In the fall of 2010 Dr. Deena Wassenberg of the Biology Program will offer a new course: Our Global Environment: Science and Solutions (BIOL 1050). This course has been submitted for approval for the CLE Environment theme. BIOL 1050 will be, first and foremost, a course in science.
Students will be asked to consider the environmental topics of biodiversity, global food production and choices, environmental toxicology, and climate change as scientists. This means students will evaluate data and experimental design, propose experiments and carefully consider sources of data. Students will deal with human populations as a part of a global ecosystem: a part that not only dramatically influences the ecosystem, but whose health and well-being are directly affected by ecosystem function.
The environmental topics studied in this course affect all members of society. These topics are ones that individuals can influence by their personal choices, the policies they support, and the representatives they elect. This course will also explore the role members of society have on environmental policy and environmental change.
