Course Catalog

This course is intended to introduce non-scientists to key concepts and approaches in the study of the environment. With a focus on the scientific method, we learn about natural systems using case studies of disruptions caused by human activity. Topics include global warming, deforestation, waste production and recycling, water pollution, environmental toxins and sustainable development. The relationships between science and policy, the media, and citizen action are also addressed.

*Lab required. Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course.

This is a conceptual physics course for non-scientists. It discusses the principles of physics involved in the production, distribution and consumption of energy using various types of fuel. It also considers the environmental issues related to the use of fossil fuels from a scientific viewpoint. Renewable sources of energy and the economic and political implications of their development as well as ways of conserving energy are also discussed.

*Lab required.

This course introduces the concepts of Climate and Weather, and the physical and chemical structure of the atmosphere at equilibrium and how energy and mass flow through the atmosphere as it is displaced from this state. Students will learn about agents that affect weather – radiation, moisture, greenhouse gases, etc., and then critically examine the findings of the Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

*Lab required

This science course explores what biodiversity is and how we can measure it. We look at concepts related to biodiversity widely used (and misused) in the media, the importance of biodiversity to sustain human life on Earth, and how biodiversity is related to our economy, society and politics. Laboratory sessions include Saturday visits to the aquarium, museums or the zoo.