ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY

EVPP 641

Spring 2005

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Lecturer:                      Dr. Robert Jonas

Office:                          422 Prince William I, (3057 King Hall - Fairfax)

Office Hours:              Tue., Thur – 1145-1300 Fairfax; Tue. - 1630-1800. PW (and by arrangement)*

Phone:                          993-1030 (ESP Office: 993-1616)

email rjonas@gmu.edu

Web url http://mason.gmu.edu/~rjonas

  * Note: EVPP641 is scheduled to be televised at both the Prince William and Fairfax campuses

     arrangements to meet the instructor should be made accordingly

Text:  Environmental Science 5th ed. (Botkin and Keller - John Wiley and Sons, 2003)

Environmental Law  5th ed.     (Kubasek and Silverman - Prentice Hall, 2005)

Reference Texts:

World Resources 2002/2004 (WRI, U.N.Environment and Development Programs, The World Bank)

                                                (http://www.wri.org/) (http://pubs.wri.org/pubs_description.cfm?PubID=3764)

Population Reference Bureau  WEB site  (Population Reference Bureau)
                                                (http://www.prb.org)
The Environmental Policy Paradox 3rd ed.(Smith - Prentice Hall, 2000)

Intro. to Envr. Toxicology     (Guthrie and Perry) (Jonas office reserve)

        NOTE: Readings will be assigned from outside sources.  Reference materials will be on local reserve as needed.

DATE                TOPIC                                                                                                        READING                                                       _

Jan 25       Intro.: Definition, Major Issues, Population Pressures                               (PRB; WR ; BK Ch1,4; KS Ch11, S Ch10)

Feb 01       Population Pressures cont., Envr. Projections, Approaches and Performance

                                     (eg.Limits to Growth)                                                                (WR; BK 1,4,11,12,13,14,17; KS Ch11)

Feb 08       Environmental Law *** PAPER TOPICS DUE ***                                   (KS 1,4,5,6,7,8; GP Ch3,5; BK 30; S Ch3)

Feb 15       Environmental Law cont.                                                                               (continued)

Feb 22       Envr Law cont., Envr Toxicology                                                                   (BK 15, 12; GP Ch 13,30)

Mar 01       Envr Toxicology cont. Envr Anal. Chem.                                                        (As above & GP29)

Mar 08      Envr. Chem. cont;

Mar 15      Spring Break - no class

Mar 22      Air Quality Issues: Criteria Air pollutants                                                      (WR; BK23,24) (GP 10, 31 32)

                    *** MID-TERM EXAM ***

Mar 29      Air Quality Issues cont:

Aor 05      Air Quality cont. (CO2, Acid Dep, Ozone loss)                                             (BK22,25;WR)

Apr 12 Water Quality Issues: water and waste treatment                                        (BK20,21, WR)

Apr 19 Water Quality Issues cont.

Apr 26 Chesapeake Bay - A Model for Envr. Management    *** PAPERS DUE *** (WR)

                                    (http://www.chesapeakebay.net/)

May 03    Toxics in the Environment - Persistence, Biomagnification, Biodegradation        (BK 12,15;WR;GP25)

May 10    *** FINAL EXAM ***1930-2215 hrs

GRADING:

                                Hour exam                 25%

                                Final exam                 35%

                                Paper                         35%

                                Participation              05%

Letter Grade:                       >=90%        A

                                            80-90%            B

                                            70-80%            C

                                            <70%               F

In addition to the text references listed here, there will be required and recommended readings. These will be available individually or “on reserve” in a location TBA.  We will be discussing these readings during the semester.

"Each" session an assigned reading will be the basis of a general class discussion. All students will be expected to have read and be prepared to discuss the assigned chapter or paper and the issues raised. This requirement derives from the topical and political nature of environmental sciences generally.  Through an open exchange of ideas in the classroom, it is hoped that students will evaluate their own positions and those of others with regard to these important environmental topics.

CLASS GOALS:   Environmental Science and Public Policy is a graduate level introduction to broad aspects of (anthropocentric) environmental sciences.  The academic approach to this information is intended to be that of an environmental professional rather than that of an advocate for any particular position. The central focus of the course is an inquiry into the influence of human activities on the environment and the methodologies we use to ameliorate those impacts. We consider topics as diverse as global populations and wastewater treatment, environmental law and genetic engineering. As a class, we will attempt to rank order some of the threats posed by various environmental problems. However, a major goal of the course is for each student, individually, to develop their own scale for ranking these issues. Only through detailed knowledge of these topics will we achieve this goal.

    In addition, at the end of the course it is anticipated that successful students will also have achieved a level of professionalism with regard to environmental science and environmental public policy issues such that they are confident of their own ability to investigate, understand and critically evaluate the range of environmental issues. They will be conversant with a broad range of issues and, through their research paper, they should be relatively expert in at least one specific area of the environmental.