Rausser College Summer 2020

Watch 18 original video lectures from 23 UC researchers and academics talk about climate knowledge and solutions, and after each, come to class for rich discussions facilitated by the instructor. Includes many academic disciplines, and students showcase their learning in a capstone project.

The journey of food from the farm to the family table. The ecology, management, and politics of farming in global change, the impact of our changing patterns of demand on food processing and retail, the opportunities and costs of exports, and the way different groups access, use, and consume food.

Learn about the science underlying biological and physical environmental problems, including water and air quality, global change, energy, ecosystem services, introduced and endangered species, water supply, solid waste, human population, and interaction of technical, social, and political approaches to environmental management.

An introduction to computer systems and data processing software for natural resources studies. Introduces geographic information systems; surveying, mapping, and remote sensing as data sources and various methods of data processing and analysis.

How does culture affect the way we use and manage fire, wildland and urban forests, rangelands, parks and preserves, and croplands in America? Examine the experience of American cultural groups in the development and management of western natural resources.

(*asynchronous:  all lectures recorded, multiple section times convenient to most time zones)

Practical approaches to public and private natural resource management decision making. The goals, criteria, data, models, and technology for quantifying and communicating the consequences of planning options. Contemporary air, soil, wetland, rangeland, forest, social, economic, and ecosystem management problems are addressed.

Presents the principles and practices of conservation biology. Learn what affects the creation, destruction, and distribution of biological diversity at the level of the gene, species, and ecosystem. Tools and management options that can recover or prevent the loss of biological diversity are explored.

A cross-cultural comparison of human environments as physical, socio-economic, and technocultural ecosystems with special emphasis on the role of beliefs, attitudes, ideologies, and behavior. An examination of contemporary environmental literature and philosophies.

The health effects of environmental change caused by development programs and other human activities in both developing and developed areas. Case studies offer a global perspective on environmentally mediated diseases in diverse populations. Topics include water management; population change; toxics; energy development; air pollution; climate change; chemical use, etc.

The dynamics of international politics are examined over the last 25 years. Attention is paid to different perspectives in global environmental politics, the actors involved, how well international agreements address the problems they are supposed to solve, and the main debates in the field, including trade-environmental conflicts, security, and environmental justice issues.

Can the earth sustainably feed humanity? Learn the basic principles of environmental sustainability from the perspective of water and food security, and apply them to human use of land and land based resources. An analysis of land degradation and of the major technological advances that are expected to burst food production worldwide will be used as the basis for a discussion.