This document provides an overview of an 8-week ecology course consisting of 8 units covering topics like populations, communities, and human ecology. It notes that each unit will have explicit learning objectives. It also shares some details about the students taking the course, including that the average one-way commute to campus is 20 miles, resulting in over 1,000 kg of carbon dioxide emissions across all students for the semester. This is almost as much as each student exhales in a year through respiration. The document emphasizes that individual activities can collectively threaten ecosystems, and ecologically-conscious decisions are needed.

1. Fundamentals of Ecology: A Preface Dann Sklarew, Ph.D. June 9, 2010

2. Elements of Ecology, 7th Ed. Overview One session for each of these 8 units: I. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT II. THE ORGANISM AND ITS ENVIRONMENT III. POPULATIONS IV. SPECIES INTERACTIONS V. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY VI. ECOSYSTEM ECOLOGY VII. BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ECOLOGY VIII. HUMAN ECOLOGY For each unit, we’ll have explicit learning objectives upon which to focus, instead of digesting every word.

3. About you… Of8students to respond to the pre-test:

4. An eco-knowledgeable Irony… 3/6“Somewhat confident” scored lower than 2 “not at all confident” on the 8 pre-test knowledge questions. Average score for ea. group the same: 1.5/4.0 One “not-at-all” got 2 questions perfect. One “somewhat” got 3 Q’s perfect! No one else got ANY question perfect. And not-at-alls get better gas mileage: 30 vs. 22 mpg!

5. More about you… All but 1 of first 10 responding students drove here: No MPG provided 1-way Distance Commute to Mason (miles)

6. Human Economy of Hydrocarbons Ave. 1-way trip to Mason (miles): 20 Ave. MPG: 24 Thus, gallons of gas per 2–way trip: 1.7 In dollars, at $2.85/gal (cf. metrobus/metrorail): $4.82 In greenhouse gas emissions (kg CO2e*): 15.6 Across 8 weeks x 8 students (gal): 108 In dollars: $308 In GHG emissions (kg CO2e): 1,001 vs. Dist. Ed. electricity (80 Kwh), in dollars: $6.83 in kg eCO2* 275 * Electricity usage estimates and eCO2 conversion factors courtesy of Erik Tucker, BIOL/EVPP607 Course Project, Summer 2009

7. So what???

8. Human ecology of hydrocarbons Each driver’s semester-long commute would produce on average 125 kg CO2e. Average human respiration produces about 145.6 kg CO2e per year.* So, each of our car’s exhaust alone this semester would have emitted almost as much CO2e as we each exhale in an entire year! This exemplifies the disproportionate ecological impact of each of our individual activities on local through global scales. Without ecologically-conscientious decisions and actions, we collectively threaten individual organisms, populations, species, ecological communities, ecosystems and potentially our entire planet’s life support system. (That’s a key sub-text for the next8weeks…) * Source: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread278647/pg1

9. So, don’t hold your breath… Here we go…!  Syllabus and web site preview  Review of Pre-Test / Overview of Course ☐Now continue through our Session 01 Plan and Learning objectives. Good luck!!