Introduction to Environmental Studies

Catalog description

This course is designed to give students an overview of the human dimensions of US environmental issues and is a core course for the environmental studies minor. From a geographical perspective, the course explores how US environmental laws, ethics, viewpoints and economics interact, shape, and manifest themselves across the landscape. Students are introduced to technologies, such as geographic information systems and satellite images, used by geographers to study environmental issues. The course examines spatial patterns arising from the ways in which we manage our natural resources and environment. Natural resources such as water, air, soil, energy and fossil fuels are used as examples in the discussion of spatial patterns arising from resource extraction, transportation and use.