ESS 2001 Knowing the Environment 3.0 Credits
Environmental policy debates include claims about the state of the natural and social worlds. This course examines the basis for these claims: how does one know that the climate is changing, that species are disappearing, that people will (or won’t) switch to electric vehicles if given a chance? Students learn about the methods that researchers from myriad disciplines use to understand environmental problems; the ways of thinking that researchers use to move from data to findings; and the circumstances under which they leverage findings into action. Students reflect on their own ways of observing and interacting with the environment and consider how they could contribute to environmental issues as knowledge producers, translators of science, and evidence-informed advocates for the environment.
Repeat Status: Not repeatable for credit