EN 101 - Sustainability Science: Environment, Society and Technology

This course explores the complexities of environmental science and policy through exploration and analysis of three clusters of topics: 1) Climate change, renewables, nuclear and global climate governance; 2) Environmental impacts of modern agriculture and food systems; and 3) Landfill waste, marine debris and consumption. This course is highly interdisciplinary and deals with many deeply controversial topics at the nexus of environmental science and policy. These include nuclear energy, GMOs, organic agriculture, vegetarian verses meat eating, and the dependency of modern lifestyles of plastics. As such, it deals with a diverse array of knowledge and perspectives from both the natural and social sciences, in addition to examining the complexities of environmental policy making from the perspective of various stakeholders such as scientists, government officials, industry and civil society. Frequent film screenings and class discussions are also a key means by which students will acquire knowledge in this course.

 

Anticipated Terms Offered: Annual -Spring/Fall