ENV 201 - Contemporary Environmental Issues

Semester Hours: 4

This course investigates complex, real-world environmental issues facing our world today. Students will use case studies to explore environmental issues from multi-disciplinary perspectives and contexts including scientific, economic, political, social, historical, and cultural. Stakeholder identification and analysis, environmental justice, and risk assessment are additional themes considered in this communication-intensive course. A major component of this course will be a project in which students will have the opportunity to engage in in-depth research on the many nuanced perspectives, positions, and stances of a specific environmental issue. Students will communicate findings and advocate for a particular viewpoint as well as suggest possible solutions. Research projects may include topics such as climate change, hydraulic fracking, loss of biodiversity, habitat destruction, deforestation, water and air pollution, natural resource distribution, and sustainable food supplies.

Intellectual Perspective: ST