ENVR300T Final exam (take home)_2023
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ENVR 300T Fall 2023
Final Exam
Due: 12/16/2023 @ midnight
Directions:
While the format of this exam is, on the one hand, meant to spread a little Christmas
cheer, its main purpose is to get you thinking about how you might communicate sustainable agriculture science concepts to those who will have less background on the subject than you. Below you will respond to four questions posed in varying scenarios. I would like you to use technical terminology where appropriate, but you must define or explain these terms so that most
people could understand them. You are free to approach each question as you wish. For instance, you may prefer giving a broad overview, or focusing on a specific scenario/example. Either way, I’ll be looking for specific and well-explained evidence that backs up assertions you make.
Limit yourself to 700 - 900 words per question.
(This is between 1-2 pages single spaced
) Guidance from my past experiences grading these exams: Being overly vague, providing few details, adding a lot of ‘fluff’ to hit word counts, and very short responses do not typically meet full point expectations.
Limit yourself to 4 hours of direct effort.
You may have time here and there to think about your responses, but please spend no more than 4 hours actually writing. I will evaluate the exams with this in mind – I am not expecting a term paper – these are essays. In many of the scenarios I provide, the target audience won’t want to listen to a response that takes longer than 15-20 minutes to explain.
Use only the readings assigned in class (or documents from web resources I provided)
. If you include other sources, you would run the risk of quickly overwhelming yourself with new research. It should also go without saying, but I had this happen in the past, so a reminder: Absolutely no plagiarism – do not copy/paste text in as part of your response.
Cite your sources where appropriate.
To save time, (and assuming you will only use our course readings) provide only the lead author (or institution) and year of publication in parentheses after the section you want to cite. I’ll know who you are referring to. Please do not use direct quotes, make an effort to paraphrase (plus you probably wouldn’t be able to use direct quotes when talking to someone in each of the scenarios).
Yes, I know some of you may find these scenarios silly and unplausible, but please bear with me and use your imagination a little. These scenarios provide you with perfect opportunities to demonstrate to me you read and understood the material we recently covered and can apply the concepts from class into a real-world situation.
Questions on next page……
1. Climate Change
Sadly, there are some farmers and policy makers in Minnesota and across the U.S. who are under the impression climate change is not a significant concern to most farmers or it is a benefit to our farmers
because of the extended growing season and effects of elevated CO
2
on plant growth. Pretend you find yourself chatting with one of these individuals over Christmas break. Drawing upon what we learned in class, please provide a detailed and thorough rebuttal to this belief, and point out how climate change is actually negatively impacting agriculture. On a positive note, describe how it is possible for agriculture to help mitigate global climate change. (20 pts)
2. Urban agriculture
In the future, you find yourself elected to a city council in a metropolitan area. A local constituent brings up the fact that your city does not have any guidance or programs promoting urban agriculture
in your community. Some fellow council members question whether the city should even promote agriculture in your city, they said, “Isn’t that something for rural areas?”. Other council members have mixed understanding of what urban agriculture is (some think indoor farming operations, others
think urban garden spaces in open lots). Your task is to educate your fellow council members on the myriad of benefits potentially provided by urban agriculture (you want to convince them progressive urban agriculture policies and programs
are worthwhile). You will need to describe to them how different urban agriculture operations could exist (indoor vs. outdoor). Understanding that every urban agriculture set-up will likely encounter some challenges, provide a brief outline on what challenges you believe these urban ag operators may face and how the city could provide some guidance or assistance to overcome these barriers. Be sure to highlight how these solutions can provide sustainability to the environment and the community. (20 pts)
3. Ag Water Quality
Imagine a similar city council role as in Question 2. Your city gets its water from a local river and is eventually confronted with a problem of elevated nitrate in the water. Many of the sub-
watersheds upstream happen to be very agriculturally productive crop land. The city manager notifies the council that the water treatment facility simply cannot afford to run the nitrate filtration system for many days every year (costing millions of $$) and it would be wise (and a better use of money) for the problem to be addressed closer to the source. One of your fellow council members suggests the city sue the farmers upstream that contribute to the water quality issues. You happen to know several small farmers in those townships who already practice relatively good conservation practices. First, explain to your fellow council member why
it might
be unwise to use significant taxpayer dollars to launch a lawsuit against a broad group of farmers
upstream. Next, explain to them how a farmer practicing good stewardship practices upstream could contribute towards the nitrate contamination despite trying to do everything correctly (how/which variables can be out of a farmer’s control?). Finally, suggest several creative solutions on how you could promote better nitrate management practices in the farmland upstream. Make sure you explain what types of practices/infrastructure could be implemented and how
it could work to improve the water quality. (20 pts.)
4. Diet choice, organic food, human health, & agriculture
At a large family meal over the holiday break, dinner conversation sways to what is being served and
how it could impact our health and the environment (what a coincidence for you). Thinking about the
spread of food typically served at your family holiday meals, explain to your family the
connection from your choice in diet to the environmental outcomes we learned about in class. Explain how this topic has serious consequences from a global sense and specifically how global diet
shifts influence agriculture and the subsequent results that has on the environment/landuse. Finally, pretend that next year you get to host the big family meal (assume you have ample funding to buy whatever you want); what would you serve to teach your family about the variety of delicious foods that can be consumed with a lower environmental impact? (don’t forget a protein) (20 pts.)
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