AECL 1000 Sustainable Agriculture Student Web Page Index

Note: Post your paper in your UWSTUDENTWEB account and send me dwwilson@uwyo.edu the link. The website address you send me should look something like http://uwstudentweb.uwyo.edu/A/AccountName/termpaper.htm. Pick five papers from the semester you are attending AECL 1000 to study for the final exam. Links to the student papers on this site are removed if the paper is deleted or after the authors graduate, unless students request that they be moved to a permanent site (all three students must agree and sign a waiver). Students should correct errors, since the instructor cannot do this without violating copyright. This assignment, with the group self-evaluation is worth 10% of the total grade for class.

Undergraduate Papers from Spring 2008

These 10 papers had no spelling errors and will be ranked in the top ten. Minor problems after initial review knocks these papers out of the top ten.



Undergraduate Papers from Fall 2007

No these are not rankings. This has been the most difficult group of papers to rank in the 15 year history of the course. They are all excellent and each has unique merits. I have grouped them into very general categories, but have not yet done the spell checking. I am anticipating they will all get some bonus points and I may possibly have some type of ranking by Monday, Decemeber 10th. The order will shuffle, but for now, order means nothing.



Undergraduate Papers from Spring 2007

Picking the top ten for this semester was tough, but here they are!
  1. Save American Agriculture - well written, no errors
  2. The Death of Lake Victoria (Kenya) - lots of pretty pictures
  3. Wyoming Governor Nellie Tayloe Ross - clean, simple and informative
  4. World Population Hotspots - a real eye opener on population, with really nice programming
  5. Jacque LaRamie - good job on a difficult research topic
  6. Wyoming Population Boom - very attractive and professional format
  7. Biodiesel vs Ethanol - well written, but kinda drab programming
  8. NATO - rather plain paper with some minor punctuation problems
  9. The Lake Effect Blizzard of 2007 - did you know benefited can be spelled with one or two "T"s
Tenth place ties for one point finishers Nice, but with minor typo, punctuation or major programming errors The following papers have spelling errors (listed by paper length)



Undergraduate Papers from Fall 2006

The top Nine:
  1. Johnson County Stock War - The hands down first place finisher! This is a truly impressive and meaty paper. First class in every way, it is also the longest paper turned in this semester.
  2. Five Years with Darwin - Charley would be proud! Again, well done. A clean and informative paper! A good second place finisher.
  3. Chemical Technologies In Agriculture - Number three has no spelling errors. It is clean and easy to read, with very attractive programming.
  4. Movement of Agriculture from the United States to the Tropics - This one is also clean and has a very attractive format! I'm calling a tie and giving it a third place finish also!
  5. The Economic Viability of American Agriculture - A website of information. And no spelling errors moved this clean paper up to number five!
  6. Subdivisions and Feedlots - Clean and simple, with a neat way to introduce the authors!
  7. Global Effects of Ozone Depletion - Simple and clean enough to push out the papers with spelling errors.
  8. Causes for the Globalization of Organic Production - This last entry (due to IT) knocked out several papers for a finish in the top ten. It is simple and clean!
  9. Swine: The other White Meat - Cute pigs. No spelling errors, but pretty short paper. Good paper to study for final.
  10. Should We Pay Farmers Not to Grow Crops - Nice and much longer than most papers. Tie for ninth place.
Other one point bonus finishers with minor programming or reference errors These papers did not make the top ten bonus due to spelling, programming or reference errors as listed.



Undergraduate Papers from Spring 2006

Final Top Ten of 24 papers.
  1. Bacillus thuringiensis - Top notch, really professional! Very nice format with excellent menu.
  2. Negative Effects of Overpopulation - Clean, classy and informative!
  3. Potential for future crop loss - Great example of maintaining simplicity and information. Slight problem when viewed in narrow frame.
  4. Renewable Agricultural Resources - Another meaty paper. Good background, needs slightly larger font size for text body.
  5. The Spotted Owl Controversy - Good paper, but maybe a little too busy with animations. A light text on the dark green background would be easier to read.
  6. Right on Target: Dollars and Sense - Easy to read and who would have guessed that the small font deceptively hides a 1000 word report. Nice choice of backgrounds!
  7. Invasive Species in Hawaii - Nice group effort! Some good whistles and bells (Background map of Hawaii, scrolling text and Marquee)!
  8. Conservation Tillage - Nice cover graphic, with straight up PDF file for hardcopy printing.
  9. Sustainable VS. Organic Agriculture - Nice job! Might have ranked higher with a different background choice.
  10. The Lifespan of the Green Revolution - Had to move this one up from the bottom. Just wish it was a little snazzier.
One point bonuses. Not in the bonus competition (some errors listed).
  • Patrick Moore Biography - Another late entry, originally with incorrect site address.
  • Farm-Aid’s Crusade: The Fight Against Corporate Agriculture - Basic with a spelling error.
  • Public Lands vs. Feedlot Feeding- Attractive, but text body is not referenced and cited is mispelled.
  • BIOFUELS - No references in text.
  • The History of Rodeo - Pretty front page with broken graphic and troublesome MSWord formatted document.
  • Microbial Health of the Rhizosphere - Very green and 2 spelling errors.
  • BLM-FS: A Potential Land Use Superpower? - 4 broken graphics, Difficult title color, busy background.
  • From Fire Comes Ice: Why Global Warming Will Cause an Ice Age - Originally submitted with incorrect address. Shortest paper using only Internet references.



    • Undergraduate Papers from Fall 2005

    Bonus Point Papers
    1. Hurricanes - spectacular cover page, plain text, NO ERRORS!
    2. Bioluminescent Algae - Really Snazzy!
    3. Killer Weeds - nice professional design, very few errors.
    4. Organic Weeds - Good paper with a few errors.
    5. Rainmaking - plain, but attractive and well written.
    6. Lichen - nice, simple and straight forward.
    7. Forest Fires - nice professional appearance.
    8. Dying Traditions - John Deere green & yellow.
    9. Agricultural Education - Simple and to the point.
    10. Wolves - good, but no authors listed.
    Two good papers not on a UW Website (Therefore knocking them out of the bonus competition) The rest of the pack.



    Undergraduate Papers from Spring 2005

    1. Feeding and Fishing; the Issue facing the U.S. and Global Community - My current favorite!
    2. Mammals as Biocontrols - Really nice! A different font would have made it even better.
    3. Early American Crop Species - I like the simplicity of this one.
    4. New Business Opportunities in Agriculture - Nice!
    5. Applications of GIS in Agriculture and Ecology - stop the rolling title
    6. Farmers: On the Short End of the Stick? - kinda plain on the first page, but it gets better
    7. GMOs: Friend or Foe? - links are difficult to see what you get
    8. Economics of Local Market Systems - source code restrictions
    9. The Importance of Forage Quality - should move links to top of page
    10. Timber as a Renewable Energy Source - Clean and simple
    11. Native Siberian Crops - clean and simple
    12. Public Grazing on BLM Lands - good background, but makes the paper hard to read
    13. Industrial Hemp - hard to tell what to click on
    14. Elaeagnus Angustifolia & Tamarix Ramossisima Russian Olive & Salt Cedar - no lit citation
    15. Urban Myths - really,really basic and simple
    16. The Cecum vs the Rumen - has a link problem (entire page is a link)

    Undergraduate Papers from Fall 2004

    1. Beekeeping Basics - Really nice! My favorite.
    2. The Bottom Line: Crop Yield vs Cost Inputs - A Mega-Monster of information.
    3. Hunting as Alternative Agricultural Income - Classy and clean!
    4. Water Consumption Comparisons: Residential, Commercial and Agricultural - Very nice!
    5. Carbon Sequestration and it's Role in Agriculture - Professional, businesslike and organized.
    6. Oregon Land Use Legislation - Clean and meaty!
    7. Impacts of China's Industrial Revolution - A real page turner!
    8. Effects of Acid Rain on a Forest - Fancy fades.
    9. The Roadless Rule - Very professional!
    10. Future Ag Law Making to Preserve Agriculture - Nice, with fades.
    11. Cattle Dogs
    12. Primary Methods of Retaining Nitrogen Levels
    13. Potassium Cycle and Availability in Soil
    14. Tracking C4 vs C3 grains in Beer
    15. Corporate Agriculture: The End of the Family Farm?
    16. Useful Cover Crops for the United States
    17. The History and Future of Wyoming Droughts
    18. Wolves
    19. Calcium Modulation in Plants
    20. South American Beef Industry

    Undergraduate Papers from Spring 2004

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM FALL SEMESTER 2003

                These two papers will be up for the 5th through 7th place bonus positions

    Is U.S. Agriculture Still Ecomically Viable?
    Decreasing Chemical Application with Technology

    These three papers will be fighting for the last three bonus slots

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM SPRING SEMESTER 2003
      The first four sites were all deserving of 1st place, I broke the tie by counting the volume of program code.
    • Fossil Fuel Substitutes - Not fancy, but really, really clean! (1st place)
    • Who is More Important than a Farmer - Lots of whistles and bells! (2nd place)
    • China's Birth Control - Really nice interactive site! (3rd place)
    • There's a Hole in My Ozone Theory - Very well done and atttractive site! (4th place)
    • Ten Most Unwanted Pollutants - The facts and nothing but the facts, ma'am!
    • Water Conservation in American Households - Nice design!
    • Sustainabile Agriculture in a No-till Farming System - Simple and classy!
    • Prairie Dogs
    • Mother Teresa
    • Land Management
    • Carbon Dioxide
    • Drought Ecology

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM FALL SEMESTER 2002

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM SPRING SEMESTER 2002
    • Domestication of the Horse - (Nice sense of design) 3rd Place
    • Biography of Wendell Berry - Also nice and clean
    • GIS & GPS - Very, very basic. But it has John Deere colors!

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM FALL SEMESTER 2001

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM SPRING SEMESTER 2001

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM FALL SEMESTER 2000

    UNDERGRADUATE PAPERS FROM SPRING SEMESTER 2000

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