How do government policy-makers make decisions about potential threats to human health and the environment in the face of scientific uncertainty? The course develops the concept of Risk Assessment from the publication of the 1983 National Research Council (NRC) report commonly known as the "Red Book" which was used to rank the initial hazardous waste sites under the Superfund program. Using a variety of teaching tools, including lectures, panel discussions, and case studies, the course examines how public policy decisions regarding environmental risk are made and how effective those decisions are at reducing risks to affected populations. The course focuses on the complex interaction of science, economics, politics, laws, and regulations in dealing with environmental and public health risks. The course will begin with a review of the policy process and methods used in evaluating human health and environmental risks, including the traditional steps in the risk assessment process, including quantitative and qualitative aspects of hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.


The course will then focus on how scientific uncertainty, risk perceptions, socio-economic disparities, risk communication, and politics influence environmental risk-based decision-making. Issues such as special populations (e.g., children, elderly, immune-compromised, woman of pregnancy age, etc.) must be considered when developing risk reduction strategies. The use of the "precautionary principle" will be discussed in the context of different types of environmental stressors (e.g., pesticides, chemicals, climate change, air pollution, water quality, and land use) and how this important controversial principle is applied differently in contrasting national and European risk management policies.

Puerto Rico has a varied climate, geology, and topography that combine with with periodic disturbance from hurricanes, landslides, and floods to produce a rich diversity of ecological systems (see Miller and Lugo, 2009). Extraction of the island's natural resources, agricultural production, and industrial, commercial, and residential development have greatly reduced the area of intact systems and put pressure on surviving remnants. Fortunately, there are protected natural areas (see map by Gould et al., 2011) that provide the opportunity to observe ecological patterns and processes of the tropics. We will spend a week exploring the island to capture its varied climate and bedrock represented in the wet forests of El Yunque on igneous rock, dry forests of Guanica on limestone, and dry to moist forests of Susua on serpentinite and Guajataca on limestone. We will also investigate the coastal systems of the Northeast Ecological Corridor, Guanica, and Cabo Rojo including coral reef, seagrass bed, beach, mangrove, rocky headland, and bioluminescent bay.


The course will include regular Wednesday night classes leading up to the spring break trip during which we will review the literature and learn about the ecological systems of the island, including Penn research in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (see Harris et al., 2012), and view Taino artifacts from from the Penn Museum collection. Students will research a specific system or location that we will visit and present information on the interaction of abiotic and biotic factors to the class before we leave. Upon our return, students will complete a research project on a topic of interest related to the field trip and present findings and analysis in a class presentation and paper.

A detailed, comprehensive investigation of selected environmental problems. This is the first course taken by students entering the Master of Environmental Studies Program.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.

The culmination of the Environmental Studies major. Students, while working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.