NRE 220

Discussion: The Extinction Spasm of 1950 - 2050

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Resource Materials:

A. At the crossroads: the story of America's endangered species (Film, 26min)

Only One Earth: The Sinking Ark (Video, 58min, use first 15 min)

B. Readings:

B-1: full articles
Soule, M.E. 1985. What is conservation biology? BioScience 35:727-734.
Wolf, E.C. 1991. Survival of the rarest. WorldWatch Magazine, March-April 1991, pp 12-20.

B-2: news and short reports
"From minnow to sturgeon, North American fish are in peril" NY Times 1/30/1990
"Species Loss: Crisis or false alarm?" NY Times 8/20/1991
"Extinct species in America: an update" NY Times 2/25/1997

Activities:

Prior to the class discussion, each student should read all of the news reports, and also read the Soule and Wolf articles, carefully.

Requirements:

Submit to TA at next discussion meeting a 1 page written assessment. This could be a summary of the main theme of any assigned full article, an examination of the general issues as thy emerged from the discussion, or it could focus in some depth on any single aspect that interests you. You should stress analysis and integration over simple reporting. Your own ideas and reactions are welcome, but these should not dominate the article, and they should be included primarily to illustrate a point.

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