Environmental Issues Resource Page

Spring 2007

Course Description:

An issue-oriented course in which a team of students will address local environmental issues with a multi-disciplinary approach. The problems will be thoroughly defined from many perspectives and potential solutions developed and presented.

Prerequisites: BIOL 361 Ecology or ENVS 105 Environment and Humanity and a political science course.

Course Objectives:

1. Demonstrate the specific interrelationships among scientific, economic, social, ethical and political factors in local, regional and global environmental issues, especially through environmental impact statement, environmental assessments, health risk assessments, and environmental risk assessments.
2. Review and evaluate environmental impact statements or environmental assessments for the proper:
   a) elements (forms, authors, alternatives, impacts, references, or other NEPA regulations),
   b) content (description of affected environment, description of proposed project and impact, identification and measurement of impact, development of alternatives, and identification of risks), and
   c) justification(interpretation of impacts, estimation of risks, determination of environmental consequences, and communication of impacts and decisions).
3. Make and analyze environmental decisions, based on data from a variety of sources and evaluate your decision according to personal standards.
4. Participate as part of a team to write an environmental impact statement or environmental assessment, or a human health risk assessment.
5. Describe the field of Environmental Justice and differentiate between environmental injustice and environmental racism.