120 - Topics in Environmental Science: Environmental Law. A spectrum of environmental laws protect our environment, health and natural resources. By focusing on the judicial role in environmental regulation this course will examine standing and reviewability of agency decisions within the fourteen major environmental laws that govern environmental regulation at a federal level and that guide states' roles in environmental regulation. Students will develop an understanding of the purpose, administration, and enforcement of these primary environmental laws and how environmental regulation affects lives and communities through a discussion of statutes, regulations and court cases. Prerequisites: none. 1 unit - Meghjee (attorney with Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund).
211 - Quantitative Methods in Environmental Science. Statistical tests and models, visualization of data, and dynamical systems modeling applied to environmental issues. Assessment of global data sets that quantify atmospheric carbon dioxide and global warming. Use of computer graphics to identify patterns in time series and spatial data as well as use of system dynamics models to study equilibrium controlled, rate mediated processes and small population fluctuations within ecological system models. Prerequisites: MA 126 and either (MA 117, BY 220 or EC 215) or consent of instructor. (Does not meet the laboratory/field requirement for natural sciences.) 1 unit - Veirs.
320 - Topics in Environmental Science: Bio-Geo- Chemical Cycles. The cycles of carbon and nitrogen through earth's biological, geological, and technological systems are critical to the health and stability of life on the planet. To study these cycles, biogeochemistry links many disciplines, at scales extending from the single micro-organism to the entire biosphere. Much of today's most exciting research in ecology and global change is in this rapidly emerging field. EV320 WILL provide students with hands-on experience in biogeochemistry as it is practiced by researchers in the field, through analytical techniques, field and lab work, and the writing of scientific articles. During the first week of the block, students will study the stocks and flows of carbon and nitrogen through terrestrial systems, building quantitative models of key cycles and developing an understanding of the impact of human activities, such as fertilization, fossil fuel use, on these cycles. During the second week, students will conduct field work at a site comparing natural and cultivated systems or at a sub-alpine climate manipulation (one site will be selected). Students will gather a diverse set of gas and soil samples and learn how to calculate fluxes of carbon and nitrogen between soil, plants, and atmosphere. Back on campus, in the third week, students will use research quality gas chromatographs and other lab equipment to analyze their field samples. At the end of the course, students will write a research paper, in the style of a professional journal article, that summarizes the key issues, describes the field research and the sample analysis procedures, and then places the research results within the context of global cycles of carbon and nitrogen. Prerequsites: at least two courses in biology, two courses in chemistry and at least one block of calculus. 1 Unit - Williams, Torn L
411- Research Topics in Environmental Science. This is the capstone course in the Environmental Science program, open only to declared environmental senior majors and minors (in any discipline). Students participate in original research centered in cross-disciplinary, cooperative group learning experiences. The research will be based on a review of the current literature followed by field data collected by the group and it will culminate in a substantial report that is expected to extend the current knowledge in that field. 1 unit - Advisers.