For the first time in human history, the North Pole can be circumnavigated.

Melting ice opens up North-west and North-east passages simultaneously. Scientists warn Arctic icecap is entering a 'death spiral'

Welcome to

ENV 110: Introduction to Environmental Studies

Fall 2008 – TTh 10:30-11:50, Dupont 102
Instructor: Jim Casey
Contact Info: Holekamp Hall 214, Ext. 8102, Email: Caseyj
Office Hours: MWF 9:10-10:00 and W 12:15-1:15

ENV110 is the gateway course to the environmental studies program. It serves as a broad introduction to environmental studies. It takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying the environment and is structured by case studies of contemporary environmental issues. Throughout the semester we will look at six contemporary environmental concerns and we will look at each of them through the lenses of the social scientist, the humanist and the natural scientist. The six case studies this year are (1) Religion and Environment, (2) global climate change, (3) energy, (4) air quality and children’s health, (5) oceans, and (6) poverty and the environment. Certainly there are more than six major environmental issues in the world today, but with only 12 weeks to introduce you to the world of environmental studies – we limit our scope to these six issues. Although we change topics every two weeks, our approach to each topic will remain the same. One of the primary objectives of this course is to help you develop a method for thinking about environmental concerns – an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving. At the end of the semester you will have gained some understanding of the complexity of environmental policy-making and the importance of approaching environmental problems from multiple perspectives. Hopefully, you also will have developed a better sense of where your strengths and weaknesses are concerning your particular approach to thinking about the environment.

Required Reading: There are NO textbooks for this class. All of the readings are accessible on this website and are listed below in the course schedule section.

Course Requirements:

Class Participation = 20 points - In order to facilitate class discussion, I reserve the right to give unannounced quizzes on the day's assigned reading.

6 one-hour exams = 60 points

1 paper = 20 points - TITLE EXAMPLES

This paper has very few strings attached. I simply want you to (1) ask a question, (2) read some journal articles related to your question, and (3) answer your question. You should do this in less than 3 (12 pt., double spaced) pages. Please cite the articles you use – that’s it!

Here are a few blogs I read (and will draw from in class for examples) on a daily basis.

Environmental Economics Blog

http://blogs.wsj.com/environmentalcapital/

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://commontragedies.wordpress.com/

Daily Schedule and assigned readings:

Topic 1. Philosophy, Religion and the Environment

Sept 4 – Introduction -

9 - environmental crisis that threatens the very existence of all life.doc

11 - Judaism , Daoism, Islam, Hinduism,