This week, you will select a topic for your environmental issues in the news article. You have a wide array of choices. Remember that all human activity–every skyscraper, every park, every factory, every stadium, every golf course, every wind turbine, every parking lot, every regulation or law–has an environmental impact. That impact may be mostly positive, mostly negative, or mostly neutral. Moreover, that environmental impact won’t be the same for everyone in the community. It may be beneficial for some community members, while others are harmed, and some are relatively unaffected one way or the other. 

Your task is to identify one such activity occurring in your community and to analyze it through the lens of environmental sociology. This could be something that is happening right now, something that has been proposed for the future, or something that happened in the past, but that is impacting your community today.

Assignment Directions

For this week’s assignment, answer the following questions in at least two sentences each.

1. What human activity in your community will you focus upon? Example. A new housing development proposed to be built near our neighborhood. I am concerned about its environmental impact as well as its impact on the lives of local residents. 
2. Why is it important to you? Example. It could lead to strain on natural resources, more pollution, and increased cost of living. Local residents may be priced out of the new homes.
3. Who stands to benefit? Example. The developers, those in the construction trades will benefit from the work to be done. Those who can afford the new homes will enjoy living in them.
4. Who might be harmed? Example. Those with low-incomes might be priced out of the neighborhood. Wildlife may lose habitat, those with preexisting health conditions might suffer complications.
5. What is your hypothesis (your tentative opinion prior to conducting research)? Example. Overall, I believe that the potential harms done to those with low incomes and preexisting health conditions outweigh the possible benefits of this new housing development. I am inclined to oppose the new housing development.