NEEDS TO BE UPDATED FOR CLASS 34
Review the resources and tackle the assignments below before the April 14 start of the Environment session. The “Homework” section is required. Many additional resource recommendations are also included.
Environment Session Homework–Required
Complete the Following Before Heading to Asheville
- Pre-register your vehicle through this link for both days of parking at UNCA (Wednesday, April 15, and Thursday, April 16). Parking is $3/day. Detailed instructions are in the Session Directions Document.
Explore the Following Before Heading to Asheville
Environmental Justice
- National People’s Hearing Tour
- Watch the following short testimonials
Climate Science and Water
Land Conservation and Agriculture
Data Centers
Environment Session Resources–Recommended
Climate Change and Climate Science
- Footprint Calculator–What Is Your Ecological Footprint?
- NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information
- North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies
- NC Climate Science Report
- “Shifting Sands: Carolina’s Outer Banks Face a Precarious Future,” YaleEnvironment360
- En-ROADS Climate Solutions Simulator
- 5th National Climate Assessment
Environmental Justice and Equity
- North Carolina Environmental Justice Network (NCEJN)
- “What Is Environmental Justice?”
- Environmental Justice Fact Sheet from University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems
- Warren County, NC, Environmental Justice Documentary
- NPR Throughline Podcast: How everyday people started a movement that’s shaping climate action to this day
- Mapping Inequality: Redlining in New Deal America
- Environmental Justice Timeline for North Carolina
- Community Resilience Model Search Tool
- National People’s Hearing Tour
- Earth Keepers Principles for Stewardship
- Preparing for Inclusion of Agricultural Workers in Climate-Related and Other Public Health Emergencies
Agriculture and Land Conservation
- NC Conservation Tax Credit
- Spectrum Video: “‘A great deal of urgency’: Conservation tax credit returns as development soars”
- Conservationists Seek Farm Act Changes to Boost Land Gifts
- Land for Tomorrow
- NC Natural Heritage Program Conservation Tax Credit
- NC Division of Land and Water Stewardship
- NC Land and Water Fund
- NC Farmland Preservation Division
- North River Farms
- NC Farmland Loss
- Farms Under Threat 2040: Choosing an Abundant Future
- Outdoor Recreation Economic Statistics – NC – 2024
Wildlife and Biodiversity
- WNC Nature Center Conservation Projects
- WNC Nature Center Partnerships
- NC Wildlife Federation: Creating a Certified Wildlife Habitat
- NC State University’s efforts to preserve the red wolf population
- Making the World Safer for Pollinators
- Bearwise
- WNC Nature Center generates $23 million for local economy in 2023
Energy and Data Centers
- US Data Centers Map
- Data Centers in North Carolina – Maps
- Hyperscaler Data Center Buildout: A Sustainability Bane, Boon, or Both? Ian Hitchcock and Merritt Cahoon
- Data Center Growth: Implications for Local Communities
- ‘Roadmap’ shows the environmental impact of AI data center boom David Nutt, Cornell Chronicle. November 10, 2025
- Generative AI’s environmental impact. Adam Zewe. MIT News: January 17, 2025.
- NPR, “Data Centers Bring Money to Small Towns — But Do They Also Bring Jobs?” 10 Apr. 2025
- Cooper, Sean Patrick. “How Oregon’s Data Center Boom Is Creating a Water Crisis.” Rolling Stone, 25 Nov. 2025
Water Resources
- 2026 Emerging Issues Forum: Future-Forward Water
- Institute for Emerging Issues’ Draft Strategies for Strengthening NC’s Water Infrastructure
- Institute for Emerging Issues: The Unseen Public Water Cycle
- Water Infrastructure Advisory Council
- The Ocean Economy Imperative: Defining Value, Managing Risk and Mobilizing Investment
- Cape Fear Pollution
- NC Sea Grant College Program
- Water Resources Institute of UNC
- NC Space Grant
- Interactive Watershed Tool
- Sunny Day Flooding Project
PFAS and Forever Chemicals
- Understanding PFAS–NC DEQ
- NC DEQ’s Action Strategy for PFAS
- Water Quality PFAS Standards for North Carolina
- “10 Things You Can Do About Toxic PFAS Chemicals” from Cleanwater.org
North Carolina
- North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
- North Carolina Conservation Network
- Conservation Trust for North Carolina
- North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association
- WFAE Climate News
- NC Drive Electric
- NC DEQ Recycling Guidelines and Outreach Materials
- Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster
Asheville and Western NC
- City of Asheville Community Climate Vulnerability Interactive Map
- National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) at UNCA
- MountainTrue
- French Broad Chocolate
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
- Land of Sky Regional Council
- Mountain Area Workforce Development Board
- Hurricane Helene: Six Months of Recovery (AB Tech video referenced by Deborah Bailey during session)
Book Recommendations
Session Follow-Up Materials
- Environment Session and Program Year Evaluation NEEDS LINK–Due April 24
- May Planning Meeting and Graduation Attendance Survey NEEDS LINK–Due April 24
- Environment Session Learning Team Calls: Prompts and Recording Form NEEDS LINK–Due May 6
- Hold your Learning Team calls and have your call recorder submit call notes through the form linked above by May 6
- Planning Committee Preferences Survey NEEDS LINK–Due April 17
- Detailed position descriptions NEEDS LINK are available for reference.
- Consider nominating one of your classmates for the Stanley Frank Class Award by April 17.
