Anderson - EES 397 Syllabus

Spring 2006

“Absorption of sunlight and the subsequent sequence of photochemical and thermochemical reactions in the chloroplasts of green plants are the most important energy conversions on the Earth.” Vaclav Smil, General Energetics, p. 38

Time: Thursdays, 12:30 0- 3:15
Location: 202 Winslow Hall
Instructor: Mark W. Anderson, Department of Resource Economics and Policy
Office: 305 Winslow Hall
Phone: 581-3198
email: Mark Anderson on FirstClass
Office Hours: Wednesday, 8:00 to noon.  Other times as available.

Course Purpose: To consider the links between human energy use and the natural environment in industrial societies of the 21st Century.

Texts:

• Smil, Vaclav.  2003.  Energy at the Crossroads:  Global Perspectives and Uncertainties.  Cambridge:  MIT Press. To be referred to as Smil 1.
• Smil, Vaclav.  2000.  Energies  An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization.  Cambridge:  MIT Press.  To be referred to as Smil 2.
• On library reserve:  McNeill, J.R.  2000.  Something New Under the Sun:  An Environmental History of the World.  New York:  W.W. Norton.
• On library reserve: Daly, Herman E.  (ed.).  1980.  Economics, Ecology, Ethics.  San Francisco:  W.H. Freeman.
• Other readings as assigned.
• And there are hundreds of useful websites, here a just a few of the better ones:
  • http://www.oilanalytics.org/index.html
  • http://www.doe.gov/engine/content.do
  • http://www.rmi.org/
  • http://www.hubbertpeak.com/
  • http://www.rff.org/Energy.cfm
  • http://www.bp.com/
  • http://www.oecd.org/
  • http://dieoff.com/

Grading:

Letter grades (no +/- grading) will be assigned based on the following class work:

Class discussions                        30%
Essay I                                      20%
Essay II                                    20%
Final Essay                                        30%     Due May 8

Writing Assignments:

Course Expectations:
What you can expect from me:
t       that the requirements of the course are made clear;
t       that I have thought about how what I ask you to read fits with what we do in class;
t       that I will design course work that fairly evaluates whether you have learned and can apply the material from the course;
t       to answer your questions in class and to be available outside of class as much as you need to meet your learning objectives;
t       to offer course materials in ways accessible to students with various learning styles.

What I expect from you:
t       that you will become familiar with the syllabus and take responsibility for knowing what you need to do in this class and when;
t       to read assignments before class;
t       to come to class prepared to discuss the reading assignments and to place them in the context of the material developed earlier in the semester.  Attendance is necessary, but not sufficient, to meet the participation requirement of this course.
t       to invest sufficient time throughout the semester to meet your learning objectives — the course is designed such that the average students will need to spend six to nine hours outside of class each week.

Class attendance policy:
You are expected to attend all class sessions and to be prepared to discuss the assigned readings for the day.

Reading Assignments and Class Topics:

This is the general grading rubric I will use for papers in this course.  This will give you an idea of what I believe is important.

This is the grading rubric for class participation.  Please note from this, attendance is necessary, but not sufficient, for participation.

Participation Grade: _________
Comments:

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