What’s
New in GEOG 2412 Fall 2009
Last
week of class: We’re using the
See also
a brief guide and sample questions for the final exam. I’ll go over the full outline of material for
Exam 3 in a rapid review Thursday, and post the outline afterwards.---that outline is now posted on the class main web page. Extra
office hours Fri. 11-2, with a noon brown-bag review in the seminar room at
1333
Thur, Nov. 19: Answer keys for all three versions of exam 2 are now
on the main web page. Be sure to e-mail or see me if you have questions about
the exam or grading.
Have a
good fall break and Thanksgiving! Watch for news of the up-coming
Fri., Nov. 13: Exercise 6 is due in recitation next
week, and you will be introduced to the last exercise, Exercise
7, a synthesis essay due after Fall Break. The
instructions for Ex. 7 are now posted. Read Yamin et
al. on “Dangerous Climate Change” for next week.
Tue.,
Nov. 10: Start reading the Smith et al.
chapter 19 of the IPCC Impacts report (linked from syllabus). I had neglected
to point out what sections are most important (e.g., actually read them) so now
listed on syllabus and here:
Smith et al. “Vulnerability to Climate
Change, and Reasons for Concern: A Synthesis.”
www.colorado.edu/geography/class_homepages/geog_2412_f09/Smith
et al.pdf
Read sections:
19.1, skim 19.3; read 19.4; 19.5; 19.6 and 19.8
Sunday,
Nov 1: This week’s recitations are a chance to go over some background on the
Social Response to Global Warming for Ex. 6, which you’ll focus on next week,
as well as to discuss the coming Synthesis Essay. Don’t forget Exam 2 on Tuesday!
Thur., Oct. 29: Today’s lecture slides, the
last before Exam 2, are now posted. Be sure to read Kates et al., on
See
the main web page for sample questions and reminder of material to be covered
in the exam, which is on Tuesday in class.
If you’re interested in the levee problem of
N.O., see the Further Reading page for a link to a revealing,
independent engineering investigation.
Sunday,
Oct. 25: Study suggestions and sample questions are now posted for Exam 2.
Lecture concepts on natural hazards (10/27) and the Kates
et al reading on Hurricane Katrina (10/29) will also be covered in the exam.
Thur., Oct. 15; Today’s notes are now posted.
Note
the addition of the Judith Rees reading on the syllabus for today. This chapter
provides a good overview of basic natural resource concepts, and we will cover
them in class. Today we started on pp. 12-30, and we’ll be back here next
Tuesday—and make more links between these ideas and your exercise on
This
was a change in the syllabus, which I am trying to keep to a minimum. I still
need to settle on an intro reading for the human response to global warming and
hopefully we’ll have time to assess some of the late-breaking items, like the
Nature article on absolute global limits, and something that Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom has written about
how societies manage natural resources.
Tue,
Oct. 6; Please note, the grading breaks given for the first exam in class today
were wrong, and your score (number correct) should be divided by 30 (not 31) to
get percent right, and then first cut at letter grades are:
|
|
# correct |
% |
|
A |
27 |
90% |
|
B |
24 |
80% |
|
C |
21 |
70% |
|
D |
18 |
60% |
|
F |
<18 |
<60% |
Is
anybody out there? If you read this
message, let me know in class Thursday---wave, stand up, dance, or something.
Fri.,
Oct. 2: The first exam came in with an average score of
84%, just about right; most of you should get your exam results in recitation
next week. Look ahead at exercise 4.
Lecture
notes for next week are now posted. These are preliminary and final notes (not
much changed) will be posted after each lecture. Also, please read the
Millennium Ecosystem assessment sections 4.3, 4.4, and 4.6 as noted on the
syllabus. I have deleted the synthesis chapter from the Oct 8 to reduce the
reading.
Thur, Sept. 24; I placed final slides sets on the web
for all the classes that address Theme 2: Human transformation of Earth—Sept.
17, 22, and 24. This reduces repeats and makes flow of slides recapitulate flow
of lectures. I also put draft slides
up for Sept. 29, last class before first exam.
Tue.,
Sept. 22;
A
slightly revised set of sample exam questions, along with answers, is now
posted. Also on that sheet is a
reminder of what to study. The exam is next Thursday, Oct. 1, during the
regular class period.
Sun,
Sept. 12;
Sample
exam questions are now posted for the first exam, see link on main web
page. They’re posted without answers for your amusement, TAs have the answers, and we’ll go over them in class and
recitation (schedules will vary) before the first exam. Keep in mind that some
of the sample questions are for material we haven’t covered yet.
Fri.,
Sept. 4:
Final
notes for Sept 3 lecture, and the exercise for next week’s recitation are up on
the website, have a good 3-day weekend, and remember to attend an alternative
recitation next week if your’s is Monday (Labor Day)—you’ll get the intro to
exercise 1 that way. Let the TA know you’re there.
Tue.,
Sept. 1;
After
many requests I will change my approach and attempt to post the pdf of lecture
slides the day before that lecture. But, these are subject to change and the
final notes posted only after the lecture.
Friday,
Aug. 28:
You made it thru the first week of classes,
now have a good weekend!
We have added the list of TAs and recitations
to the class homepage, this will be useful a week from
now when those who have Monday sessions look for alternatives to make up for
labor Day.
Also, since I’ve mentioned several people,
ideas, and arguments (e.g., James Howard Kunstler’s
peak oil predictions) in lecture, I am putting links to them on the “Further Readings, Links, etc.” page, accessed from the home page
(last link on the list).
Welcome
to Geography 2412: Environment and Culture
The first lecture class is Tue., Aug. 25, 11
am in MUEN E050. Recitations do meet the
first week of class, so be sure to attend even if your recitation comes
before the first lecture.
The syllabus on this site may change slightly
before the first class, so be sure to use the up-dated version, but in the
meantime if you have found your way to this site the syllabus here will given you
details of what to expect, from the intro class to the final exam
PLEASE NOTE:
Use this website, not WebCT, for all course material, exercises, etc. The lecture notes, recitation assignments, office hrs, and e-mails of TAs will all be on this site. Lecture notes (pdf’s) will be posted soon after each lecture, though in some cases two lectures are covered in one set of notes.
Please use the web syllabus, it allows you to
open readings from the web, but if you want a hard copy I’ll bring a few to
class.
Prof. Bill Travis