There is no other instruction more basic than that which focuses on perpetuation of both environmental quality and the quality of life. They also examine the ways urban development altered public perceptions of wilderness, nature, and human society, and the ways these attitudes have influenced urban sanitation, conservation, preservation, industrial development, and resource allocation. They are involved in detailed, interdisciplinary analyses of several environmental problems, including their causes, consequences, and solutions. A wide variety of environmental issues are explored, and students identify, describe, and evaluate their individual impacts on the environment. Readings such as The Sand County Almanac are required.
Students analyze natural, social, and economic factors influencing the quality of the environment.
Ecological relationships and principles are studied and their relation to population growth, pollution, resource allocation and depletion, conservation, technology, and urban and rural planning. An overview of K-12 environmental education content and methods is also included. They read Tragedy of the Commons and consider the role of government in dealing with environmental regulation. The National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental legislation is examined. Students also analyze organizations attempting to influence environmental policy and evaluate their own attitudes regarding environmental policy.