This course is a comprehensive introduction to the climate emergency and the tools with which we can fight it. It will integrate natural science, social science, philosophy of science, history, ethics, and policy. The course opens with an overview of the historical discovery of global warming and our contemporary understanding of climate change. We then turn to the framework that the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has developed to study climate risks, focusing on both general issues and case studies throughout the world. The existence and severity of these risks raises questions of climate justice at many levels: individuals to individuals, countries to countries, and the present generation to future generations. We will study these issues in detail, and then examine the policy tools developed to address them. Although we will discuss national and sub-national policy and policy proposals such as the Green New Deal, special attention will be given to global policy tools, especially the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. In addition to standard writing assignments, students will have a chance to develop policy proposals that address the core issues of the class.

An introduction to processes and forces that form the surface and the interior of the Earth. Topics include, changes in climate, the history of life, as well as earth resources and their uses.

This qualitative course will introduce students to sustainable waste management for resource recovery. We are a consumer-driven planet; the use of fossil fuels, mining for virgin materials, irresponsible water utilization, and relentless waste generation have only been degrading our planet at an alarming rate. Technology and policy innovations can help avoid extracting virgin materials and growing feedstock crops for industrial production and instead make use of waste feedstocks. Waste materials such as food waste, plastics, and electronic wastes are rich in energy and critical minerals which can be harnessed to achieve a lower environmental impact and greater socio-economic benefits. The goal of sustainable waste management for resource recovery is to keep materials in use as long as possible by taking a multiple ‘R’ approach- Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Renew, Repair, Refurbish, Remanufacture, Recover, Repurpose, and Regulate.

Course for PhD students dissertation credit.

Course for PhD students dissertation credit.

Course for PhD students dissertation credit.

Course for PhD students dissertation credit.

Course for PhD students dissertation credit.

Course for PhD students dissertation credit.

While working with an advisor in their concentration, conduct research and write a thesis.