Reference no: EM132875263

Australia Drought and its relationship with forest fires and water quality

Assignment

The independent project presents an opportunity for you to explore a subject of interest connected to sustainable communities and sustainable development, linking to some of the themes or topics from the readings and lectures. It includes a research paper of 10-12 pages with an annotated bibliography and a recorded presentation to share with the class. Use at least 5-7 sources (including an academic book and academic journal articles, and long-form journalism in additional to blogs and current news articles) as well as integrate texts/themes from the course where relevant. Cite all information whether direct quotations or indirect summaries of others' ideas; use any accepted citation format consistently. Please double space text, number pages, and use black ink, 1-inch margins, and 12-point Times New Roman (or similar) font. Submit an annotated bibliography with the paper, including a brief synopsis of the book's/article's content and author's viewpoint.

Paper Framework:

1. Define and describe problem/issue/phenomenon of interest including geographical and time-period specifics. State a thesis, position, and/or hypothesis clarifying the scope of your paper.

2. Identify and use evidence in addressing the issue or problem under consideration. Analyze the issue applying some of the themes and frameworks you are studying in this class such as: just/strong sustain abilities, sustainable communities, sustainability capitals (human, natural, social, physical, etc), policy instruments for sustainable communities, multi-scalar sustainability, systems science, complex socio-ecological systems, vulnerability and resilience, mitigation and adaptation, energy sustainability, sustainable food systems, agroecology, sustainable water systems, ocean planning, ecosystems based management, public health and sustainability. Identify tools and strategies being used or explored to address sustainability.

3. Reflect on the role of power relations in the sustainability of this issue. How has the past shaped the present moment for this issue and how is the present contributing to possible futures for the issue? Consider who controls the main narrative about the issue and why, and who is contesting the narrative and how. Address assumptions and/or contextual factors related to the issue. What is the role and ideas of institutions and individuals and their relations of power in the formation and persistence of the issue or problem and in the ways to address/improve the issue?

4. Evaluate strengths and weaknesses of those trying to address the problem(s) and links to concepts discussed in course. Some suggested directives for actions/improvements in the future.

Suggested Paper Structure:
This is a suggestion for how to structure the paper that is meant to be helpful, but you are not required to use it. It will work better for some topics than others, but you should have the content described below somewhere in your paper even if you do not use this structure. Please use subheadings throughout your paper to guide the reader through what you are doing. It does not matter what order you write your paper in, but it is a good idea to divide it up into smaller sections so that it feels like writing several 2-page papers (easy!) instead of getting overwhelmed thinking about a 10-12-page paper.

Section 1: Introduction - Intro to the Topic, how does it relates to sustainability, and a statement of a thesis, position, and/or hypothesis clarifying the scope of your paper (~1 page)

Section 2: Background - What do readers need to know about this topic (historically, culturally, ecologically, economically, socially, etc.) to follow your exploration and arguments? (~2-3 pages)

Section 3: Theory - Some theoretical background for how you are addressing your topic. This may be anything from how just sustainability or resilience theory addresses your topic to how sustainability intersects with your topic (e.g. how do public health scholars think about and address sustainability) to a decision or policy making tool used to address your issue to however scholars and planners and policy makers are thinking about your topic (~2-4 pages)

Section 4: Case Study or Studies - Discussion of the current status (politics, economics, social significance, environmental impact, conflicting understandings and views) of your topic and a discussion of the range of prominent tools and strategies either being used or explored to maintain and restore environmental quality and achieve sustainability. (~3-5 pages)

Section 5: Conclusions - Your assessment of the sustainability aspects of your topic. An evaluation of the strategies or tools that are being proposed or used or resisted or fought over, etc. using what you learned in the course. (~1-2 pages)

What specifically are you referring to with "toxicity" in the ecosystems from fire? Ash? Other materials from buildings? Is this getting into drinking water, too?