Movie: “Merchants of Doubt”

Make sure to read the questions first and write down the times when these points are discussed in case you need to hear those parts again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-npe7Bczj3g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqiCLuOtXts

“Merchants of Doubt” is a 2014 documentary inspired by the 2010 book of the same name written by Naomi Oreskes professor of Science History from Harvard University, and Eric Conway the historian at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, CA.

The book identifies parallels between the global warming controversy and earlier controversies over tobacco smoking, acid rain, DDT, and the hole in the ozone layer. The book, and movie in turn, expose the strategy of ‘keeping the controversy alive’ by spreading doubt and confusion after a scientific consensus has already been reached.

The movie takes a hard look at what arguments climate deniers are making and what tactics they use to propagate their message.  These tactics have been used successfully by the same people on previous issues and are now being cultivated to prevent the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in response to the risk of global climate change – regardless of scientific consensus.

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PART I:  Assignment

Watch the movie “Merchants of Doubt” and respond to the following questions. Make sure to read the questions before watching the movie.

A goal of this class is to help give each of you the ability to discuss Climate Change with others who do not have the same knowledge or who have different viewpoints. This assignment will provide a challenging and rewarding opportunity for you to practice this. With everything you have learned to this point, write an essay/discussion post of how you would explain the climate change controversies discussed in this movie to an interested high school senior who has heard of global warming and the various debates, but is not familiar with the science of Climate Change.

Be sure to explain all parts of each of the following questions and use different paragraphs for different topics.

1) General Discussion (4 pts)

a) What is the goal of the climate change deniers in the movie (hint – use title of movie)?  Describe how this goal is achieved using two examples from the movie.

b) Describe two unethical practices of climate change deniers that were highlighted in the movie.  How do you think these practices have affected the climate change discussion?

2) Oregon Petition & Climategate Discussion (4 pts) 

Just before the Kyoto Negotiations, the Oregon Petition was created to attack the climate change science.  Just before the Copenhagen Summit, there were the attacks from Climategate.

a) What was the Oregon Petition as described in the movie?  How many “scientists who specialize in climate science” actually signed this document?  See the first paragraph at this link https://skepticalscience.com/OISM-Petition-Project-intermediate.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

b) What was Climategate as described in the movie or in your textbook?  Which of the tactics explained at the following link is used to promote the Climategate allegations?  How so?

https://www.skepticalscience.com/5-characteristics-of-scientific-denialism.html (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

3) Deniers that Switched (4 pts)

The movie discussed two climate change deniers that changed their views and became important spokesman in the fight against climate change.

a) Who was the Director of Skeptic Society and what caused him to change his views on climate change?

b) Who was the very conservative Congressman from South Carolina and what caused him to change his views on climate change?

4) Think Tanks and Institutes (4 pts)

The movie discussed several “think tanks” that were created specifically to promote specific views, often so their founding organizations could be anonymous.

a) The Cato Institute created the NIPCC.  What does NIPCC stand for and why was it created?  Did they do any new scientific work?

b) Who was the CEO of the George C. Marshall Institute?  What industry was he a registered lobbyist for?  What was the goal of this institute?

5) Russian Arctic (4 pts)

Near the end of the movie, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who was the CEO of ExxonMobile at the time was shown shaking hands with Vladimir Putin.  What actions were planned to take place as a result of this agreement?  How did Climate Change allow this to occur? While this particular deal is no longer intact, there is much contention between nations over who will have access to arctic drilling rights.

6) Personal Review of “Merchants of Doubt” (6 pts)

After watching “Merchants of Doubt”, discuss how we can move beyond the questions and controversies that this movie brings out.  (100-200 words minimum)

Notes:

1.  Remember to use separate paragraphs for each of the points listed above, make sure there is a logical flow to your arguments and that it is written as though you are telling a story to a high school senior. This will make it more fun!

2.  We are looking forward to reading your essay to a high school senior!

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Environmental health

Answer the following questions. Each response should be approximately 400-600 words. Be sure to clearly demonstrate your understanding of the material. Use the rubric as a guide. (it’s uploaded) I uploaded the book too.

What are the some of the direct and indirect effects of climate change, what makes it such a difficult problem to solve, and is it an environmental justice issue? 15pts
Energy is important, why is it important to discuss in issues of human health? Why might it be important to discuss with environmental ethics/justice. 15pts
Pesticides are unique in that they are poisons we put in the environment on purpose. Why do we use them despite their risks? What do we have in place (or not have in place) to properly protect people and the environment? 15 pts
Is clean air/water/waste disposal an environmental justice issue? Explain? 10 pts
Why did we discuss “There is something in the water”. How does this relate to other topics in this unit? 10 pts
Mitigation and adaptation are important for pollution. Describe strategies for climate change, air, water pollution, and hazardous waste. Of mitigation vs. adaptation which is the better choice? Why? 15 pts
Compare and contrast the different ways we regulate pollution in the US? What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? 10 pts
Based on what you have learned in this course thus far, do you think we are doing a good job of maintaining the three-legged stool? Provide specific examples. 10 pts

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ENVIROMENTAL SCIENCE- CASE STUDY

Part II

1. What is in some fish and shellfish that has caused the EPA and FDA to issue the restriction?

2. Why is there a restriction for pregnant women and young children, but not the rest of the population? 3. Do pregnant women have to avoid all fish? Explain your answer.

4. Should Amanda have avoided the pan-seared tuna for lunch?

Part III

1. What human actions lead to increased mercury levels in the environment?

2. How does the mercury end up in fish? Draw a flow chart following the mercury path.

3. Where in the United States are mercury wet deposition levels highest? What do you think explains this pattern?

4. The EPA criterion for human health is 0.3 ug/g. Which fish species have average mercury concentrations that exceed the EPA limits?

5. The concern level for piscivorous (fish-eating) mammals is 0.1 Hg ug/g. Which fish species have average mercury concentrations that exceed this limit? Why is the mercury level for piscivorous mammals lower than the level for human health?

6. Should you be concerned about mercury toxicity if you catch and eat a largemouth bass in a local lake? Why or why not?

7. In which samples were mercury concentrations the highest (fi sh, streams, or sediment)? Why do you think this is?

Part IV

1. Draw a food web for Lake Washington using the species and food preferences given in Table 3. Start with phytoplankton (algae) as the base of your web and then build up the food chain.

2. Label the species in your food chain as either high (>100 ug/kg), medium (20-100 ug/kg), or low (below20 ug/kg) mercury concentrations. Which types of animals have the highest levels of mercury? Which types of animals have the lowest? Why do you think this is?

Final Activity

1. Imagine you are Tara. Write an email to your friend Amanda explaining what you have learned about mercury. Be sure to convey the aspects of your learning that will be most useful to Amanda.

2. Find two other examples of compounds that biomagnify. Explain how each compound and/or toxin enters the biosphere and what impacts it has on living organisms in general and humans in particular.

3. Distinguish between bioaccumulation and biomagnifi cation and design a mnemonic device for the distinction.

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HSA 520 PART 1 EXAM

Part 1: Mastrian: Chapters 2, 5, 8, 11, 17, and 19

Question 1   Data are dirty when there are errors such as:    Duplicate entries    Incomplete or outdated records    Both duplicate entries and incomplete or outdated records    None of these are correct. Question 2   Reliable information comes from:    Reliable or clean data    Authoritative sources    Credible sources    All of these are correct. Question 3   The awareness and understanding of a net of information and ways that information can be made useful to support a specific task or to arrive at a decision is called:    Acquisition    Dissemination    Knowledge    Information Question 4   Which statement best reflects the definition of information?    It can be used for a variety of purposes.    No errors exist in the data or information.    It is whole, complete, correct, and consistent data.    It is processed data that have meaning. Question 5   When processing data into information, it is important that the data:    Have integrity and quality    Reflect human inconsistencies    Contain raw facts    Contain duplicate facts Question 6   What do organizational BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policies typically include?    The device must be issued by the organization.    The device is subject to routine audits.    Both the device must be issued by the organization and the device is subject to routine audits.    None of these are correct. Outside devices are forbidden according to HIPAA. Question 7   The intent of HIPAA was to:    Curtail healthcare fraud and abuse and enforce standards for health information    Guarantee the security and privacy of health information    Assure health insurance portability for employed persons    All of these are correct. Question 8   Which social conventions about right and wrong human conduct are so widely shared that they form a stable general agreement?    Ethics    Confidentiality    Values    Morals Question 9   New technologies in digital communications, electronic health records, and telehealth raise issues related to:    Comprehensiveness of care    The digital divide    Justice and fidelity    Privacy and confidentiality Question 10   Which principle of ethics has a nursing educator violated in failing to correctly teach his/her students how to calculate medication dosages?    Autonomy    Confidentiality    Justice    Nonmaleficence Question 11   In the design of human technology interface, what best describes the factor(s) to consider?    Task and cost    Medical opinion    Nursing opinion    User proficiency Question 12   The users see the effects of their actions on the technology when you bridge the:    Gulf of execution    Gulf of understanding    Gulf of evaluation    Gulf of assessment Question 13   Videoconferencing technology:    Is easy to use    Allows professionals to communicate more effectively and frequently with in-home patients    Must be used for telehealth    None of these are correct. Question 14   Task analysis examines:    The number of tasks involved    How the user approaches the task in order to accomplish it    What the needed output is    All of these are correct. Question 15   A cognitive walkthrough:    Observes the steps users take to use the interface to accomplish typical tasks    Detects problems early in the design process    Is the least expensive method    All of these are correct. Question 16   Online communication among healthcare teams is called:    Order entry management    Electronic communication and connectivity    Clinical decision making    Reporting and population health management Question 17   Patient data in an electronic health record (EHR) includes demographics, medical and nursing diagnoses, and:    Medication lists    Allergies    Test results    All of these are correct. Question 18   Positive impacts noted with using an informatics system to manage patients with chronic illness include:    Guidelines adherence    A decrease in emergency department visits    Improved provider documentation    All of these are correct. Question 19   The benefits of EHR use recognized in early studies include all of these, except:    Increased delivery of guidelines-based care    Enhanced capacity to perform surveillance and monitoring for disease conditions    Reduction in medication errors    Improved workflow Question 20   Organizations with the authority to accredit EHRs:    Test EHRs    Compare EHRs against NIST standards    Develop and test EHRs    Both test EHRs and compare EHRs against NIST standards Question 21   What is not a goal of evidence based practice?    Improve professional satisfaction    Decrease practice variability    Increase patient safety    Eliminate unnecessary cost Question 22   What is an important factor to assess when determining if it is possible to implement a study?    Contextual meaning    Number of people in the study    Available technology    Established guidelines Question 23   Context of care evidence may be gathered from:    Audit and performance data    The culture of the organization    Local or national policy    All of these are correct. Question 24   Sources of evidence for practice include:    Synthesis of knowledge from research    Retrospective or concurrent chart reviews    Clinical expertise    All of these are correct. Question 25   What indicates that a healthcare professional recognizes the value of providing evidence-based care?    Provides the same care as always    Includes research as part of current practice    Is offended when patient asks about a new treatment    Fails to effectively evaluate sources of information Question 26   Which statement best describes caring as defined by Watson’s Theory of Human Caring?    Caring is cognitive energy focused on changing data into knowledge in a patient encounter.    Caring is conscious awareness of one’s strengths and limitations in a patient encounter.    Caring is healing consciousness and intentionality to care and promote healing.    Caring is the focus of the energy on efficient completion of assessment and diagnosis in a patient encounter. Question 27   Patient-centered care means that practitioners should focus on:    The subjective experience of patients    Data gathered by technology    Objective signs and symptoms    Their interpretation of the patient’s experience Question 28   When professionals observes their work for a different perspective and generate insights about how healthcare services and processes could be improved, they are practicing:    Centering    Bracketing    Reflection    All of these are correct Question 29   Clearing the mind of preconceived notions and expectations based on a patient’s diagnosis is known as:    Centered caring    Bracketing    Active listening    Healing consciousness Question 30   Anne has a very busy personal life and is worried about her parents who live 100 miles away and are in failing health. She works as a physical therapist in a rehabilitation unit in a metropolitan hospital. She is the primary therapist for six patients today, one more than the ideal staffing pattern of five. Before entering the room of a particularly anxious patient, Anne takes a few moments to breathe deeply, clear her mind, and review the patient’s EHR on her tablet. She carries the tablet into the room and sets it aside. She moves toward the patient and smiles, making eye contact, and greeting the patient by name. She sits at the bedside and chats with the patient for a brief moment and then performs her assessment. Anne is practicing:    Transcendent presence    Physical presence    Carative presence    Cognitive presence

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INTRO TO ENVIRONMENTAL

Understanding Experimental Design LAB  – Assignment

OVERVIEW

Scientists conduct experiments in order to understand how the natural world works. Virtually all of the science you learn in this and your other science classes was discovered and verified by repeated experiments. Designing and running a good experiment is challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. What makes experiments worthwhile, indeed critical, is that they are the most powerful tool we have for establishing cause-and-effect relationships. Educated citizens need to understand how scientific investigations are done and how results and conclusions are reported in order to make informed decisions. This lab will introduce you to the principles of good experimental design. Because these principles are best learned by carrying out an actual experiment, your challenge will be to design, conduct, and interpret your own experiment.

BE ORIGINAL! Remember to use your own words and do not copy verbatim from any online, previous or current student source. By submitting this assignment, you are agreeing to the following statement: “I understand that my paper will be checked against multiple sources for original content. A report will be generated that shows if content in this paper matches content in documents available on the Internet, in many print journals, and a database of other papers submitted by students. If submitted to the instructor, my paper will be added to the student database for comparison of future OSU papers against it. I maintain ownership of the original intellectual property created in this paper. I understand that results of this report may be used by the University in student conduct proceedings related to academic dishonesty (See Canvas Start Here module for more information)” Turnitin generates a report that highlights any potentially unoriginal text in your paper, including text from previous students’ or current students’ submissions.

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ASSIGNMENT

Section 1 Reflection (2 pts)

Take the opportunity to reflect back on last week’s work. Please use complete sentences!

1. a) Identify one thing you did well. Be specific and use an example.

I had less driving time last week, and more time I chose to carpool or use public transportation, and in China we use a software called Didi to complete carpool trips, which not only cut down on travel costs. It can also effectively reduce carbon emissions per capita.

1. b) Identify one thing you could improve upon. Be specific and use an example.

I think instead of taking public transport or carpooling, I should choose to walk or ride a bike, so I can exercise on the one hand, and reduce individual carbon emissions on the other. In many cities in China, we have public bike for just $1 a month and you can ride unlimited times, and you can find it anywhere at any time and also same as park it.

1. c) Find and copy a grader’s comment on your work here. Not sure where to look? See the ‘submission comments’ on your assignment, or email and ask!

Type answer here

1. d) Respond to the grader (Who will read this! This is your opportunity to connect!). You could state how you could have done better, did you need to double check a value, ask a question, look something up, put something in your own words?

Type answer here

Section 2 What Makes a Good Experiment (5 pts)

Section 1 of the lab is an interactive tutorial that introduces the components of a good experiment. Section 1 warms you up with 17 low-stakes, coached questions.  This section will be completed entirely within SimUText and you will get credit simply for completing it.

Note, you must get these questions correct to get credit! This means clicking through AND correcting your mistakes when prompted by the program.  This section is meant to prime you for creating your own experiments in Section 2!

Section 3 Part 1: Save the Simploids! (10 pts)

Section 2 of the lab helps you practice in SimUText and receive feedback as you design experiments, generate quality scientific data, and state conclusions of what is sickening the Simploids. I have provided a table in this document for you to keep track of your experiments and results for your summary report in Section 2 Part 2. 10 pts for answering the questions in SimUText AND completing the tables.

• Work through the warmup questions Q2.1-Q2.3. Then select a hypothesis to test with your first experiment.
• Design and carry out a minimum of TWO experiments to address the problem of the sick Simploids. Based the data from each experiment, answer the questions in SimUText, including stating your scientific conclusion of what is causing the Simploids to sicken.
• Fill in the tables below as you work through SimUText experiments (note that the table does not ask exactly the same things as the tutorial – pay careful attention in order to answer correctly). This will help you organize your summary report that you submit in Section 3 of the lab.

Experiment 1

Experiment 2

Overall conclusion

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• After conducting each experiment, export ALL the data from that experiment to your computer (see button below!):

Click “Export Data” (see image to the left!) and then save the file (default name is “results.txt”) to your computer. Make sure to give your two results files different names. Open the files in a spreadsheet application and organize the data into data tables. You are encouraged, but not required, to make graphs of key results. Your summary report in Section 3 Part 2 MUST refer to the tables and any graphs submitted.

Helpful Hints: There are descriptions of the data columns in the LAB Background document. The LAB Demonstration video shows how to export data from SimUText and import it to your spreadsheet application. Recall that you learned how to explore, sort, and filter data in the Ecological Footprint lab; those skills will come in handy here as well.

Section 3 Part 2: Report with Data (15 pts)

This section is NOT in the SimUText application, and is REQUIRED. Complete a report for the city of Idyllic that states your conclusion of what is happening to the Simploids, describes the experiments you conducted, and provides supporting data for your conclusion. Look to the tables you completed as you worked through Section 2 to fill in the blanks. We have provided a template report letter for you to fill in.

You must present your data in your lab assignment, by submitting your data table(s) (with ALL OF the data) along with a paragraph explaining how you came to your conclusion based on the data. This section requires the use of a spreadsheet application (Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, etc.) to construct your tables. Paste your tables, with clear descriptions, into the placeholders below.

Report to the Town of Idyllic (5 pts)

I have provided a template for your report below. If you did more than two experiments, add another paragraph to the methods for each additional experiment.

• Fill in all areas denoted by red brackets, […], to complete a report on your experiments to submit to the town of Idyllic. Wherever you see [red brackets], you need to type an answer. Please keep your answers in RED text!

Dear Town of Idyllic,

My research into the effects of herbicides and parasites on the health of Simploids indicates [type conclusion here]. Based on these results, I recommend you take the following actions to improve and protect the health of Simploids in your community:

[type recommendations here].

I came to this conclusion by conducting the following experiments.

My first experiment tested […] by experimentally changing […]  and observing the effects on […]. This experiment demonstrated that […]. This conclusion is supported by the data shown in Table 2.1 below.

My second experiment tested […]  by experimentally changing […]  and observing the effects on […]. This experiment demonstrated that […]. This conclusion is supported by the data shown in Table 2.2 below.

Taken together, the results of these experiments indicate that [restate conclusion here] is the cause of Simploid sickness in the town of Idyllic.

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Table 2.1. Experiment 1 Data Table (5pts)

The data table must be labeled and units clearly indicated.  Hint: if there are only a handful of rows or columns in your table, you did something wrong!  Go back and review the video to download data from SimUText.

Description: [Summarize what these data tell you and how you came to your conclusion based on the data.]

Table 2.2 Experiment 2 Data Table (5pts)

The data table must be labeled and units clearly indicated. Hint: if there are only a handful of rows or columns in your table, you did something wrong! Go back and review the video to download data from SimUText.

Description: [Summarize what these data tell you and how you came to your conclusion based on the data.]

Section 4 Autograded questions (10 pts)

This section includes 10 autograded questions that you will complete in SimUText.

Section 5 Synthesis and Relevance (8 pts)

Each lab we will check-in with the current state of the world and let you know how this week’s lab topic is relevant to you and to sustainability. This portion of the lab may reference a news story, scientific study just published, or a local event.

Monarch butterflies – our own Simploids?

The iconic Monarch butterfly is declining – and it is unclear exactly why.  In this lab we learned about how experimental design can help us solve a mystery: What was killing the Simploids? Well, in the real world we might ask: What is killing the Monarch Butterflies?

Think about the experiment you performed above and do some internet searching to answer the following questions:

1. a) Name three threats that the Simploids faced in the experiment above (hint: we only tested two…but there’s one more! What did you have to add to the plots so Simploids could live?? What did they eat??)

type your answer here

1. b) Name three threats for Monarch Butterflies that are similar to those for the Simploids. (hint: look at the threats for the Simploids; might these be the same or different for butterflies in the real world? Do a little research if you need to!)

type your answer here

1. c) Now think about how you determined the biggest threat to the Simploids. How could you test which of the three things you listed above is the primary threat for Monarch Butterflies? Write a couple of sentences at least!

type your answer here

1. d) What do scientists say is the biggest threat to Monarch Butterflies (hint, what do most folks recommend you can do to HELP Monarchs (again, do a quick internet search!))?

type your answer here

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