(Taken from the UC Berkeley Course Guide)
Human disruption of biogeochemical and hydrological cycles; causes and consequences of climate change and acid deposition; transport and health impacts of pollutants; loss of species; radioactivity in the environment; and quantitative models to understand these environmental problems.
Upper division standing; calculus (MATH 1A-MATH 1B or MATH 16A-16B); Physics (PHYS 7A-PHYS 7B or PHSY 8A-PHYS 8B, chemistry (CHEM 1A or CHEM 4A, biology (BIO 1B) or consent of instructor.
Spring only
Application of basic principles of natural science to the analysis of human influence on environmental conditions and processes at continental to global scale. Topics covered include dimensions of the physical world and of human modifications of it; techniques of estimation and back of the envelope calculation; box models of environmental stocks and flows: equilibrium and feedback; chemical equilibria in the environment; nutrient cycles and their disruptions; acid deposition and its consequences; climate change and its consequences; stratospheric ozone depletion; sources, fate and effects of toxic substances in the global environment; radioactivity and radiation; macroecology; carrying capacity and human population growth; biodiversity and its diminution; epidemics.
Students will also have gained insight into the multi-disciplinary nature of environmental science, having used physical, chemical, and biological principles to create and solve analytical models. Students will be familiar with and able to apply a diverse set of quantitative tools for understanding and analyzing environmental problems.
3 hours of lecture and 2 hours of laboratory per week.