GE Cluster/Environment M1-A,B,CW

The Global Environment

Sponsored by the UCLA Institute of the Environment

Lecture Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. - Dodd 121
Faculty: Wolfgang Buermann, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Inst. of Env.
Randall Crane, Urban Planning
Robert Gilbert, Institute of the Environment
Keith Stolzenbach, Civil and Environmental Engineering

This course focuses on the conflict between human activities and the environmental protection and restoration essential to the long-term well being of Earth's human population.

Lectures

  • Four blocks of “basic” material each presented by one faculty member (2/3 of lecture time): ecology; water quantity and quality; air quality, climate change, energy; people and the environment
  • “Case Studies” of focused material presented by all faculty and guest lecturers (1/3 of lecture time); examples: food from the sea; California water supply; global climate change; the LA environment
  • Visual aids - movies, PowerPoint presentations, etc.

Discussion Sections (20 students in each section)

  • Two hours per week, entirely conducted by Teaching Fellows
  • Resources: library, WWW, etc.
  • Follow-up discussions of lecture topics
  • Quantitative “labs” including a short write-up
  • Writing assignments
  • Exam reviews

Field Trips

  • All students participate in one field trip in fall and one field trip in winter
  • Examples: UCLA Stunt Ranch; Wetlands; Sewage reclamation/Landfill; Santa Monica Bay; LA River

Assigned Work and Exams

  • Class participation in discussion sections and field trips (10%)
  • Two or three lab write-ups (15%)
  • Writing assignments (25%); three short papers in fall; one term paper in spring
  • Exams (closed book): midterm – 1-1/2 hours (20%); final – 3 hours (30%)

Spring Seminars

Conducted by faculty and Teaching Fellows; maximum enrollment 20 per seminar Topics for Spring 2009 (Spring 2010 is in the planning stage):

  • Ecological Change on the California Coast
  • Environmental Engineering in Los Angeles
  • Human Settlement and Infectious Disease
  • Dealmaker or Dealbreaker: Will China’s Environmental Challenges Limit Its Global Influence?
  • Technology and the Environment: From Infrastructure to Instrumentation
  • The Ocean’s Response to the Human Element
  • Ideas of Nature in Western Thought
  • Eating Sustainably in Urban Los Angeles
  • Foundation Area General Education Credit

    Upon completion of all three quarters of the cluster, students will satisfy 3 GE course requirements:

    • 1 in Foundations of Scientific Inquiry (Life Science with lab/demonstration credit)
    • 1 in Foundations of Scientific Inquiry (Physical Science with lab/demonstration credit)
    • 1 in Foundations of Society & Culture (Social Analysis)

    Enrollment

    Students should enroll in the GE CLST M1 sections rather than the Environment M1 sections

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