Global Environmental Change

Catalog description

Humans are the most significant agents of environmental change on the Earth and our activities have impacted the Earth’s ecosystems in many ways. In this introductory-level science course, students will learn how human demand for resources such as space, clean air and water, productive farmland, energy, and raw materials have altered the health of ecosystems and their ability to positively influence humans and other organisms. A unifying theme of the course is ecosystem services and the degree to which healthy intact ecosystems are able to provide these services to human societies. In addition, students in this course will learn some of the basic skills necessary for scientific inquiry, including the scientific method, critical thinking, and evaluating data to draw valid scientific conclusions.