directed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3423?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%2
Public Comment Course Project
Effective environmentalists and conservationists make use of a wide array of tools to achieve outcomes that benefit our shared planet. These tools include research and publication; legislation and policy creation/modification; digital and traditional media campaigning; and persuasive writing for public interest.
The purpose of the Public Comment Course Project is to teach students the expected standard of work within most non-profits, state and federal agencies, and environmental non-governmental organizations who use these tools. The assignment will also give them an opportunity to practice skills in research, writing, and science communication — and should allow them to synthesize knowledge theyve gained from previous coursework at Unity.
Students will need to use the Federal Register (www.federalregister.gov (Links to an external site.)) to find a proposed policy action relevant to the issues of water, waste, and energy. All citizens have the right to submit public comments (during the 90-day Comment Period) on proposed actions by federal agencies, and federal agencies are obligated to respond to all public comments. Writing a public comment (and, if the student chooses, submitting it) is a great way to practice the skills needed to be an effective environmental researcher/manager/communicator, and an informed and active member of the public.
The audience for the assignment will be the agency who is receiving the public comment; this can include any of the relevant US federal agencies (e.g. BLM, BIA, USFWS, USFS, NPS).
Your weekly assignments in the course will prepare you to create a well-polished product. Your Public Comment should include:
an Executive Summary, giving a description of the issue, your opinion on the proposed action, and your recommended alternative courses of action
a 300 – 500 word Issue Background, giving the history and a brief overview of the issue to a general audience
a 500 – 1,000 word Scientific Background, explaining 2-3 underlying scientific concepts to a general audience. The Scientific Background should be factually sound, should reference previous work or published scientific literature on this topic (which you can find using Google Scholar: scholar.google.com or the Unity library resources), include appropriate citations in the APA format.
a 300 – 500 word Recommendation, telling the agency why you think their course of action should be changed, and what it should be changed to
Graphs and images are not necessary, but are welcome. For our purposes, the Public Comment Course Project should be 3 – 4 pages, single-spaced, in Times New Roman. The Public Comment Course Project will be due on the last day of class, and should be submitted via Canvas.
Students should email their proposed Course Project topics to me by Monday two weeks before the Course Project is due — please choose a proposed agency action that is still within its 90 day comment period. You will receive a response with either an approval of your topic or with modifications that you need to make for the approval.
This assignment represents an opportunity to practice writing about energy, water, and waste in a commonly-used, public way. This is a great chance to practice the complex skills youll need to be a versatile and effective conservationist!
The assignment will be evaluated on the following metrics:
Approval of course project topic (5 points TOTAL)
Presentation & Organization (30 points TOTAL)
Adherence to assignment requirements (5 points)
Correct fonts, sizes, normal margins, word counts/page restrictions, etc.
Clarity of writing and presentation (25 points)
Organization (5 points)
Grammar (5 points)
Presentation (5 points)
Approximately correct readability statistics (5 points)
Appropriateness for audience (5 points)
Mastery of topic and concept (65 points TOTAL)
Executive Summary (10 points)
Accuracy of facts and assertions (5 points)
Clarity and fair presentation of recommendations (5 points)
Issue Background (10 points)
Accuracy of facts and assertions (5 points)
Clarity of writing/organization (5 points)
Scientific Background (20 points)
Scientific accuracy/accuracy of facts and assertions (5 points)
All terms and acronyms are clearly defined and appropriately used; all units are defined; all facts are clearly and appropriately cited
Concision and clarity of writing (5 points)
Appropriate and properly formatted citations (5 points)
Relevance to issue chosen (5 points)
Recommendation (25 points)
Persuasiveness (5 points)
Concision and clarity of writing (5 points)
Impact statement/examination of repercussions (5 points)
Feasibility/Relevance to issue chosen (5 points)
Appropriateness for audience (e.g. within the purview of the correct agency, etc.) (5 points)
