MAE 124/ESYS 103: Environmental Challenges: Science and Solutions
Spring 2009
Time and Place:
- Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:30-10:50, Solis Hall 104
- Discussion section: Thursday or Friday
Instructor: Professor Sarah Gille e-mail: sgille@ucsd.edu.
Office hours on upper campus: TBD, 568 EBU2.
phone: 858-822-4915. Also available before and after class and by
e-mail.
Office at Scripps: Nierenberg Hall 348. phone: 858-822-4425.
(Let me know that you're coming before stopping by. Please note that
UCSD distinguishes between long-distance and local phone calls,
and teaching funds do not include an extensive budget for long-distance
phone calls. I rarely return phone calls to out-of-area phone numbers.
E-mail may be a better way to get response.)
TAs:
- Marina Frants E-mail: mfrants@ucsd.edu. Sections: Thursdays at 1 pm, 4 pm, Office hours: by appointment (specific times may be scheduled
prior to assignment due dates)
Krishna Sriram E-mail: ksriram@ucsd.edu. Sections: Fridays at 1 pm, 2pm, Office hours: by appointment (specific times may be scheduled
prior to assignment due dates)
John Sorenson E-mail: jsorenso@ucsd.edu. Section: Thursdays at 5pm, Office hours: by appointment (specific times may be scheduled
prior to assignment due dates)
Reader: Candice Mudrick E-mail: cmudrick@ucsd.edu.
Midterm Exam: Thursday, April 30, 9:30 am
Final Exam: Tuesday, June 9,
8:00-11:00, tentatively Solis Hall 104
- Please note that university policy does not allow you to
reschedule exams for personal reasons.
- Detailed schedule, reading and
term paper assignments
- Special events pertinent to this class
- Class themes in the news
- Interesting older news items
- WebCT: access to materials for
enrolled students use only (such as copyrighted materials)
- Lecture podcasts (audio only)
- Turnitin instructions
- Internships
- Exams and stray assignments can be picked up from
from Pamela Buass in the ESYS program office (Galbraith Hall, Room 185,
That's below CLICS).
Pam's summer hours are from 9:30 - 3:30, and her phone number is 858-822-4604.
If she's not available Caren Duncanson (858-534-8157)
should be able to help you out.
This is a course in environmental sustainability and sustainable
development. We will examine environmental challenges including
pollution, water resources, energy, global warming, population and land
degradation. Then we will focus on strategies for addressing
these challenges, through government intervention, industrial activity,
design, and planning. The course aims to show that it is
essential to understand, quantify and embed the environmental dimension
(in its broadest sense) at every stage of consideration of industrial
and economic activity. We focus on fundamental issues rather than
detailed technical and scientific analysis. Lectures, in-class
discussion, term papers and exams will ask you to think and synthesize
material.
Specifically, by the end of the course, you should understand, and be
able to discuss:
- The major environmental problems that need to be addressed to
ensure sustainable development;
- The central roles played by market forces, technological
innovation and governmental intervention;
- Engineering and design approaches to take into account, and
minimize the environmental impacts of industrial activity;
- Environmental aspects of specific industrial sectors, such as
energy, transport, land and water use, and the built environment.
Handout:
Text:
- Articles, as listed on the class schedule.
Schedule:
The course consists of two parts.
- The first half of the course will focus on assessing the
environmental problems that modern societies face.
- The second half of the course will look at strategies for
sustainability.
Here's the detailed schedule.
Additional Information on Term Paper 1 including information on using Turnitin.com
Grading Policy
Past Exams
Library resources: Struggling with
access to the journal Science or other journal literature?
UCSD has a subscription to Science and to many other journals
relevant to this class. You
should be able to access these library resources from any computer on campus,
or from home
if you use the UCSD proxy server or VPN. See here or
here for details.
Over time, assignments, and other resources will be
posted
here. You will
need a (free) Adobe Acrobat reader to view many of the files, which
may be
downloaded from here.
Please check back frequently, as much of the assigned work will expect
significant research on environmental issues, some of which will be
facilitated by suggested links and resources posted here.
Basics