UCOR Section Descriptions

Course Description

Virtually any chemical, even water, can be considered a "poison" at the right dose. Correspondingly, mankind faces a significant challenge to understand toxicology and to take the necessary personal and governmental actions to ensure long term global survival. This course is focused on the global challenges created by poison exposure and is an exploration of the scientific principles and technical advances that are at the intersection of toxicology, medicine, environmental health, law, and ethics.

Course Description

This course will address the issue of global climate change. We will discuss the science behind how humans can affect the global climate--covering the major greenhouse gasses, how they impact the climate, and how the current and projected changes compare to previous climactic and atmospheric shifts. Students will dig into the science behind the "climate controversies," and explain the various lines of evidence for how we know the global shift is already underway.

Course Description

This course explores the impact of human population growth on the quantity and quality of water resources. It includes the fundamental aspects of the hydrologic cycle, human water demand, and water conservation. Water pumping and storage systems are introduced. The course also examines the technologies used for drinking water and wastewater treatment with a particular focus on those appropriate for the developing world.

Course Description

In this course you will investigate the geologic causes, environmental impacts, and societal impacts of global natural hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, flooding, coastal erosion, and weather-related hazards. The course will focus on the physical processes that cause natural hazards as well as risk factors, prevention, mitigation, and preparedness. Since natural hazards affect all parts of the world, we will be able to compare the effects of similar hazards in different countries.

Course Description

The production of energy that powers human society presents one of the most critical and complex challenges facing the world today. Increasing amounts of energy will be needed as the world's population grows and as the standard of living for billions of the world's poorest people improves. Meanwhile, many energy sources we rely on today are limited, and many cause environmental harm in the form of pollution, hazardous waste, and global warming. Students in this course learn skills to evaluate current and future energy sources based on their technological, economic, and environmental merits and limitations. They use tools and knowledge from physics as the primary, but not unique, mode of inquiry. They emerge as well-informed participants in the civic discussion about our local, national, and global energy future.

Course Description

The influence of humans increasingly shapes the natural landscapes and systems of this planet, leading to concerns and sometimes conflict involving wildlife. This course is intended to provide an introduction to wildlife biology and conservation by investigating the suite of pressures influencing species survival. We assume that you do not have a background in college-level biology and that you are not in a natural resource or biology program. A strong interest in learning how and why humans affect wildlife is essential to succeeding in this course.

Course Description

What is cancer, what causes it, and what can you do about it? In this course, we will explore the basics of cancer biology, the link between genetics, environment, and cancer, and the many treatments for cancer. Along the way, we will discuss issues surrounding environmental and social justice, and the impact of lifestyle on cancer risk.