188.688.01 GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY & HEALTH SEMINAR

Students and faculty discuss the causes, consequences, and implications of key global environmental challenges that we are facing and that are likely to become more challenging over time. Specifically addresses how land use (e.g., patterns of urban growth and suburban sprawl), energy use, food production and distribution, water use, and population growth are causing climate change, ecosystem degradation, biodiversity losses, species extinctions, and other resource depletion, and how all this is in turn is a threat to human health as individuals, in communities, and globally. Focuses on discussion and not lectures and will utilize a mix of movies, guest discussants, and student directed discussions.

This seminar will prepare students to: 1) Define the aspects of land use, energy use, food production and distribution, water use, and population growth that contribute to environmental degradation. 2) Analyze how peak petroleum (AKA "after peak oil"), political obstacles, economic interests, and federal indebtedness influence how we address these issues. 3) Define how the "drivers" in #1 above cause climate change, ecosystem degradation, species losses, biodiversity losses, and other resource depletions. 4) Begin to develop an analytic framework for how we should address these issues to prevent the major health risks they present.