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. Must take lab. Please note that an additional fee will be charged for this course.

Covers topics of basic observational astronomy and introduces topics of modern astrophysics. Topics include earth-based astronomy, the telescope, the solar system, and planetary motion. Studies the properties of the atom and of light and discusses the new space observatories before considering astrophysics: the birth, evolution, and death of stars, galaxy formation, and evidence for the expansion of the universe. Must take lab.

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. Must take lab. Not open to students with credit in or concurrent enrollment in PH1000.

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.