Extra credit opportunities

Small amounts of extra credit may be earned by completing any or all of the following assignments. Since the amount of amount of extra credit received for this will be relatively small, the assignments are recommended to those who feel they have extra time this semester to cultivate an interest in the particular subjects.  If your primary goal is to raise your grade, it may be that your time will be better invested in studying the material from lecture and the reading assignments. Late assignments and late requests to do extra credit reports will not be considered. Send an email notice of intent to undertake an extra credit assignment.  Each email notice should contain "Extra credit 1", "Extra credit 2", etc. in the subject heading of the email message. Extra credit assignments are to be turned in to Dr. Liang Yang with a message in the email subject heading designating which extra credit assignment is being turned in.  

Attend any one of the following seminars and write one report (typed, double-spaced, 1-2 pages,  with your EID included in the first page underneath your name and unique number). Up to 2 points will be added to your exam.

Wednesday, January 30; 7:00 PM
Focus the Nation Event: "The 2% Solution"
Live webcast featuring Stephen Schnieder, Stanford and Hunter Lovins
Geology Building (GEO) 4.102, 24th and Speedway
Sponsored by the Center for Science and Practice of Sustainability
Contact Chelsea McMellen at chelsea.mcmellen@austin.utexas.edu for additional information.
Find out more about the event at http://www.focusthenation.org/2percentsolution.php

Thursday, January 31; 4:00 PM
"Climate Change"
Dr. Zhengyu Liu, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Geology Building (GEO) 2.234, Boyd Auditorium, 24th and Speedway
Contact Mark Cloos, cloos@mail.utexas.edu for additional information.

Friday, February 1; 10:30 AM
"Towards the Understanding of North Pacific Decadal Variability"
Dr. Zhengyu Liu, Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Pickle Research Campus (PRC) Bldg 196, Room 1.603 10100 Burnet Road
Contact Wilbert King,  wilbert@ig.utexas.edu for additional information.

Call for Posters: Student and Professional papers accepted
Upcoming Conference: "Forecast: Climate Change-Texas Water"
April 28-30, 2008-- To be held in Austin, Texas.
Contact Annette Paulin, cctw08@grandecom.net for additional information.
For information about the conference, go to:  www.rivers.txstate.edu/CCTW08

1. Thursday, March 20; 2:00 PM
“Agricultural Intensification in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico: Will it
'spare land for nature'?”
Pamela Mateson, Stanford University
Molecular Biology Building (MBB) 1.210, Speedway and Dean Keeton
Contact Stephanie Schnorr, schnorr@mail.utexas.edu for additional
information.

(To be added to exam 2)

2. Thursday, March 20; 4:00 PM
“Delta dynamics: From coastline evolution to the sedimentary record”
Matthew Wolinsky, National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics
Geology Building (JGB, formerly GEO) 2.234, Boyd Auditorium, 24th and
Speedway
Contact Mark Cloos, cloos@mail.utexas.edu for additional information.

(to be added to Exam 2)

3. See a lecture posted on the College of Communications website that would be applicable to our course.
http://communication.utexas.edu/events/PROD75_012862.html

(to be added to Exam 3)

(to be added to Exam 3)

(to be added to Exam 3)

Maps to these buildings: http://www.utexas.edu/maps/

•  actively participate in the Blackboard discussion by posting questions and answers which are relevant to this course. Please check it out what has been posted to date on  Blackboard.  Depending on your efforts throughout the semester,  you could get up to 2 points added to your final exam. Expiration date May 4th.
• describe a climate cause-and-effect feedback mechanism based on the text and lecture notes. Please do not include snow-albedo feedback, cloud-temperature feedback,  water vapor-temperature feedback or DMS-cloud feedback. Write about 250 words plus schematic diagrams, typed and double-spaced, with your EID included in the first page underneath your name and unique number. Expiration date: March 23rd. Extra credit: up to 1 point added to your 2nd exam.

• write a poem, a song, a play, a drama, draw a painting or do any other artwork that reflects the topics covered in this course. Be prepared to read your poem, or sing your song, or show your artwork in the front of the entire class. You may want to turn it in anytime one week before a mid-term exam, and then your will be required to show it on the Wednesday class that is right before the mid-term exam. The grade will be based on relevance, creativity and originality. Extra credit: up to 1 point added to the mid-term exam. Note that a student can get this type of extra credit not more than twice.
• read <<Floods, Famines, and Emperors: El Nino and the Fate of Civilizations>> by Brian Fagan, Basic Books (ISBN 0-465-01120-9). Write a summary (~1000 words, typed and double-spaced, with your EID included in the first page underneath your name and unique number). Expiration date: March 23rd. Extra Credit: up to 2 points added to your 2nd exam.
• read <<Volcano Weather: The Story of 1816, The Year without a Summer>> by Henry Stommel and Elizabeth Stommel, Sevel Seas Press, Inc. (ISBN: 0-915160-71-4). Write a summary (~1000 words, typed and double-spaced, with your EID included in the first page underneath your name and unique number). Expiration date: April 20th. Extra Credit: up to 2 points added to your 3rd exam.
• Individual Performance Class. Present your artwork that is climate related on  April 25th. The grade will be based on relevance, creativity and originality. Extra credit: up to 1 point added to the final exam.
• write an essay (~1000 words plus references, typed and double-spaced, with your EID included in the first page underneath your name and unique number) to discuss the Kyoto Protocol and the USA's current federal and state policies on limiting emissions of the greenhouse gases. You need to describe what they are,  how they are formulated, whether they are necessary, and whether and how they will affect your way of life. Expiration date: May 4th. Extra credit: up to 2 points added to your final exam.

Last updated on 12/08/09 02:52 PM