Historical consumption of materials and land resources has resulted in increasing per capita waste and greenhouse gas emissions. This course will explore opportunities to address the challenges of climate change through sustainable closed-loop approaches for materials and land. Alternative views of the drivers of climate changing greenhouse gases and the relative contributions of various sectors of the U.S. economy will be presented. The implications of climate change, economic costs of climate change mitigation and adaptation, rising energy prices, land use, and waste management issues will be discussed. The course will identify policy needs at all levels (international, national, state, and local) as well as practical solutions for greenhouse gas reductions. The course will explore in depth local policies and actions (e.g., recycling efforts and land use planning) that complement national and international efforts (e.g., cap and trade system and carbon tax).

The course will explore all 4 sectors of the water business in the United States: The Drinking Water Industry, The Stormwater Utility, Water Resources (rivers, streams, reservoirs) Management and the Water Pollution Control Industry. The course will have 2 primary foci: 1. The influences on the industry from new technologies and infrastructure, acceptable levels of risk, public and private sector competition, climate change, the bottled water industry, resource recovery, rates and affordability and other influences will be investigated. 2. The management of a 21st century utility will be explored, including topics of organization and leadership, the role of environmentalism, infrastructure financing, water / wastewater treatment facility operations, public affairs and media, and designing a capital improvement program are examples of topic areas.

The Delaware River and Estuary offer an opportunity to examine efforts to protect the environment in a multi-state, economically and ecologically complex area. This case studey will review environmental protection efforts in and around the River, the stressors on the environment, and attempts to balance environmental protection with economic, employment, and other needs. Itwill address scientific issues, relationships between air and water quality transportation and sprawl issues, the balancing of water quality and water quantity. Students will learn about the institutions responsible for managing this complex system, and what goals and indicators of progress are used by these organizations. Students will be asked to research, in detail, one or more aspects of the environmental management systems. They will identify the key drivers in determining environmental quality, recommend inprovements to the system, and propose a vision for the future.

This course is designed to survey the various sustainability tools currently available to evaluate business performance. We will concentrate on the Triple Bottom line views of sustainability. Emphasis will be on Data driven approaches to Life Cycle Assessment, Environmental Product Declarations, ISO standards, and Green Construction. Special sessions will review the business drivers and market pull for sustainable products and practices. We will focus on US Green Building Council LEED requirements as well as the expectations of retailers for environmental information with regard to consumer packaged goods.

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.

This course explores dramatic changes taking place at the interface of business, society, and the natural environment. Previously, business and environmental interests were believed to be adversarial. Now, some contemporary thinkers are suggesting that environmental capabilities can be a source of competitive advantage for corporations. A recent Harvard Business Review article refers to the sum of these changes as "The Next Industrial Revolution." In this course we will study examples on the cutting edge of these developments. We will look at corporations that are creating a "double bottom line" by strategizing about the ecological impact of their decisions, as well as the economic impact. We will learn about industrial designers who are rethinking everything from tennis shoes to corporate headquarters' buildings with the environment in mind. We will consider new alliances among business, environmental activists and government regulators -- all stakeholders in a sustainable society.

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