The material on this page is from the 2000-01 catalog and may be out of date. Please check the current year's catalog for current information.

[Environmental Studies]
Professors: Straub (Religion), Wenzel (Chemistry), and Costlow (Russian) (on leave, winter semester and Short Term); Associate Professors: Smedley (Physics), Richter (Political Science), Chair, and Hughes (Economics); Assistant Professors: Austin (Chemistry), Bohlen (Environmental Studies) (on leave, 2000–2001), Sommer (Biology), Palmiotto (Environmental Studies), and O'Hara (Environmental Studies); Mr. Rogers (Environmental Studies)

Environmental studies encompasses a broad range of problems that arises from the interaction of human beings with the natural world. The solutions to these problems often require multidisciplinary understanding. Recognizing the relevance of social, aesthetic, ethical, scientific, and technical perspectives, the environmental studies curriculum provides a framework for an interdisciplinary major that blends coursework in the disciplines with interdisciplinary environmental studies courses.

Major Requirements. A student majoring in environmental studies must fulfill "core" course requirements, as well as the requirements of a "track." Students may choose one of the following four tracks: Culture, Society and Environment; Earth and Ecosystems; Environmental and Natural Resource Policy; or Geochemistry. Course offerings change periodically and the program updates which courses are available each year. Students should contact the program chair or another member of the Committee on Environmental Studies for further information and help in selecting courses.

Students should note that there may be flexibility in requirements due to changes in the curriculum.

Students should be aware that courses listed only in Environmental Sciences, without being cross-listed in another department, cannot be counted towards requirements in general education, except for the quantitative requirement.

Core Requirements

    The following courses are required of all majors:

    Environmental Studies 181. Working with Environmental Data (or another statistics course, subject to approval by the Committee on Environmental Studies).
    Environmental Studies 202. Introduction to Environmental Studies.
    Environmental Studies 457 or 458. Senior Thesis.
    Environmental Studies 460. Colloquium.

    Internship Requirement. Students must take an internship in environmental studies, with prior approval of the Committee on Environmental Studies. Guidelines are available from the program chair. Although a student need not receive academic course credit for the internship, it may be fulfilled through a Short Term unit, Environmental Studies s46.

    One of the following sets of natural-science courses:

      Biology 201. Biological Principles

      and one of the the following:

      Biology 110. Oceanography.
      Biology 120. Toxins.
      Biology 121. Plant Diversity.
      Biology 124. Plants and Human Affairs.
      Biology 125. Environmental Microbiology.
      Biology 168. The Insects.
      First-Year Seminar 226. The North Woods.

      Chemistry 107A. Atomic and Molecular Structure; and
      Chemistry 108A. Chemical Reactivity.

      Chemistry/Environmental Studies 107B. Chemical Structure and Its Importance in the Environment; and
      Chemistry/Environmental Studies 108B. Chemical Reactivity in the Environment.

      Any two of the following:

      Geology 103. The Surface of the Earth and Global Environmental Change.
      Geology 104. Plate Tectonics and the Earth.
      Geology 105. History of Earth and Life.
      Geology 106. The Hydrosphere.

    One course in environmental policy or one social-science course from the following list:

    Anthropology 102. Archeology and Human Evolution.
    Economics 222. Environmental Economics.
    Environmental Studies 204. Environment and Society.
    Political Science 171. International Politics.
    Political Science 258. Environmental Diplomacy.

    One humanities course from the following list:

    Environmental Studies 212. Literature and the Environment.
    Environmental Studies 205. "Nature" in Human Culture.
    Environmental Studies/Physics/Religion 228. Caring For Creation: Physics, Religion, and the Environment.
    Environmental Studies/Philosophy 214. Ethics and Environmental Issues.
    Environmental Studies/Religion 215. Environmental Ethics.

Track Requirements

I. Culture, Society, and the Environment

The interrelationships between humankind and the natural environment are conditioned in large part by cultural and social contexts. To study the environment requires studying the traditions and present dynamics of the human interpretations of the natural world. Religious, philosophical, literary, and artistic traditions as well as science inform our understandings, appreciations, and evaluations of nature. So also do the political and economic ideologies and policies of our communities.

Students choosing this track must satisfactorily complete eight courses from the following lists. When combined with the core requirements, students must have a total of at least fifteen courses to satisfy the environmental studies major.

    Required Courses:

    Economics 222. Environmental Economics; or
    Political Science 258. Environmental Diplomacy; or
    Environmental Studies 204. Environment and Society.

    Environmental Studies 205. "Nature" in Human Culture.

    Environmental Studies/Philosophy 214. Ethics and Environmental Issues; or
    Environmental Studies/Religion 215. Environmental Ethics.

    Laboratory Science. Students must take one of these:

    Biology 260. Environmental Toxicology.
    Biology 270. Ecology.
    Chemistry 212. Separation Science.
    Chemistry 215. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry.
    Geology 210. Sedimentology.
    Geology 230. Structural Geology.
    Geology 266. Groundwater Hydrology.

    Elective Courses/Units. Students must complete two courses in one of these groups, and one course in the other group. Environmental Studies 360 may be a substitute for one course. No more than one Short Term unit may be counted toward the major.

    Group A. Culture and the Environment:
    Art 226/Philosophy 241. Philosophy of Art.
    Art 285. Renaissance and Post-Renaissance Gardens and Landscape Architecture.
    Art 286. Romantic Landscape Painting.
    English 243. Romantic Literature (1790–1840).
    Environmental Studies 212. Literature and the Environment.
    Environmental Studies/Physics/Religion 228. Caring for Creation: Physics, Religion, and the Environment.
    Environmental Studies/Japanese 290. Nature in East Asian Literature.
    Religion 310. "Wilderness" and the Religious Imagination.
    Russian 273. "Nature" in Russian Culture.

    Group B. Society and the Environment:
    Anthropology 228. Person and Community in Contemporary Africa.
    Anthropology 252. The Anthropology of Modernity.
    Economics 229. Economics of Greater China.
    Economics 309. Economics of Less-Developed Countries.
    Environmental Studies 216. Food for Thought: World Agriculture.
    Environmental Studies 218. U.S. Environmental Politics and Policy.
    Environmental Studies 245. African Wildlife Conservation.
    Environmental Studies s24. Seminar in Sustainable Development.
    Political Science 234. Third World Women and Gender in Economic Development.
    Political Science 345. NGOs and World Politics.
    Political Science 393. Environmental Justice.
    Political Science 395. The Politics of Biodiversity Conservation.

II. Earth and Ecosystems

Students selecting this track seek an understanding of the scientific interdependence among the earth's lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. The geological and biological sciences form the core of this track, which stresses field-oriented and laboratory-supported inquiry of the interrelationships between the functioning of the earth's systems and ecosystems. An understanding of how these two systems together affect and are affected by humans is an integral part of this track. Areas of field study include the forests, rocky coastline, and rugged alpine zones of Maine and New England; the rainforests of Latin America; and the lakes, glaciers, and oceans of the Arctic. Students may explore a variety of phenomena that include but are not limited to the following: relationships between plant or animal communities and rocks or sediments or soils, limnological studies, global climate change, coastal processes and environments, oceanography, terrestrial and wetland ecology and geology, water resources, and watershed processes.
    Required Courses:

    Economics 222. Environmental Economics; or
    Environmental Studies 204. Environment and Society.

    A set of introdoctory chemistry courses, either:

      Chemistry/Environmental Studies 107B. Chemical Structure and Its Importance in the Environment.
      Chemistry/Environmental Studies 108B. Chemical Reactivity in the Environment.

      Chemistry 107A. Atomic and Molecular Structure.
      Chemistry 108A. Chemical Reactivity.

    Elective Courses. At least six courses from the two groups below, with at least two courses from each group. No more than one Short Term unit may be counted toward the major.

    Group A. The Biosphere:
    Biology 270. Ecology.
    Biology 260. Environmental Toxicology.
    Biology 313. Marine Ecology.
    Biology 336. Field Ecology.
    Biology s32. Experimental Marine Ecology.
    Biology s37. Forest History.
    Environmental Studies 302. Wetland Science and Policy.
    Environmental Studies s11. Ecological Restoration.

    Group B. The Geosphere:
    Environmental Studies/Geology s32. Hydrogeologic and Environmental Problems in Maine's Watersheds.
    Geology 210. Sedimentology.
    Geology 230. Structural Geology.
    Geology 266. Groundwater Hydrology.
    Geology 310. Quaternary Geology.
    Geology s34. Field Geology in the Cordillera.
    Geology s36. Geology of Maine's Wilderness Lakes by Kayak.
    Geology s39. Geology of the Maine Coast by Sea Kayak.

III. Environmental and Natural Resource Policy

Forming coherent environmental policy requires many types of expertise. The process must be informed by the history and cultural context of resource use. Policy-makers must understand the affected ecosystems, and their relation to the political, economic, and social systems that rely on them. Environmental policy must also be consonant with the values of the society that enacts it. Because of the number and complexity of these interrelationships, students in this track are encouraged to study widely in the curriculum to develop the understanding and the analytical tools required for uncovering these connections between human activity and the natural world.

Students must take a total of eight courses from the following lists. When combined with the core requirements, students must have a total of at least 15 courses to satisfy the environmental studies major.

    Required Courses:

    Economics 222. Environmental Economics.

    Environmental Studies 204. Environment and Society; or
    Political Science 258. Environmental Diplomacy.

    Environmental Studies/Philosophy 214. Ethics and Environmental Issues; or
    Environmental Studies/Religion 215. Environmental Ethics.

    Laboratory Science. Students must take one of these:

    Biology 260. Environmental Toxicology.
    Biology 270. Ecology.
    Chemistry 212. Separation Science.
    Chemistry 215. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry.
    Geology 210. Sedimentology.
    Geology 230. Structural Geology.
    Geology 266. Groundwater Hydrology.

    300-Level Courses. Students must take two of these:

    Anthropology 339. Production and Reproduction.
    Economics 309. Economics of Less-Developed Countries.
    Economics 336. Population Economics.
    Environmental Studies 302. Wetland Science and Policy.
    Political Science 345. NGOs and World Politics.
    Political Science 393. Environmental Justice.
    Political Science 395. The Politics of Biodiversity Conservation.
    Sociology 345. Beliefs about Social Inequality.

    Electives:

    Anthropology 252. The Anthropology of Modernity.
    Biology 313. Marine Ecology.
    Economics 260. Intermediate Microeconomic Theory.
    Environmental Studies 216. Food for Thought: World Agriculture.
    Environmental Studies 218. U.S. Environmental Politics and Policy.
    Environmental Studies 245. African Wildlife Conservation.
    Environmental Studies 360. Independent Study (with advance permission of the Committee on Environmental Studies).
    Environmental Studies/Chemistry s34. Chemical Pollutants: Science and Policy.
    History 261. American Protest in the Twentieth Century.
    Political Science 234. Third World Women and Gender in Economic Development.
    Political Science 258. Environmental Diplomacy.
    Sociology 236. Urban Sociology.

IV. Geochemistry

Understanding and predicting the fate of chemicals of both anthropogenic and natural origin in the lithosphere and hydrosphere require knowledge of relevant chemistry and geology. The courses in this track provide the background needed to understand this aspect of environmental science. The required thesis provides an opportunity for a synthesis of the two sub-fields via the application of basic chemical and geologic skills to the study of a geochemical problem.
    Required Course:

    Economics 222. Environmental Economics.

    Elective Courses/Units: Any seven of the courses from the list below, with no more than four courses in chemistry or geology to meet the minimum number of courses. No more than one Short Term unit may be counted toward the major.

    Biology 260. Environmental Toxicology.
    Chemistry 203. Statistical Thermodynamics.
    Chemistry 212. Separation Science.
    Chemistry 215. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry.
    Chemistry 223. Analytical Spectroscopy and Electrochemistry.
    Environmental Studies 302. Wetland Science and Policy.
    Environmental Studies/Geology s32. Hydrogeologic and Environmental Problems in Maine's Watersheds.
    Geology 223. Rock-forming Minerals.
    Geology 230. Structural Geology.
    Geology 266. Groundwater Hydrology.
    Geology 362. Contaminant Fate and Transport in Geologic Systems.
    Geology 363. Low-Temperature Aqueous Geochemistry.
    Geology s33. The Water We Drink: Water Quality in Maine.

Pass/Fail Grading Option. Pass/fail grading may not be elected for courses applied toward the major.

General Education. The quantitative requirement may be satisfied by Environmental Studies 181. Environmental Studies 302 may be counted as a third natural-science course. Other environmental studies courses or units, that are cross-listed with a department may satisfy a General Education requirement, according to the cross-listing department's General Education policies. Environmental Studies 202 and s11 do not satisfy General Education requirements.

Courses

107B. Chemical Structure and Its Importance in the Environment. Fundamentals of atomic and molecular structure are developed with particular attention to how they relate to substances of interest in the environment. Periodicity, bonding, states of matter, and intermolecular forces are covered. The laboratory involves a semester-long group investigation of a topic of environmental significance. This course is the same as Chemistry 107B. Enrollment limited to 60 per section. Not open to students who have received credit for Chemistry 107. T. Wenzel.

108B. Chemical Reactivity in Environmental Systems. A continuation of Chemistry/Environmental Studies 107B. Major topics include thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium, acid/base chemistry, and electrochemistry. Examples developed throughout these topics relate to chemical processes that occur in the environment. The laboratory involves a semester-long group investigation of a topic of environmental significance. Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 107A or Chemistry/Environmental Studies 107B. This course is the same as Chemistry 108B. Enrollment limited to 60 per section. Not open to students who have received credit for Chemistry 108. R. Austin.

181. Working with Environmental Data. This course uses lectures, problems, and projects to introduce students to experimental design, data collection, and data analysis. The course introduces basic principles of statistical thinking and trains students to be informed consumers of statistics commonly encountered in environmental science and policy contexts. The course covers basic concepts in probability and statistics, principles of experimental design, measures of location and dispersion, statistical estimation, and testing of hypotheses. Recommended background: a working knowledge of algebra. Staff.

202. Introduction to Environmental Studies. This course provides an interdisciplinary introduction to environmental studies. Perspectives from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities are used to explore the human-environment relationship. Lectures, discussions, laboratory exercises, and field trips are used to provide a technical understanding of selected environmental issues and to provide an analytic framework for examining environmental problems as reflections of underlying social, economic, and political processes. The course addresses human population and resource consumption as drivers for environmental change and examines the effects of environmental change on human economic and social systems. Course content varies to reflect current issues. Open to first-year students. Staff.

203. Material and Energy Flow in Engineered and Natural Systems. An introduction to central concepts in environmental science, the transport and transformation of matter and the generation of use of energy, through the study of specific cases. The laboratory links mathematical modeling of environmental systems to experimental activities. This course serves as the foundation for further study of environmental science at Bates College. Prerequisite(s): one science set: Biology 201 and one of the following Biology 110, 120, 121, 124, 125, 168, First-year seminar 226 or any two of the Biology 100 courses listed above as long as one has a lab; or Chemistry 107A and 108A; or 107b and 108B; or any two geology 100-level courses which include Geology 102, 103, 104, 105, 106; or Physics 107 and 108. Enrollment is limited to 40. R Austin, C Bohlen. New course for 2001-2002.

204. Environment and Society. This course provides an introduction to the ways in which people interact with the natural environment. It concentrates on two main issues: 1) How do people think about the relationship between the environment and society? 2) What are some key empirical issues in the environment–society relationship that illustrate the various ways of thinking about the environment? Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. P. Rogers.

205. "Nature" in Human Culture. The course aims to introduce students to the dynamics between the natural environment and human culture. First, it seeks a theoretical framework for appreciating how cultural traditions screen human perceptions and hence grant human meaning to the natural world. Second, it studies selected interpretations of nature from the traditions of indigenous peoples, Asian cultures, and the Western experience. Third, the course considers the prospects for moving beyond inherited perspectives to fresh envisagements of the lands, the seas, and other living creatures. Open to first-year students. C. Straub.

212. Literature and the Environment: Visions of Land, Stories of Home. What role can poems and stories play in defining our relationships to the nature world? How is the land, its animate and inanimate life, as well as its use, abuse, and preservation by humans, made present to us in a work of literature? What role do storytelling and poemcraft play in our creation of a sense of place? Through a close reading of selected poems and novels by American authors, as well as through studentsÕ own accounts of place, and the collection of stories within the local community, this course examines the intimate relationship between literature and the environment. Topics include the connection between environment and identity, technology and crisis, and nature as a spiritual resource. Open to first-year students. S. Strong, J. Costlow.

214. Ethics and Environmental Issues. A study of selected issues in environmental ethics, including questions about population growth, resource consumption, pollution, the responsibilities of corporations, environmental justice, animal rights, biodiversity, and moral concern for the natural world. The course explores debates currently taking place among environmental thinkers regarding our moral obligations to other persons, to future generations, to other animals, and to ecosystems and the earth itself. This course is the same as Philosophy 214. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. Not open to students who have received credit for Religion 215. T. Tracy.

215. Environmental Ethics. Values are important influences on the ways human communities relate to ecological communities, and hence on the character of the interaction between persons and their natural worlds. The course examines a range of environmental issues as moral problems requiring ethical reflection. This ethical reflection takes into account both the cultural and religious contexts that have given rise to what is understood as a technological dominion over nature, and the cultural resources still remaining that may provide clues on how to live in friendship with the earth. Recommended background: one course in philosophy or religion. This course is the same as Religion 215. Open to first-year students. C. Straub.

216. Food for Thought: World Agriculture. This course introduces students to the history of agriculture, the manner in which contemporary agriculture is practiced around the globe, and the ever-changing nature of agriculture and its relationships to the broader social and natural worlds. Two important themes are emphasized in this course. The first is the continuing, though often overlooked, importance of agriculture in the modern world. The second is agriculture as a multi-dimensional activity with social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental elements. In the field component of the course, students engage in an on-farm application of farming system theories and techniques. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. Open to first-year students. P. Rogers.

218. United States Environmental Politics and Policy. This course introduces students to critical historical and contemporary issues in the politics and policy of the natural environment in the United States. It examines the development and current state of environmental policy in the United States at the federal, state, and local levels, while at the same time placing the making of this policy in the broader context of American politics, economics, and society. The course begins with a short history of environmentalism in the United States. The middle part of the course is a general overview of the current state of American environmental politics and policy. The last section of the course takes a case study approach to a specific environmental issue relevant to the local area. This case study provides an opportunity for students to apply the knowledge developed earlier in the course and to meet and interact with stakeholders involved with this issue. Prerequisite(s): Environmental studies 202 or 204. Open to first-year students. This course is the same as Political Science 218. P. Rogers.

225. Comparative Environmental Politics and Policy. While virtually all the peoples of the earth face important environmental issues, the form and content of these human-nature interactions differ widely from place to place. Variations in political forms, economic status, cultural contexts, and the natural environment are significant factors in shaping environmental politics and policy around the world. This course investigates these differences using the framework of political ecology, and explores the potential of comparative analysis between cases. The regions of western Europe, post-communist Eurasia, East Asia, Latin America, and Africa are examined, with a specific concern in each regions receiving additional attention. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. P Rogers. New course for 2001-2002.

228. Caring for Creation: Physics, Religion, and the Environment. This course considers scientific and religious accounts of the origin of the universe, examines the relations between these accounts, and explores the way they shape our deepest attitudes toward the natural world. Topics of discussion include the biblical creation stories, contemporary scientific cosmology, the interplay between these scientific and religious ideas, and the roles they both can play in forming a response to environmental problems. This course is the same as Religion 228 and Physics 228. Enrollment limited to 40. T. Tracy, J. Smedley.

245. African Wildlife Conservation. This course examines wildlife and its habitat in sub-Saharan Africa and the ways these populations and ecosystems have been affected by human activity. It explores three periods of African historyÑpre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial — in order to assess the changing fortunes of wildlife, habitat, and African communities during these eras. Unlike popular views of Africa as an "Eden" untouched by human activity, the course emphasizes the long history and continuing importance of interrelationships between human communities and wildlife in sub-Saharan Africa. While the empirical focus is most definitely on Africa, broader theoretical and policy issues applicable to wildlife conservation elsewhere in the world also play a prominent role in the course. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. Open to first-year students. P. Rogers.

290. Nature in East Asian Literature. How have poets and other writers in Japan and China portrayed, valued, and responded to the myriad phenomena that Western tradition calls "nature"? What ideas have they used to construct the relationship between human beings and the environment? Do their views offer the modern world a possible antidote to its environmental ills? Are these views too deeply conditioned by Asian traditions to be understood in the West? This course looks closely at several works from Japanese and Chinese traditions whose authors pay particular attention to the relationship between the self and the physical world the self observes. Specific writers may include Hitomaro, Saigyô, Kamo no Chomei, Bashô, Li Po, and Wang Wei. This course is the same as Japanese 290. S. Strong.

302. Wetland Science and Policy. This course is an introduction to wetland ecosystems, wetland management, and current controversies over wetland policy. The course emphasizes hydrological, geological, and ecological processes that structure wetland ecosystems, the connections between wetlands and adjacent ecosystems, and how those ecological relationships affect wetland management. The emphasis is on wetlands as dynamic components of a complex landscape that may itself be changing in response to human actions. Prerequisite(s): One natural-science set except physics sets. Enrollment limited to 20. C. Bohlen.

305. Global Warming: Development of the Hot Debate. Over the past century, temperatures at the earth's surface have been steadily increasing. Concurrently, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, combustion of fossil fuels for energy and transportation purposes has also steadily increased, resulting in greater emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Many scientists-though far from all-attribute global warming to higher concentrations of greenhouse gases as a result of fossil fuel use. This course traces the development of the greenhouse concept, examines studies offered as evidence of global warming, reviews arguments by skeptics, investigates (potential) impacts, and explores efforts to reduce atmospheric CO2. The interplay among science, policy, and technology is explored through assigned readings, class discussions, and documentary films. Recommended background: Environmental Studies 202 and 204. Enrollment is limited to 20. J. O'Hara.

307. Ecology and Politics of Maine’s Forests. This advanced interdisciplinary seminar examines the ecological and social concerns over the management and use of Maine’s Forest. The forests of Maine are examined in the context of the Northern Forest Region, which includes the Forests in the states of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. This course begins with an introduction to the region’s natural history, ecological significance and management history. Principles of ecosystem management, forest certification, human values, and economic factors are discussed with major emphasis on the ecology and politics of Maine’s forests. Lectures, presentations by invited speakers and class discussions provide a forum for information exchange. Weekly discussion papers, a term paper and a final presentation are requirements of the course. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. Enrollment is limited to 20. P. Palmiotto.

325. Seminar on World Agriculture. This seminar introduces students to the history of agriculture, the manner in which contemporary agriculture is practiced around the globe, and the ever-changing nature of agriculture and its relationships to the broader social and natural worlds. Two important themes are emphasized in this seminar. The first is the continuing, though often overlooked, importance of agriculture in the modern world. The second is that agriculture is a multi-dimensional activity with social, cultural, political, economic, and environmental elements. There is a field component where students engage in on-farm research using farming system theories and participatory research techniques. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. Not open to students who have taken Environmental Studies 245. Enrollment is limited to 15. P. Rogers. New course for 2001-2002.

345. Seminar in African Wildlife Conservation. This seminar examines wildlife and its habitat in sub-Saharan Africa, and the manner in which populations and ecosystems have been affected by human activity. It explores three periods of African history-pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial-in order to assess the changing fortunes of wildlife, habitat, and African communities during these eras. Unlike popular views of Africa as an "Eden" untouched by human activity, the seminar emphasizes the long history and continuing importance of interrelationships between human communities and wildlife in sub-Saharan Africa. While the empirical focus is most definitely on Africa, broader theoretical and policy issues that are applicable to wildlife conservation elsewhere in the world also play a prominent role in the course. Students are expected to take an active role in the course, with each taking a turn organizing and leading discussion. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Not open to students who have received credit for Environmental Studies 245. P. Rogers.

360. Independent Study. This course provides an opportunity, on a tutorial basis, for a student to investigate a selected topic of individual interest. A report is required at the end of each semester of work. Topics are selected jointly by the student and instructor, and must be approved by the program chair. Students are limited to one independent study per semester. Open to first-year students. Written permission of the instructor is required. Staff.

457, 458. Senior Thesis. Research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a faculty member. Guidelines for the thesis are published on the environmental studies Web site (http://www.bates.edu/acad/depts/environ), or are available from the program chair. Students register for Environmental Studies 457 in the fall semester and for Environmental Studies 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both 457 and 458. Staff.

460. Colloquium. Seniors join with members of the faculty to study and reflect upon significant topics in environmental studies. The course may focus on a particular aspect of the environment, such as "water," with visiting experts joining in the reflection. The course may also focus on a set of individual thesis projects presented by participating seniors. The colloquium is an acknowledgement both of the complex, interdisciplinary character of environmental issues and the senior majors' readiness to share in a collegial consideration of them. P. Rogers.

Short Term Units

s11. Ecological Restoration. This unit examines ecological restoration, rehabilitation, and recovery within a broad environmental management context. Field trips, case studies, and a class project planning a restoration effort are used to explore why restoration is undertaken, how it is carried out, how one can assess the value or benefits of restoration, and how it fits into larger environmental and social contexts. Students see restoration efforts for forests, wetlands, lakes, estuaries, and flowing waters, as well as sites at which recovery processes are occurring without human intervention. Landscape-scale restoration efforts from the Chesapeake Bay and Mississippi watersheds are also examined. Recommended background: Biology 270, Geology 103 or 106. Enrollment limited to 15. C. Bohlen.

s24. Seminar in Sustainable Development. The concept of sustainable development is examined and the implications this concept has for a number of areas of human interest are investigated. The relationship between scientific uncertainty and sustainable development is highlighted. Questions relating to social, cultural, and political feasibility are addressed. Students present and discuss selected topics in a seminar format, drawing from Our Common Future as well as from primary literature and selected textbooks. This unit is the same as Chemistry s24. Enrollment limited to 20. R. Austin.

s26. Using the Land. Land use is one of the most significant environmental issues we face today. This unit examines the relationship between humans and land, as well as issues such as the ability of current land management practices to ensure the survival of human and other species, and the relative rights of human and other species to the land. Readings represent an American perspective and include Walden, Wilderness and the American Mind, Sand County Almanac, Pilgram at Tinker Creek, and Desert Solitare. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 14. Not open to students who have received credit for Chemistry s26 or First-Year Seminar 201. T. Wenzel.

s27. Sustaining the Masses. Students in this unit investigate the contradictions and complementarities between economic development and global economic integration on the one hand and environmental protection on the other. Students spend up to four weeks in China visiting farming communities, large- and small-scale industrial enterprises, reforestation sites, nature reserves, and pollution control facilities. They also meet with villagers, workers, and government officials. Linkages between local and international economics, politics, history, culture, and the environment are explored using China as a case study. Recommended background: one or more of the following: Economics 101, 222, 227, 229 or Environmental Studies 202. This unit is the same as Economics s27. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 10. Written permission of the instructor is required. M. Maurer-Fazio, J. Hughes.

s28. Contemporary Maine Environmental Issues. This field research unit gives students an opportunity to explore important, local environmental issues and to begin the development of social science field research skills. It takes a "stakeholder" perspective on environmental problems and concerns: student research focuses on identifying relevant stakeholders and describing relations between stakeholders in terms of a specific environmental issue. Examples of relevant issues include, but are not limited to, urban planning and sprawl, wildlife management, impacts of recreational use, water quality, and brownfields redevelopment. The first week of the unit introduces students to topics and research methods. During the second, third, and fourth weeks, student groups undertake research under the supervision of the instructor. Research results and methodological lessons learned occupy the last week. Prerequisite(s): Environmental Studies 202 or 204. Open to first-year students. Enrollment is limited to 15. P. Rogers.

s32. Hydrogeologic and Environmental Problems in Maine's Watersheds. An important hydrogeologic or geochemical issue concerning one of Maine's watersheds is investigated in this unit. Fieldwork may include watershed reconnaissance; water and sediment sampling; acoustic profiling of lakes, ponds, and rivers; and attendance at town meetings. Laboratory work may include water and sediment analysis, map and aerial photograph examination, and data compilation and analysis. A service-learning project frames the course. Prerequisite(s): any 100-level geology course. This unit is the same as Geology s32. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. Staff.

s34. Chemical Pollutants: Science and Policy. On what basis are chemicals in the environment regulated? How are acceptable levels of exposure determined? This unit examines how these sorts of public policy decisions are made by studying a few chemicals as examples. Topics covered include chemical structures and toxicity, the notion of "risk" and who defines it, and the role of scientific information in the legal process. Prerequisite(s): Chemistry 108A or 108B. This unit is the same as Chemistry s34. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. R. Austin.

s35 Ecology and Management of Maine's Forests. This unit examines the ecological characteristics of the major forest types in Maine and how various management practices impact these forests. Students learn basic forest ecology principles and field methods. Factors that shape the structure and function of Maine's forested ecosystems are measured and discussed. Methodologies used to characterize forest ecosystems, including plot and point sampling, soil profile description and dendrochronology, are introduced. Through day and overnight field trips, site reports, and guest lectures students gain a greater understanding of the variety of temperate forest ecosystems and an appreciation for the complexity involved in their management. Sampling methods are taught and put to practice during a ten day trip to a forest research site away from campus. Prerequisite(s):202, 204 or 205. Enrollment limited to 12. J. O'Hara, P. Palmiotto.

s38. Environmental Issues in Developing Economies. Is poverty a cause of environmental degradation in developing countries? Or is the quest for economic growth to alleviate poverty the source of these countries' environmental problems? How does the interaction between the developed and developing worlds affect the environment? What role can developing countries play in addressing global environmental problems? Can a modern economy develop in a sustainable way? In this unit, students examine the link between economic development and the environment from a number of perspectives. Using case studies of particular countries, and cross-country comparisons of certain industries, students examine the prospects and problems facing the developing world. Prerequisite(s): Economics 101. This unit is the same as Economics s38. Enrollment limited to 20. J. Hughes.

s46. Internship in Environmental Studies. Projects may include hands-on conservation work, environmental education, environmental research, political advocacy, environmental law, or other areas related to environmental questions. Specific arrangement and prior approval of the Committee on Environmental Studies is required. Staff.

s50. Individual Research. Registration in this unit is granted by the Committee on Environmental Studies only after the student has submitted a written proposal for a full-time research project to be completed during the Short Term and has secured the sponsorship of a faculty member to direct the study and evaluate results. Students are limited to one individual research unit. Open to first-year students. Staff.


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