Environmental degradation

Investigates how sustainability can be implemented in a variety of contexts including water, energy, nonrenewable resources, biodiversity, and urban policy, and also how it could be measured.

Students attend weekly seminar to discuss current issues in global sustainability. Weekly attendance at Global Sustainability Forum also is required. Seminar utilized to analyze forum presentations and to prepare senior research paper. Prepare/ write research paper under the direction of a faculty member. Prerequisites: Earth System Science 190A-B and satisfaction of the lower-division writing requirement.

A mechanistic perspective of the structure and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Includes processes such as nutrient cycling, biogeochemical cycling, mass balance, energetics, terrestrial hydrology, and water cycle.

An introduction to the physical environment, biological systems, and human-environment interactions. Explores physical principles such as fluid transport and reaction rates using environmental examples as well as principles of populations, ecosystems, carrying capacity, and sustainable use of resources.

Between 25-49% of the course content (e.g., readings, papers, tests, discussion or other assignments) focuses on at least one of the 13 sustainability criteria listed in the UCI sustainability curriculum definition.

Examines the ecological processes of the coastal environment. Investigates the causes of coastal ecosystem degradation and strategies to restore the ecosystem balance or prevent further coastal ecosystem health degradation. Prerequisites: Chemistry 1A-B and Social Ecology E8. Concurrent with CEE267.

Sources, dispersion, and effects of air pollutants. Topics include emission factors, emission inventory, air pollution, meteorology, air chemistry, air quality modeling, impact assessment, source and ambient monitoring, regional control strategies. Prerequisites: MAE91; MAE130A or CEE170. (Design units: 2)

Explores the relationship between recent developments in information technology and current global environmental issues. Potential topics include ecoinformatics, e-waste, technological life cycle assessment, and online community building. Activities involve reading, writing, discussion, and a final project.

Understanding the impact of the nuclear age on the environment and human health through the interrelated developments of nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The early years of weapon development, catastrophic environmental pollution, perils of nuclear power in the U.S. and Russia. Same as Social Ecology E127 and Public Health 168.

Lecture, three hours. Provides an introduction to sustainability from different points of view; historical, scientific, political, ethical, and economic. Same as Earth System Science 180