Sustainable Earth Resources

Catalog description

An introduction to geology from an earth resources-economic geology prospective, focusing on sustainability of green energy resources. Basic geology topics include earth materials, internal forces, and surface processes. Environmental topics include soil and water resources. Sustainability of earth resources is explored, including strategic and industrial minerals, long-term viability of fossil fuels, and the sustainability of minerals crucial for renewable energy production and storage. The course will also explore ethical issues associated with fossil fuel use, conflict mineral extraction, the uneven distribution of benefits associated with Earth resource extraction, and the uneven distribution of negative consequences, both environmental and social, of Earth resource extraction. Scientific and ethical questions will be discussed throughout the course.