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COURSE CATALOGUE
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
SEARCH COURSES
Courses of Instruction
EESC BC 1001x Environmental Science I
Integrated study of the Hudson River ecosystem with emphasis on its natural
history, physical dynamics, chemistry and pollutant history, the structure
and functioning of ecosystems and energy flow and nutrient cycling. Includes
a reading of Robert Boyle's The Hudson River: A Natural and Unnatural
History, Rachel Carson's "Flood Tide", and Farley Mowat's Never Cry
Wolf.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Students must sign up for course in 404
Altschul during the program-planning period of the previous spring. Note
BC1001 is not required for an environmental policy major.
Laboratory fee $30. Lab Required.
4.5 points
EESC B 1002y Environmental Science II
Interdisciplinary, integrated study of groundwater, radionuclides, toxics, and human health in the context of a semester-long, detailed exploration of a simulated brownfield and local community. Includes a reading of Jonathan Harr's A Civil Action and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.
- P. BowerPrerequisites: Enrollment limited. BC1001. Course is not required for an environmental policy major. Laboratory fee $30. Lab Required.
4.5 points
EESC V 2100x and y Earth's Environmental Systems:
Climate
Studies formation of winds, storms, and ocean currents. Recent influence of
human activity: global warming, and climate change. Laboratory exploration of
topics through demonstrations, experimentation, computer data analysis, and
modeling.
Prerequisites: High school algebra. Recommended preparation: High school
chemistry/physics, and one semester college science. Enrollment limited. Lab
Required. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning
(QUA).
4.5 points
EESC V 2200x Earth's Environmental Systems: Solid
Earth
Studies plate tectonics: Origin and development of continents, ocean basins,
mountain systems on land and sea. Earthquakes, landslides, volcanoes,
diamonds, oil. Land-use planning for resource development and conservation.
Laboratory exploration of topics through demonstrations, experimentation,
computer data analysis, and modeling.
Prerequisites: EESC V2100 or facility with computers. Enrollment limited.
Lab Required.
4.5 points
EESC V 2300y Earth's Environmental Systems: Life
Systems
Examines role of life in biogeochemical cycles, relationship of biodiversity
and evolution to the physical earth, vulnerability of ecosystems to
environmental change: causes and effects of extinctions through geologic time
(dinosaurs and mammoths) and today. Exploration of topics through
laboratories, demonstrations, computer data analysis, modeling, and field
trips.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Lab Required.
4.5 points
EESC BC 3013y Shorelines
Interdisciplinary study of shoreline processes and the larger ecosystems of which they are a part. Problem-oriented, field-methods course providing hands-on experience with tools and observational methods in a variety of outdoor environments. Involves sampling and identification techniques for rocks and minerals, fossils, water, soil, flora, and fauna, the creation of a field collection.
- P. BowerPrerequisites: Enrollment limited; students must sign up in 404 Altschul during the program-planning period of the previous term. Four required field trips.
3 points
EESC BC 3014x Field Methods in Environmental Science
Problem-oriented, hands-on approach emphasizing the tools, techniques, and
observational skills necessary for the understanding of forest ecology and
deer management. Field and laboratory work as well as data analysis and
interpretation. Field Methods utilizes the outdoor resources of the Hudson
River Valley, especially the forest environment at Black Rock Forest, a
4,000-acre preserve near Cornwall, N.Y.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited; students must sign up in 404 Altschul
during the program-planning period of the previous term. Five required field
trips.
3 points
EESC BC 3016x Environmental Measurements
Hands-on approach to learning environmental methods. Students take a one-day
cruise on the Hudson River to collect environmental samples. These samples
are then analyzed throughout the semester to characterize the Hudson River
estuary. Standard and advanced techniques to analyze water and sediment
samples for nutrients and contaminants are taught.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Required field trip on first Friday of
the semester.
3 points
EESC BC 3017x Environmental Data Analysis
Acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of environmental data, assessment of spatial and temporal variability. Focus on air and water quality issues. Uses existing and student-generated data sets. Basic principles of statistics and GIS, uses standard software packages including EXCEL and ArcGIS. Includes a Saturday half-day field trip.
- M. Stute, M. BeckerPrerequisites: One year of college science or EESC V2100 or permission of the instructor. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning (QUA).
3 points
EESC BC 3019x Energy Resources
Studies environmental policy implications of energy resources, production,
and use in the United States. Present and potential use of fossil fuels
(coal, oil, natural gas), nuclear fission, fusion, biomass, hydropower, wind,
solar, and geothermal energy.
Prerequisites: One year of college science or permission of instructor.
Alternate years.
3 points
EESC BC 3021x Forests and Environmental Change
Discussion of global forest distribution and links to climate, forest
ecology, paleoecology, role of forests in the global ecosystem, and case
studies of forests in relation to environmental change. Resources,
including biodiversity, medicinal/ethnobotany; conservation and management
strategies; role in carbon cycle.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 12 students. One year of college
science or permission of instructor. Alternate years.
4 points
EESC BC 3025y Hydrology
Hands-on study and discussion of the basic physical principles of the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and subsurface flow), as well as environmentally relevant applications based on case studies. Special focus on the New York City area, the arid Southwest, and the developing world. Coverage of contemporary global water resources issues, including pollution control, sustainable development, and climate change.
- M. StutePrerequisites: EESC V2100, physics, or permission of instructor. Includes a weekend field trip. Alternate years. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning (QUA).
3 points
EESC BC 3026y (Section 001) Case Studies: Land-use
Dynamics
Three case studies of topics related to land-use change and how they impact the living environment. The three topics are: (1) land-use change over time: a paleoenvironmental perspective, (2) environmental transformations: impact of exotic and invasive plants and birds on local environments, and (3) migration of neotropical songbirds between their wintering and breeding grounds: land-use, crisis, and conservation.
- Terryanne Maenza-GmelchPrerequisites: Enrollment limited to 12 students. Permission of the instructor required. Alternate years.
3 points
EESC BC 3032y Agricultural and Urban Land Use: Human-Environment
Interactions
Human transformation of the terrestrial environment since Paleolithic times. Physical process involved in human-environment interactions. Guidelines for sustainable development using present and past examples of environmental use and abuse.
- C. RosenzweigPrerequisites: One year of college science or permission of instructor. Alternate years. General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL).
4 points
EESC BC 3033x Waste Management
Policy-oriented approach to waste management issues. Cradle-to-grave
analysis of product and waste streams. Analysis of municipal solid waste,
landfills, incineration, recycling. Sewage waste and sewage treatment.
Prerequisites: Alternate years.
3 points
EESC BC 3040y Environmental Law
Process-oriented introduction to the law and its use in environmental policy
and decision-making. Origins and structure of the U.S. legal system. Emphasis
on litigation process and specific cases that elucidate the common law and
toxic torts, environmental administrative law, and environmental regulation
through application and testing of statutory law in the courts. Emphasis also
on the development of legal literacy, research skills, and writing.
3 points
EESC BC 3200x Ecotoxicology
The study of anthropogenic contaminants within our natural environment and their subsequent effects on biological organisms. Effects to be examined: the molecular scale (biochemical pathways of metabolism and detoxification), the organismal scale (target organs, behavioral effects), and the ecosystem scale (species viability). Lectures and hands-on activities are used to teach the material.
- B. MaillouxPrerequisites: CHEM BC1601, BIOL BC2002, or permission of instructor. Alternate years.
3 points
EESC BC 3800x Senior Research Seminar
Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis. Includes discussions about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods, and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports.
- M. Stute, S. Pfirman, B. MaillouxPrerequisites: Senior majors (juniors with permission of instructor). Provides credit for the senior thesis. The Senior Research Seminar can be taken in the Spring/Fall or Fall/Spring sequence.
3 points
EESC BC 3801y Senior Research Seminar
Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis. Includes discussions about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods, and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports.
- M. Stute, S. PfirmanPrerequisites: Senior majors (juniors with permission of instructor). Provides credit for the senior thesis. The Senior Research Seminar can be taken in the Spring/Fall or Fall/Spring sequence.
3 points
EESC BC 3999x and y Independent Study
Advanced projects for students who have adequate backgrounds to work
independently with guidance from a member of the faculty.
Prerequisites: Permission of the chair required. Does not provide major
credit.
1-6 points. Variable points to a maximum of 6.

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