Week 10 -- Putting it all together - Maintaining Nature in an Urban and Urbanizing and Sustainable World?

Learning Objectives: This week you will learn about current larger systematic approaches to integrating the many topics and ideas that we have been exploring this quarter.

Important to note:

Thank you for completing the questionnaire about Classroom Presenter. If you were not able to do that on Thursday, please ask us for one.

Wednesday we will meet in Bloedel 060. You don't have to worry about the weather and you can dress any way you'd like.

Your take home final examination will be distributed Wednesday afternoon.

Required Reading:

Carefully peruse the 2005 San Francisco Urban Environmental Accords - Green Cities Declarations This is from the World Environment Day 2005 when "mayors from around the globe (met in) San Francisco for United Nations World Environment Day to forge a collective path towards a sustainable urban future."

Also read Marina Alberti's (et al) paper in BioScience Integrating Humans into Ecology: Opportunities and Challenges for Studying Urban Ecosystems. Pay particular attention to the the concepts of drivers, processes, patterns and effects/changes and the conceptual model illustrated in Figure 6.

Optional Reading:

We suggest that you go back over the optional reading lists from the previous weeks of the course. If you've read all of it then let us know and we will provide more of what you are interested in. If not, pick out something that interests you and have a look at it.

Something(s) to consider (or write about on your own):

Choose a bit of urban nature that is personal to you. It could be your backyard, a park near your home, or a place on campus. Describe the setting - is it a forest, a park with benches and shrbus, or a lawn, etc? Describe the patterns you see and any processes that you detect. Now look around and think about the large context of where the location is. What might be driving the patterns you see? Is it likely that these drivers may change? What would happen to the nature in this area if this happens?

Once you've done this (and not before) go back and look at your "optional writing" from week one of this course.

 

Reading Report due today:

Define and explain the concepts of drivers, patterns and processes (and effects too if you'd like) and discuss the 21 actions presented in the mayors' Green Cities Declarations using those concepts. Can you put the Green Cities Declaration into the conceptual model (Fig 6) of the Alberti et al paper? Does it "work?"

Lecture/Discussion: Drivers, processes, and patterns (Sarah Reichard);

Individual or Group Work Session: Contact Jim or Sarah if you want to see one or both of them.

Week 9 -- Lessening the negative environmental consequences of constructing, maintaining and using buildings.

Learning Objectives: This week you be considering the recent trend toward the development of technology to make buildings and landscapes more sustainable - requiring lower energy use, less use of volatile and harmful chemicals, and incorporating more recycled products.

Important to note:

Wednesday we will walk to and tour Merrill Hall at the UW's Center for Urban Horticulture. We will be discussing the design and construction project to replace Merrill Hall after an arson fire in 2001. Stay tuned for more information. In any event, dress to walk over there and back!

We hope to post your grades, so that you can verify that we've recorded everything correctly, by Wednesday evening

Required Reading:

Carefully peruse the US Green Building Council's website.

• Be sure to investigate the "rating systems" (on the left hand side of the page) and then look at both the "new construction" and the "existing buildings" sections (these are on the left hand side of the "rating systems" page).
• On the new construction page: Be sure to click on the link to 'checklist' under the section entitled 'LEED-NC version 2.2 rating system' and also to look at the bottom of the main page and follow the link to 'LEED-NC info sheet' under the 'additional tools and resources' section.
• Try to find information similar to the above for existing buildings

Optional Reading:

Have a look at the Earthday website's page related to sustainability http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp and take the quiz.

Something(s) to consider (or write about on your own):

What aspects of your lifestyle contribute the most to your "footprint?"

Would you be willing to change those things?

What is the lowest value footprint that you can achieve given any changes you'd really be willing to make?

 

Reading Report due today:

• What is LEED-NC?
• What year did the program begin?
• What are the 6 main categories that earn LEED points for a project?
• Discuss at least 2 specific site or building characteristics listed under each category.
• What are the 4 possible levels of certification? How many LEED points does each require?
• Address the above 5 bulleted items for existing buildings.

Please be direct in answering the questions regarding "new construction" and perhaps merely point out important similarities and differences regarding "existing buildings".

Lecture/Discussion: Sustainable buildings (Sarah Reichard)

Lecture/Discussion: Retrofitting existing buildings (Jim Fridley)

Week 8 -- Where does our garbage go?

Learning Objectives: This week you be considering the vast amounts of waste produced by urban dwelling people in the course of their day; from breakfast's empty yogurt containers to the paper used at work to the trimmings from the carrots in the dinner salad. These discarded bits go somewhere; but where? How sustainable is this? How long can we continue to use valuable land to hold the refuse of urban areas. How can urban dwellers encourage sustainability by recycling and supporting the use of recycled materials?

Important to note:

Wednesday we will leave campus promptly from either Bloedel Room 060 or the parking lot behind Bloedel Hall. Stay tuned for more information. In any event, as always, dress to be outside!

We hope to post your grades, so that you can verify that we've recorded everything correctly, by Tuesday evening.

Required Reading:

This is a chapter from a book: Royte, E. 2006. Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash. Little, Brown, and Company pages 277-294, "The Ecological Citizen."

We think you would find the entire book to be enjoyable and worth reading.

Optional Reading:

Univresity of Washington Recycling Newsletters: http://www.washington.edu/admin/recycling/newsletters.html

Pay particular attention to Winter 04/05, Fall 2005, Spring 02 and Winter 02

Recycle section of UW Environmental Susainability Booklet (see the table of contents) http://www.washington.edu/admin/facserv/sustainability.html

Chapter 2 (only a couple of pages) in Recycle Primer from U of Oregon http://www.musc.edu/recycle/Primer/chapt2whyrecycle.htm

 

Something(s) to consider (or write about on your own):

I. In Garbageland, Elizabeth Royte sorted and listed every bit of waste she generated over one year. Choose two days out of this week and maintain a running list of every bit of waste you generate and where it goes (recycling bin? trash? dump?)

II. Anwer the following questions using numerical data:

1. What is the majority of waste from UW composed of? Is it recyclable?
2. How are new city laws affecting the current waste management program at UW?
3. What is the second most prominent waste product from UW? Is it recyclable?
4. What is happening to reduce this type of waste?
5. What efforts, illustrated in this newsletter, are being made to reduce the amount of landfill waste from UW?
6. Give 3 specific examples of recent changes on campus that will help to reduce specific types of waste.
7. How does recycling help reduce global warming?
8. How does it help to save energy?
9. Briefly describe three different types of products (not including paper, plastic) that UW has programs for recycling.
10. Describe the tailgate recycling and smart cans used on campus.
11. Describe in your own words: what is source reduction?
12. Give a few ideas on how source reduction can be applied to a university waste management plan?
13. Name some environmental benefits of recycling.

III. Write honestly about your personal committment to garbage reduction and recycling.

 

Reading Report due today:

• Based on the reading, how would Elizabeth Royte define an 'ecological citizen'? Explore this topic in depth and give at least 5 concrete examples of how you could increase your own ecological citizenship.

Lecture/Discussion: Garbage and Recycling in Seattle. The presentation slides came as Part I and Part II (Guest: Jennifer Bagby, Seattle Public Utilities)

Lecture/Discussion: Lecture and discussion on other infrastructure issues, e.g., roads and sewers and whether shipping our garbage off to Oregon just creates problems for someone else? (Kathy Wolf)

Week 7 -- Urban Wildlife: Highly desirable? A pest? A perpetual conflict?

Learning Objectives:

Important to note:

Wednesday we will leave campus promptly from either Bloedel Room 060 or the parking lot behind Bloedel Hall. Stay tuned for more information. In any event, Dress to be outside!

We hope to return your your graded midterm examinations on Tuesday.

Required Reading:

Related to Policy: http://www.wildlife.org/policy/index.cfm?tname=policystatements&statement=ps16

Related to Habitat: http://www.seattleurbannature.org/Projects/CHAInterimReport.pdf

Related to Conflicts: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=vpc18

Optional Reading:

(coming soon, tell us if you have been reading the optional stuff -- or are we wasting our time?)

Something(s) to consider (or write about on your own):

• Is wildlife habitat desirable in a city?
• What do you think about the Seattle Urban Nature project's assessment of the habitat potential of larger open spaces (mostly publically owned).
• How might residential or small site owners contribute to citywide habitat?
• What do you think about the public issues associated with urban coyotes in California?
• Are you aware of other problem species in other cities, including Seattle? (consider Gators in the SE, snakes in the SW).
• How does a community mitigate the issues of having urban wildlife, short of exterminating the wildlife?
• Do the Wildlife Society policy statements adequately address concerns of human health and welfare concerning urban habitat?

Reading Report due today: Citing abundantly from the three assigned items and thoughtfully considering the potential for serious conflicts to occur, address the two-part question: "Is wildlife habitat really desirable in the city and how realistic are the urban wildlife policies stated by the Wildlife Society?"

Lecture/Discussion: Wildlife in urban areas. Note: this is a very large presentation file that uses some of MSPowerPoint's animation features. To see the presentation with all of its content you will need to look at the web page version and use the "slide show" feature. "Mouse-click" on the sccreen to advance slides (and most importantly, be very parient). A much more limited version is provided as a set of PowerPoint handouts as well.

Lecture/Discussion: Flora and fauna reports II -- see the schedule to see when you will make your presentation

Week 6-- Pristine Nature in Urban Areas: Needed? Possible?

Learning Objectives: Nature can exist throughout urban areas. With continual disturbance and altered physical conditions in urban areas, what should we aiming for? Is "pristine" nature possible? If so, how do we get/keep it? If not, what should we do? How do volunteers contribute to the efforts?

Important to note:

Wednesday we will leave campus promptly from the parking lot behind Bloedel Hall. Dress to be outside!

Your midterm is due on Tuesday!!.

Required Reading:

Reichard, S. 2005. Invasive plants in the wildland-urban interface. In: Vince SW, Duryea ML, Macie EA, Hermansen LA, ed. Forests at the wildland-urban interface. Florida: CRC Press. p 235 - 244. <READ FOR TUESDAY>

Franklin, J. and R. Van Pelt. 2004. Spatial aspects of structural complexity in old-growth forests. Journal of Forestry. April/May 2004. 22-28. <READ FOR WEDNESDAY>

Optional Reading:

Tallmadge, J. 2001. Resistance to urban nature. Michigan Quarterly Review. Winter 40(1): 178 - 189.

Something(s) to consider (or write about on your own):

• What factors lead to the 'invasibility' of an ecosystem?
• How do 'invasive' plants get introduced?
• Discuss at least 2 natural and 2 human means of invasive plant dispersal.
• Discuss the concept of 'Edenic wilderness'. How does it influence our approach to managing urban nature?
• What are your thoughts on and experiences with ecological restoration?
• Do you think efforts are worthwhile? Futile? Explain.
• In your opinion, is there value in protecting native plants?
• What value do urban parks hold for you?

Your Midterm Examination is DUE TODAY at 13:30 PM

Reading Report due today: None, but please do read the required chapter and paper.

Lecture/Discussion: Disturbance ecology - what level of "pristine" nature is possible? (Sarah Reichard)

Lecture/Discussion: Flora and fauna reports I -- see the schedule to see when you will make your presentation

Week 5-- Urban Streams and an Endangered Species in the Urban Environment

Learning Objectives: We will look at different aspects of the relationship of water to cities. Here in Seattle our relationship with water has become particularly unique. While most citizens of the United States have never lived in a place that is considered to be critical habitat for a federally listed endangered species, in Seattle we are having to consider how our activities contribute to the increasing rarity of salmon populations. We will explore what those activities are and how we must adapt to ensure the survival of another species.

Important to note:

Wednesday we will leave campus promptly from the parking lot behind Bloedel Hall. Dress to be outside!

You will reveive your take-home midterm examination (due Tuesday) on Thursday.

Required Reading:

There are a number of websites to examine this week (so you might be doing yourself a favor by carefully review the CBE citation style guides!).

• UW Libraries CBE Style Guide:  http://www.lib.washington.edu/help/guides/42CBE.pdf
• University of Wisconsin Writing Center:  http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Documentation.html

King County has made available a substantial amount of information about the Salmon Recovery Plan for the Lake Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed. Look at these but feel free to explore more of their site too.

• Look over -- http://dnr.metrokc.gov/WRIAS/8/wria8_longterm_plan.htm
• Look over more closely -- http://dnr.metrokc.gov/Wrias/8/chinook-conservation-plan.htm
• Read -- http://dnr.metrokc.gov/Wrias/8/chinook-plan/volumeI/executive-summary/executive-summary.pdf
• Look at -- http://dnr.metrokc.gov/Wrias/8/chinook-plan/volumeI/executive-summary/map.pdf

The City of Seattle has made information available that pertains to how the city is approaching their responsibilities related to salmon recovery.

• Look over -- http://www.cityofseattle.net/salmon/default.htm
• Read -- http://www.cityofseattle.net/salmon/docs/4%20Policy%20Framework%204-5.pdf
• Look over -- http://www.cityofseattle.net/salmon/docs/14%20Seattle%20Regulations113-117.pdf
• Look at -- http://www.cityofseattle.net/salmon/docs/5%20Historic%20Shoreline%20Map%208.pdf
• Read -- http://www.cityofseattle.net/salmon/docs/16%20Appendices%20135-137.pdf

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (US Department of Interior) shares responsibility for implementing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (US Department of Commerce). The FWS provides information about the ESA.

• Look over -- http://www.fws.gov/endangered/whatwedo.html
• Read the two page overview -- http://www.fws.gov/endangered/pubs/ESA%20BASICS_050806.pdf
• Look over -- http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esb/99/11-12/toc.html

Finally, the website "FindLaw" provides a overview of the ESA as volunteered by a couple of Virginia attorneys specializing in environmental law. We are having you read it because it specifically points out what section 7 of the act does and what section 9 of the act does.

• Read -- http://library.findlaw.com/1999/Jan/1/241467.html

We know that this is a long list of reading (and it will probably lead you to do even more browsing) but lots of it can be looked at or looked over.

As always, the Reading Report prompt can be found below (under "Tuesday").

Optional Reading:

Feel free to look over the Endangered Species Act (almost 50 pages) -- http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esaall.pdf

Please note: the reading above might be challenging, but if you are considering law school, well...

There are a number of websites that you should find interesting and relevant for Wednesday's field trip.

Our trip will be guided by staff from the City of Seattle. Take a good look at the city's natural drainage systems website: http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/Natural_Drainage_Systems/Natural_Drainage_Overview/index.asp

Since we will be looking at some of the SEA Street, 110th Cascade and Broadview Green Grid projects you might want to see information about those projects (such as the virtual tour at): http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/Natural_Drainage_Systems/Street_Edge_Alternatives/COS_004467.asp

We will also visit one or more sites at Carkeek Park.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife also has soem information about Carkeek Park and Pipers Creek

For Thursday's class session you might find Pinkham, R. 2002. Daylighting: new life for buried streams: W00-32. Rocky Mountain Institute; c1999  2005 [cited 2006 Feb 9]. Available from www.rmi.org/ to be interesting and relevant (we almost put this on the required list).

Something(s) to consider (or write about on your own):

In managing for endangered species, rural landowners are most often affected. The city of Seattle is unique among cities because a species found within our borders has been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Salmon need clean, cool water, connectivity between adult and juvenile habitat, spawning streams with appropriately sized gravel, and protection from predators (birds, other fish, and mammals including humans). Consider some of the ways we have made it difficult for salmon to survive within the city. How would you approach improving salmon survival in the city if you were given the task of managing for this.

Pinkham lists biological, hydrological, and social benefits of daylighting urban streams. He also discusses three daylighting projects in Berkeley, California. Ravenna Creek was recently (partially) daylighted in Seattle. These can be very expensive endeavors. Given all of the things that can be done with "environemntal money," is daylighting streams a good idea?

Reading Report due today: Cite abundantly from the assorted readings to discuss how and why the ESA listing of the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon is affecting local goverrnment in the greater Seattle area. Note: we are not expecting that you cite from each and every document listed in the required reading; you should cite many/most of them though.

Lecture/Discussion: The Endangered Species Act and Salmon in the City

Midterm Examination will be distributed today: It is due at 12:30PM on Tuesday.

Lecture/Discussion: Daylighting Urban Streams

Week 4 -- Urban Waterways

Learning Objectives: Aquatic bodies including streams, rivers, lakes, and bays are changed in a number of ways in urban areas. Various chemicals lead to pollution, increased nutrients from a variety of sources, including landscaping, lead to a decrease in dissolved oxygen, making a less hospitable environment for many desirable plants and animals. Some areas become so polluted that extreme measures are needed to mitigate the pollution

Important to note:

Here are some observations on the assignments graded so far.

Wednesday we will leave campus very promptly from the parking lot behind Bloedel Hall. Dress to be outside!

You have a project proposal due Thursday (here is the email reminder you should have received).

Required Reading:

Peruse the Environmental Justice section of the scorecard.org website. Be sure to follow the links labeled environmental justice, environmental burdens, groups, definitions and so on.

Scorecard.org is sponsored by the Green Media Toolshed. We chose their website since it provides a concise description of environmental justice.

Read the paper Harrison, C. and Davies, G. 2002. Conserving biodiversity that matters: practitioner's perspectives on brownfield development and urban nature conservation in London. Journal of Environmental Management 65: 95-108.

This paper examines how conservation professionals in the private, public and voluntary sectors are responding to the threats of biodiversity loss and opportunities for habitat creation posed by re-development of brown Field sites. The study draws on in-depth interviews conducted with conservation professionals and the practices employed by ecological advisers employed by developers seeking to re-develop wasteland sites.

The Reading Report prompt is below.

Optional Reading:

Morley, S.A., and J.R. Karr 2002. Assessing and restoring the health of urban streams in the Puget Sound Basin. Conservation Biology 16 (6): 1498 1509.

Please note: the reading above is challenging, but well worth the effort.

There are a number of websites that you should find interesting and relevant for Wednesday's field trip. Our trip will be guided by staff from the nonprofit organization People for Puget Sound with possible participation by the US Environmental Protection Agency. We have chartered the boat Fremont Avenue for the afternoon. We will board the boat at the Harbor Island Marina and travel up the waterway. It has been designated a superfund site and you can learn some detailed information about it if you explore the EPA site a bit. You can explore the waterway on the map. The star is at the marina, if you zoom out some (controls are on the upper left corner of the map) and swith to the aerial photo view (tab is on the upper right corner of the map) you will be able to pan down (south) along the waterway. We will go not go far enough to go under I-5.

You might find the discussion of pollution and toxins on the People for Puget Sound's site to be particularly valuable background information.

Something to consider (or write about on your own): What role could the Duwamish River play in helping to conserve our region's biodiversity? Given the present state of the Duwamish, and restoration efforts currently underway, is this a reasonable expectation? You might also try to answer the question "what are PCB's and what were they used for?" and contemplate how we might avoid making such mistakes with such useful kinds of things in the future.

Lastly: Here is an interesting looking course that you might want to consider.

Reading Report due today:

Cite abundandtly from this week's assigned reading (you may also always refer back to previous assigned or recommended reading if you want to) to address the following questions:

1. How is the value of brownfields typically assessed? Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach.
2. Discuss the social and cultural rationales for promoting conservation of urban nature.
3. Discuss the definition(s) of "environmental justice." You may rely on the source provided to answer this, but feel free to explore other sources.
4. Present and discuss an example of environmental injustice. You may have read/heard about something in the media, or may have had a personal experience.
5. How have investigators attempted to confirm that environmental injustice happens? That is, how would one set up a study to test a hypothesis about a population of people, and an environmental impact?

Lecture/Discussion: What happens to water ways? Shorelines, riparian, wetlands, etc. (Sarah Reichard)

Project proposal due today: remember this?

Lecture/Discussion: Field trip discussion and debriefing; (and remember, your project proposal is due too)

Week 3 -- A. Socio-cultural components - exploring stakeholder values, perceptions, and actions; and B. Exploring what was here before "we" got here.

Learning Objectives: While we all may be viewing the same places, we develop our perceptions of those landscapes based on our own values knowledge, experiences and biases. Even the experts who make decisions about the management of urban nature vary quite a bit on what is judged to be important. These personalized social and cultural dynamics will affect resource management decisions and actions.

Required Reading:

Values and Cultures. 2003. Excerpt from Decision Making, Science, and Technology: Carnegie Mellow University.

The "Values and Cultures" reading is a summary of the personal values that people hold for nature, based on the work of Stephen Kellert.

McPherson, E. G. 2006. Urban Forestry in North America. Renewable Resources Journal, 24, 3:8-12.

Pages 8 and 9 of the Urban Forestry article by Greg McPherson describes the role of urban forestry. The list of roles addresses the public values of nature in cities. Read the entire article but realize that pages 8 & 9 will be the focus of Tuesday's discussion.

The Reading Report prompt is below.

Optional (but very relevant) Reading:

Cronon, Wm. (ed). 1996. Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature. New York: W. W. Norton, 561 pp. Read Beginnings: Introduction: In Search of Nature, pp. 23-56.

Within the chapter written by Bill Cronon are a number of "nature as..." descriptions. These outline prevailing perceptions in U.S. culture about the definition of what is natural.

Something to consider (or write about on your own): Contemplate the chapter by Cronon (he emphasizes perceptions) vis-a-vis the required reading (they emphasize values). Prepare a list of the "nature as..." items. Which one(s) best describe your perception(s) of nature? On page 27 of the chapter by Cronon, there is a description of a study group sharing "found objects" that represent various perceptions of nature. Select an object that represents your primary definition of nature and what is natural, include it in your journal (picture, sketch, drawing, disk), and discuss its meaning.

Reading Report due today:

Cite abundandtly from all of this week's assigned readings (you may also always refer back to previous assigned or recommended reading if you want to) to address the following questions:

1. Discuss which of the value(s) in either of the papers is particularly important to you. Explain why it is important to recognize and discuss such values?
2. Think of a course or other instance in which a teacher or decision maker has ascribed a value to nature (implicitly or explicitly), or to parts of it. How would you classify this (set of) value(s)?
3. Which of the values are presumed or reflected in governmental decision making in the United States?

Lecture/Discussion: Socio-cultural components and stakeholder views by Dr. Kathy Wolf

Week 2 -- A. More on urbanization and B. Biophysical components.

Learning Objectives: Urban areas respond to the climate in their region but they also alter climate in urban and surrounding areas. How cities contribute to global climate change will also be discussed, including urban heat island effects.

Required Reading:

Utne, L. 2005. The Urban Green Revolution. Utne. September/October: 61-63

Platt, R. H. 2004. Toward Ecological Cities: Adapting to the 21st Century Metropolis. Environment, 46, 5: 10-27

Marshall, J. 2005. Megacity, mega mess...;Nature 437: 312-314.

http://eetd.lbl.gov/HeatIsland/LEARN/

http://www.epa.gov/heatisland/

(Be sure to follow the imbedded links on the websites)

Optional (but very relevant) Reading:

Kaye, J.P., R.L. McCulley and I.C. Burke 2005. Carbon fluxes, nitrogen cycling, and soil microbial communities in adjacent urban, native and agricultural ecosystems. Global Change Biology 11:575-587.

1. What are the similarities and differences in a) Carbon cycling, b) Nitrogen cycling, c) Soil microbial communities between the three different ecosystems?
2. How might these observations change if they had examined Boston or Seattle?
3. What role do lawns play in the urban system?
4. Why did they focus on an arid vs a moist or mesic system?

Carreiro, M.M. and C.E. Tripler. 2005. Forest remnants along urban-rural gradients: Examining their potential for global change research. Ecosystems 8:568-582.

Answer the following questions:
1. What potential does exist for using forest remnants to study global change?
2. Why use these systems vs. a more controlled experiment?
3. What evidence exists to suggest that these systems already contain a signature (or evidence) of anthropogenic impacts?
4. What criteria should one use to select the right  remnant for study?
5. What are the weaknesses to such a model system of study?
6. What does this article tell you about the drivers found in an urban area and how are these drivers modified from the same found in a rural or more natural  area?

Gregg, J.W., C.G. Jones and T.E. Dawson. 2003. Urbanization effects on tree growth in the vicinity of New York
City. Nature 424: 183-187.

Answer the following questions:
1. What was the system of study that they used to examine tree growth?
2. Why did they select Populus deltoides and clonal material?
3. What does the term phytometer mean?
4. What were the results?
5. Why did they find the results that they did?
6. Where do you think the highest ozone concentrations might be found in the Puget Sound Basin?

M.J. Molina and L.T. Molina. 2004. Megacities and Atmospheric pollution. Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association : 54: 644-680.
Idso, C.D., S.B. Idso and R.C. Balling, Jr. 2001. An intensive two-week study of an urban CO2 dome in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Atmos. Environ. 35: 995-1000.

1. Urban growth will lead to increased urban air pollution. a) What are the major pollutants? b) How does urbanization impact their production, life cycle and effects?
2. What are the regional and global ecosystem impacts of these air pollutants?
3. What is an urban CO2 dome?
4. How do CO2 concentrations in an urban environment compare with those in a rural?
5. How does time, natural; processes and human activity affect concentrations?

Something to consider (or write about on your own): 1. See the questions posed with the optional readings; 2. How do your observations of environmental gradients explored throughout the week relate to the material from week 1 (and Tuesday of Week 2); 3. As the population of the world becomes increasing urban, how does this affect the average persons (a) understanding of natural processeses and natural resource management (agriculture, fish and forestry) and (b) desire to have nature in both urban and non-urban environments?

Reading report due today: Use the assigned reading to address the following questions --

1. What is the world trend with regard to urbanization?
   
2. What problems does Jakarta illustrate with regard to urbanization and the future?
3. What is an urban heat island? How large might it become? How does it vary (weather, time of day, time of year)?
   
4. What are the problems of the heat island effect? related to air quality? related to energy use?
   
5. What causes an urban heat island? Knowing the causes, what options exist to mitigate? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different options?

Keep a copy of your reading report to help you participate in the discussion that will occur in class. Be sure to formally cite readings; use the CBE style.

Lecture/discussion: Population Growth and History of Seattle by Professor Sarah Reichard

Learning Objective: Nature is not constant throughout the city, nor is it all "natural" - much of it is "constructed nature." From the dense urban core to the surrounding wild areas, we find different community types and different species inhabiting. This is influenced by physical factors, and it leads to differing management issues.

Reading:

Utne, L. 2005. The Urban Green Revolution. Utne. September/October: 61-63.

Platt, R. H. 2004. Toward Ecological Cities: Adapting to the 21st Century Metropolis. Environment, 46, 5: 10-27

Something to consider (or write about on your own): Choose a bit of urban nature that is personal to you. It could be your backyard, a park near your home, or a place on campus. Describe the setting - is it a forest, a park with benches and shrbus, or a lawn, etc? Describe the patterns you see and any processes that you detect. Now look around and think about the large context of where the location is. What might be driving the patterns you see? Is it likely that these drivers may change? What would happen to the nature in this area if this happens?

Reading report : None due this week since class hadn't started until after Tuesday. If there had been one it might have been: "Using the readings as a reference, and thinking of the University of Washington as a city of 50,000, develop a brief plan to improve urban ecological citizenship. How might we use that to maintain nature in some part of the UW urban matrix?"

Lecture/discussion: None, class starts tomorrow!