Envs 2: Intro to Environmental Science Offered: Winter
The main objective of this course is to provide an introduction to environmental science, which is a study of the natural world and how it is influenced by, and influences, people. We will examine the physical, biological, chemical and other natural sciences at a moderate level of intensity. This is an introduction to a wide variety of environmental topics, many of which you can explore in greater depth in other courses. There will be two 65-minute exams during class time and a final exam. Two environmental problem sets will be assigned to give hands-on experience in examining environmental issues, making calculations, and reaching conclusions. The completion of an audit of your residential, food and transportation energy use will help you gain a greater understanding of energy dynamics in human systems.
Click here for detailed syllabus.
Envs 12: Energy and the Environment Offered: Spring
Energy production and use are responsible for many environmental problems including global climate change, air pollution, water pollution and environmental inequities. In 2018, global climate change, relatively low energy prices, the benefits and consequences of natural gas fracking, oil pipelines, transmission lines and the rapid increase in solar and wind generated electricity have received the most attention. This course will consider the consequences of using fossil fuels on the natural environment and the benefits and consequences that result from an increase in the use of renewable energy. We will ask what technologies, actions and behaviors might ultimately precipitate a transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources and a more sustainable society. We will address these ideas by examining energy basics—physical laws governing energy, natural science effects of energy use, the current US energy portfolio, and the effects of conventional energy on the natural environment—as well as current and potential future low-carbon and carbon-free energy sources. The goal of this course is to provide an understanding of our current energy situation and the natural and applied science challenges that confront our developed country in achieving a sustainable energy future.
Click here for detailed syllabus.
Envs 89: Soils, Forests and Food (formerly: Forest Biogeochemistry) Offered: Fall
This seminar class will examine elemental cycling and related biogeochemical processes in terrestrial ecosystems, with a strong focus on secondary forests that were previously agricultural lands. The objective is to gain a thorough and current understanding of forest biogeochemistry, with emphasis on cycling of the major elements carbon and nitrogen, and the trace elements mercury and lead. The interaction of disturbed and undisturbed forests with the global carbon budget will be a major topic of study throughout the course. This course fulfills the Science (SCI) distributive. The required text will be used as a reference. Class meetings will be taught like a graduate seminar. More class time will be spent discussing articles from the peer-reviewed literature, with presentations by class participants, than in formal lecture. Most class meeting will begin with a general presentation of the topic by the instructor and an examination of at least one “classic” paper from the literature. Then a pre-selected paper—that everyone has read prior to class—will be presented by a member of the class, who will then lead a discussion about the paper and topic.
Click here for detailed syllabus.
Taught A Number of Years Ago
Envs 1: People and Nature in America (team-taught)
This course will discuss the interactions between humans and nature in North America (primarily the USA) from literary, scientific and historical perspectives. When one asks the question: "What is nature?" or "Why does someone care about a particular place" it can be answered from many different perspectives. These perspectives have changed radically during our history. This course will consider both the literary and scientific aspects of these questions and consider possible responses as we read the following material:
- Genesis 1-3; "Four Worlds: The Dine Story of Creation"
- John McPhee, Encounters with the Archdruid (1971)
- Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Journals (1804-1806)
- Toni Morrison, Beloved (1987)
- Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (1977)
- Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974) Chaps 1-4, 6, 8, 10, 11
- Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire (1968)
- Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge (1991)
- Anne Matthews, Where The Buffalo Roam (1992)
Occasional short readings (articles and poems) throughout the term.
Click here for detailed syllabus.
Envs 30: Global Environmental Science
This course examines human influences on the major global biogeochemical cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, metals). We will emphasize cycling processes in terrestrial, marine, and--to a lesser extent--aquatic systems in an attempt to understand how human activities such as air pollution, deforestation, desertificaton and soil erosion alter these cycles. You may recall that Envs 2 is a survey course which covers a wide variety of topics at a moderate level of intensity. This course is designed to allow you to explore a few of those topics in greater detail. There will be one in-class hour exam and a take-home final. The take-home exam might take up to two full days to complete. Two environmental problem set simulations will be assigned to give hands-on experience in understand the dynamics of change in biogeochemical systems. Each class member will prepare a 200-word abstract on a recent development in a topic we have discussed during the term. Two students will present their abstracts at the end of each class throughout the last four weeks of the term.
Click here for detailed syllabus.
Envs 79: Soil Science
This course will explore the nature and properties of soils and examine soil processes in natural and human-manipulated systems. Throughout the course, the soil will be considered as an integral component of the ecosystem. We will begin by developing an understanding of the physical, geological, biological and chemical processes that lead to soil formation and the development of specific soil properties. We will also examine the relationship between soils and underlying bedrock and overlying vegetation and the role of soils in ecosystems. Towards the end of the course, we will examine the situations in which soils impact human beings and in which human beings impact soils. Problem sets and combined field trip/laboratory reports will be assigned. Students will collect samples during some of the field trips; these samples will be brought to the lab and analyzed for a variety of physical and chemical properties. Results of these labs will be submitted as part of the field trip report.
Click here for detailed syllabus.