— Written Research/Reflection on Recent News Article and brief Oral Summary” Each student will submit a recent (<6months) news article (from an appropriate media source such as a newspaper, magazine, internet news site, and not from a scientific research journal, or a non-profit or for profit website addressing environmental issues, for example) on the subject of environmental degradation relating to the topics of discussion for the course, giving a summary of the news item and providing a critical response to it. The student will submit a 6-8 page fully typed-page research paper that summarizes and responds to the news item, and then give a brief oral summary in class. This assignment MUST incorporate relevant texts from the course, especially “Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter on “Care for our Common Home,” as well as other relevant sources in a detailed critical analysis. This assignment will assess the quality of the written paper and the brief oral summary. Your grade will be penalized if you do not submit online the completed written text and give the brief oral summary on your scheduled date. The paper must first present a brief summary of the news item, citing the source and date of publication, and then must provide a critical response to the news item, incorporating the perspectives and analyses of these texts: Text and links: Environmental Science and Theology in Dialogue - https://web.s.ebscohost.com/bsi/ebookviewer/ebook/... Part I of the text, Earth Ethics, pp. 3-72 - https://web.s.ebscohost.com/bsi/ebookviewer/ebook/... “Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter on “Care for our Common Home.” - https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encycl... The completed paper, along with the full copy of the news article (and not simply a link to the article), must both be submitted on Brightspace no later than 9:00 a.m. on the class day that each student is assigned a time to present a brief summary of one’s paper. This assignment will be assessed primarily on the quality of the written paper and secondarily on the brief oral summary presented in class. The two class days designated for this assignment are Tuesday, November 16, 2023, and Tuesday, November 22, 2023. Students will be assigned for each of these class days.