1.74  Land, Water, Food, and Climate

Jim Long has asked me to request that you convert your poster-format Powerpoint files to pdf format for printing. So, please email him pdf files. His email is jmlong@mit.edu.

We will have a poster session next Monday May 11 1PM-4PM to present your class projects. The posters should be designed on Powerpoint for paper 44 inches wide (horizontal). The length (vertical) is up to you but should be less than 44 inches. The posters will be tacked to bulletin boards and displayed in Room 48-316 (a new larger location) during usual class hours 1PM-4PM. If you send your Powerpoint file to Jim Long at jmlong.mit.edu before 1PM Friday May 8 he will  print it out by Monday before class. If you cannot make this deadline you should have it printed commercially over the weekend or on Monday morning.

The written paper is also due on Monday May 11. It should be structured as an executive summary of your work, similar to executive summaries found in reports issued by agencies such as FAO. A length of 5  pp single-spaced, including a few figures and references, should be adequate. You are free to submit something longer if you wish. The page limit is designed to reduce writing effort but don't worry about editing the text so that it fits into 5 pp. I am most concerned about the quality of the ideas, demonstration of critical thinking, and use of citations from the refereed literature. Try to minimize citations from web pages, newspapers, and other sources that cannot be checked. Try to back up your assertions with citable data, wherever possible. Sometimes this is difficult, especially with certain topics, but do your best. You can submit your paper in printed form or email it as a pdf file. It is fine to duplicate material in the poster and presentation but the paper should have more text, presented in executive summary form.

Please email me with any questions.

Just  a reminder that tomorrow in 1.74 we will be looking at smallholder vs industrial agriculture as a model for the future. As part of this, we have a visitor, Ari Kurtz, manager of a small Boston-area farm.
We will also be discussing the papers by Tscharntke et al. and by McLaughlin & Kinzelbach. Please look at these and come prepared to contribute.
We will also review logistics for the poster session on Monday May 11,

The next class will consider alternative agricultural futures,.. There are only two readings:

1. Tscharmtke et al., 2012 -- An alternative ecological perspective on food security
2. McLaughlin & Kinzelbach, in press -- Overview of topics covered in class, with a proposal for how 2050 food demands can be met

Both papers are on the 1.74 Stellar site
I will lead discussions of these papers. Please read them so that this discussion will be informed.

Also, I hope that you will all start working on the short papers and posters for your individual research topics.
Since we will have posters it is sufficient to prepare a relatively brief written summary of main points (between 5 and 10 pages, with references). Think of the written piece as an executive summary.
Your poster should clearly identify the main points of your work and provide a good basis for small group discussions during class on May 11.

Since I have invited a guest speaker for May 4 (this coming Monday) I would appreciate you all making a special effort to attend class.
The speaker is Mr. Ari Kurtz, the manager of Lindentree Farm, a small CSA in Lincoln, MA. Ari will discuss the challenges of small-holder organic farming in New England. The small-holder theme is also addressed in the paper by Tscharmtke et al.
I expect that Ari will give us a practical perspective that is hard to get from the scientific literature.

Please contact me via email if you have any questions re. the paper or poster presentation for May 11.