1. Start by browsing for Topic Ideas in the resources collected on this page. Current news, issues databases, and online environmentalism sources can all be great sources of inspiration and researchable topics.
2. Next, get background information and key terms by using sources from the subject encyclopedia and current issues databases on this page. I suggest starting with Reference for the basics.
Expand your scope when you are just getting started. Even if your instructor would rather you use scholarly sources, these are great ways to keep up on what's going on and a great way to choose, understand, and narrow a topic.
The sources below are just a start.
The following titles are available in Holman Library in print or in GVRL.
A Dictionary of Environmental Quotations
Encyclopedia of Environmental Issues by 
Environmental Encyclopedia
U.S. Land and Natural Resources Policy: A Public Issues Handbook by