PrintReminder!
After completing your Discussion Assignment, don't forget to take the Module 1 Quiz. If you didn't answer the Learning Checkpoint questions, take a few minutes to complete them now. They will help your study for the quiz and you may even see a few of those question on the quiz!
Discussion Question
Objective:
Show that people can make money and save the world at the same time. Find an article online about someone who has made money by doing something that conserves energy or generates energy in a new way that is less damaging to the Earth than traditional fossil fuel extraction and burning. Share it with the other students in this course and discuss the various ways entrepreneurs have approached this issue.
Goals:
- Find reliable sources of information on the internet
- Communicate scientific ideas in language non-scientists can understand
Read:
Get Rich and Save the World from Earth the Operator's Manual
Description:
Many of us pessimistically accept the idea that in order to make money and progress, we have no choice but to inflict some amount of damage on the Earth and its environment. But there are those out there who have flipped this axiom on its head by finding ways to make money by doing things that help the Earth. For this activity, search online for an article to share with the class. The article should describe one way in which someone or some company has found a way to make money by saving energy or by developing new alternative means of producing energy.
Start by searching the terms "energy entrepreneurs" or "environmental entrepreneurs". Click around until you find something interesting.
Once you find an article you would like to share, write 2-3 sentences summarizing the content. Then, write an additional 1-2 sentences explaining your thoughts on making money and helping the world. Explain in your own words why you think it is or is not possible or necessary to implement these ideas on a global scale.
Instructions:
Your discussion post should include a link to the article you have chosen, a summary 100-150 words in length, and a personal commentary 75-100 words in length. Your original post must be submitted by midnight on Wednesday. In addition, you are required to comment on at least one of your peers' posts by midnight on Sunday. You can comment on as many posts as you like, but please try to make your first comment to a post that does not have any other comments yet. Once you have an idea of what you want your post to be, go to the course discussion for your campus and create a new post.
Scoring Information and Rubric:
The discussion post is worth a total of 20 points. The comment is worth an additional 5 points.
| Description | Possible Points |
|---|---|
| link to appropriate article posted | 5 |
| summary provides a clear description of the article content (100-150 words) | 10 |
| well-reasoned comment on your own article included in your post (75-100 words) | 5 |
| well-reasoned comment on someone else's article and post (75-100 words) | 5 |