Sustainability Is a Primary Focus of These Fall 2011 Spring 2014 Courses

Sustainability is a Primary Focus of these Fall 2011 – Spring 2014 Courses:

BIO 2L - Foundations of Biology II Lab

An introduction to biodiversity and the basic evolutionary and ecological principles underlying the ways in which populations, communities, and ecosystems function. Topics such as population growth, natural selection, animal behavior, and food webs will be covered. Undergraduate.

BIO 104L - General Biology Lab

This course introduces patterns and processes of organisms and groups of organisms with emphasis on their origin, evolution, and the relationships among them and their environments. Topics include evolution, population genetics, systematics, animal behavior and ecology. Undergraduate.

BIO 271 - Marine Biology

This course introduces life in marine waters. Topics include physical biological properties of marine waters, identification and characteristics of major groups of marine plants and animals, adaptive modifications to marine environments and the special nature and diversity of marine ecosystems. Field and laboratory work emphasizes methods of collecting, sampling, and analyzing marine organisms. Undergraduate.

BIO 290 - Concepts in Conservation Biology

Different faculty members will cover different topics in fields related to ecology and/or evolution in various semesters in lecture or seminar format. The specific topic will be announced in advance and the student may take the course only once. Undergraduate.

BIO 537 - Fisheries Biology and Aquaculture

This course is two hours of lecture and collateral readings. This course explores the commercial and biological aspects of fisheries with emphasis on the history, methods and potential of shellfish and finfish farming including methods of estimation of catch, productivity of fishing grounds, migration of fish and conservation methods. Graduate.

CIN 303 - Film and Society I

This course examines a selected topic (varying from year to year) in the relationship between sociopolitical issues and film as an art form, an entertainment medium, and an index of cultural and historical values. Emphasis is placed on relating movies to the times and places in which they were produced, and on interdisciplinary interpretations of cinematic texts. This course is part of the LIU Post Honors Green Track Curriculum, emphasizing environmental and sustainable topics. Undergraduate.

CIN 304 - Film and Society II

EDI 643 - Education for Cultural Diversity

The principles and practices of multicultural education are studied in this course, which provides a practical approach to implementation of a culturally diverse Curriculum and Instruction. Major issues covered include human rights, involvement of parents and the community, criteria for multicultural curricula, assessment and evaluation strategies, global issues in education, and formulating an agenda for educational and social action. The use of the technology as it relates to teaching and learning will be examined. Graduate.

ENG 48 - Ideas and Themes in Literature

This course is a close analysis of a body of literature bound together by a common factor or concern, for example comic literature, literature of the East, the middle class in society, the Industrial Revolution. This course may be taken more than once if topic duplication is avoided. Undergraduate.

ENG 303 - World Literature I

This course is an Honors version of the same material covered in ENG 7 with additional writing assignments to qualify students to complete the competency graduation requirement in written composition. This course is part of the LIU Post Honors Green Track Curriculum, emphasizing environmental and sustainable topics. Undergraduate.

ENG 304 - World Literature II

This course is an Honors version of the same material covered in ENG 8 with additional writing assignments to qualify students to complete the competency graduation requirement in written composition. This course is part of the LIU Post Honors Green Track Curriculum, emphasizing environmental and sustainable topics. Undergraduate.

ENG 359 - The Horse in Literature

Special Topics Honors Course. Undergraduate.

ERS 1 - Earth Science I

This course is an introduction to physical geography, the Earth and its relationship to the Sun, an introduction to map projections, meteorology and world climates, a consideration of the biogeographical features, world soils and vegetation. Undergraduate.

ERS 2 - Earth Science II

Basic principles of geomorphology (study of landforms) and the use of topographic maps and air photographs in landform interpretation are studied. Minerals, rocks and geological structures are studied as factors in the evolution of surface topography. Other topics include coastal processes such as sea level rise. Undergraduate.

ERS 12 – Meteorology

The earth's atmospheric environment and elements of weather are examined. Areas of study are: solar radiation and temperature, moisture in the atmosphere, atmospheric circulation, air masses and fronts, weather forecasting and the influence of human beings on meteorological processes. Undergraduate.

ERS/GGR 17 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is an important modern tool for the analysis of geographical data for the natural and social sciences. This course is an introduction to the hardware, software, and operations of GIS in addition to an exploration of GIS applications. Undergraduate.

ERS/GGR 18 - Applications and Technical Issues in Geographic Information Systems

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) algorithms, data structures, advanced computational topics, and ways in which geographic and scientific principles and techniques can be implemented in GIS. Students explore the use of GIS in answering specific problems and describe applications of GIS in various fields of earth and environmental science. Undergraduate.

ERS 501 - Mapping Environmental Data with GIS

This is a hands-on, introductory geographic information system (GIS) course on managing spatial data using a computer. The course is based on the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis introductory curriculum using ArcView software. The course addresses GIS principles, creating and querying spatial views and themes, importing and exporting data, map projections, geocoding, attribute tabular data, charts, layouts and applications. The course is lecture and laboratory and is designed for the practitioner and as an introduction to practical GIS applications. Graduate.

ERS 502 - GIS Applications

This course explores technical issues in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and the application of GIS in addressing environmental problems. GIS applications for environmental science and management decision support may include forest resource inventory, water resources and modeling, coastal evolution and sediment-budget analysis, and urban planning and zoning. Graduate.

EVS 501 – Principles of Environmental Sustainability

This seminar is designed to provide overarching context for students in the Environmental Sustainability Program. The underlying philosophies, theoretical perspectives, and contemporary practices and challenges pertaining to sustainability are discussed. Graduate.

EVS 520 - Sustainable Land Use and Transportation

Metropolitan regions are home to over 80 percent of the country’s population and consume comparable levels of resources. Building sustainable cities will require redesigning buildings, neighborhoods, and entire metropolitan landscapes– but pricing signals must support these goals. This course reviews and evaluates the tools and criteria that urban professionals use to incrementally shift urban investments toward humane and sustainable systems. Specific topics include suburbanization and sprawl, smart growth, transit oriented development, political ecology, and case studies from the New York metropolitan region and other cities. Graduate.

EVS 530 - Sustainable Energy Systems

This course examines solar, wind, conservation, and efficiency from regional, national, and international perspectives– with an emphasis on electric systems. What are the strengths and weaknesses of different state and national frameworks for developing an economically successful electric energy system? What cultural contexts, administrative actions, legislation, and/or coalitions contribute to these successes? What scientific principles enable technological innovations in wind, solar, and other renewable energy systems? Graduate.

EVS 610 - Material and Energy Flow

This interdisciplinary course explores the flow of materials and energy from their sources, through the urban/suburban environment, to the resultant wastes. Topics will include conventional energy resources (coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium), building materials (cement, asphalt, iron and other metals), food resources, and wastes (municipal waste disposal, industrial waste, mine waste, air pollution). Lectures will present the science of the acquisition, processing, usage, and disposal of each resource, followed by analyses of the economic (and, where relevant, political) dynamics of these geographic processes. Students will contrast existing resource flows with more sustainable alternatives. Graduate.

EVS 620 - Environmental Sustainability Seminar

This end-of-program capstone course focuses on practical problem solving for environmental sustainability with an emphasis on the New York/Long Island metropolitan region. Coursework involves the selection of specific issues and problems of concern to the region and the development of strategic approaches to manage, mitigate, and address them. Students are guided in the formulation of solutions that incorporate an interdisciplinary problem solving approach and that demonstrate an understanding of the complex multidimensional issues related to the specific problems under investigation. Graduate.

FIN 359 - Business of Clean Technology

This course focuses on clean technology and examines ways that businesses can help improve the environment. Clean tech businesses can be looked at from an investment standpoint, such as investing in alternative energies, as well as a corporate standpoint in terms of the financial viability of capital budgeting projects. The course will examine pressing environmental problems and then focus on energy solutions such as solar power, wind power and geothermal power, in addition to other forms of alternative energy. Business cases that focus on sustainable business will be studied. Undergraduate.

GGR 11/ERS 11 - Introduction to Environmental Sustainability

This course is an overview of humanity's exponentially increasing demands on natural resources; the resultant raw materials and environmental pollution problems and possible solutions humanity faces. Demographic, cultural, historical, economic and locational factors are considered. Undergraduate.

GGR 27/ERS 27 - Sustainable Cities and Suburbs

Sustainable cities can be joyful, ecological, healthy, and socially just. They must also balance land use, environmental quality, transportation, economic development, taxes, and cultural diversity. Specific course topics include: sustainable and healthy cities, campus ecology, urban sprawl and smart growth, green buildings, and the greening of transportation. Undergraduate.

GGR 29 - Human Dimensions of Climate Change

Global climate change will shape human societies in profound ways and force us to make difficult choices in the 21st century. The first half of the course will emphasize how mass media, environmentalists, and global warming critics selectively filter the work of scientists and the International Panel on Climate Change, IPPC. The second half of the semester will examine the human impacts of climate change on our economy, cities, ecological systems, and human health systems. Undergraduate.

GGR 43 - Geography of the United States and Canada

This course consists of a consideration of the United States of America and Canada and its physical and human environments. General geographical principles are applied in detail to establish the essential character of the region thereby clarifying the major social, economic, and political features and problems. Undergraduate.

GGR 303 - Human Geography: Man, Environment, and Technology

In this course, you will become acquainted with geographic perspectives on human-environment relationships. We will discuss issues related to the evolution of human livelihood systems with emphasis on agricultural production, industrialization, and urbanization. Special attention will be paid to the historical and geographic disparities between the so-called “developed” and “developing” regions of the world, and the increasingly integrative forces of globalization and how they affect people, places, and regions around the world. Undergraduate.

GGR 518 - Topics in Applied Conservation

The application of geographic principles to the problems of environmental conservation is discussed. The course will include detailed studies of selected aspects of resource conservation. Students must demonstrate an ability to explain the various ways in which geographers and other environmental scientists organize knowledge and communicate the results of their research in their disciplines. Graduate.

GLY 523/GLY 23 - Environmental Geochemistry

This course is the study of the chemistry of the earth with emphasis on the surficial geologic environment. Topics include the chemistry of crustal rocks; chemical weathering and its products; the chemistry of natural waters and of soils; isotope geochemistry as a tracer of environmental processes; natural bedrock-related hazards such as radon; global chemical cycles, especially the role of geologic feedbacks in the carbon cycle, and the moderating effects on global change. Graduate and Undergraduate.

GLY 550/GLY 50 - Environmental Geology

This course studies the geological foundations of environmental science. It examines natural geologic systems in relation to human concerns, with special attention paid to issues of relevance to Long Island and the New York metropolitan area. Topics include a detailed study of soil properties and soil mechanics, mass wasting, fundamental groundwater hydrology, analysis of stream flooding, earthquake seismology and risk assessment. Graduate and Undergraduate.

SOC 98 - Environmental Sociology

This course introduces students to the growing interdisciplinary field of environmental sociology, which examines the complex relationship between society and the environment. Topics include the impacts of humans on the environment, how the environment constructs human society, and more specifically, the debates on climate change, natural disasters, food and agriculture, technology, energy, environmental conservation, risks, environmental justice, and environmental sustainability in the global world. We will also investigate the social-structural causes of environmental degradation, such as consumption and commodity production, and how our own daily lives impact the environment. In addition, we will examine social movements, NGOs, and individuals who work to resist environmental degradation. Undergraduate.

JOU 40 - Environmental Reporting

Advanced special topics in journalism focusing on contemporary developments in the field. Subjects determined and announced each semester. Undergraduate.

PHI 100 - Special Topics: Machiavelli to Marx.

Each time this course is offered, it will concern itself with a different topic chosen by the instructor and announced in the Schedule of Classes. Undergraduate.