ENV - Environmental Studies

ENV 110 Earth Systems Science

This course develops a holistic view of planet Earth by considering global interactions between atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. A regional perspective is developed by examining how plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes have shaped the active continental margin in the Pacific Northwest. Fee: $80

3

ENV 111 Natural Hazards in the Pacific Northwest

Geological catastrophes (e.g. earthquakes, meteorite impacts, and flooding) are important processes in shaping the Earth. This course will acquaint students with the scientific principles governing these catastrophes. Fee: $80

3

ENV 160 Science of a Sustainable Gourmet

This course explores foods, including the science behind the ways we grow, process, distribute, and cook them. We consider the impacts food choices have on our environment and health. We ask what dietary choices are the most sustainable and how to make informed decisions about buying food. Finally, we discuss the aesthetic and cultural attributes of really delicious food.

3

ENV 161 The Science of the Literate and Sustainable Gourmet

This course introduces current issues, scientific background, and future prospects related to food production and consumption. Students will explore the consequences and limitations of modern agriculture and understand the impacts food choices have on our environment and health. In collaboration with ENG 161, Thinking Through Food in Literature, students will engage in a research project to consider sustainable dietary choices.

3

Corequisites

ENG 161

ENV 162 An Introduction to Our Oceans

This course explores the physical and ecological aspects of our oceans and myriad aspects of the human relationship with marine habitats on a local and global ocean. Three hours of lecture per week. Fee: $80

3

ENV 170 Sustainability Science

Core sustainability principles through the lens of political ecological perspectives. Topics include ecological stewardship, global systems, natural resources, technology, transportation; and community and personal resilience.

3

ENV 182 Environmental Science

Survey of the scientific issues involved in the problems of maintenance of environmental quality and preservation of our ecosystem. The search for a sustainable society will be discussed.

3

ENV 200 Perspectives in Environmental Studies

This entry course surveys the different specialties that make up the field of environmental studies, including environmental biology, atmospheric science and climatology, geomorphology, geology, GIS & remote sensing, conservation biology, water quality regulation, the relationship between science environmental ethics, and/or other current topics. Students will be presented with a broad introduction to all of these disciplines. Fee: $80

3

ENV 273 Special Environmental Laboratory

For special lower-division laboratory projects. Content and credit to be arranged. Fee: $60 per credit hour.
Variable

ENV 300 Techniques in Environmental Research

This course will provide a field and/or laboratory experience that gives students an introduction to techniques used in environmental research.  In different sections research approaches used in atmospheric science, climatology, geomorphology, geology, coastal ecology, conservation biology, or other areas of active research in the environmental studies department will be focused on. May be repeated for up to 6 credits.
3

Prerequisites

Instructor permission

ENV 304 Wetlands Ecology

This course explores the biological, chemical, and physical structure of wetlands around the world. Species interactions, human impacts to wetlands, wetland disease agents, & the role wetlands play in global change will be considered. We will also explore the role wetlands have played in human history and how this has shaped our knowledge of wetland ecosystems.

3

Prerequisites

BIO 207, BIO 277, BIO 208, BIO 278, or BIO 208 and ENV 200.

Corequisites

ENV 374

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 304

ENV 305 Environmental Regulation and Non-Regulatory Responses

This course is designed to provide an understanding of the basics of the environmental regulations and how local, state and the federal governments responding to regulatory issues through innovation and performance-based approaches. Performance based approaches include, among others: accurate measures, best management practices; purchasing and certification and implementing environmental management systems and programs.

3

ENV 310 Topics in Environmental Studies

This course introduces students to environmental studies at an upper division level through an examination of various topics and/or issues related to the environment. Possible topics may include the nature of science and the scientific method, skepticism about science, endangered species, compassionate conservation, water, and/or climate change. Fee: $80

3

Prerequisites

One lower division ENV course

ENV 312 Freshwater Ecology

This course explores the biological, chemical, and physical structure of freshwater ecosystems. Species interactions, human impacts, climate change, & the value of freshwater ecosystems will be examined through a project-based approach.

3

Prerequisites

BIO 208 and BIO 278, all with a C- or higher

Corequisites

ENV 313

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 312

ENV 313 Freshwater Ecology Lab

In this competency-based lab course in freshwater ecology students will demonstrate proficiency in a variety of fieldwork and laboratory skills that are essential to freshwater ecologists. Fee: $70

1

Prerequisites

BIO 208 and BIO 278, all with a C- or higher

Corequisites

ENV 312

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 313

ENV 314 Resilience and Policy

Resilience Science is the dominant theory of social-ecological systems, shaping policy, planning and practice. Students investigate a series of local, national and international case studies and related regulatory policy, environmental planning and sustainable development practices, while comparing traditional command-and-control approaches with the Resilience Science model.

3

ENV 317 Science of the Two Americas

The Two Americas in terms of environmental health are not just the coasts and the inner states, or just white people and people of color, or just liberal and conservative. Those with dramatically different environmental health impacts are rich and poor people. This course will look at lead in drinking water, mountaintop mining, fracking for natural gas, subsistence fish consumption, air pollution and children, septic systems and diseases.

3

Prerequisites

ENV 182 or ENV 200 or ENV 310

ENV 324 Environmental Ethics

An inquiry into our obligations to the non-human world and the philosophical basis of those obligations.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150, PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

PHL 324

ENV 325 Metrics for Sustainability

Covers current analytical frameworks and tools that leading-edge organizations are using to benchmark and improve environmental, social and financial performance. Includes environmental and social valuation techniques, life cycle analysis, and carbon footprinting.
3

Prerequisites

ECN 120 or ECN 121

Cross Listed Courses

ECN 325

ENV 326 More-than-Human Consciousness

This course will delve into the growing philosophical and scientific literature on the nature of consciousness, exploring which non-human animals could be said to be conscious and why, whether insects are conscious, and whether it makes sense to talk about plant consciousness. The course engages the interdisciplinary field of consciousness studies and looks at the ethical implications of finding consciousness in the non-human world.

3

Prerequisites

PHL 150 and PHL 220

Cross Listed Courses

PHL 326

ENV 327 Global Environmental Justice

Drawing from a range of literature, this course takes an interdisciplinary approach to environmental justice theory and practice. Students will interrogate the historical legacies of the disproportionate burdens of ecological issues on minority groups in the U.S. and worldwide. We will evaluate the roles that environmental justice movements have played in the struggle to meet the needs of vulnerable populations around the world.

3

Cross Listed Courses

ETHS 327

ENV 333 Geomorphology

This course explores the physical and biological controls on sediment transport and the shape of the Earth’s landforms on human to geologic timescales. Topics include: rivers, glaciers, hillslopes, soils, landslides, coastal processes, and Aeolian processes. Will also consider applications to land management and river restoration.

3

Prerequisites

BIO 208 or CHM 207 or PHY 201 or PHY 204 or MTH 201 or MTH 161 or ENV 383

Corequisites

ENV 337

ENV 337 Geomorphology Lab

Field and laboratory investigation of geomorphology. Three hours of laboratory per week. Fee: $80

1

Prerequisites

BIO 208 or CHM 207 or PHY 201 or PHY 204 or MTH 201 or MTH 161 or ENV 383

Corequisites

ENV 333

ENV 348 Geopolitics of Energy and the Environment

This course addresses questions such as:  What is the relationship between the biophysical environment and international security?  Does competition over resources cause conflict? Does environmental scarcity cause conflict? How will global warming affect relations among great powers the political stability of the developing world?
3

Cross Listed Courses

POL 348

ENV 349 Environmental Policy

This course will consider how environmental problems arise, looking at how a progression of natural and human circumstances becomes an "environmental problem." It will survey the law, politics, and institutions that manage pollution. The course will also look closely at a handful of environmental policy issues, particularly in the Columbia River, and the interplay of science, risk, and uncertainty.

3

ENV 355 Global Change Ecology

This course explores how organisms and ecosystems respond to the changing environment. Includes discussion of different lines of evidence for understanding biological responses to global change, including observations, paleoecology, experiments, and modeling. Three hours of lecture per week.

3

Prerequisites

BIO 207, BIO 277, BIO 208, BIO 278, or BIO 208 and ENV 200

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 355

ENV 356 Global Change Ecology Lab

Field and laboratory investigation of how organisms and ecosystems respond to the changing environment. Three hours of lab per week. Fee: $70

1

Prerequisites

BIO 207, BIO 277, BIO 208, BIO 278 or BIO 208 and ENV 200

Corequisites

ENV 355

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 356

ENV 358 Physical Oceanography

This course examines data from modern buoy networks, sonar, satellites, and computational models to explore seawater chemistry, seafloor and coastal geology, currents, waves, tides and more; especially focusing on maritime transportation, ocean acidification, pollution, overfishing, tsunamis, beach erosion, storm surge, sea-level rise, rogue waves, rip currents, sustainable coastal development, surfing and swell forecasting. Fee: $30

3

ENV 359 Glaciology

This course will cover the role of snow and ice in the connected Earth system, including: the formation and flow of glaciers and ice sheets, response of the cryosphere to climate change, importance of glaciers in Oregon’s hydrologic cycle, ice cores and glacial landforms as archives of climate history, connections and feedbacks between the ocean and marine glaciers, projections of sea level rise, and frontiers of glaciological research. Fee: $90

3

Prerequisites

BIO 208 or CHM 207 or PHY 201 or PHY 204 or MTH 201 or MTH 161 or ENV 383

Corequisites

ENV 388

ENV 360 The Science and Ethics of the Sustainable Gourmet

This course will allow students to explore the environmental impacts and scientific challenges of raising the food for our growing population. Students will engage in using an ethical lens to evaluate the impact of our agricultural system on the world around us and ourselves. Fee: $10

3

ENV 361 Meteorology

This course focuses on physical processes controlling day-to-day weather, along with the current tools and techniques that professional meteorologists use to monitor, model, and forecast the weather. Course goals include helping students to make better weather-related planning decisions, and reducing vulnerability to hazardous weather phenomena such as blizzards, lightning, large hail, downbursts, tornadoes, damaging straight-line winds, and other extremes.
3

ENV 363 Environmental Literature

Study of British and American authors from the eighteenth century to today who have creatively considered and analyzed humans' relationship to and representations of the environment. Selected authors may include William and Dorothy Wordsworth, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson, and Michael Pollan.

3

Cross Listed Courses

ENG 363

ENV 365 Climatology

This course explores the physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that affect and are affected by Earth's climate system and climate changes. The course also includes applications of climate science to energy-efficient architecture, water management, ecology, forestry, precision agriculture, solar power, wind power, analysis of paleoclimates, and modeling of future climate change, along with anthropogenic climate-change impacts and mitigation strategies.

3

Prerequisites

BIO 208 or CHM 207 or PHY 201 or PHY 204 or MTH 201 or MTH 161 or ENV 383

ENV 367 Climate Change Negotiations: The Road to the Conference of the Parties (COP)

This course will provide students with various skills to understand and learn how decisions on climate change are made at the international level. Student will engage in essential aspects of climate change negotiations through historical and contemporary analysis of critical outcomes at the United Nations Framework Convention (UNFCCC) from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement.

3

ENV 370 Do or Do Not: Saving Planet A

This course centers on understanding global climate change from science, policy, and social justice perspectives. Rather than approaching these as individual components of climate change, the course focuses on the relationships and dynamics between all three within a global social-ecological system. Emphasis is on current context, bridging the gap between the Global North and South, and the toolsets needed to create solutions.

3

Cross Listed Courses

ETHS 370

ENV 374 Wetlands Ecology Lab

Field and laboratory investigation of wetland ecosystems. Students will explore problems facing wetlands, methods for assessing wetland health, and how to apply ecological principles to solve wetland related issues. Three hours of lab per week. Fee: $70
 

1

Prerequisites

BIO 208 and BIO 278; all with a C- or higher.

Corequisites

ENV 304

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 374

ENV 381 Climatology Lab

This course will explore the tools and methods used to study the connected global climate system in both the field and lab settings. Students will develop quantitative skills while collecting, processing, and visualizing climatological data. Fee: $120

1

Corequisites

ENV 365

ENV 382 Air Pollution

The course investigates the sources, distribution and impacts of atmospheric pollutants. Specifically, the role of air pollution in climate change, human health, and environmental impacts will be covered in detail. The course will also discuss the natural background chemistry of the atmosphere, photochemistry, and urban air pollution.

3

Prerequisites

CHM 207, CHM 277

Cross Listed Courses

CE 460

ENV 383 Environmental Geoscience

This course investigates the interrelationships between the inanimate Earth and life forms, with special emphasis on environmental interactions between the Earth and humans. Topics include the environmental significance of natural resources (including energy, minerals, soil, and water), natural hazards (including earthquakes, mass wasting, subsidence, and volcanoes), ocean processes (including basins and coastlines), and waste management (including burial, movement, remediation). Fee: $30

3

ENV 384 Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems

This course investigates environmental applications of multispectral remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS). RS topics include sensor systems, digital image processing, and automated information extraction. GIS topics include spatial database management systems, data analysis, and environmental modeling. Emphasis is placed on biological applications including vegetation mapping, habitat identification and field data mapping.

3

Cross Listed Courses

BIO 384, CE 458

ENV 385 Environmental Microbiology

Morphology, physiology, and ecology of microorganisms, emphasizing their role in environmental processes such as nutrient cycling, bioremediation, waste treatment, and food production.

3

Prerequisites

CHM 207, CHM 208

ENV 386 Environmental Chemistry

This course takes the perspective of environmental chemistry to address topics including: energy forms, the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere, transport of materials, chemical transformations, and modeling.

3

Prerequisites

CHM 208

Cross Listed Courses

CHM 386

ENV 387 Environmental Laboratory

This lab involves outdoor measurements of environmental variables around campus using professional-grade equipment, plus indoor analysis of the data that students collect. Fee: $60
1

Prerequisites

ENV 361 or ENV 365

ENV 388 Glaciology Lab

In this course, students will develop quantitative skills that can be applied to studying glaciers as well as broadly applied to the field of environmental studies. Through data collection and analysis, students will examine glaciers as geomorphologic agents and as participants in climate change. Students will develop skillsets in remote sensing, geophysics, cartographic surveying, numerical modeling, and physical modeling. Fee: $125

1

Prerequisites

BIO 208 or CHM 207 or PHY 201 or PHY 204 or MTH 201 or MTH 161 or ENV 383

Corequisites

ENV 359

ENV 400 Integrating Seminar in Environmental Studies

A project-oriented seminar in which student teams with varying backgrounds in environmental studies develop action plans to deal with regional environmental issues.

3

Prerequisites

ENV 200 or ENV 310 or permission of the instructor

ENV 408 Innovation for Sustainability

Leaders in sustainability must be able to understand rapid changes in environmental and social conditions, innovate to adapt to those changes, collaborate to envision transitions to sustainable futures, and engage with others to realize those visions. To build these capacities, this course develops systems thinking skills using readings and case studies drawn from environmental, social, and business contexts.

3

Prerequisites

Any ENV course or CE 367 or permission of instructor

Cross Listed Courses

BUS 408, EGR 408

ENV 482 Theology in Ecological Perspective

This course investigates the relationship between theology and science, the science of ecology and the related field of environmental science, the major aspects of our current environmental crisis, underlying historical and social reasons for this crisis, and current attempts to reformulate Christian theology from the perspective of ecology. The course also explores possible solutions for a sustainable future.

3

Cross Listed Courses

THEP 482

ENV 493 Environmental Research

Faculty-directed student research. Before enrolling, a student must consult with an environmental studies faculty member to define the project. Course is graded A-F.

1-3

ENV 497 Environmental Internship

Practical field experience working with governmental agencies, corporations, or environmental organizations. Students will be required to do appropriate readings and an appropriate report. Students may receive an IP (In Progress) grade until the completion of their internship.

Variable

ENV 501 Innovation for Sustainabilty

Ecosystems, communities and enterprises are examples of complex systems. Sustainability, as it applies to each of these examples requires a systems thinking approach for its implementation and management. This course develops systems thinking perspectives and skills through a series of case studies drawn from environmental, social, and business contexts, using a participatory approach.

3