An interdisciplinary course intended for non-science majors, the course explores how our planet works and how humans depend upon and influence it. The goal of the course is to increase your awareness of our roles on Earth and to explore ways and how we can be good stewards of the world we depend upon. As an introduction to environmental science, we will emphasize the interactions between humans and the natural world. Topics include; the structure and function of ecosystems; population growth; minerals, water, food and energy resources, waste management, and pollution. Local and global environmental issues are discussed.
Prerequisite Courses
Competency
Scientific Reasoning
Course Outcomes
After successfully completing the course, the learner will be able to:
- Understand the scientific principles of a long-term sustainable society
- Define the Law of Conservation of Matter.
- Describe the levels of organization of matter in nature studied by ecologists (organisms, populations, communities, and ecosystems).
- Define trophic levels and how energy is transferred between each level. Discuss the major components of the earth's biodiversity.
- Describe the processes of speciation and extinction and identify how they affect the earth's biodiversity.
- Describe the factors that influence the size of the human population.
- Discuss how age structure is affecting the populations of developed and developing countries
- Describe the population shift from rural to urban areas in the U.S.
- Describe how climate affects the nature and location of earth's biomes.
- Distinguish between the major types of aquatic ecosystems.
- Describe the obstacles to attaining food security in the developing world.