Syllabus for ES 10: Introduction to Environmental Science
Instructors: Allen Goldstein and Mary Firestone

• Course Description
• Assignments & Grading
• Reading
• Lecture Outline

Course Description

ES10 is designed to introduce students to the science underlying biological and physical environmental problems, focusing on water and air quality, global change, water supply, solid waste, introduced and endangered species, and preservation of wetland ecosystems.

Assignments and Grading:

There will be two Midterms and Final exam.

Grades will be calculated as follows:

• Midterm 1: 20%
• Midterm 2: 20%
• Final Exam: 30%
• Problem Sets: 25%
• Participation and Attendance: 5%

Reading

Required Text: Environmental Science: Earth As a Living Planet, D.B.Botkin and E.A. Keller (4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc)

Textbook readings for each lecture are noted in lecture schedule. Additional readings and related web links will be posted on the course website

Lecture Outline

Lectures: 3 one hour sessions each week

• Course Introduction
• Thinking about Environmental Science

• Big Bang to the Present
• Evolution of Atmosphere and Life
• Biogeochemical Cycles

• Water Cycle
• Global Carbon Cycle
• Ecosystem Carbon Cycle

• Nitrogen
• Ecosystem Productivity, Energy Flow
• Human Population
• World Food Supply
• Soil Resource

• Biomes, Landscapes, Ecosystems
• Tropical Rain Forests
• Forests and Fires

• Grasslands/Savannahs
• Oceans
• Conservation Genetics
• Invasive Species
• The Last Salmon

• Biological Diversity
• Urban and Ag Pollution, Remediation
• Pesticides in the Environment
• Waste Management
• Wetlands
• Fisheries

• Energy
• Fossil Fuels
• Alternative Energy Sources

• Water Supply and Use
• Water Pollution

• Atmospheric Composition and Structure
• Atmosphere and Ocean Circulation

• Climate and Global Change
• Tropospheric Air Pollution
• Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

• Environmental Economics
• Global Environmental Policy
• Sustainability and the Future