Students will look at the garbage we create as a culture in a deeper and more connected way and theorizing about the culture that creates and uses it. Designed for use in an online course, it could certainly be adapted for use in grounded courses as well.

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This is a field activity where students explore different types of gardens comparing how they are the same and different.

Students learn how GPS and GIS can be used to gather and analyze point data. The main outcome is a digital map of campus trees classified by size and type. The technical skills learned in this lab will be used in a subsequent lab to analyze water quality data.

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This problem challenges students to design experiments using techniques measuring gene expression (reverse transcriptase PCR, microarrays, in situ hybridization).

In this lab activity students isolate genomic DNA from their cheek cells on the inside of their mouths. Students then remove the DNA from those cheek cells. It shows the DNA is in every cell in the body and can be extracted easily. Students use their DNA necklace which they proudly wear around school the rest of the day.

Students apply their understanding of sedimentary rocks and sediment characteristics to identify where rocks may be forming using a simplified cross-section of a landscape from mountain to sea.

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This activity is a field investigation where students gather geological information of a designated area and identify the geological features they documented.

Students view the documentary "Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai." They also are required to read Dr. Maathai's "The Greenbelt Movement: Sharing the Approach and Experience." The students must write an essay describing the geo-politics inherent within the Greenbelt Movement, specifically as it relates to environmental security. The students must next examine the potential for a similar social movement to be effective in Myanmar.

During this activity, the instructor introduces a miniature watershed, named a GeoSandbox, to provide a conceptual bridge between the schema created in the soup can water budget activity and the schoolyard watershed activity to follow. Students introduce known quantities of water to the GeoSandbox using spray bottles and measure the resulting surface flow and infiltration. The concepts of topography and land use are also introduced. Additional instructional materials are provided to firmly establish the concept of a watershed for students who need the support.

Designed for an introductory geology course

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The activity begins by asking students to look at a drawing of a crime scene. The crime scene is specifically drawn so that illustrates several key geologic principals, but to the untrained eye it appears as a murder that took place inside an office. After quietly looking at the image for a few minutes alone, they share with a partner what they think happened. As a class, we record a list of "Observations," making sure to use the opportunity to highlight the difference between observation and interpretation. After we complete the list of observations, students then offer their interpretations about the sequence of events. Without using any new vocabulary, the teacher makes sure to highlight the geologic principles of original horizontality, superposition, cross cutting relations, and uniformitarianism in the students' interpretations. After students share enough competing theories, the professor shows slides of geologic examples that have things in common with parts of the crime scene and points out the similar processes. The activity eventually ends without a clear answer about "whodunnit." This open ending leaves students frustrated, but it really gets across the point that we can never know the exact answer to some problems, we can only come up with viable theories. Students continue to ask for months about what "really" happened, but I never tell them :-) Has minimal/no quantitative componentUses geophysics to solve problems in other fields

Students are required to create professional geological-tourism maps for a state (or country) of their choosing. Students will find data sets for their chosen area, and manipulate and display the data into a large format map that is used for display.

Students use geochemical tools used to track the presence of marine (salmon) derived nutrients in the terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems of creeks where salmon spawn. They also explore pros and cons of hatchery-raised salmon.

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Students geocode the locations of the "big box stores" Walmart and Target from addresses that they download. They then compare the spatial distribution of stores at the state level by performing a spatial join with a shapefile of US states, and comparing the distribution of stores with the population of each state. Finally, they write a report of their results as a recommendation for future action, either by an environmental group or a development group.

The Keystone Pipeline is a complex project that raises important environmental, economic, and international policy issues. Tar sands from Alberta Canada will be mined and processed and transported on a ~1700 mile pipeline to refineries in the United States. How should decisions be made responsibly and ethically to balance societal energy needs with anticipated environmental impacts related to mining and processing the tar sands and the ultimate impacts on climate change.

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Geoethics Forums is a format for a classroom discussion and creative resolution of an ethical issue. Students research a particular dilemma, identify stakeholders, and then consider possible solutions and tradeoffs working towards the most acceptable path.

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Geoethics Forums is a format for a classroom discussion and creative resolution of an ethical issue. Students research a particular dilemma, identify stakeholders, and then consider possible solutions and tradeoffs working towards the most acceptable path. This example case study explores the use of strategic minerals for green and clean technology.

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Codes of Ethics for scientists have been formulated primarily by professional organizations. Most of these codes enumerate principles that cover practical issues regarding the professional conduct of individuals, not the conduct of the organizations themselves. They basically call for traditionally honorable behavior. It is striking that, given that the work of these societies and their members is directly relevant to the future of the earth, most existing Codes of Ethics remain far from addressing our obligations to the planet itself. I propose a discussion of how the ethical obligations to the planet might be included in professional ethical codes.

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This exercise posits a hypothetical situation: you would like to purchase land that will provide your family with opportunities to fish and swim in a stream on your property. Additionally, you would like the land to afford some privacy. In order to find such a place, you need to locate land for sale that has a stream running through it and you want to confirm that the stream water is clean. The following activity illustrates how one can locate land with particular characteristics and also assess surface water quality for local bodies of water. The data you will use might pertain to any location where streams flow through residential areas.

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Students will look up an address (either of their choosing or instructor-provided) and assess the geologic characteristics and vulnerability of that location. Students will utilize datasets about geologic issues/hazards to learn more about how different geologic processes affect the location.