Class Topics Lab Workbook Chemistry Atmospheric Chemistry Writing Resources Favorite Websites

Issues in Environmental Chemistry

Is clean air a right?

Instructor: Dr. Al Fischer, PhD
Office Hours: By appointment at calendly.com/drfischer; drop-ins welcome. (NS 209)
Availability: See my calendar
Email: dfischer@wcu.edu

General Course Information

Topics

I. Foundations

Science and Discovery (Chemistry 1.1; APGW 1.2.2)
Measurements & Numbers (Chemistry 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6)

II. The Atmosphere

Physical Structure (Atmosphere p. 1-19; APGW Ch. 3)
Chemical Composition (APGW Ch. 3)
Radiation (Atmosphere p 20-31; APGW Ch. 2)
Movement (APGW Ch. 3)

III. Pollution

Gaseous Pollutants (APGW Ch. 4.2., Chemistry 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, (8.4)))
Ozone (APGW Ch. 4, 11)
Particulate Matter (APGW Ch. 5)
Effects of Pollution (APGW Ch. 7, 9)
Regulations & Ethics (APGW Ch. 8)

IV. Climate Change

The greenhouse effect and global warming (APGW Ch. 12)
Solutions to global warming (APGW Ch. 13)

APGW = Air Pollution and Global Warming book
Atmosphere = Atmosphere: A very short Introduction book
Chemistry = Chemistry: Atoms first e-book

Lab Workbook

Additional Resources

General Chemistry Textbook

Chemistry: Atoms First, Second Edition, OpenSTAX (Free Online)

Atmospheric Chemistry

“Scientific Tools” from Practical Meteorology by Roland Stull. A useful guide to the SI system, unit conversions, graphs, and errors.
Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry by Daniel Jacob. A free PDF version is available here.
Atmospheric Science: An introductory survey by Wallace and Hobbs. A PDF version is available here.

Writing

Final Paper Assignment Info
Dr. Fischer’s Writing Guide
Dr. Fischer’s Report Rubric (PDF)
SPIE: How to Write a Good Scientific Paper
Elements of Style for Writing Scientific Journal Articles, Stephen M Griffies, William A. Perrie, and Gaëlle Hull, free PDF here.
Elements of Style, William Strunk, Jr. (aka “Strunk and White”) free html & ebook at Project Gutenberg or free PDF here.
IEEE Style Guide
Mendeley Info