Global Arc

This course offers an introduction to the scientific, technological, political, ethical and humanistic dimensions of the nexus of environmental problems that pose an unprecedented risk at mid-century: climate change, biodiversity loss, and food and water for 9 billion people. All sections of ENV 200 will meet together for lecture each week, but students will enroll in one of six possible precepts that will meet separately and pursue a particular disciplinary focus and earn credit for the corresponding distribution area.

This course offers an introduction to the scientific, technological, political, ethical and humanistic dimensions of the nexus of environmental problems that pose an unprecedented risk at mid-century: climate change, biodiversity loss, and food and water for 9 billion people. All sections of ENV 200 will meet together for lecture each week, but students will enroll in one of six possible precepts that will meet separately and pursue a particular disciplinary focus and earn credit for the corresponding distribution area.

Introduces students to cross-disciplinary concepts that shape how complex environmental challenges are defined, studied, and addressed. These concepts include biodiversity, climate change, ecosystem, environmental racism, pollution, sustainability, and wilderness. Examines a wide range of case studies - from the U.S. National Park Service and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit and Extinction Rebellion.

Humans are increasingly affecting environmental systems throughout the world. This course uses quantitative analysis to examine three of today's most pressing issues: energy, water, and food. Each issue is examined from perspectives of natural and engineered ecosystems that depend on complex interactions among physical, chemical, and biological processes. The course is an introduction for students in the natural sciences and engineering pursuing an advanced program in environmental studies. We emphasize quantitative analyses with applications to a wide range of systems, and the design of engineered solutions to major environmental problems.

The dynamics of the emergence and spread of disease arise from a complex interplay among disease ecology, economics, and human behavior. Lectures will provide an introduction to complementarities between economic and epidemiological approaches to understanding the emergence, spread, and control of infectious diseases. The course will cover topics such as drug-resistance in bacterial and parasitic infections, individual incentives to vaccinate, the role of information in the transmission of infectious diseases, and the evolution of social norms in healthcare practices. One three-hour lecture, one preceptorial.

Special topics courses related to the broad field of environmental studies.

Special topics courses related to the broad field of environmental studies. Seminar.

Examining the relationship between law and environmental policy, this course focuses on cases that have established policy principles. The first half of the seminar will be conducted using the Socratic method. The second half will allow students to reargue either the plaintiff or defendant position in a key case, which will be decided by the classroom jury.

The class will discuss the physics of ocean surface waves and its impacts on human life. We will cover the principle of ocean waves propagation across the oceans, with analogies to optics and acoustics. Using historical observations and modern modeling tools, we will discuss wave forecasting with practical examples including planning of D-Day during the second world war, or local surf forecasting. The influence of ocean waves on human life will be discussed, from their role on beach morphology, mitigation of storm surge, or tsunamis. Finally, we will discuss the ubiquitous representation of waves in arts/movies.

This course will explore inequality in India, addressing linkages between social inequality and inequality in access to basic services; exposure to environmental pollution and climate risks; participation in governance; and, overall outcomes related to health and wellbeing. The topic of inequality will be grounded in the overarching topic of sustainable development. And, inequality in India will be discussed in a comparative manner with other countries and global trajectories.