Climate change is increasingly presented as posing significant security risks, but the relationship is much more complex than such a simple cause-effect statement might suggest. Researchers from diverse fields including geography, climatology, and political science are actively engaging questions about what kinds of security are threatened by climate change and through what mechanisms. For example, will severe drought lead to violent conflict? Who is vulnerable to reduced soil moisture or increased coastal erosion and why? What are the consequences of viewing a problem as a livelihood versus national security risk? Who are the winners and losers of climate change-based security interventions? This course will orient students to the evolving debate on the relationship between climate change and its impacts on national, human, and environmental security.

The goal of the course is to provide students with an introduction to the role of enforcement in federal, state and local environmental regulatory programs. Emphasis will be placed on federal enforcement actions initiated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Justice. The course will provide students with an introduction to the American Legal System and legal concepts, like standing, jurisdiction, and burden of proof. A number of case studies and classroom exercises will be utilized as part of the discussion of civil and criminal enforcement actions. For example, a detailed case study will be presented concerning a successful prosecution by the federal government of a wastewater treatment plant operator (from the receipt of the initial tip through the sentencing of the defendant). A theme of all classes, presentations and assignments will be the role of the environmental professional in the enforcement context (e.g., the environmental professional who testifies as an expert in a judicial proceeding, or performs an audit that becomes the subject of a self-disclosure to EPA).

Conservationists were long accused of ignoring the needs of human communities. often been thought of as protecting land from people. Now, the conservation movement is embracing a different viewprotecting land with and for people. As a result innovative programs have been developed that connect people to nature, thereby helping to facilitate land conservation. This interdisciplinary course will integrate concepts in scientific method, study design, ecology, and conservation with a focus on birds in order to foster an understanding of how research can inform management of wildlife populations and communities. Topics will include wildlife management, habitat restoration, geographical information systems (GIS), sustainable agriculture, integrated land-use management, and vegetation analysis. This course will also provide opportunities for field research and application of techniques learned in the classroom.

This class will explore the foundations of avifaunal biology and ecology using a combination of hands-on classroom and in-the-field experiences. Classroom content includes physiology, anatomy, and morphology of birds. The fall migration of birds in North America is an epic and often tragic event. Sampling birds in migration has resulted in foundational understandings about stopover habitats, species-specific energy budgets and has helped realize the complete life cycle of hundreds of species. We will enter the field and participate in actual ornithological research, explore avifaunal ecology through birdwatching, and meet with regional leaders in the ornithological field.

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/landscape 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 wellas 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. This is the first course taken by students entering the Master of Environmental Studies Program.

This course offers a broad and practical introduction to the acquisition, storage, retrieval, maintenance, use, and presentation of digital cartographic data with both image and drawing based geographic information systems (GIS) for a variety of environmental science, planning, and management applications. Its major objectives are to provide the training necessary to make productive use of at least two well known software packages, and to establish the conceptual foundation on which to build further skills and knowledge in late practice.

The course focuses on the natural history of different wetland types including climate, geology, and,hydrology factors that influence wetland development Associated soil, vegetation, and wildlife characteristics and key ecological processes will be covered as well. Lectures will be supplemented with weekend wetland types, ranging from tidal salt marshes to non-tidal marshes, swamps, and glacial bogs in order to provide field experience in wetland identification, characterization, and functional assessment. Outside speakers will discuss issues in wetland seed bank ecology, federal regulation, and mitigation. Students will present a short paper on the ecology of a wetland animal and a longer term paper on a selected wetland topic. Readings from the text, assorted journal papers, government technical documents, and book excerpts will provide a broad overview of the multifaceted field of wetland study.

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

This course is designed to provide the student with an understanding of air pollution at the local, regional, and global levels. The course will focus on Philadelphia's air quality and how air pollutants have an adverse effect on the health of residents. Through a partnership with Philadelphia Air Management Services (AMS), the science of air monitoring and trends will be explored. The city's current non-attainment status for PM 2.5 and ozone will be studied, as well as current initiatives to improve air quality. Students will learn to measure PM 2.5 in indoor and outdoor settings and develop community-based outreach tools to effectively inform the community about air pollution.