GEOG 212 - Environmental Science

Credits: 3
Lecture Contact Hours: 3
Description: This course is an introductory environmental science course with no prerequisites. The course offers an in-depth examination of a variety of local, regional and global environmental concerns. The course focuses on the effects that human societies have on the physical environment and the global biosphere. Topics include human population distribution, growth rates and population explosion, biodiversity and deforestation, erosion and contamination of soil resources, degradation of water resources, air pollution, conventional and alternative energy sources, global climate change and waste management.

Prerequisites: None.
Corequisites: None.
Recommended: None.

Course Category: Liberal Arts | Science
This course counts toward Schoolcraft’s General Education Requirements.
This course counts toward a Michigan Transfer Agreement General Education Requirement.

This Course is Typically Offered: Winter, Spring, Fall
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Course Competencies

Analyze the current environmental issues, such as human population growth, soil erosion, species extinction, global warming, air pollution and water pollution.
Explain the complexity of the current environmental concerns.
Explain the need for an interdisciplinary approach to the solution of these complex problems.
Explain the difficulty in developing universally acceptable solutions to the existing problems.
Construct a simple model and a more complex model of relationships among population, resource use, technology, environmental degradation and pollution.
Integrate economics into the formulation of environmental policy.
Evaluate the ecosystem approach and the species approach that can be used to preserve biodiversity.
Summarize trends in global food production and food distribution.
Analyze spatial data using geographic information system computer models.
Evaluate the pros and cons of energy resources, including the use of fossil fuels, solar power, wind conversion energy, and biomass.
Analyze demographic, economic, natural resource, and transportation data to recommend a sustainable development strategy for a country.