Asthma as a pediatric chronic disease is undergoing a dramatic and unexplained increase. It has become the number one cause of public school absenteeism and now accounts for a significant number of childhood deaths each year in the USA.The Surgeon General of the United States has characterized childhood asthma as an epidemic. In ENVS 408, Penn undergraduates learn about the epidemiology of urban asthma, the debate about the probable causes of the current asthma crisis, and the nature and distribution of environmental factors that modern medicine describes as potential triggers of asthma episodes. Penn students will co-teach asthma classes offered in public schools in West Philadelphia and survey asthma caregivers,providing them with the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations,promotecommunity education and awareness about asthma, and use problem-solving learning to enhance student education in environmental health.

Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, impaired hearing, behavioral problems, and at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death. Children up to the age of six are especially at risk because of their developing systems; they often ingest lead chips and dust while playing in their home and yards.


In ENVS 404, Penn undergraduates learn about the epidemiology of lead poisoning, the pathways of exposure, and methods for community outreach and education. Penn students collaborate with middle school and high school teachers in West Philadelphia to engage middle school children in exercises that apply environmental research relating to lead poisoning to their homes and neighborhoods.

Application of student and faculty expertise to a specific environmental problem, chosen expressly for the seminar.

Application of student and faculty expertise to a specific environmental problem, chosen expressly for the seminar.

This course is a hands-on introduction to the concepts and capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS). Students will develop the skills necessary for carrying out basic GIS projects and for advanced GIS coursework. The class will focus on a broad range of functional and practical applications,ranging from environmental science and planning to land use history, social demography, and public health. By the end of the course, students will be ableto find, organize, map, and analyze data using both vector (i.e. drawing-based) and raster (i.e. image-based) GIS tools, while developing an appreciation for basic cartographic principles relating to map presentation.This course fulfillsthe spatial analysis requirement for ENVS and EASC Majors. Previous experiencein the use of GIS is not required.

The study of sustainability-the long term viability of humans in harmony with the environment-has been identified as a critical issue for society and industry and is evolving to examine how society should conduct itself in order to survive.This issue impacts the consumer goods that we use in our lives,the processes that are designed to make these goods, and the raw materials that we obtain to create these goods.The questions that we will examine will be:can these goods be obtained,made,and consumed in a fashion that allows the current quality of life to be mantained (or enhanced) for future generations? Can these processes be sustainable? A review of consumer goods is necessary as the starting point in order to understand the basic needs of people in society and why people consume goods as they do. Subsequently,each student will choose a product to examine in detail and will research the product for its impact with respect to natural resource selection,production,use,and disposal/reuse.

This course is an introduction to current and developing techniques for analyzing environmental contamination and for remediation of damaged environments. Knowledge of these options is important for students interested in public/law applications and environmental lanscape design and as a starting point for those pursuing a more science-oriented understanding. The first portion of this course will address bioindicators, the use of living systems to assess environmental contamination. These include systems ranging from biochemical assays to monitoring of whole organisms or ecosystems, as well as techniques ranging from laboratory to field and satellite surveys. The second portion of the course will introduce technologies for bioremediation- the use of living systems to restore contaminated environments. The technologies scale from single-species systems to complex ecosystems such as constructed wetlands; case studies will be examined. Students will be expected to participate in field trips, as well as prepare a final paper examining a particular technology in detail.

A detailed, comprehensive investigation of selected environmental problems. Guest speakers from the government and industry will give their acccounts of various environmental cases. Students will then present information on a case study of their choosing.