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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.