ENVI 102
Introduction to Environmental Science Spring 2018
Division III
This is not the current course catalog

Environmental Science is the study of how the global earth system functions within the context of its four distinct yet interconnected “spheres,” the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. This course introduces students to scientific methods from physics, chemistry, geology and biology that are applied to understanding both how these spheres interact and how we as scientists can interpret and assess human impacts. Discussions are accompanied by in-depth examinations of real-world case studies at the local and global scale. Topics may include: anthropogenic carbon dioxide, the ozone hole, groundwater contamination, resource sustainability, and loss of biodiversity. In weekly fieldwork and laboratory sessions students collect and analyze environmental samples, and interpret and write about these datasets. In addition to these group projects, students design, complete and present independent projects on a topic of their choice.