P1247176257JTwiM

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ONE MORE NOTE REGARDING FINAL

• The period is 6-8 PM. The exam will not likely
  take anyone more than an hour. At the second Mid
  term there were some latecomers.
• NO ONE WILL BE ALLOWED TO START THE EXAM AFTER
  645

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Current Issues In the Environment Summing it
all up
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Environmental protection has a good pay-off ratio
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Each generation has at least one environmental
battle that takes center stage.
Pollution control and preserving biotic diversity
are now mature issues. Global change and
sustainable life styles are just beginning.
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What can you do?
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Four Suggestions

• Understand the Issues. Everyone wants to live in
  a better environment, but we vary in the costs
  (, convenience, quality of life) we are willing
  to bear.
• Better understanding of the costs of not acting
  on behalf of the environment needs to be more
  widespread
• Understanding the science of the problem and the
  regulatory framework to deal with the problem are
  the dual keys to better advocacy for a solution.

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Four Suggestions

• Be wary of extremism. Unregulated economic
  markets can not solve environmental problems, nor
  does radical back to nature environmentalism.
• Demonizing the opposition may be fun, but it
  rarely works.
• Be Patient. Democratic governments work slowly by
  design.
• Environmental solutions are often excruciatingly
  slow to be implemented
• The US is a much more conscientious environmental
  manager now than 25 years ago.
• We are entering a period where most significant
  improvements may be a result of changing
  individual behavior. This will be slow and
  painful.

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Four Suggestions

• 4. Embrace uncertainty. Environmental problems
  are inherently complex. Complexity and
  uncertainty can not be allowed to be barriers to
  action.
• Indecision because of scientific uncertainty is a
  decision. Understand the uncertainty and treat it
  as a cost-benefit or risk analysis problem.
• Attacking the messenger (the science and the
  scientist, or the agency appointed to protect a
  resource) has become the norm. Recognize that
  this is a cheap trick of the cynical and jaded.

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1) Personal choices and responsibility

• Recognize your impacts
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Be an energy conscious consumer
• Fuel efficiency, shut the AC off
• Reduced use is better than recycling

People may be concerned about the big global
problems, Ruston says, but if they want to do
something concrete in their own lives, it usually
comes down to shopping and taking out the trash.
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2) Take action

• Volunteer
• Environmental organizations depend on volunteers.
• Make your voice heard
• Understand that humans are a social species

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3) Support environmental groups

• Donate to organizations that support your
  concerns.

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There are many, many ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
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The organizations

• Law driven organizations
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
• working to implement legislative change in the
  way we manage natural resources
• Environmental lobbying organizations
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
• Sierra Club
• Audubon Society
• Environmental Activism groups
• Earth First!
• Greenpeace

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Conservation requires land

• Land Protection Organizations
• The Nature Conservancy
• World Wildlife Fund
• Conservation International
• County Land Trusts

The LAND TRUST of NAPA COUNTY
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4) Expend Civic Capital

• Become active in your local government.
• Voting is a voice, but is a small one.
• Calling, writing or showing up at local
  government meetings vastly increases your impact

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Exercise your right to be active here at UC Davis
Develop skills outside the classroom now Student
organizations Working with graduate students and
faculty internships
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Professional Environmentalists

• Environmental Careers
• Policy
• Law
• Environmental Planning
• Regulation
• Environmental Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Environmental Consulting
• Science
• Environmental Research
• Education
• Environmental centers and outreach

John Ruston EDF
Biography Grew up in Fresno, BS in environmental
planning from UC Davis. MS from MIT. Worked for
Environmental Defense in NYC on recycling during
the late 90s. He worked with McDonalds to phase
out clamshell sandwich boxes.
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Not all the environmental news is bad. Much of it
is very encouraging.
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Get Started!