Twiiter and Facebook

For all my students and other earth lovers. You can now follow me on twitter or facebook. Look for Rean Tirol.

Simulation for April 5

I have an exciting simulation in mind for the Monday after Easter. To prepare for this, students are encouraged to read about sustainable communities and settlements. The video on CELL in a previous post may also prove useful as wells as readings on Biosphere2 and Earthship. The activity will also build on the lessons learned in the Social Marketing session. Students will need to bring manila paper, cartolina, cardboard, paper, paints, pens, glue, tape, cutting and measuring instruments. I expect the simulation to take about 2.5h.

Fr Sean McDonagh

I have created a shared dropbox folder for the presentations of Father Sean McDonaugh. He is a Columban Missionary priest who was stationed in Mindanao in the 1970's - 1980's. His work with the T'boli in Southern Mindanao exposed him to the impact of rainforest degradation to the socio-economic life of indigenous people. He has authored books on the environment and is a strong advocate for more eco-centric policies within the Catholic Church. He is an advocate of the New Creation Story proposed by Thomas Berry. While I do not fully agree with the evolutionary mechanism proposed by this theology, I do think that it is worth musing about. I do agree that nature seem to have anticipated the arrival of living creatures.

I put this folder because I am very much inspired by this man's work pushing us towards a more integrated view of creation rather than being anthropocentric. A lot of the stuff I used in my Worldviews presentation were taken from him. Here is an interview of him during a lobby of religious people to stop climate change in the UK.

NATSCA2 Field Trip Update

As writing, this term's field trip will be in Cavite. We will be going to the Center for Ecozoic Living and Learning, CELL. Quite excited about this because CELL has a reputation for providing a model for eco-living as well as integrating eco-consciousness with Christian spirituality. At the end of the day, we will be going to Tagaytay to stay overnight in a Convention center (DAP?). The following day we will have a talk with a resource person on sustainable agriculture. Still have to clarify if we will visit another farm.

I have embedded a video I found on you tube. It think this was done by students as seen in the quality of the work. However, it has a good explaination of what CELL is.



Cost is about P3000 inclusive of transportation, board and lodging, fee's related to places and resource people. The cost may change according to the number of attendees. Interested students need to fill up the new survey.

Blog Entries

This is to remind my students that blog entry homework items are exercises. These comprise 35% of the final grade. Last week's homework was done by only one person. It is time for you to be savvy at blogging. Welcome to the Internet age!

Social Marketing Session

This coming Monday, I will be discussing social marketing. My NATSCA2 students are encouraged to read about social marketing. They are expected to answer the following questions (DUE 3/29/10):

1.) How is Social Marketing different from traditional Marketing?

2.) In your opinion is Social Marketing easier of more difficult compared to traditional Marketing?

3.) Cite any examples of Social Marketing you are aware of.

These questions are expected to be in blog sites of each students. It should follow the following format:

( Link to this blog entry at www.earthwatching.tk )

Answer 1 (60 words)
Answer 2 (60 words)
Answer 3 (60 words)

For the class activites, students are to bring Manila paper, painting materials, colored pens, tape. These materials will be shared among members of the new groupings that will be formed in the class. This activity will build on the results of the last simulation. Students are expected to reflect on the critique that was done last week.

GMO Rice

Earlier this evening, I watched an Episode of Convergence on Net25. They highlighted the current work done at IRRI Los Banos where they are trying to improve the yield of rice. With respect to carbon fixation, or the ability to take CO2 and convert it to carbohydrates, rice (C3 crop) is said to be less efficient compared to Corn or Sorghum (C4 crops). This is because of the physical structure of the leaves of C4 crops that allow more sunlight into the process. The scientists at IRRI, funded by leading charities like the Bill and Melinda Gates foundations, are working on how to modify the genetic properties of rice so it will enable C4 photosynthesis. In other words, this is a GMO project. The question is whether the genetic engineering will trigger malevolent side effects in the physiology of man and other organisms that consume the rice. Will the benefits of higher rice yields outweigh the costs resulting from genetic manipulation? Have we reached the limits of developing our agricultural technology and engineering such that we have to resort to genetic engineering? Interesting questions that require convincing answers.

Some Admin Stuff

This website can also be accessed through www.earthwatching.tk. You may want to use .tk as a domain name because it is free and Tokelau, a remote island country in the south pacific.

To date, only 5 people have answered the field trip survey. Booking and costing will be dependent on the number of participants. The latest update is that the trip will be in a sustainable coffee farm south of Manila. Please complete our survey asap.

Online quiz results have been uploaded in dropbox.com

Technology Online Quiz Results

My class just concluded our online quiz on technology and ecology. The scores will be posted on the class dropbox.com location. The answers are as follows:

1.) Which is not an output of a process? Materials

2.) Which has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions? Its the cheesecake from Sugarhouse in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Why? The one purchased from Mark's and Spencer, Greenbelt was flown in from London. The one from the Cheesecake Factory and Davao was the same thing. Sugarhouse likely baked their cake in Metro Manila thus making it the only cheese cake not to have flown in an airplane.

3.) How many grams Pb in tertiary consumer? 7500g because of biomagnification. 75g x 10 primary consumers per secondary x 10 secondary consumers per tertiary = 7500g

4.) Lowest energy consumption (in Manufacturing)? Plastic packaging. Bottles require higher energy because of the shaping process involved. Glass requires higher heat than plastic.

5.) Lowest waste? Glass bottles because they can be recycled

Online Exam

As discussed in my NATSCA2 class, you will find my exam here. The link will only be available until 3/23/2010 11:59pm. This is an open book, open notes exam. No bonus questions.

Midterm Grades

Midterm grades are now posted in the class dropbox location. Consistent with the syllabus, grades are computed as follows:

35% - Exercises
35% - Midterm Exam
15% - Quizzes
15% - Participation

Note that the midterm grade is half the final grade!

The exercises considered were the Avatar Rxn Paper and the Marine Ecosystem. Bonus exercises were the diagnostic of environmental issues during the 1st meeting and the Pandoran Marine life exercise. The 1st 3 quizzes and participation during the mentioned dates were also considered for the computation. Other quizzes and exercises will be considered for the pre-final grade.

Like any class, I have special cases who were given 0.0 or R for their midterm grades. I have divided them into the following categories:

1.) No shows:
10878432 - Never attended a single class
10760520 - Never attended a single class
10875336 - So far, has attended only 2 sessions. The first was 2 sessions midterms and the 2nd was during midterms. This person appeared in a hurry to leave during his first session with me. Claimed to be a late enrollee.

Students of this category will be endorsed to their respective academic advisers for proper action.

2.) Incomplete requirments:
10775854 - Lacking an exercise. The grade may be revised upon completion of the requirement with some deductions.
10662111 - Absent during midterms. Student claims to have been afflicted with diarrhea. Asked for a medical certificate or a letter from a parent or guardian ( with a photo copy of their offcial ID) as objective evidence to corroborate the claim. When this has been satisfied, I will give a special exam for the student.
10658874 - A late enrollee who was absent for the first three sessions. Consideration was given to him and to another student of a similar situation. However, this student has not submitted any of the exercises considered for midterms. The grade may be revised upon completion of the requirement with some deductions.
10899170 - This student is an odd case because he lacks only 1% to be given a 1.0. The reason is that he lacks one required exercise and a quiz. The grade may be revised upon submission of the exercise with some deductions.

Students are encouraged to enter a comment to this blog should they have questions on their standing. All comments are moderated and will assumed private (not to be published) unless otherwise stated.

NATSCA2 Field Trip, Term 3 2009-2010

Our class field trip will be on April 17-18 in Batangas. The exact details are still to be finalized. Past field trips have cost about P3000-P4000. The cost is dependent on the number of participants. Please fill out our class survey form. This will help settle this item asap.

World Views

For this coming week, the discussion will center on world views. Last week was a simulation on manufacturing and technology so I'll likely do a quick summary on technology before going to the main topic. Our discussion on worldviews will be in preparation for the discussion on social marketing.

Prior to class, I'd like my students to answer the following questions:

1.) Give an example of each of the following and explain.
a.) An economic worldview
b.) A social worldview
c.) An ecological worldview

2.) Compare Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15. Are this passages in conflict or in agreement? What is the ecological worldview promoted by the Bible?

3.) Read Romans 3:10-18 and 1 John 2:16. How does this relate to the ecological, social and economic problems of the world? Site examples.


While I still expect 60 word min essays for each item. Submission will NOT be in the dropbox.com location for this assignment. Instead, I'd like to see this in my students personal blogsites (blogspot, wordpress, etc.). The format of the blog entry will be as follows:

Our NATSCA2 class will be discussing worldviews. We were tasked to answer questions ( you can embed a link to this blog entry, in the word "questions" or paste the link after it) . Here are my answers

(Answer 1)
(Answer 2)
(Answer 3)


After completing the entry, a comment must be made to this blog entry I am now writing.( Yes, this very entry that spells out the homework to be done.) The comment will indicate the link to the answer. This will look something like this:

Sir, you will find my homework here (embed a link to this blog entry, in the word "here" or paste it after the word)


The blog entries are due on Mar 22 2:45 pm

I encourage my students to read a lot about this assignment. The next two sessions will also have interesting simulations on the latter part of the class.

Simulation on Monday

For this Monday, my class will be having a simulation on manufacturing and technology. The objective is to experience how industry affects the environment. Each student is requested to bring at least 10 recycled ( previously used) sheets of bond paper. A pair of scissors (a box cutter if available), glue, tape, staplers and rulers. I dare not say more lest I ruin the surprise.

On other matters, I have students who have received 0.0's because they have not submitted exercises. If you have any homework lacking, please complete it asap. Please uploaded it soonest to our dropbox location.

Midterm

My NATSCA2 students will be having their midterm exams on Mar 8, 2010. They will be answering as many questions as they need to complete 100 points. I have listed below possible questions that may come out in the exam. Unless indicated otherwise, each question is 20 points. I recommend to my students to answer as many as they can to ensure they have AT LEAST 100 points. Answers shall be written on a large CSB exam booklet.

1.) Sketch a picture of an ecosystem showing elements of design.
2.) Draw and Explain the Carbon Cycle.
3.) Give an example of a food web and highlight any keystone species.
4.) What is sustainability?
5.) Give some challenges to sustainability in the area of food and agriculture?
6.) Draw and Explain the NitrogenCycle
7.) What is a keystone species? Give examples ‏
8.) Draw and Explain the food chain
9.) In your opinion, does the current Philippine Administration follow the principles of sustainability
10.) What environmental NGO was your teacher part of? ( 10 pts )‏
11.) Show the levels of classification of organisms. Give an example.
12.) Explain how color is used in Nature.
13.) Draw a coral polyp.
14.) State how you felt during the three party discussion on the colonization of Pandora. State specific parts that were very relevant to you.