BIO 220 environmental issue discussion: a planning guide
Directly affects you is the constraint most posts ignore. And the third question has real numbers behind it: DDT and mercury took over fifty years from first evidence to global action.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 10, 2026
What does this environmental issue discussion require?
Three questions sit in this prompt and the first one carries a constraint that decides the whole post. Choose an environmental issue and explain how it directly affects you. Directly is the operative word, and it rules out the answer most people reach for, which is a global problem described in general terms. Sea level rise affects somebody; whether it affects you depends on where you live. Pick something you can describe from your own position: air quality on the days you commute, water restrictions in your county, a river you cannot swim in, wildfire smoke that closed a school, flooding that changed your insurance. If the honest answer is that your chosen issue reaches you only indirectly, say so and trace the chain, because a traced indirect effect is a better answer than a claimed direct one. That specificity is also what makes the post worth replying to.
The second question asks what role environmental science plays in addressing the issue, and it is asking about a discipline rather than about solutions. Environmental science is interdisciplinary by construction, which is the thing to say: it combines biology, chemistry, geology, atmospheric science, statistics and policy analysis, because environmental problems do not respect the boundaries between them. Its roles in your specific issue are worth naming separately. It establishes that a problem exists and at what magnitude, through measurement. It identifies mechanism, which is what allows an intervention to be designed rather than guessed. It monitors whether interventions worked. And it quantifies trade-offs, which is the part policy makers actually need and the part that generates the disagreement. Applying those four roles to your own issue is more useful than a general definition, and it also prepares the third answer, because most of the obstacles you are about to name attach to one of those four roles rather than to the science as a whole.
The third question is the strongest one and it has a real literature behind it, which most posts do not use. What obstacles hinder scientists' recommendations from being implemented? The answer has been studied, and the numbers are striking. Reviews of environmental governance find long lags between the first scientific publication identifying a problem and global action on it: around thirteen years for the ozone layer and the Montreal Protocol, but something in the range of fifty-five to fifty-eight years for polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and mercury, and on the order of a century for climate change. Those figures turn a vague complaint about politics into a measured phenomenon, and quoting one of them will make your post the one people reply to. Note what the range itself implies: the difference between thirteen years and a century is not a difference in the quality of the science, so something other than evidence is doing the work.
Name the obstacles rather than gesturing at them, because they are well catalogued and they differ in kind. Scientific uncertainty is real but is also weaponised, since a burden of proof set high enough delays action indefinitely. Costs fall now and benefits fall later, and often on different people, which is a distributional problem rather than a scientific one. Institutional lock-in matters: infrastructure, contracts and settlement patterns built around a practice make changing it expensive regardless of the evidence. Scientists and policy makers work on different timescales and in different languages. And organised interests fund doubt where a finding threatens a business model. Choose two or three of these that genuinely apply to your issue rather than listing all of them, and explain how each one operates in that specific case. An obstacle you can describe operating on a particular decision is worth three you can only name, and it is what makes the answer yours rather than a summary of a reading.
One more move will make the third answer analytical rather than cynical, and it is worth the two sentences it costs. The temptation in the third answer is to conclude that nothing gets done, which is both dispiriting and untrue. The ozone case is the counterexample worth holding onto: the science was clear, the affected industry was relatively concentrated, substitutes existed, and international action followed inside about thirteen years. Comparing your issue to that one, and saying which of those conditions your issue lacks, is a genuinely good answer. It explains the obstacle instead of deploring it, and it tells you what would have to change for the recommendations to succeed. That forward-looking sentence is also the natural place to end the post, since it leaves the reader with a condition to argue about rather than a verdict to agree with, and a post that ends on a testable claim attracts better replies than one that ends on a lament.
On format, this is an initial discussion response, so check your course's stated minimum length and scholarly source requirement before posting. One source used precisely is worth more than three mentioned, and the implementation-lag figures are the single most quotable thing available to you here, so make sure that citation is the one you get right. Structure the post in three short paragraphs matching the three questions, so a marker checking whether all three were addressed can see immediately that they were. If replies to peers are graded separately, the easiest substantive reply here is to take somebody else's issue and ask which of the ozone conditions it satisfies, because that adds an analytical frame rather than agreement. Substantive replies in this course are usually defined as adding something new to the discussion, and applying somebody else's obstacle analysis to their own case is about the cheapest way to do that honestly.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Choose an issue you can describe from your own position rather than in general.
- 02Trace an indirect effect honestly rather than claiming a direct one.
- 03Describe environmental science as a discipline with distinct roles.
- 04Support the obstacles answer with measured implementation lags.
- 05Select obstacles that apply to your specific issue rather than listing all of them.
- 06Use a successful case as a comparison, so the analysis is not merely cynical.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
Important information for writing discussion questions and participation Hi Class, Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts. Contact me if you have any questions. Important information on Writing a Discussion Question Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references) There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article. Include in-text citations in your response Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information Follow APA-7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week. Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references) Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count. Follow APA 7th edition Points will be deducted if the above is not followed Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points. Here are some helpful links Student paper example Citing Sources The Writing Center is a great resource Welcome to class Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to. I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you. Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted. If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations. Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements. Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week. I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course! Exit Grid View List View BIO 220 Week 1 Discussion 1 Choose an environmental issue from your textbook, or from your own personal experience and explain how this environmental issue directly affects you Excellent Point range: 90–100 Good Point range: 80–89 Fair Point range: 70–79 Poor Point range: 0–69 In 4 or 5 sentences, describe the anatomy of the basic unit of the nervous sytem, the neuron. Include each part of the neuron and a general overview of electrical impulse conduction, the pathway it travels, and the net result at the termination of the impulse. Be specific and provide examples. 12 (16%) – 13 (17.33%) The response accurately and clearly describes in detail the anatomy of the neuron. The response accurately and clearly describes in detail each part of the neuron, and it includes a detailed explanation of the general overview of electrical impulse conduction, the pathway it travels, and the net result at the termination of the impulse. Examples fully support the response provided. 11 (14.67%) – 11 (14.67%) The response accurately describes the anatomy of the neuron. The response accurately describes each part of the neuron, and it includes a general overview of electrical impulse conduction, the pathway it travels, and the net result at the termination of the impulse. Examples support the response provided. 10 (13.33%) – 10 (13.33%) The response provides an inaccurate or vague description of the anatomy of the neuron. The response inaccurately or vaguely describes each part of the neuron, and it includes an inaccurate or vague overview of electrical impulse conduction, the pathway it travels, and the net result at the termination of the impulse. Examples vaguely support the response provided. 0 (0%) – 9 (12%) The response provides an inaccurate or incomplete description of the anatomy of the neuron, or is missing. The response inaccurately or incompletely describes each part of the neuron, and it includes an inaccurate or vague overview of electrical impulse conduction, the pathway it travels, and the net result at the termination of the impulse, or is missing. Examples do not support the response provided, or is missing. Answer the following (listing is acceptable for these questions): a. What are the major components that make up the subcortical structures? b. Which component plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction? c. What are the two key neurotransmitters located in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control? 12 (16%) – 13 (17.33%) The response accurately and clearly details the major components that make up the subcortical structures. The response accurately and clearly details which component plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction. The response accurately and clearly identifies the two neurotransmitters located in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control. 11 (14.67%) – 11 (14.67%) The response accurately identifies the major components that make up the subcortical structures. The response accurately identifies which component plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction. The response accurately identifies the two neurotransmitters located in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control. 10 (13.33%) – 10 (13.33%) The response inaccurately identifies the major components that make up the subcortical structures. The response inaccurately identifies which component plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction. The response inaccurately identifies two neurotransmitters located in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control. 0 (0%) – 9 (12%) The response inaccurately and incompletely identifies the major components that make up the subcortical structures, or is missing. The response inaccurately and incompletely identifies which component plays a role in learning, memory, and addiction, or is missing. The response inaccurately and incompletely identifies two neurotransmitters in the nigra striatal region of the brain that play a major role in motor control, or is missing. In 3 or 4 sentences, explain how glia cells function in the central nervous system. Be specific and provide examples. 12 (16%) – 13 (17.33%) The response accurately and clearly explains in detail how glia cells function in the central nervous system. Examples fully support the response provided. 11 (14.67%) – 11 (14.67%) The response accurately explains how glia cells function in the central nervous system. Examples support the response provided. 10 (13.33%) – 10 (13.33%) The response inaccurately or vaguely explains how glia cells function in the central nervous system. Examples inaccurately or vaguely support the response provided. 0 (0%) – 9 (12%) The response inaccurately and vaguely explains how glia cells function in the central nervous system, or is missing. Examples do not support the response provided, or is missing. The synapse is an area between two neurons that allows for chemical communication. In 3 or 4 sentences, explain what part of the neurons are communicating with each other and in which direction does this communication occur? Be specific. 12 (16%) – 13 (17.33%) The response accurately and clearly explains in detail the part of the neurons that communicate with each other and the direction in which this communication occurs. 11 (14.67%) – 11 (14.67%) The response accurately explains the part of the neurons that communicate with each other and the direction in which this communication occurs. 10 (13.33%) – 10 (13.33%) The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the part of the neurons that communicate with each other and the direction in which this communication occurs. 0 (0%) – 9 (12%) The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the part of the neurons that communicate with each other and the direction in which this communication occurs, or is missing. In 3–5 sentences, explain the concept of “neuroplasticity.” Be specific and provide examples. 12 (16%) – 13 (17.33%) The response accurately and clearly explains in detail the concept of neuroplasticity. Examples provided fully support the response provided. 11 (14.67%) – 11 (14.67%) The response accurately explains the concept of neuroplasticity. Examples provided support the response provided. 10 (13.33%) – 10 (13.33%) The response inaccurately or vaguely explains the concept of neuroplasticity. Examples inaccurately or vaguely support the response provided. 0 (0%) – 9 (12%) The response inaccurately and vaguely explains the concept of neuroplasticity, or is missing. Examples do not support the response provided, or is missing. Written Expression and Formatting – English writing standards: Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation 5 (6.67%) – 5 (6.67%) Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation with no errors. 4 (5.33%) – 4 (5.33%) Contains a few (1 or 2) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 3.5 (4.67%) – 3.5 (4.67%) Contains several (3 or 4) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. 0 (0%) – 2 (2.67%) Contains many (≥ 5) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that interfere with the reader’s understanding. Written Expression and Formatting – The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, 5 (6.67%) – 5 (6.67%) Uses correct APA format with no errors. 4 (5.33%) – 4 (5.33%) Contains a few (1 or 2) APA format errors. 3.5 (4.67%) – 3.5 (4.67%) Contains several (3 or 4) APA format errors. 0 (0%) – 2 (2.67%) Contains many (≥ 5) APA format errors. parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list. Total Points: 75
Three questions and what each one wants
- 01An environmental issue drawn from the textbook or from personal experience.
- 02An explanation of how it directly affects you.
- 03An account of the role of environmental science in addressing it.
- 04The obstacles that would hinder scientists' recommendations from being implemented.
- 05At least one scholarly source, as your course requires.
Your issue, the discipline, the obstacles
The issue and its reach to you
Name the issue and describe concretely how it reaches your own life, tracing the chain if the effect is indirect.
What environmental science does about it
Set out measurement, mechanism, monitoring and trade-off analysis as distinct roles applied to this issue.
The obstacles
Name two or three obstacles that apply here and explain how each operates, with a measured lag as evidence.
The comparison
Contrast with a case where recommendations were implemented quickly, and say which conditions your issue lacks.
Where the science-policy evidence sits
Recommended databases
- PubMed Central for research on environmental governance and the science-policy interface
- Your state or county environmental agency, for local data on your chosen issue
- Your course textbook, which the prompt offers as a source of issues
- International agreement texts and their histories, for the successful-case comparison
Search sequence
- 1.Choose the issue first, and find one local measurement of it rather than a national one.
- 2.Search for research on implementation lags in environmental policy and record the specific figures.
- 3.Identify which barriers the literature names, and match two or three to your issue.
- 4.Find one case where recommendations were implemented relatively quickly, for contrast.
- 5.Check your course's minimum length and source rules before writing.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
Time lags in environmental governance: A critical review
PubMed Central · 2025
The measured lags between first scientific evidence and global action, which turn the obstacles question from opinion into evidence.
- 02
Mind the gap: Coping with delay in environmental governance
Science · 2020
Catalogues why delay happens, including uncertainty, burden of proof and institutional lock-in. Use it to name obstacles precisely rather than generally.
- 03
Environmental evidence in action: on the science and practice of evidence synthesis and evidence-based decision-making
Environmental Evidence · 2023
What environmental science actually contributes to decisions, and how evidence gets into them. The best support for the second question.
- 04
The relevance of science-policy-practice dialogue. Exploring the urban climate resilience governance in Italy
PubMed Central · 2021
Shows researchers and policy makers working on different timescales and in different languages, which is one of the obstacles worth naming specifically.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Choosing a global issue and describing it in general terms.
- Claiming a direct effect that is in fact indirect.
- Defining environmental science rather than saying what it does about this issue.
- Answering the obstacles question with politics and money and nothing more.
- Listing every obstacle in the literature instead of the ones that apply.
- Concluding that nothing can be implemented, which the evidence contradicts.
- Falling short of the course's stated minimum length for an initial post.
Submission checklist
- The issue is specific to a place, a season or a circumstance you can describe.
- The effect on you is either direct or traced through a stated chain.
- At least three distinct roles for environmental science are named.
- At least one measured implementation lag or comparable figure is cited.
- Two or three obstacles are named and connected to this issue.
- A successful case is used as a comparison.
- The post meets the course's length and source requirements.
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.
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