This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to environmental studies designed for majors and minors in the program. Though a survey of environmental topics, students will examine changing human relationships to the nonhuman world, diverse approaches to environmental problems and environmental literature from the humanities to the sciences. The course is reading and writing intensive, and also includes a required weekend camping trip.

ENVS 2150 Environmental Systems and Cycles (three credits)

This course presents an overview of the fundamental physical, biological and geochemical processes governing the movement of energy and matter in the environment, and the constraints imposed by these natural systems on human activities. Topic include the properties and use of energy resources, synthetic chemicals and their biological effects, the chemistry of natural and polluted waters, food production and population, acid rain, ozone depletion, and global climate change. Prerequisite: CHEM 100 or 110.

ENVS 2250 Environmental Ecology (three credits)

This course focuses upon the study of living systems of various sizes and degrees of complexity. Emphasis is on how individual organisms, natural populations, biotic communities, and ecosystems vary, how they are interconnected, and how human activities influence the complex interrelationships within and among them. Prerequisites: Either BIOS 112 or 151

ENVS 2260 Field Environmental Ecology (one credit)

An introduction of the major natural ecosystems of southwest Michigan, and modern ecological methods used in their study. Exercises and activities will be conducted largely in the field, primarily at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute. Course content will complement lecture material presented in ENVS 225. Prerequisite: ENVS 225 as a prerequisite or concurrent enrollment.

ENVS 3000 Environment, Technology, and Values (four credits)

An introduction to the physical and biological bases of the environmental and the historical, anthropological relation of Homo Sapiens within those parameter, the impacts of the rise of modern industrial societies and human populations with an examination of the driving values causing and caused by these developments, the Environmental movement and the alternative projected futures. At the discretion of the program, ENVS 300* may be substituted for ENVS 110 for those students wishing to take an environmental studies major on minor. Students may not enroll in ENVS 300 after successfully completing ENVS 110. A grade of “B” or higher required.

ENVS 3200 Major Environmental Writings (three credits)

This course uses selected readings of classical works in the environmental field, together with current works of significant import, to introduce students to the wisdom and the variety of voices speaking on behalf of the environmentally responsible courses of human action. This course is approved as a writing-intense course with may fulfill the baccalaureate-level writing requirement of the student’s curriculum. Prerequisite: Required conceptual foundations courses or approval of a program advisor.

ENVS 3400 Environmental Policy (four credits)

This course explores why environmental policy is necessary and how environmental policy has been made, is being made, and might in the future be made in the United States. Them emphasis is on environmental policy and regulation at the national level, but regional, state, and local approaches/initiatives will also be considered. In addition to considering the policy process, we will also review the state of environmental policy (legislation and effectiveness) and explore the policy evaluation process (the tools and techniques policy makers use to make better decisions-cost-benefit analysis, risk analysis, and environmental impact assessment). A substantial part of the course will also be devoted to considering emerging alternatives that are based on the principles of sustainability and the challenges involved in institutionalizing them. Prerequisite: Econ 201 or Geog 244

ENVS 3600 Cultures, Values & Environment (three credits)

A global cross-cultural exploration of human-environment interactions. This course will examine a variety of different technological/economic systems ranging from small-scale foraging and horticultural societies to large-scale, complex and stratified societies. Special themes each semester will address different environmental problems and how they have been solved – or not – historically and contemporarily. Such themes might address” the origins and contemporary dimensions of the population debate, the role of “values” in sustainable societies, or controversies between indigenous people and environmentalists.

ENVS 4010 Selected Environmental Topics (three credits)

A rotating series of Environmental Topics covering areas as broadly as environmental management, ecological design, applied environmental history, and environmental landscape and restoration. Topics to be announced in the Schedule of Classes. This course may be repeated for credit with a second topic. Prerequisite: Required conceptual foundations course or approval of a program advisor.

ENVS 4100 Appropriate Technologies and Sustainability (three credits)

In the light of the debates on sustainability, the course analyzes how technologies and technological systems have interacted with and influenced social change in both industrial countries and the Third World. Criteria for assessing the appropriateness and sustainability of various technologies and technological systems in different settings will be discussed and mini-assessments will be conducted. Prerequisite: conceptual foundations courses or approval of a program advisor.

ENVS 4200 Internship (one to three credits)

The environmental internship gives students the opportunity to gain practical experience in a particular area of environmental activity, and to work with professionals. Students will gain “hands on” knowledge and add an important non-academic dimension to their resumes. Prerequisite: Approval of a program advisor

ENVS 4400 Field Experience (one to four credits)

This course is a vehicle to provide academic credit for students participating in legitimate off-campus environmental field programs and foreign exchange programs. This course is repeatable for up to eight hours of academic credit. Prerequisite: Approval of a program advisor.

ENVS 4500 Senior Seminar In Environmental Studies (three credits)

A team-taught, integrated capstone experience involving a semester-long environmental problem-solving/planning simulation. Students will be evaluated in terms of their ability to function individually and with their colleagues in a simulated professional work environment. As the capstone, this should normally be the last course taken from this program.