Environmental stewardship

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.

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.

Lecture, three hours. Examination of contemporary water problems worldwide, with particular attention to the competing demands for water in the western U.S., and water demand by the poor in developing countries. History and analysis of U.S. water policies at local, state, and federal levels.

Lecture, three hours. Impact of the physical environment on individual and group behavior. Three basic concerns examined: (a) environmental determinants of behavior at the individual and interpersonal level; (b) social planning and urban design; and (c) methodological approaches to the study of environmental issues. Prerequisites: Social Ecology E8 or 10, or Planning, Policy, and Design 4.

Impact of the physical environment on individual and group behavior. Three basic concerns examined: (a) environmental determinants of behavior at the individual and interpersonal level; (b) social planning and urban design; and (c) methodological approaches to the study of environmental issues.