • 1910 American Midland Naturalist: The Passenger Pigeon • 1912 The Auk: A last word on the Passenger Pigeon • 1913 Bird-Lore: Observations about the Passenger Pigeon • 1914 Outing: What became of all the pigeons? • 1930 Science News-Letter: Passenger Pigeon observations by John J. Audubon • 1947 Silent Wings: A memorial to the Passenger Pigeon (images and photos) • 1947 Silent Wings: Aldo Leopold: On a monument to the pigeon • 1947 Silent Wings: The Passenger Pigeon in Wisconsin • 1947 Silent Wings: Attitude in conservation • 1947 Silent Wings: The great Wisconsin Passenger Pigeon nesting of 1871 • 1980 Biological Conservation: Extinction of the Passenger Pigeon, contemporary conservation • 1980 Contributions in Science: Passenger Pigeon bones found in archaeological sites of New Mexico • 1985 American Birds: Gone forever • 1986 Quaternary Research: Role of Passenger Pigeons in the rapid Holocene migrations of nut trees • 2003 Conservation Biology: Effects of Passenger Pigeon on presettlement forests • 2014 Frontiers in Ecology: A century later: lessons learned from the Passenger Pigeon • 2014 Wildlife Society Bulletin: 100th Anniversary of the Passenger Pigeon extinction: lessons • 2017 Ethics, Policy & Environment: De-extinction—Should we bring back the Passenger Pigeon • 2017 Ethics, Policy & Environment: We can't bring it back Field Trip • Possible ½-day trip to the International Wildlife Museum to see a Passenger Pigeon, and interview an expert – This museum has an admission fee: $4.00. Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on lecture and readings, how might lessons of the Passenger Pigeon apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Transforming assets with Photoshop and Premiere • Wikipedia: Ken Burns • Wikipedia: The Ken Burns Effect • Tutorial: Basic KB is easy, but here's smooth KB, even better (2:17 min.) • Video: The Ken Burns Effect • Video: The Simpsons making fun of the Ken Burns Effect • Lola: A Ken Burns comic Assignment • Modify images and add Ken Burns effect to them – 1-minute video on anything, with still photos suitably modified and moving on the screen – Submit through D2L |
| 5 Feb 12 & 14 |
Books: Chestnut • Susan Freinkel: American Chestnut—The Perfect Tree (UA Library SD397.A48 F74 2007) – Journal of Forestry: Review of "Perfect Tree" Books: Elm • American Forestry Association: The American Elm – • Thomas Campanella: Republic of Shade—The American Elm (ILL, or online) – Introduction: The glory of New England – Chapter 6: City of Elms – Chapter 8: Boulevard of Broken Trees – Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians: Review of "Republic of Shade" – Environmental History: Review of "Republic of Shade" • Rachel Carson: Silent Spring (UA Library QH545.P4 C38 1987) – Chapter 8: And No Birds Sing – Xeno-Canto: An archive of bird songs – Wikipedia: Rachel Carson – Yale Environmental Science: In defense of Rachel Carson – Human Ecology Review (2017): Rachel Carson: Saint or Sinner? – Rachel Was Wrong (2007): Villification of Rachel – PBS American Experience: Rachel Carson and malaria (video 12:30 min.) – Bill Moyers Journal: Remembering Rachel Carson with Kaiulani Lee (video 42:44 min.) + Rachel Carson: companion website to the video + A video version of "A Sense of Wonder" (55 min.) + Rachel Carson and DDT Popular Magazine Articles: Chestnut • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1842): Poetry, with brief envoking of the chestnut • National Geographic (February 1990): Chestnut: back from the brink • Scientific American (December 1906): A disease which threatens the American chestnut tree • Scientific American (March 1912): American chestnut tree blight • Scientific American (January 1914): The chestnut blight • Scientific American (July 1990): Chestnut blight • Smithsonian (September 2004): Chestnutty • Urban Forestry (2016): A plague strikes the American chestnut • Ted Talk (2018): An American tragedy, the loss of the American chestnut • Pennsylvannia Real-Time News (2019): The American Chestnut • American Chestnut Foundation: The American chestnut story • US Forest Service: Bringing back the American chestnut • Sierra Magazine (2021): American chestnut: demise and rivival • USDA Forest Service (2021): Video, part I: American chestnut: Natural history and demise (9:44 min.) • USDA Forest Service (2021): Video, part II: American chestnut: Restoration (10:15 min.) • The American Chestnut Foundation: Fact Sheet on chestnut and wildlife • Delaware NPR: A mature chestnut found in Delaware • News Journal 2022: And now, oak decline • Atlantic Monthly 2023: America lost its one perfect tree Popular Magazine Articles: Elm • National Geographic (November 1955): The American elm: Symbol of dignity and grace • Scientific American (November 1976): Urban trees: American elm • Scientific American (August 1981): Dutch elm disease • Smithsonian (June 1998): Racing to revive our embattled elms • Urban Forestry (2016): Wiping out beautiful avenues of elm • Urban Forestry (2016): Crusading for a new American elm • Nautilus (2016): New York City battles Dutch Elm Disease • Washington Post (2022): Elms of Castine, Maine • The Gazette (2022): Don't look now, but urban ashes are dying • Adobe Stock: Believe it or not, some American elms survive even today, check out Central Park, NYC • Bower & Branch: Story of the American elm • Denver (2023): American elms of Denver newly stricken with DED • Virginia Tech (2023): Campus loses a legacy elm • Central Park, NY (2023): Paul's video on the Central park elms (7:20 min.) Scientific Journal Articles: Chestnut • 1906 Journal of New York Botanical Garden: First observations of chestnut blight • 1926 Science Newsletter: American chestnut now near extinction • 1974 Journal of Forest History: Death of American chestnut – Wikipedia: George Hepting, forest pathologist • 1982 Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club: Ecological significance of American chestnut • 1999 American Biology Teacher: American chestnut blight: an agent of biological & cultural catastrophe Scientific Journal Articles: Elm • 1934 Science: The Dutch elm disease • 1934 American Forests: A call to arms for the American elm • 1935 Current Science: The Dutch elm disease • 1936 Science News Letter: Even dead trees (elms) present Dutch elm disease menace • 1937 Science: Eradication of Dutch elm disease • 1951 Journal of Wildlife Management: Effects on wildlife of DDT for controlling Dutch elm disease • 1960 Journal of Wildlife Management: Songbird breeding populations affected by DDT for Dutch elm disease • 1960 Journal of Wildlife Management: Songbird mortality due to Dutch elm disease control • 1961 Cranbrook Institute of Science: Bird mortality in Dutch elm disease program • 1965 Science: Bird mortality after spraying for Dutch elm disease with DDT • 1979 Environmental Conservation: Environmental implications of Dutch elm disease • 1999 Forestry Chronicle: The American elm and Dutch elm disease Scientific Journal Articles: Trees • 2020 Ecosystems: Impact of exotic pathogens on US trees – Science: Commentary on this article • 2023 Journal of Forestry: An overview of the problem: trees under attack Special: Newsclips About Tucson's Aleppo Pines • 2014: Beetles ravaging Tucson's big pines • 2015: Bark beetles have spread to Aleppo pines in Green Valley • 2015: Pine engraver beetles in the low elevation Sonoran Desert in Tucson • 2018: Tree by tree, Tucson losing big shade trees • 2018: Fungus might be involved in Aleppo pine needle problems • 2022: Southern Arizona SAF field trip video (11:08 min.) • Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on lecture and readings, how might lessons of the Perfect Trees apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Editing down existing video footage • See the Rex Mann talk in the Chestnut assets • Add name and affiliation • Clip and modify down to 1:00 min. • Expert statement by Zoom Assignment • Produce a short (1:00 min.) video of yourself giving an expert statement, with title text and "switching" views |
| 6 Feb 19 & 21 |
• Timothy Egan: The Big Burn (UA Library E757 E325 2010) – Chapter 19: Ashes – Timothy Egan: Author's website – Environmental History: Review of "The Big Burn" – New York Times: Review of "The Big Burn" • Philip Connors: Fire Season: Field Notes From a Wilderness Lookout (UA Library SD421.25.C66 A3 2011, Special Collections; also available in Pima County Library) – Philip Conners: Author's website – Western American Literature: Review of "Fire Season" • Stephen Arno & Carl Fiedler: Mimicking Nature's Fire (UA Library SD387.F52 A76 2005, and Paul has a copy) – Stephen Arno: Author's website – Carl Fiedler: Author's website – Quarterly Review of Biology: Review of "Mimicking Nature's Fire" – Ecological Restoration: Review of "Mimicking Nature's Fire" – Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society: Review of "Mimicking Nature's Fire" • Jim Petersen: First, Put Out the Fire (Paul has a copy) – Jim Petersen: Author's website • Daniel Mathews: Trees In Trouble (Tucson/Pima County Library) Popular Magazine Articles • National Geographic (October 1899): Pinchot: Forests and fire • National Geographic (January 1911): Protecting forests from fires • National Geographic (July 1912): Graves: The fight against forest fires • National Geographic (July 1946): Fire lookouts • National Geographic (July 1968): The 1967 fire year • National Geographic (February 1989): The 1988 Yellowstone Fire • National Geographic (September 1996): Fire—A new awareness • National Geographic (March 1999): El Niño/La Niña • National Geographic (July 2008): The West—Always on fire now • National Geographic (April 2021): Where there's fire, there's smoke • Smithsonian (January 1994): Where there's Smokey, there's never any fire • Scientific American (April 1917): What to do to prevent enormous forest-fire losses • Trail Guide: The Pulaski Tunnel (Wallace, Idaho) Guide • Atlas Obscura: The Pulaski Tunnel Trail • Wikipedia: Big forest fires in US history • Wikipedia: The 1871 Peshtigo Fire, deadliest fire in US history • Wikipedia: The 1894 Hinckley Fire, another notorious fire • Wikipedia: Gifford Pinchot • Wikipedia: The 1910 Big Burn • Wikipedia: Wildfire suppression in the US • Wikipedia: Fire lookout (the staffers) • Wikipedia: Fire lookout (the towers) • Wikipedia: The Osborne Firefinder • Fire Lookouts: Forest Fire Lookout Association – Mt. Lemmon: The Lemmon Rock Lookout • Forest History Society: US Forest Service fire suppression • Forest History Society: 2020 lecture by Stephen Pyne, on the Pyrocene • Wikipedia: 1911 Weeks Act • Wikipedia: 2003 Healthy Forest Initiative (Act) • SAF 2017 National Convention: Introductory video • TED Talk 2017: Why wildfires have gotten worse – and what can be done about it • Web News 2020: Back to 100% fire suppression due to the corona virus • PBS Newshour 2020 (August): California, on fire once again • Paul's fire lookout video 2020: The Hyde Peak, AZ, Lookout (12:49 min.) • University of Idaho 2021: Utilizing small-diameter logs for a major building project • ABC News 2021: Flocks of sheep are the firefighting solution we never knew we needed • US Forest Service 2021: Tribal and Indigenous Fire Tradition • Ruff Grouse Society 2021: Importance of Young Forests (footage of feller-bunchers in action) • LA Times 2021: A "seismic shift" in the battle against forest fire • US Forest Service 2022: Thinned forests are healthy forests – Be sure to click on the pub "Confronting the Wildfire Crisis," really good discussion and images • US Forest Service 2024: Wildfire Scientific Journal Articles • USDA 1905: Gifford Pinchot's Primer on Forestry • Leopold 1920: Aldo Leopold: Argument against "Piute Forestry" (light burning) • Journal of Forestry 1935: Ellers Koch: An opinion about fire suppression • Ecology 2005: US forest fire policy • Ecology 2010: Global CO2 from forest fires – Paul's take on this paper (3:16 min.) • Science Findings 2020: Can prescribed fire work? • Forestry Source 2021: Western wildfire: what a mess, and how to get out of it • Forestry Source 2021: Stephen Pyne: The Big Blowback (not Blowup, a play on words) • Fire Management Today 2021: Stephen Arno: Early ponderosa pine (historic photos) Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on lecture and readings, how might lessons of the Forest Fire apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Extracting assets from a reading • Using the 2023 JoF article on forest/tree pathogens, we'll extract an asset and insert it in a video Assignment • Practice today's technique on any reading you wish from the reading list for this course • Submit a practice clip 1 minute long of a newly acquired asset – Include circles and/or underlines following your narration. |
| 7 Feb 26 & Feb 28 |
• Lydia Denworth: Toxic Truth—A Scientist (Clair Patterson), a Doctor (Herb Needleman), and the Battle Over Lead (ILL, or online) – Online review of "Toxic Truth" – Review of "Toxic Truth" • Mona Hanna-Attisha: What the Eyes Don't See (ILL, or online) – Chapter 11: Public Health Enemy #1 – Mona Hanna-Attisha: Author's website – Wikipedia: Mona Hanna-Attisha – 2019 Award: "What the Eyes Don't See" named Great Michigan Read – 2020 (August) The Guardian: Michigan to pay $600 million to victims of Flint – 2020 (August) PBS Newshour: Interview of Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha of Flint • Beth Gardiner: Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution (Pima Co. Library, or online) – Chapter 8: Reluctant Innovators: Automakers – Choked: The book website – The Guardian: Review of Choked – NPR: Interview with the author (~5:30 minutes) • The Nation (March 20, 2000): The Secret History of Lead, Jamie Lincoln Kitman – Not a book exactly, but a lengthy, comprehensive article on the chronology of environmental lead – Essential reading for lead – The Nation (2001): "We're pleased to announce that Jamie Lincoln Kitman's special report, "The Secret History of Lead" (March 20, 2000), has been awarded the Investigative Reporters and Editors' highest honor for 2000: the IRE Medal. The IRE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting, singled out Kitman's revelations of continuing sales of leaded gas to the Third World after it was banned in the United States in 1986 and said that his report "reads like a classic turn-of-the-century muckraking piece..... The research manifested here is nothing short of breathtaking." Popular Magazine Articles • National Geographic (June 1995): Lead Pollution • National Geographic (September 1927): Ethyl Lead • National Geographic Online (February 2024): Lead and human health, still • Smithsonian (): • Natural History (): • Newsweek (July 15, 1991): Lead and Your Kids • Wikipedia: Alice Hamilton • Wikipedia: Claire Patterson • Wikipedia: Herbert Needleman • Wikipedia: Lead (Pb) • Wikipedia: Lead poisoning (plumbism) • Wikipedia: The Clean Air Act • Youtube: Lead for life: the history of leaded gasoline, an excerpt (~11.5 minutes) • Youtube: Let them eat lead (~15.5 minutes) • John Oliver: Lead (~18.5 minutes, with profanity) • PBS Newshour: Lead in Newark's water (7.5 min.) • Pima County: Department of Environmental Quality Air Monitoring • Doonesbury (1982): Relevant cartoons • Another lead cartoon • Bruce Lanphear: Crime of the Century: A video on the lead story (8:32 min.) • Veritasium (2022): Killing the Most People in History: Another video on lead (24:56 min.) Scientific Journal articles • 1931 British Medical Journal: Cumulative effects of infinitesimal doses of lead • 1965 Archives of Environmental Health: Contaminated and natural lead environments of man • 1969 Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta: Lead in Greenland ice • 1979 New England Journal of Medicine: Reduced performance of children with elevated lead – 1979 New England Journal of Medicine: Editorial about Needleman et al. – 1979 New England Journal of Medicine: Commentary and response on Needleman et al. – A correction to Needleman et al. (1979) was published in 1994, appended to the original article – 1993 Ethics & Behavior: On being a whistleblower: The Needleman case • 1983 Lead vs. Health: Trends in blood lead levels in the US from 1976 to 1980 • 1985 American Journal of Public Health: A "Gift of God": Leaded gasoline • 1987 Pediatrics: Pediatric lead poisoning—The silent epidemic continues • 1990 New England Journal of Medicine: Long-term effects of exposure to low doses of lead in childhood • 1990 Environmental Pollution: The Alice Hamilton Lecture: Lead and Human Health • 2000 Environmental Research: Removal of lead from gasoline • 2002 Neurotoxicology and Teratology: Bone lead levels in adjudicated delinquents • 2005 International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health: Lead in gasoline, a public health disaster • 2016 American Journal of Pediatric Health: Elevated blood lead levels in children of Flint, Michigan • 2017 Environmental Health Perspectives: Herbert Needleman, in memoriam • 2020 EOS: Leaded soil endangers residents in New York neighborhoods • 2021 Environmental Health Perspectives: 40 years of data: lead in children has declined, a lot • 2022 Environmental Health Perspectives: Identifying lead hotspots for children Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on lecture and readings, how might lessons of Lead apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Editing video clips • Adding text to video • Strategic use of the crop tool Assignment • Practice adding bullet-point text, one line at a time, timed with narration – As always, add some background music – And don't forget sound effects • Submit a short (1 minute) example through D2L |
| March 2-10: Spring Break, no classes • 1-page book reviews should be turned in by now, through D2L | |
| 8 Mar 11 & 13 |
• Carol Steinhart & John Steinhart: Blowout: The 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill (UA Library: GC1556 .S74) – Science: Review of Blowout – Human Ecology: Review of Blowout • Riki Ott: Not One Drop: The 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (ILL, or online) – Especially Part Four: New Beginnings, a big picture view of oil – Wikipedia: Riki Ott – Youtube: Riki Ott, on the Exxon Valdez and "Not One Drop" (8:30 minutes) – GoodReads: Review of "Not One Drop" – Resilience: Review of "Not One Drop" – Publishers Weekly: Review of "Not One Drop" • John Konrad & Tom Shroder: Fire on the Horizon: The Untold Story of the 2010 Gulf Oil Disaster (UA Library: HD7269.P42 M615 2011) – NPR Weekend Edition: Interview of John Konrad, "Fire on the Horizon" (5:00 minutes) – Youtube: Movie trailer, "Fire on the Horizon" (2:15 minutes) – GoodReads: Review of "Fire on the Horizon" – Kirkus: Review of "Fire on the Horizon" Popular News/Magazine Articles • National Geographic (July 1901): Early oil in California and Texas • National Geographic (July 1978): Oil tankers, and the Amoco Cadiz • National Geographic (August 1989): Exxon Valdez, immediate impacts • National Geographic (January 1990): Exxon Valdez, one year later • National Geographic (March 1999): Exxon Valdez, ten years later • National Geographic (May 2017): Protesting against the Dakota Access Pipeline • National Op-ed (January 2024): Bridging the energy gap • Smithsonian (): • Natural History (): • Wikipedia: 1859: Drake, first oil drill in America • Wikipedia: 1859: Pennsylvania oil rush • Wikipedia: Oil Spill • Wikipedia: List of oil spills worldwide • Wikipedia: Lakeview Gusher (Kern County, CA), 1910 • Wikipedia: Greenpoint (Brooklyn), 1940s-1950s • Wikipedia: Santa Barbara, 1969 • Wikipedia: Corinthos (Delaware River), 1975 • Wikipedia: Pipeline accidents, 1969 (from here, click on any year) • Wikipedia: The Trans Alaska Pipeline, commissioned 1977 • Wikipedia: Exxon Valdez, 1989 • Wikipedia: Gulf War Oil Spill, 1991 • Wikipedia: Drill Baby Drill • Wikipedia: Deepwater Horizon, 2010 • Wikipedia: Orange County, 2021 • Newsweek 2022: Oil spill in Tennessee, 2022 • Wikipedia: Trans-Alaska Pipeline • Wikipedia: Keystone Pipeline – News (2022): Biggest spill in Keystone Pipeline history – NPR (2022): Why this Keystone Pipeline spill is so bad • Wikipedia: Dakota Access Pipeline • Wikipedia: 2010 Kalamazoo Pipeline spill • Wikipedia: Underground storage tanks • Wikipedia: Drilling ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) • Wikipedia: Ships sunk in the Atlantic, World War II • Wikipedia: Ships sunk in the Pacific, World War II • Brilliant Maps: Global map of ships sunk during World War II • Wikipedia: Energy development (how human society powers itself) • World in Data: Energy sectors (page down to the first graph, click the "relative" button), and then move your cursor across the graph to get relative numbers by year) • Council of Foreign Relations: History of oil dependence • Stacker: History of US oil dependence • One Web site: Comparison of energy density across fuels • 60 Minutes: Exxon Valdez, 30 years later (13:30 minutes) • Youtube: Top 10 oil spills (8:45 minutes) • Youtube: The Day the Water Died: Exxon Valdez (28:37 minutes) • Youtube: 2010 Deepwater Horizon (25:50 minutes) • Youtube: Deepwater Horizon, 5 years later (10:24 minutes) • Youtube: Deepwater Horizon, 5 years later, wildlife (5:52 minutes) • Youtube: Deepwater Horizon, the cost of silence (public health issues) (5:19 minutes) • Youtube (2006): President George Bush's State of the Union Address, commenting on America's addiction to oil and how to get unstuck (first 1:30 min. is relevant): • Wikipedia: Bush's 2006 State of the Union Address is verifiable here • Youtube: 2022: a pipeline spill in Illinois (2:21 minutes) • LA Times: The 1990 American Trader (Huntington Beach) Spill • California Fish & Wildlife: The 1990 American Trader (Huntington Beach) Spill • Civil Beat (2020): Oil leaks constantly from the USS Arizona • CBS online (2021): Reaction to pausing the Keystone XL Pipeline (video, 4:39 long, with pros and cons) • J.D. Crowe (2016): Multiple comics on the 2010 Gulf oil spill • Bizarro (2022): A comic on oil spills • GCaptain (2022): The longest running oil spill in US history • Letters to the Editor (2023): UA students thinking critically about oil US Dept. of Energy • US DoE: The US Dept. of Energy has a wealth of information – Energy Sources: A definitive list – Fuel Cells: A definitive explanation – Hydrogen Production: A definitive explanation • Wikipedia: Hydrogen fuel Nuclear Fusion • Wikipedia: Nuclear fusion • ASME: The cold fusion debacle of 1989 • AP News (2022): A breakthrough on nuclear fusion • Wired (2022): An intractable problem with nuclear fusion • Financial Times (2022): Nuclear fusion: A matter of when, not if • Youtube (2022): Neil deGrasse Tyson on nuclear fusion (12:52 min.) • IAEA: Nuclear fusion, why it is difficult to achieve – AP (February, 2022): Progress in nuclear fusion research – 60 Minutes (January, 2023): Nuclear fusion (13:10 min.) Scientific Journal articles • 1991 International Oil Spill Conference: Clean up response to the 1990 American Trader spill • 2012 History Today: Power to Power: A history of oil • 2018 Occupational Environmental Health: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Coast Guard Cohort Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on lecture and readings, how might lessons of Oil Spills apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Audio editing of a multi-person voiceover – Watch in-class demo in our D2L Contents tab Assignment • Submit a 1-minute multi-person voiceover through D2L |
| 9 Mar 18 & 20 |
• Stewart Udall: The Quiet Crisis (UA Special Collections, or ILL, or online) – Science: Review of "Quiet Crisis" – Kirkus Reviews: Review of "Quiet Crisis" – Wikipedia: The Myth of Superabundance – Wikipedia: Stewart Udall • Beth Gardiner: Choked (Pima Co. Public Library, or online) – Chapter 7: The 1970 Clean Air Act – Chapter 9: Los Angeles Roads • Michael Mann: The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines (UA Library) – Publisher: Publisher's blurb for Climate Wars – The Atlantic (2013): Review of Climate Wars – Slate (2012): Review of Climate Wars – Wikipedia: Michael E. Mann • Michael Mann: The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back the Planet (UA Library) – Publisher: Publisher's blurb for New Climate War – Science (2021): Review of New Climate War – New Zealand International Review (2022): Review of New Climate War – Issues in Science and Technology (2021): Review of New Climate War – Natural Resources Forum (2021): Review of New Climate War • Michael Mann and Tom Toles: The Madhouse Effect (ILL) – International Journal of Environmental Studies (2020): Review of Madhouse Effect – Nature (2016): Review of Madhouse Effect – Skeptical Inquirer (2017): Review of Madhouse Effect Popular Magazine Articles • 2016 Climate Home News: Early awareness of CO2 as a greenhouse gas • 2012 LA Times: Dust Bowl lessons for global warming • 2013 Denver Post: Dust Bowl, global warming, sustainability • National Geographic (November 2015): Cool It! (entire issue is options for dealing with global warming) • National Geographic (April 2017): Climatic Change—7 Things to Know • National Geographic (July 2018): Climate—The more things change … • National Geographic (November 2020): COVID impacts on global warming • National Geographic (March 2021): Unnatural natural disasters • National Geographic (April 2021): The 1970 Clean Air Act, a magnificent achievement • National Geographic (July 2021): Too hot to live? • Deloitte (2022): Projected cost of doing nothing: $178 trillion • Global Warming Status Quo: A comic • Global Warming Distractions: A comic • Global Warming Impacts: A comic (web source) • Smithsonian (): • Natural History (): • Newsclip (January 2021): Oil companies lock in drilling permits, challanging Biden on global warming • 60 Minutes (February 14, 2021): Interview with Bill Gates on humanity taking on global change (13:27 min) • AZ Daily Star (January 29, 2022): No meaningful change for at least 30 years • The Atlantic: Solving global warming • A cartoon: Modest Action Man (lower right panel, most relevant) • A cartoon: Distractions • A cartoon: Even more distractions • A cartoon: Yet more distractions Scientific Journal Articles • 1978 American Scientist: The lessons of the Dust Bowl • 2002 The Futurist: Extreme weather on the horizon • 2012 Ecology and Society: Avoiding environmental catastrophes • 2012 History Today: Power to Power: A history of oil • 2014 Population and Environment: Dust Bowl lessons • 2018 IPCC: Chapter 13: International policy (check out executive summary) • 2023 UA College of Science (video): Jessica Tierney: Why Is Climate Change a Problem? (start at 32:20 min.) A Success Story: Avoiding the Ozone Hole, and Saving the Planet • Wikipedia: The Montreal Protocol • 2019 PBS: Ozone Hole: How We Saved the Planet (56 min.), available for viewing here by affiliates of the UA Assignment • Small group: begin producing video, be ready to show a draft on "draft" day • Others: 1-page single-spaced essay with 5+ sources cited – Based on readings, how might lessons of your "other" catastrophe (Week 1) apply to Global Warming? – Submit through D2L Wednesday: Creating a text block for rolling credits (sources cited, in our case) • Tutorial: Rolling credits Assignment • Stuff a lot of text (your literature cited text) into a scrolling box; stretch it out to exactly 30 seconds and practice making it look good. Submit through D2L. |
| 10 Mar 25 & 27 |
Assignment • The all-important opening sequence, various Ken Burns examples: – Civil War opening (4:00) – Vietnam opening (3:05) – Statue of Liberty opening (up till 0:30) – College Behind Bars trailer (~6:30) – Hemingway trailer (~0:30) – Muhammad Ali trailer (~0:30) – Baseball trailer (~1:00) – Benjamin Franklin trailer (~0:30) – National Parks trailer (~2:00, ignore the subtitles) – Country Music trailer (~2:00) • Sheila Bernard: Documentary Storytelling: Creative Nonfiction on Screen – Relevant pages – This text has specific philosophies about opening sequences of archival video documentaries • Other video production issues/ideas? Wednesday: Zoom session with an expert: TBD • This class session will be 100% online, please join using the Zoom url for this course Assignment • The relevant video team can begin video editing the saved video for the usual short expert statements • Otherwise, no specific assignment to turn in for this class session |
| 11 Apr 1 & 3 |
Monday: Open for more storyboard development Wednesday: Zoom session with an expert: TBD • This class session will be 100% online, please join using the Zoom url for this course Assignment • The relevant video team can begin video editing the saved video for the usual short expert statements • Otherwise, no specific assignment to turn in for this class session |
| 12 Apr 8 & 10 |
Monday: Open for more storyboard development • View Paul's intro video Wednesday: Zoom session with an expert: TBD • This class session will be 100% online, please join using the Zoom url for this course Assignment • The relevant video team can begin video editing the saved video for the usual short expert statements • Otherwise, no specific assignment to turn in for this class session |
| 13 Apr 15 & 17 |
Monday: Open for more storyboard development and/or video editing Wednesday: Zoom session with an expert: TBD • Team project tutorial • Team project tutorial Assignment • The relevant video team can begin video editing the saved video for the usual short expert statements • Otherwise, no specific assignment to turn in for this class session |
| Special: Apr 19 |
• The Lemmon Lookout is iconic, well worth visiting • Leave LTRR at noon, return at 4:00 PM • Sign up in D2L to indicate interest |
| 14 Apr 22 & 23 |
Monday: Open for more video editing consulting Wednesday: Zoom session with an expert: TBD |
| 15 Apr 29 & May 1 |
Monday: Export and test run videos Wednesday: In-class Premiere of Final Videos, Open to Guests • Each student: Attend in person, and bring at least one guest • Optional poll of visitors: Based on student videos, which "catastrophe" merits the moniker, Worst Ever? |