Course Syllabus

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EARTH/ ENVIRON 380: Natural Resources, Economics and the Environment [Fall 2015]

Tuesday 10:00-11:00 AM (CCL5501) and Wednesday 5:00-6:00 PM (CCL 5501)

GSI: Brian A. Konecke

Email: bkonecke@umich.edu

Office hours: Monday 5:00-6:00 PM (CCL 2502) and Friday 2:00-3:00 PM (CCL 2512)

Other GSIs and office hours:

James Jolles: jjolles@umich.edu (Mon 1-2 pm in 2512 and Tues 11 am-12 pm in 2512)

Nikita La Cruz: nlacruz@umich.edu (Tues 2:30-3:30 pm in 2512; Fri 9-10 am in 2512)

Evan Killeen: ekille@umich.edu (Mon 2-3 pm in 5501; Thurs 10-11 am in 5501)

Overview:

            This discussion serves to assist you in the completion of your term project, which will be to conduct a comprehensive assessment of switching the University of Michigan “off the electricity grid.” Each week you will participate in activities that will work toward the goal of a final project that fully describes the feasibility of UM becoming electricity independent. Every week, your output and a report must be submitted via our Canvas site 24 hours before we meet the next week. For example, if your Discussion section meets on Tuesday at 5pm, then you must upload your assignment by 5pm on Monday. You will automatically lose 10% of the points for any assignment that is submitted late. It is your responsibility to submit assignments. It is your responsibility to ensure adequate internet connection. Canvas automatically records the date and time of your submission. Canvas does not make mistakes.

Policies:

            It is absolutely critical that you attend the Discussion section each week. As previously mentioned, there is an assignment due almost every week, and your ability to complete the assignment is predicated on attending Discussion. If you miss Discussion, it is your responsibility to communicate with me about the possibility of attending another Discussion section that week. This does not mean that you can choose to change your discussion section in this way. You will only be allowed to attend another Discussion section if the course instructor and I determine that your reason for missing your discussion section is valid. If you do not attend Discussion, and you do not complete and submit the assignment on time, you will earn a zero (0%) for that assignment.

            This class fulfills the Upper Level Writing Requirement and as such, you will turn in a written report each week. All submissions are graded for substantive content, grammar, spelling, style and plagiarism. Your GSI will return your report with suggestions to improve it both substantively and stylistically. You must revise your report and re-submit via Canvas within one week of receiving comments from your GSI. Please remember to maintain academic integrity as any student who engages in academic misconduct will be referred to the Dean of Undergraduate Education. Also, please note that when an assignment requires 2 pages, that means 2 full pages with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced exactly with 0-point spacing before/after each line. Please do not bend the rules or cut corners. The grading rubric can be found on the next page of this Discussion syllabus.

            If my office hours do not fit your schedule, feel free to seek assistance via email or by attending another GSI’s office hours. We are here to help you understand this material so that you do well in the class but the onus is also on you to seek assistance if needed.

Discussion Syllabus/Schedule: all dates are absolutely fixed

Required submission dates/times refer to your writing assignments and computer products.

Week

Week

Discussion Topic

Assignment

 

9/6

No Discussion Sections This Week

N/A

1

9/13

Intro to GeoPlanner; solar footprints

GeoPlanner scenarios (2 minimum); 2-page write-up that fully explains the solar footprint scenarios, including an evaluation of the costs (trade-offs) for implementation; this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets

2

9/20

Diurnal realities; nameplate vs. actual; alternative electricity source(s)

2-page (minimum) write-up that explains the alternative electricity resources; how they work; what do they require; land footprint; wind speeds; tidal speeds, etc.; full technical evaluation; this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets

3

9/27

Reality of adding the alternative electricity sources; technical feasibility vs. practicality

GeoPlanner scenarios (2 minimum) combining solar and wind; 2-page write-up that fully explains the solar footprint scenarios, including an evaluation of the costs (trade-offs) for implementation; this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets

4

10/4

Carbon offsets for solar and wind; life cycle carbon analysis;

Evaluate the carbon savings of your electricity scenarios (2 minimum). Compare/contrast with traditional electricity generation (coal, natural gas, nuclear, hydro); this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets

5

10/11

Capital costs of your renewable electricity infrastructure

Present and describe a realistic cost estimate for your two electricity scenarios (solar + wind); optimize your mix of solar plus wind to achieve; discuss financing this project vs. savings from not paying DTE; this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets

 

10/18

No Discussion Sections This Week

Fall Break

6

10/25

Students make short 2-3 minute presentation on their best cost estimate for preferred solar/wind mix; How do you pay for your project?; how does UM finance capital projects; route for approval; DTE savings;

2-3 page cost estimate that describes details for all costs associated with building preferred mix of renewable electricity infrastructure; this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets

7

11/1

Teach concept of StoryMap; start building StoryMap that presents students complete plan for developing her/his preferred renewable electricity infrastructure; Learn to import from GeoPlanner into StoryMap;

Work on StoryMap.

8

11/8

Troubleshoot development of StoryMaps

Final StoryMap draft; this must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets.

9

11/15

First presentation in Discussion; should be a complete StoryMap

Edit StoryMap based on comments from classmates and GSI;

 

11/22

No Discussion Sections This Week

Thanksgiving Break, November 27, 28, Thursday-Friday

10

11/29

Final Presentation of StoryMap; students vote on best plan for installing solar/wind infrastructure to eliminate purchased electricity from DTE;

Final StoryMap must be submitted online by uploading it to Canvas 24 hours before your discussion section meets.

11

12/6

Discuss additional realities of natural resources required for solar plus wind;

 

 

12/13

No Discussion Sections This Week

 

 

Discussion Grade

            Your earned grade in Discussion will constitute 25% of your total earned grade for the entire course. There are six (6) weekly projects and then two iterations of the final StoryMap. The six weekly projects are individually worth 10 points for a total of 60 points. The point breakdown for individual weekly projects is detailed below. The first StoryMap draft that you will submit the week of November will be worth 15 points, and the second StoryMap draft that you will submit the week of November 29 will be worth 25 points. Prior to construction of your StoryMap, you will receive a Rubric that will be used for grading those projects.

Grading Rubric for Discussion Projects.

 

Points Earned

Points Possible

Turned in 24 hours before discussion section

 

1

Content, Style, Grammar

 

6

Resubmitted with revisions addressed

 

3

Total

 

10

 

 

 

Course Summary:

Course Summary
Date Details Due