When we think of environmental policies in the USA, we may think of one or more laws geared to improve our nation's air, water, ecosystems, and biodiversity. However, environmental policies and policy-making comprise more than just specific laws and regulations. Making and implementing environmental policy is a process influenced by multiple political, cultural, and economic factors in addition to scientific factors, all of which impact the ability of policies to be effective, that is, to actually improve the environment. In this course, we develop a framework to analyze the effectiveness of the social actors, process and outcomes of environmental policy-making. We ask questions such as: How do policy makers define environmental problems and solutions? Who are the social actors involved in the process? How are policies created and negotiated? What underlying assumptions and realities about the roles of government and society shape policy instruments and design? Are science and risk accurate or distorted? How are social and environmental justice intertwined? To answer these complex questions, we contextualize and critically analyze policies to determine how both government and society impact on regulatory approaches. We study the institutions involved and examine social and ecological outcomes of environmental policies. We also discuss contemporary issues and policy situations that arise throughout the course of the semester, and comment on them in a class blog. Finally, students will select an environmental issue and formulate a policy proposal to recommend to decisionmakers.

Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, impaired hearing, behavioral problems, and at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death. Children up to the age of six are especially at risk because of their developing systems; they often ingest lead chips and dust while playing in their home and yards. In ENVS 1615, Penn undergraduates learn about the epidemiology of lead poisoning, the pathways of exposure, and methods for community outreach and education. Penn students collaborate with middle school and high school teachers in West Philadelphia to engage middle school children in exercises that apply environmental research relating to lead poisoning to their homes and neighborhoods.

This course will focus on how food is produced around the globe and inputs required to ensure food security. Topics explored include: Integrated Pest Management, Precision Agriculture, Product Stewardship, Biodiversity, Biologicals, Organics and Synthetic Products, GMOs, Sustainable Development Goals, Regulations, Stakeholders (Growers, NGOs, consumers, etc.), and Food waste.

From Wall Street to rural Sub-Saharan Africa, technology innovation to aging infrastructure-this course will explore the; impact of water and consider what future leaders need to know about the dynamics of the industry, investment and business opportunities, and water-related risk; Opportunities for water are booming around the world, in large part because of existing or looming shortages and decades of underinvestment, population growth, rapid industrialization and urbanization, pollution, and climate change. Water is the only irreplaceable natural resource on the planet. Its critical role in every aspect of the global economy, could, in fact, lead it to be the next gold or the next oil; This course will address the fundamentals of the water sector from an international perspective. The future of water will be critical to our global economic, social and political development and will likely become one of the most influential factors in business decisions for the future. Furthermore, it is essential for leaders across all sectors-from pharmaceuticals to financials, energy to agriculture-to understand how to sustainably manage and account for water resources, capitalize on new technologies, mitigate water-related risks and navigate through complex and dynamic policy and regulation. The course will engage students in high-level discussion and strategy formation, challenging them to develop creative and sustainable solutions to some of the greatest challenges facing environmental, business and water industry leaders today. Interactive sessions and projects will provide an introduction to appropriately managing, valuing and investing in water assets to create sustainable and compelling business opportunities.

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 study of sustainability-the long term viability of humans in harmony with the environment-has been identified as a critical issue for society and industry and is evolving to examine how society should conduct itself in order to survive.There are a number of aspects to how society organizes its activities that will be reviewed. Issues such as sustainable products, sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry, sustainable fisheries, and sustainable communities, to name just a few, are areas that are the focus of the need for change. This course will review the various aspects of sustainability in society and ask each student to conduct a qualitative comparison of the life cycle impacts of two products that provide the same function to determine which is more sustainable and if and how they could both be made sustainable for the long term.

Environmental Justice (EJ) mapping examines the intersection of environmental burdens and the vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted by their harm. From redlining to the static maps that first showed the correlation between race and waste, and moving through to today's truly dynamic EJ mapping tools, The Principles of Mapping for Environmental Justice explores how mapping quite literally put EJ on the environmental movement landscape. This is not a GIS course, nor a course on EJ generally, but an examination into the core components that are inherent to EJ mapping principles. Come explore the indicators and methodologies used by federal, state and local governments and the policy they influence, such as President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.

According to a 2019 paper by Scott A. Kulp and Benjamin H. Strauss in the journal Nature Communications, 230 million people worldwide occupy land that is less than 1 meter above current high tide. These lands will be inundated by sea level rise by the end of this century, or earlier. Add to this the inherent flood risks in riverine and urban settings. How do we prepare and adapt? The class will explore the challenge of floodplain management in a changing climate through lectures, talks by guest experts, readings and multimedia, and exploration in the field. We will take a field trip to the New Jersey coast to witness home elevations, beach nourishment, and locales that are already experiencing chronic tidal flooding; we will meet with municipal officials challenged by increasingly persistent sea level rise. Our class will look at the National Flood Insurance Program, examine its goals, critique its 50 year history and debate reforms to the program at the same time the US Congress is considering reauthorization of the program. We will look at resiliency efforts that states and local governments are pursuing and the new city- and state-level position of Chief Resiliency Officer. In class we will cover hazard mitigation planning, land use, hard and natural infrastructure, regulations, the Community Rating System and other issues pertaining to flooding and climate change, including social justice and public health issues. Throughout the course, material will be introduced to prepare the student to take the Certified Floodplain Manager exam administered by the Association of State Floodplain Managers. This optional test, should the student pass, will provide credentialing that is well recognized in the United States.

While working with an advisor students conduct research and write a thesis.