Course Description
This course is designed to introduce essential concepts of sustainability, which is of vital importance, as it seeks to uncover the principles of the long-term survival and welfare of all the inhabitants of our planet. The course is useful both as an introductory class on sustainability and as a useful supplement to specialist courses that review the sustainability dimensions of their areas of study. Students are exposed to concepts of sustainability, sustainable development, and the biogeochemical cycle, as well as the role of the major controls on the Earth’s climate, using concepts like global energy balance, albedo, greenhouse effect and feedback loops. The course identifies human influences on the environment and threats to biodiversity, and explores the causes and effects of anthropogenic climate change.