Time Schedule:
Douglas Mercer
GEOG 370
Seattle Campus
Principles and practices of effective conservation and utilization of natural resources. Role of technology in resource use. Physical, political, and economic aspects of resource management for food, population, land, water, air, energy, and timber resources. Recommended: GEOG 100. Offered: Sp.
Class description
The intersecting themes of this course are environmental regulation, geography, and citizenship. Its premise is that effective environmental citizenship requires and action based on an informed understanding of how environmental decisions get made. Action must also be accompanied by dialog with others that help you reflect on the origins and implications of your own values. You will learn how formal (statutory and regulatory) and informal (social and cultural) processes influence use of the natural environment. We will pay special attention to the geographical causes and implications of those processes. Your primary task will be to work with a group researching a current environmental decision making process of your choosing. This will involve your attending a meeting or interviewing a decision maker in that environmental issue, and writing a letter to a person in power in that decision process. Through these exercises you will evaluate and judge the changing role of citizens in environmental regulation and your personal engagement with that system. This is a “W” course.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Seminar, mini-lectures.
Recommended preparation
See Syllabus from webpage
Class assignments and grading
Response papers, letter to a person in political power in an environmental issue of students' chosing. Optional service learning.
see syllabus
