ENVR

This course examines the intersections of a Buddhist worldview with environmentalism, broadly understood. It asks what affitnities exist between the two, and what the implications of such affinities might be for engendering a sense of both place and engagement in environmental context. The course explores these intersections both philosophically and experientially, engaging with local nature and Buddhist practice, to deepen the possibilities of understanding shared ground between the two.

This course combines a field-based learning opportunity in conservation and development with training in how to conduct research on environmental issues in diverse cultural contexts. This means students will gain exposure to both scientific and social scientific fieldwork on environmental issues at the intersection of conservation and development. The course will include classroom meetings and preparatory research prior to spending 2-3 weeks at a field site of the instructor's choosing.

This course examines the wide variety of geologic, physical, chemical, and biologic evidence for the nature, duration, timing, and causes of climate change throughout the long history of our planet. In general, the course proceeds chronologically through geologic time. As the course approaches the modern world, students examine the paleoclimate record in progressively greater detail, and consider increasingly complex explanations for the patterns seen.

The preservation of biodiversity--of the variety of living organisms here on Earth--has recently become a major focus of scientific and environmental concern and policy. This course draws on perspectives from history, ethics, environmental studies, and conservation biology to explore the ways in which ideas and values have shaped scientific approaches to biodiversity and to the current biodiversity crisis.

This course examines the history of the Cold War era nuclear testing and uranium extraction in the American West, in order to understand the environmental, cultural, political, and health ramifications of these activities. Using nuclear history as a case study, it explores interdisciplinary methodologies for gathering and studying narratives about human relationships with the environment.

Conserving wild places through the creation of national parks is not only a reflection of environmental priorities, but a profoundly political undertaking that can bring significant changes to local landscapes. This course examines the intersection of protected areas and political priorities in local, regional, and global context, including discussion of issues such as tourism, human-wildlife conflict, forced displacement, and community-based conservation.

This course is a survey of natural and human-influenced geological "catastrophes," and focuses primarily on four hazards that are relevant to the Puget Sound region: (1) volcanic eruptions, (2) earthquakes, (3) floods, (4) landslides. It examines the relationship of science and other fields, including economics and politics, in the development of policy to help us cope with potential catastrophes.

A broad review of quantitative and qualitative biogeochemical methods used in the study of environmental science. The course will focus on isotopic and elemental analyses of geological and biological materials with applications to a range of questions. Examples include; energy flow, nutrient cycling, animal migration, and paleoceanographic conditions. The course readings will draw heavily upon case studies from the primary scientific literature.

Cross-listed as ENVR/GEOL 324.

This course focuses on the management of water resources. More specifically, it addresses the tensions and interactions between hydrological principles, economics, and politics during water management decision making processes. This course challenges students to develop an understanding of the interrelationship between different disciplinary fields of knowledge, including those in the physical and social sciences. Students learn about a wide variety of natural processes that determine the distribution and quality of the world's freshwater resources.

This course provides an introduction to the study of a variety of the Earth's natural resources, and the environmental impacts of their extraction and use. The course focuses on the origin of different types of resources including metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits, and building stone. A discussion/lab session is scheduled for in-class activities, labs and field trips. Course readings center around case studies from the primary scientific literature.