Essay on Sustainability and Environmental Justice

Due May 4

For this assignment you have a choice of three topics. Choose ONE of the following topics and write a 1000-1500 word essay in response. You should follow the essay-writing guidelines explained in the “Writing Resources” section of the Interactive Syllabus. The essay is due by 23.59 on May 4. Submit your essay by uploading it to the IS. Essays that are late will receive reduced grades. Essays that refer to course materials (such as the textbook, lectures, videos, and literature) and that are based on your own independent research will receive higher grades.

1. Investigate your household waste. When you throw out garbage at home, where does it go? Track the movement of your household waste in Brno from the moment you put it in the dustbin.

• Include descriptions of the different treatments of solid wastes, recyclables, and any other materials you dispose of.
  
• What are the possible positive or negative environmental and social impacts of the different forms of treatment your waste undergoes (e.g., incineration, landfilling, composting, recycling, etc.)?

2. Investigate electronic waste in the Czech Republic. When you decide to get a new mobile phone, what is the legal way for you to dispose of your old mobile phone? Do research and answer the following questions with specific information, cited properly:

• Do you own a mobile phone, and if yes, how often to you buy a new one?  Is this more or less often than the average in the Czech Republic?
  
• Which national and international laws govern the proper disposal of your mobile phone?
• Practically speaking, when you want to dispose of your phone in Brno, how should you do it?
• What will happen to your mobile phone when you dispose of it?

3. Analyzing and assessing Julian Simon's cornucopianism. What is your reaction to economist Julian Simon's assertion that population growth is a solution to social and environmental problems? Does his analysis seem valid to you, and why?

You may upload your essay to IS below: