Can we successfully adapt our urban water systems to meet the growing challenges of flood, drought, water contamination, heat/fires, extreme weather and sea level rise? How do we make our cities resilient and our communities sustainable, even in the face of these threats? When does change begin? How does it happen?
Our urban water systems and their watersheds are already severely challenged. We will explore the human right to water and sanitation on a local and a global scale through a review of (1) water policies, practices and law; (2) technology; (3) governance and funding; and (4) land use (think green/blue infrastructure and “nature-based” solutions). Among many the many topics to be examined, we will study (1) how leadership, technology and politics were essential to achieving change through an analysis of Philadelphia’s Green City Clean Waters program; (2) how we make potable water from wastewater palatable to the public, (3) how to manage PFAS in the environment, the drinking water, the land disposal of biosolids, and in communicating its risk to the public; and (4) make ESG, GHG emissions, energy independence and 100% water recycling/reuse integral to the water industry culture and operations.

As climate change becomes an increasing threat, nations and organizations across the globe are setting ambitious net zero and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, but how is this accomplished? Through case studies and assessments this class will investigate the leading techniques and practices to reduce carbon emissions and capture and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Case studies will include examples from agriculture and food; living shorelines, wetlands, and coastal restoration; biodiversity; energy; transportation; land use, and the social aspect (empowering women and girls); bioremediation, and anaerobic digesters vs composting. Relevant climate data will be reviewed, as well as approaches to business practices, economic considerations and legislation that can accelerate addressing climate impacts to our environment.

This course requires a one-week trip to attend the World Water Forum. Additional fees apply. This course is organized around, and requires participation in, the World Water Forum (WWF) (https://worldwaterforum.org/). This tri-annual forum has become the world's largest gathering of over 25,000 officials, professionals and practitioners interested in global water issues. Attendees include world leaders in water, sanitation, and health issues and represent governments, NGOs, academia, the private sector, and media professionals. Water management can include basic access to drinking water and sanitation, but water scarcity often impacts food supplies, and water quality degradation impacts human health and biodiversity. We will explore how cross-disciplinary, holistic, systems approaches are key to sound water management. The WWF uses a thematic process to share best practices and experiences. Students will select one of the themes for research before the conference. While at the conference students will focus on learning and networking in their own area(s) of interest.

Before the year 2000, "environmental management" for a business was typically driven by the need to respond to restrictions imposed by environmental regulation. But, at the dawn of the new millennium, leading businesses began to change their concept of environmental management to look beyond simply meeting governmental dictates. These organizations began to evolve and utilize "environmental strategy" to create new ways of growing their businesses by bringing sustainability to the core of their business strategies. This seismic shift in view was accompanied by a bottom line emphasis that, in some cases, turned sustainability efforts into profit centers. Sustainability increasingly is not hidden within the silo of environmental, health, and safety departments but has become much more seamlessly integrated into the operations of corporate functional disciplines. Today, to effectively work in senior management, an executive needs to be knowledgeable not only about his or her specific business function but also how his or her business will be impacted by governmental regulations, policies, corporate sustainability initiatives, green marketing regulations, industry guidelines or 'best practices', new sustainable technologies, energy planning, environmental performance metrics, and required reporting on the environmental impact of their business unit.

Sustainability presents both a challenge and an opportunity for society. Issues like climate change, pollution, resource depletion, and population imbalance are stressing the planet's capacity in ways that threaten our ability to sustain thriving and just societies. At the same time, these systemic problems are unfolding too slowly to prompt most of us to take serious and significant action, or to trigger meaningful responses from our political and business leaders. People equate sustainability with efficiency, waste minimization, and pollution prevention - all worthy goals - but at the current rate of consumption and growth these approaches alone will not create the future of abundance and equity that we desire. To quote author and MIT professor John Ehrenfeld, "Reducing unsustainability - although critical - will not create sustainability." What will it take to extricate us from the current predicament and forge a new path? In this class, we will examine underlying psychological and cultural barriers to sustainability and discuss strategies for surmounting them. Students will learn leadership competencies and practices to help them more effectively lead change efforts for sustainability. Readings and discussions will explore the application of positive psychology to leverage the human technologies of creativity and collaboration in the pursuit of a more balanced and sustainable relationship with others and our ecosystems, and to shift the sustainability dialogue from the current problem-oriented approach to a vision of human wellbeing and planetary flourishing.

Urban forests provide ecological and socio-economic benefits ranging from improving air, water, and soil quality to creating wildlife habitat to enhancing thermal comfort and the health of individuals and whole communities to increasing property values and more. We will explore research on the nature, function, and value of urban forests. We will investigate reforestation efforts in Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, and Pittsburgh with projects typically involving deer control, invasive plant removal, planting of native trees and shrubs increasingly propagated from local seed sources, maintenance, and monitoring. We will learn about the myriad advocacy and education programs supporting urban forests. Speakers from the US Forest Service, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and TreePittsburgh will expand our understanding of these important ecosystems. Five weekend field trips to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and NYC will illustrate the character of urban forests and reforestation projects. Students will research and present on an urban forest system (from Philadelphia or elsewhere) and research a topic of interest related to course content.

This course will focus on understanding the multiple ways in which climate science is communicated to publics and how they come to understand it. In the process, we will explore ways to blunt susceptibilities to misconceptions, misconstruals, and deliberate deceptions about climate science. Forms of communication on which the class will focus include consensus statements, manifestos, commentaries, court briefs, news accounts, fact checks, op-eds, letters to the editor, speeches, and media interviews. Students will have the opportunity to interact with guest lecturers, among them leading journalists, climate activists, and climate survey analysts. Students will write letters to the editor and fact checks and will participate in mock interviews designed to increase their understanding of the nature of the interactions between journalists and climate scientists. As a class project, students will collaborate on a white paper on climate discourse fallacies to be distributed at the April 3-7 Society for Environmental Journalists annual convention (hosted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and Media). Students will interview attendees at that conference as part of the class project.

This course is designed to introduce non-attorney, environmental professionals to the field of environmental law, policy and regulation. This is a survey course with a focus on the federal environmental regulatory system. General regulatory, enforcement and compliance assistance concepts will be presented and discussed in depth. Lectures will provide students with an introduction to and understanding of the primary components of a number of federal environmental statutes, including: Clean Air Act; Clean Water Act; CERCLA; NEPA; EPCRA; RCRA; and the Safe Drinking Water Act. The interplay between federal and state environmental laws and requirements will also be discussed. A recurring theme will be the role that the environmental professional plays as part of the interaction between governmental regulators and members of the regulated community. Case studies will be presented to address the practical implications that environmental legal requirements have on the regulated community. The class will explore current topics, such as climate change regulation; federalism issues; regulation of e-waste; safe drinking water issues, and the jurisdiction of federal clean water protection efforts. Students also will develop important career tools including: learning how to testify effectively as an expert witness in administrative and judicial proceedings; and preparing persuasive expert reports.

This course explores the nature and use of digital geographic information systems (GIS) for the analysis and synthesis of spatial patterns and processes through 'cartographic modeling'. Cartographic modeling is a general but well defined methodology that can be used to address a wide variety of analytical mapping applications in a clear and consistent manner. It does so by decomposing both data and data-processing tasks into elemental components that can then be recomposed with relative ease and with great flexibility.

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