Course Syllabus

Complete Syllabus can be found here.

Tentative Schedule can be found here.

Overview of this Course

Course Description: Interaction between human activity and geological processes. Scientific discussion of global environmental issues such as climate change, geologic hazards, natural resources and water use.  Formerly GEOL180. Students may not receive credit for both.

Learning objectives: Students should complete GEOL 108 should be able to:

• Analyze topics related to the Earth, and its environments, using scientific method (helping you to become critical thinkers!)
• Describe the role of plate tectonics in controlling Earth surface processes
• Describe changes to the Earth's surface through all of the geologic time, including recent time
• Recognize some of the ways that humans affect their natural environment (e.g. add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, regulate rivers, use resources, and pollute air, water and soil systems)
• Describe processes and conditions that give rise to natural disasters (such volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunami, floods, and landslides) and analyze how different geologic hazards impact humans
• Consider and present different views of complex environmental issues (e.g. water shortage, waste disposal, climate change, and energy use) and describe how humans impact their environment