Overview
Re: Environmental Issue Policy Brief
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You will write an 8-page, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins, policy brief on a current environmental issue. Please provide a cover page, which is not page 1 of the 8-page brief, and include page numbers. You should have a minimum of 10 original sources cited in the text, as well as in the bibliography. Wikipedia is not a source. Citations: in text, you choose the style, but they have to be in the text as footnotes, endnotes, or parentheticals.
Using the Layzer text as a style guide, if you choose to do so, provide history/background to the issue. Discuss the various stakeholders that have been working on the issue, being sure to include all of the angles and viewpoints of those stakeholders. Note key already-established policies that are being used to address the problem, if applicable, as well as being sure to highlight any new policy suggestions being made by any/all of the stakeholders.
After setting up the issue that you are investigating, and after providing thorough analysis of the politics, policies, and practicable approaches being used and/or suggested to address the issue, please provide your assessment of what the “best” policy approach would be to rectify the environmental challenge. It is your discretion to determine what “best” means. Essentially, you should explain why your approach is superior to other approaches that are being considered/used. This is not solely an opinion piece. Use evidence (e.g. science, economics) to support your decision. Also, keep in mind that policy is an ongoing process, meaning that you may suggest immediate actions to take and you may also suggest what might need to be further investigated/considered. You can have an action plan, so to speak, set to a timeline, if you’d like to do so. Do NOT forget to include some possible ways to evaluate the progress of your policy approach.
An example of a paper outline might look like:
I. Environmental Issue
- Define
- History/Background
II. Stakeholder Groups
- Environmentalists
- Cornucopians
- Other
III. Policy Approaches and Analysis
- Current
- Suggested/Alternatives
- Your “Best” Approach
IV. Conclusion
Possible Issues to Research: you can choose a local, regional, national, or international issue. Choose something that is of interest to you, and not necessarily something that is easy to find lots of information on when writing a paper. Sometimes distilling a huge quantity of information can prove to be very challenging when writing a focused research paper. Examples: fracking, wind energy, nuclear waste, watershed management, coal-fired electricity, mining, desertification, agricultural impacts on water quality, climate change, recreation on public lands, urban growth, palm oil, cash crops, maquiladores, international peace parks, public transportation.
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. You may submit your papers in such a way that no identifying information about you is included. Another option is that you may request, in writing, that your papers not be submitted to Turnitin.com. However, if you choose this option you will be required to provide documentation to substantiate that the papers are your original work and do not include any plagiarized material.
A paper that has zero in-text citations will be an automatic zero for the grade. A paper with improper citations will have points taken off accordingly and any paper that is submitted and determined to have been the result of using AI, e.g. ChatGPT, will be a zero for the paper and I will begin the university disciplinary process, which could possibly result in expulsion from the university. Students might consider this SDSU Library training on plagiarism: https://libguides.sdsu.edu/onlineinstruction/plagi...
Dates to Remember:
This serves as a guideline. You are graded only on the final paper that you turn in on/by 9 April.
1 March 2026 – turn your topic in to me via email or during office hours for approval.
1 April 2026 – turn in an outline/rough draft of your paper, including at least 5 cited sources.
9 April 2026 – paper is due by 11:59 PM San Diego time, submitted to Canvas.