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One week graduate course :Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Global Environmental Changes
Schedule: May 19 – May 23, 2008, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Class Room: Room 316, Douglas Hall
Instructors:
Krishna R. Reddy, Professor, Department of Civil and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering
Hormoz BassiriRad, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, College of LAS
&
Guest Speakers from academic institutions, federal agencies, and industry
Course Description:
Planet earth has been experiencing increasing environmental assault from adverse human activities. This course provides an overview of current components of global environmental change including their causes and consequences. The course focuses on the sources and impacts of deteriorating air quality, water resources and quality, soil quality, greenhouse gasses, and global warming in native and urban ecosystems. The need for interdisciplinary knowledge to assess, manage and restore environmental quality is emphasized. Emerging strategies to prevent pollution through the development of recycling, green materials, emission reduction and clean manufacturing methods based on life cycle approaches are also presented and discussed. In addition to regular lectures, presentations also will be given by experts from industry, government agencies and other institutions involved in global environmental change.
Schedule and Course Outline (Tentative, subject to change)
The seminar will be a week long course with daily schedule as shown below:
9:00-10:00 Presentation
10:00-10:30 Discussion
10:30-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Presentation
12:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-2:30 Presentation
2:30-3:00 Discussion
3:00-3:30 Break
3:30-4:30 Presentation
4:30-5:00 Discussion
5:00-5:30 Wrap-up
Tentative scope of the course:
Global Environmental Changes
- Causes and Consequences, Global to Local Initiatives, Sustainable Intervening Strategies, Public Planning and Socio-economical Issues
Global Changes in Air Quality
- Sources and Impacts of Air Pollution
- Greenhouse Gasses with an emphasis on CO2
- Historic perspectives and future trajectories
- Potential consequences on native ecosystems, the global carbon cycle
- Potential consequences on native ecosystems, biodiversity and invasive species
- Medical consequences and potential disease outbreaks
- Chronic Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition
- Anthropogenic nitrogen fixation and the “Green Revolution”: a historic perspective
- Anthropogenic nitrogen deposition: an emerging ecological concern
- Nitrogen Saturation and Forest decline
- Chronic N deposition and human health consequences
Global Changes in Water Resources and Quality
- Sources and Impacts of Water Depletion and Pollution
- Fresh Surface Water Depletion and Pollution
- Current Status and Future Trends
- Potential Consequences
- Remediation Options
- Groundwater Depletion and Pollution
- Current and Future Trends
- Potential Consequences
- Remediation Options
Global Changes in Soil Quality and Mitigation
- Sources and Consequences of Soil Pollution
- Characterization Methods
- Human and Ecological Risk Assessment
- Remediation Options
Global Changes in Waste Management and Control
- Sources, Integrated Management Strategies, Waste Prevention, Waste Minimization and Recycling, Waste Containment and Treatment Methods