This laboratory course provides students with skills used in geologic investigations and investigations of contaminated sites. Students will learn to describe and analyze surficial and shallow subsurface geological features, and to plan, execute, and interpret sampling events.

An introduction to geology from an earth resources-economic geology prospective, focusing on sustainability of green energy resources. Basic geology topics include earth materials, internal forces, and surface processes. Environmental topics include soil and water resources. Sustainability of earth resources is explored, including strategic and industrial minerals, long-term viability of fossil fuels, and the sustainability of minerals crucial for renewable energy production and storage. The course will also explore ethical issues associated with fossil fuel use, conflict mineral extraction, the uneven distribution of benefits associated with Earth resource extraction, and the uneven distribution of negative consequences, both environmental and social, of Earth resource extraction. Scientific and ethical questions will be discussed throughout the course.

This laboratory course provides students with skills used in hydrologic investigations and investigations of contaminated sites. Students will learn field skills to support surface water investigations, groundwater investigations, and investigations of contaminated sites. Students will also learn to specify sampling any chemical analysis for contaminated sites, and to use common air and water quality field analytical instruments.

The World Health Organization estimates that one in eight people do not have access to a safe drinking water supply. The U.S. State Department has stated that armed conflict over water rights is possible on many of the world’s river systems including the Nile, Tigris/Euphrates, Brahmaputra-Jamuna, and Mekong. What is the cause of these problems and how will changes to the hydrologic cycle and world water supply brought about by climate change affect them? Students will learn about the hydrologic cycle, the general characteristics of surface water and groundwater, and global patterns of water use. Students will learn about the health, economic, and social consequences of drought and flooding, and the effect climate change is having on water supply in arid countries. Laws and government regulation of water withdrawal and use will be covered, as will techniques to extend the available water supply. Students will consider the positive and negative consequences of increasing the sustainability of the water supply through efficiency, conservation, inter-basin transfer, water use export, grey and black water reuse, urban runoff capture, and the creation of fresh water through desalination.

Food is a powerful lever to optimize human health and environmental sustainability on Earth. However, problems associated with food and our food production systems are currently threatening both people and planet. An immense challenge facing humanity is to provide a growing world population with healthy diets that are based on ethically managed and sustainable food systems. While global food production has generally kept pace with population growth, more than 820 million people still lack sufficient food, and many more consume either low-quality diets or too much food. To have any hope of meeting the central goal of the Paris Climate Agreement, which is to limit global warming to 2°C or less, our carbon emissions from agriculture and food waste must be significantly reduced. This course will examine the sustainability and ethical issues and weaknesses in our current global food system. Key topics will include the ethical failures and environmental impacts of different agricultural practices; the ethics of patenting seeds and developing GMO crops reliant on harmful pesticides; how processed food and packaging impact the environment; the social, health and environmental effects of various diets; how climate change is impacting agriculture; and ultimately how can we meet the nutritional needs of the planet in an ethical and sustainable manner.