Overview of Course

Increased population densities, energy requirements and improving standards of living are negatively impacting the environment. We will examine the contributing factors as well as the global and local consequences of these environmental perturbations with a particular focus on the countries we will visit. Although requiring no knowledge of chemistry, the course will view environmental issues through a chemical lens. Interdisciplinary (scientific, economic, political, religious) aspects of environmental degradation will be explored with an emphasis on the complexities of world interdependence. Problems such as climate change, air pollution, toxicants (pesticides, arsenic, lead, mercury), the ozone hole as well as solutions such as alternative energy sources, sustainable living and remediation will be discussed.