The impact of race, class, and nationality will be considered in connection with the loss of botanical diversity from a particular region. Students will begin their analysis by situating the experience of the U.S. within this broader context. Methods currently in use for preserving botanical diversity around the world will be examined and analyzed for their effectiveness. Topics will include biological organization of rivers and lakes, human impact, laboratory and field approaches to the study of aquatic systems. This course is a survey of the biology, physics, chemistry, and geology of the ocean.
Emphasis is placed on living organisms and their adaptations to life in the oceans.
The human impact on marine environments is examined. This course will begin with an exploration of traditional domestic urban planning for the environment including municipal, state and federal policy regulating water and air quality, sewage and solid waste disposal, and other aspects of environmental policy of special concern in areas of high concentrations of human activity. The class will discuss the role of the urban park, urban trees, urban wetlands, and other ways to ameliorate the impact of urban environmental concerns. Students will become familiar with examples of both more and less successful urban environmental planning from other nations, the cultural and social assumptions of the mainstream environmental movement in identifying and addressing urban environmental problems, and the organizing efforts of urban residents in developing more sustainable cities. Cross-listed as GEOL 325.