Statue
  1. "Pre-Trip" Assignments
  2. "Trip" Field Presentation
  3. "Trip" Journal Assignment
  4. "Trip" Species and Ecosystem Assignment
  5. "Post-Trip" Report: Sustaining China's Ecosystems


II. "Trip" Presentations and Programs *

   - to be attended by all participants throughout the trip component; reading handouts will be given to you when necessary; presentations will be given by field researchers at conservations sites visited, Dr. McLaughlin, Chinese government officials, and all 497 students and graduate students selected to participate in this program.*

The following topics, and many others related to specific environmental issues will be covered:

China Presentation Topics:
  • Plastic: An Environmental Nightmare
  • Impacts and Regulations of E-Recycling
  • Re-plumbing China: China's South North Project
  • Re-cycling in PA, USA, and China
  • Industrialization of the Huai River
  • The World's Water: Who is Thirsty and Why?
  • Mao: The Great leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution
  • Pollution and Seafood
  • Eutrophication of Lake Tai
  • $58 Billion South-North Water Transfer Project
  • The Truth behind Three Gorges Dam
  • China's History of Building Dams
  • Desertification and Deforestation in China’s Northeast
    (See: http://www.fao.org/desertification/default.asp?lang=en)
  • Energy Consumption: China’s Reliance on Coal
  • China’s Pandemics
  • Localized Diseases Related to Pollution
  • China's Use of Pesticides: The Good and the Bad
  • China Health: The Cost of Environmental Destruction
  • Construction: Housing Roads and Urban Development
  • Olympics: Cost/Benefits Analysis
  • Transportation: Cars, Bicycles, and Mass Transit
  • Construction: Housing Roads and Urban Development
  • The World’s Most Environmentally Damaging Industries: Petrochemical Plants, Semi-conductor factories, and Strip Mining
  • Trade:
    1. Impact and Standards Regarding Shipping
    2. Trade Relationships (such as the U.S and China)
    3. Impacts and Regulations of Specific Trades. Examples:
      1. Fuel/energy trade
      2. Agro trade
      3. Food trade
  • Financial/Economic:
    1. The Kuznets Curve: Is It Too Late?
    2. Impacts/Costs of Complying with International Standards such as Kyoto Protocol
    3. Poverty's Affects on the Environment
    4. Foreign Investment
      1. Where is the money coming from?
      2. How is foreign money contributing to the environmental issues?
    5. Environmental Spending Breakdowns, Trends and Comparisons
      1. Per person, government, corporate, percent of GDP, etc.
    6. Currency Manipulation
  • Energy:
    1. Energy Sources Used in China
    2. Growth/Viability of Alternative Sources
    3. China's Energy Policy

* Penn State Biology 497 students and graduate students must select a topic of interest (from the above list or one that pertains to a specific environmental and/or economic issue and is approved by Dr. Mclaughlin) and lead a 30-45 minute presentation followed by a 15 minute group discussion.