The purpose of this resource is to measure and classify the plant life at a Land Cover Site to help determine the MUC classification.

A weekly bioregion homework assignment exploring for the student local landscape changes. What were the past natural conditions and native uses to todays uses, as well as projected changes in the coming decades.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The purpose of this resource is to quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of a classification system. Students sort birds into three possible classes based on each bird's beak: carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores. Students compare their answers with a given set of validation data.

In the activity students learn about the properties of solutions, acidity and pH, electrolytes versus non-electrolytes, and solution concentration. Hopefully, this activity will also dispel common misconceptions about tap water and bottled beverages.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In association with rock and mineral ID tables, this lab introduces students to basic rocks and minerals via grouping and comparison, rather than as individual samples. I use this lab in my environmental geology course, where we don't have enough lab time to examine each set of rocks and minerals separately, but students need a basic familiarity with these materials and a context in which to place them. I find these groupings teach them how to look at rocks and minerals and give them the cursory experience identifying geologic materials necessary to go on successfully in the course.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This assignment, depending on the level and depth of implementation, seeks to challenge students by asking them to look beyond "greenwashed" advertisements and buzzwords to grapple with what sustainability means, whether it can be achieved, and what kinds of questions communities must confront in a search for sustainability.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN MADE ON CANVA APP EXPLAINING THE PRINCIPLE BEHIND CHERNOBYL DISASTER ITS EFFECT AND AFTERMATH

There is growing body of evidence to support that students who directly experience authentic scientific research are more likely to continue onto advanced degrees and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). In an effort to introduce more students to the benefits of scientific research we have drawn on an ongoing research project aimed at understanding how Corals Respond to the Environment (CRE) to develop an interdisciplinary laboratory course based on Authentic Research Experiences (ARE). A small cohort of undergraduate students enrolled in a semester-long course, entitled CREARE, perform biochemical experiments in the laboratory, analyze environmental data by R statistical software and prepared a report modeled after a research manuscript to present their work. The impact of CREARE on student learning gains and attitudes towards science is being measured, as is the impact of CREARE on participants' career choices and retention in STEM. This multidisciplinary research program addresses the impact of climate change on the health of a critically endangered coral species, ultimately leading to a better stewardship of this invaluable resource. Furthermore, CREARE offers a unique experience for students, one that may serve as a model for the development of more research-based courses, leading to improved retention in our STEM departments.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Sequence of laboratory activities to develop familiarity with geochemistry bench laboratory experimental methods; demonstration of different weathering rates of different Ca-bearing minerals; connection between minerals present in a system and nutrient (Ca) availability

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This in class activity allows students to calculate rates of change from graphs of glacial-interglacial temperatures and CO2 and modern temperatures and CO2.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this lab activity, students learn about the relationships between sea level and glaciers during glacial and interglacial periods. First the students need to calculate the maximum sea level rise assuming all water stored in glaciers and ice caps will melt. Then, they are asked to calculate the ice sheet distribution during the last glacial maxima based on the information that sea level dropped by 125 m.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

The purpose of this exercise is to understand the capability and limitations of several instruments (AA, ICP-OES, ICP-MS) used for geochemical analysis. Students compare and contrast the cost, detection limits, etc. of these instruments.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

In this video segment adapted from NOVA, find out how cars made of a material stronger than steel and half the weight can help combat climate change.

In this assignment, students in small groups are asked to interpret and explain a figure depicting one aspect of marine carbon biogeochemistry. Then a representative of each group explains the figure to the class.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This multi-term assignment introduces students to local indigenous stories, significant plants and animals of our region and some basic skills in reading animal tracks and signs.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Compiled and modified for instructional use by: Kate Darby, Western Washington University
In 1887, Robert Towne built a metals smelter two and a half miles northwest of El Paso, Texas, across the river from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and across the state border from several small towns in New Mexico. The smelter, which processed metal ore from regional mines, was quickly acquired by ASARCO (American Smelting and Refining Company) and became an important visual and economic institution in the region. In 1967, following the mantra of environmental regulation at the time—"the solution to pollution is dilution"—ASARCO erected what was then the tallest smokestack in the world: an 828-foot structure visible from much of the region. While the facility provided jobs to many in the region and produced metals important for a range of manufacturing and consumer products, by the 1970s, residents and scientists began to question the other products from the smelter—especially heavy metals pollution.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

Compiled and modified for instructional use by: Lisa Phillips, Illinois State University, llphill@ilstu.edu
On September 10, 2012, several million southern California residents reacted with alarm to an unfamiliar noxious scent. The Air Quality Management District officials in the Los Angeles region were initially at a loss to determine the odor's source. Investigators from Ventura to Palm Springs looked for toxic spills, sewage plant leaks, and gas line breaks—all for naught.

The smell's origin was the Salton Sea more than 150 miles away and not usually upwind. The smell of an algal bloom and subsequent massive fish kill released odor molecules redolent with the stench of environmental decay.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This case study is an examination of the chemical and sensory impacts of a variety of environmental issues including sand mining, leaking underground gasoline storage tanks (LUSTs), and a railroad.

Wedron is a small, unincorporated town of approximately 100 residents in north central Illinois. A large sand mine has been in operation on the south and west sides of the town for many decades, and the mine property includes several abandoned and active pits, a processing plant, and a train car loading facility. Railroad tracks are located along the east side of town as is a grain elevator (storage and loading facility).

The following information was obtained from the US EPA web site about Wedron, personal visits to the town, and published news articles.

This case study includes discussion questions and data sources for further information.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This is a 'citizen science' research project where students to apply their knowledge of landslide processes in an investigation of the natural and anthropogenic causes of a real-world landslide catastrophe. Students produce a 'magazine' article discussing the Zhouqu, China, August 8, 2010 landslide catastrophe.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

This video lesson aims to motivate students about chemistry and to raise their awareness about how chemistry helps in solving certain environmental problems. In this lesson, the air pollution problem created by cars and other vehicles is presented. The lesson will highlight causes of this problem, harmful products from it and possible solutions. There will also be discussion of ways to convert the pollutants produced by burning oil in vehicles into more friendly products.