Tag Archives: podcast

Readings and Podcast for 12/12 class- Also bring Computers!

You have two readings (one longer and one very short) and a 20 minute podcast to listen to for next class.

This first reading is going to provide the basis for our last discussion on urban biodiversity 🙁 in class. It is a new study on- you guessed it- arthropods!- Please at least read the abstract, the methods, and examine the figures (there are also some popular articles about it online). It also serves as a good model of the kind of scientific writing you all will be doing in the next couple of weeks for your projects. We will discuss what this study found, what they could have done differently, and what it means for urban sustainability.

Download (PDF, Unknown)

The following pieces will be part of our class discussion on sustainability at the individual, city, and global levels.

Forget Shorter Showers, Orion Magazine. This is a short (2 page) piece basically saying that life changes at the individual level won’t make a difference in sustainability. We will discuss this idea, watch related videos, and examine your own footprint in class.

Download (PDF, 336KB)

Finally, this is a 20 minute podcast on what we do and have done with all the poop generated here in NYC- an important component of urban sustainability- Enjoy!
Radiolab Podcast: NYC Poop Train

10/10 Readings and Podcast

For 10/10 Please find an article on a contentious environmental issue, for example: solving climate change, fracking, GMOs, etc.

We will be discussing what counts as scientific evidence and you should come with an understanding of the basic idea of these articles- since there are a few, you can skim them or at least read the abstract and conclusions, as well as check out the figures:

IPCC case for cities

GMOs feeding the world

Why GMOs?

Also listen to the RadioLab short (~20 mins) on the Taung Child skull and think about the evidence needed to figure out what it all meant! There is a replica of this skill at AMNH, so you can see it on our field trip in November!

http://www.radiolab.org/story/taung-child/