Degree Programs

Master's Degree Programs
The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies offers four two-year master’s degrees: the professionally oriented Master of Environmental Management (M.E.M.) and Master of Forestry (M.F.), and the research-oriented Master of Environmental Science (M.E.Sc.) and Master of Forest Science (M.F.S.). Each of the degrees will serve as preparation for either professional employment or doctoral study. Two-year master’s programs normally require a minimum of four terms in residence, sixteen full courses (forty-eight credits), a summer internship, and completion of the training modules in Technical Skills in the summer just prior to the student’s first term. For individuals with seven or more years of relevant professional experience, a one-year mid-career option is available for the Master of Environmental Management and Master of Forestry degrees.

Programs of study at the School are, by design, interdisciplinary. They involve application of a wide range of natural and social sciences to problems of natural resource and environmental management.

The required curricula leading to all master’s programs are somewhat flexible to accommodate varying background preparations and career aspirations, and partially structured to ensure professional competence and maximum exposure to the unique diversity of the School and the other departments and professional schools at Yale. The one-year mid-career Master of Environmental Management and Master of Forestry programs have less structured curricula than the two-year programs. In all cases, only work completed under the supervision of a Yale University faculty member is accepted as credit toward these degrees.

Regardless of their goals or their previous training, most students entering the School are embarking on a transitional process in their education. Each student’s program is determined in continuing consultation with faculty advisers who guide the student’s learning experience from the first week at Yale until graduation. Each program of study is designed to be an extension of previous academic or professional achievement and should provide the student with specialized knowledge and analytical skills that are logical for the student’s objectives and prospective contributions to his or her disciplines.

Programs of study leading to all degrees consist of formal courses, seminars, and individual and group projects. No formal thesis is required for the master’s degrees, but all require a master’s project or other capstone experience.

Summer internships are an important component of the School’s master’s curricula and are required for all two-year master’s students. Students pursue a variety of work and research projects in locations worldwide. The School provides significant assistance to students in helping them to identify meaningful internships.

Students interested in careers in research or teaching are advised to seek the Ph.D. in their field of major interest. A master’s degree can provide important preparation for a Ph.D.

Part-Time Program
Students who wish to obtain a degree through the part-time option must complete the same curriculum as full-time students. Participants must enroll for two courses per term and must complete the degree requirements in four years.

Training Modules in Technical Skills
All incoming master’s students participate in three weeks of summer modules, which impart field skills and techniques considered indispensable to students intending careers in environmental research, management, and policy. These modules are a necessary base for subsequent course work at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, provide an orientation to the School, and are offered only during the last three weeks of August.

These modules are required of all first-year master’s students enrolled in two-year programs. They are optional for all one-year degree program students. Waivers will be granted from one, two, or all of the modules only upon evidence of attainment of these skills through previous course work or professional experience. Course work is primarily in the field and covers three technical areas:

Module I: plant identification—use of organismal identification keys, familiarization with the plant species of Southern New England.

Module II: ecosystem measurement—sampling methods, research design, data reduction and analysis.

Module III: land measurement—surveying, aerial photography, GPS, remote sensing and mapping.

Master’s Project and Independent Study Courses
Most master’s students choose to enroll in one or more courses with a faculty adviser that officially fulfill degree requirements for a master’s project. Project courses can involve research in laboratory, field, or library, or analytical case studies designed to solve management problems. Typically an idea for a project originates with the student. Project courses enable students or small groups to study relevant topics in a depth that is not always possible in regular courses. They afford the student interested in research an unusual opportunity to gain firsthand experience with the conduct and philosophy of independent inquiry. Introducing students to the literature dealing with localities, problems, or subjects with which they expect to be especially concerned in the future, projects provide a means of integrating and testing skills, knowledge, and judgment gained in formal courses. They have frequently permitted students to make a significant contribution to local communities or to the academic literature. Opportunities for other independent study are fulfilled through enrollment in independent study courses. Independent study courses are appropriate for all other non-project study or research.

Master of Environmental Management
This degree is designed for students with primary interests in careers in environmental policy and analysis, stewardship, education, consulting, or management dealing with natural resource or environmental issues. The program requires course work in both the natural and social sciences, with a particular focus on the relationship among science, resource management, and policy. The ultimate purpose of the degree program is to prepare students to address complex ecological and social issues with scientific understanding and an ability to make sense of the underlying social and political context.

Students pursuing the M.E.M. degree must take eight courses in fulfillment of a core curriculum. Each student will also select an advanced study program for further coursework—concluding his or her experience with a master’s project, a “capstone” course, or a semester-long internship project (separate from the required summer internship). With the guidance and approval of faculty advisers, each student selects core courses in various categories to meet distributional requirements from preapproved lists of courses. Each student also works with advisers to define educational pathways within one of nine advanced study areas that have been identified and defined by the F&ES faculty.

The core courses for the M.E.M. are divided into: (a) Foundations and (b) Problem Solving and Policy Making. The four Foundations course groups are: (1) physical sciences, (2) biological sciences, (3) social sciences, and (4) statistics and statistical methods. Each student must take at least one course in each of these disciplines, as well as one additional course in either the physical or biological sciences. Problem Solving and Policy Making is divided into three course groups: (1) economics, (2) decision analysis, and (3) policy making and institutions. Students are required to take at least one course in each course group.

Faculty teaching and research at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies are divided into nine focal areas (see Focal Areas), each of which serves as an advanced study area within the M.E.M. curriculum. These areas are: (1) Ecology, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity; (2) The Social Ecology of Conservation and Development: Assessing Social and Environmental Change; (3) Forestry, Forest Science, and the Management of Forests for Conservation and Development; (4) Global Change Science and Policy; (5) Environment, Health, and Policy; (6) Industrial Environmental Management; (7) Policy, Economics, and Law; (8) Urban Ecology and Environmental Design; and (9) Water Science, Policy, and Management. Each advanced study area offers one or more course “tracks” that students wishing to concentrate in the focal area should examine for guidance on what courses provide a foundation for professional success in a particular area. Each M.E.M. student is required to choose an Advanced Study Area and to take two or more courses from the area’s specified course lists.

Master of Forestry
Master of Forestry programs are professional studies aimed at training practitioners of forestry for administration and management of forest lands, and for mediating and resolving the conflicting values of society that concern forests. Forest systems cover one-third of the terrestrial surface of the earth. More important than this expansive distribution, however, are the numerous and critically important values that forests provide to human societies. Currently the pressures of economic development, population growth, and energy use challenge the sustainability of forest values as never before in human history.

Since 1900, the Master of Forestry program has provided leadership in the education of professional foresters. It is the oldest continuing forestry program in the western hemisphere. Almost all the early foresters in North America had their roots at Yale. Graduates include such notables as Aldo Leopold, M.F. ’09 and Starker Leopold, M.F. ’38, the fathers of forest ecology and silviculture in North America (Clarence Korstian, M.F. ’26; Harold Lutz, M.F. ’27; Stephen Spurr, M.F. ’40; David Smith, M.F. ’46), and nine of the first twelve chiefs of the USDA Forest Service. This program is designed for individuals who want to be at the forefront of forest resource management and policy. The Master of Forestry curriculum is moving resource management to new levels of education using a truly interdisciplinary approach rooted in the biological basis of ecosystems.

For the past ten years Master of Forestry graduates have joined the kaleidoscope of professional opportunities in forestry. Most start as general practitioners and management officers and with experience move through management to become policy makers and organizers. Employment can be characterized as follows: (1) government and public agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service); (2) international development and conservation organizations (e.g., Food and Agriculture Organization, CARE, OXFAM, USAID, Winrock International, Conservation International); (3) industry and investment (e.g., World Bank, International Paper Co., John Hancock Insurance Co.); and (4) town planners, land trusts, and conservation organizations (e.g., The Nature Conservancy, Wilderness Society). An important proportion of graduates use the degree as preparation for advanced study in doctoral programs.

Two-Year Program.The broad objective of the two-year M.F. program is realized by requiring a multidisciplinary suite of formal course work coupled with a progressive synthesis of knowledge in a significant project. It is realized through the provision of an array of local, regional, national, and international trips to witness the practice of forestry in diverse settings. It is realized further through the provision of employment in the management of the Yale Forest and a host of internships offered through the auspices of the Global Institute for Sustainable Forestry and the Tropical Resources Institute. Finally, it is realized through the active program of workshops, visiting speakers of national and international repute, and publications of the Yale Forest Forum.

The teaching objectives of the M.F. program are (1) to integrate knowledge about forests, natural resources, and society to form a sound basis for making management decisions; (2) to provide electives and other educational opportunities to specialize by focusing on a particular land-use or management issue concerning forest ecosystem management; (3) to provide opportunities for independent problem solving, critical thinking, and self-development. All core courses at F&ES are designated as natural, social, or quantitative science, and all students must take a mixture. The capstone course addresses management skills and, in particular, leadership. Flexibility of the choice of course within the required topic areas of the M.F. curriculum allows the student to tailor required courses to a desired specialization. Sample specializations have included community development and social forestry; protected areas management; extension and education; consulting and business; watershed health and restoration; tropical forest management; agroforestry; and industrial forest management.

The two-year program leading to the Master of Forestry degree as the first professional degree in forestry is accredited by the Society of American Foresters (SAF). Founded in 1900 by Gifford Pinchot and six other pioneer foresters, SAF’s role as accrediting body for forestry in the United States is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Post-Secondary Accreditation. For this reason, the degree is widely accepted in other regions and countries with similar professional standards. In recent years there has also been a growing recognition of required professional licensing and registration for all resource managers in the United States, particularly in the Northeast and West Coast regions, or for individuals working in any of the federal agencies, e.g., U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. In most of these states and agencies, resource management can be practiced only by individuals who have met certain educational and experience standards. An accredited professional degree is usually the first requirement. A minimum of two full years in residence and sixteen full courses (forty-eight credits) is required for completion of this program.

One-Year Mid-Career Program. This degree program is restricted to selected individuals who have demonstrated competence during a minimum of seven years of responsible, full-time professional forestry experience. The degree requirements are met by satisfactorily completing a custom-designed two-term program of courses, seminars, and projects during one year in residence.

Professionals pursuing the one-year M.F. degree are interested in acquiring new skills, filling voids in their educational background, and broadening their perspectives. Their career objectives are in the general area of forest management and administration. Admission to this program will be granted by the Admissions Committee only to individuals who appear to be able to achieve the level of professional competence represented by the M.F. degree in one year of residence work. A minimum of one year in residence and eight full courses is required for completion of this program.

Master of Environmental Science
The Master of Environmental Science program is intended for students who seek a master’s program with focus on disciplines within environmental natural and social science, most often as preparation for a research career or doctoral study. Each Master of Environmental Science curriculum will have three components: disciplinary and research project courses, research methods courses, and electives. The Master of Environmental Science program requires the student to produce a “scholarly product.” This product may be in the form of a traditional master’s thesis or a paper submitted to a refereed journal. A minimum of two full years in residence and sixteen full courses is required for successful completion of this program. A minimum of four research project courses is also required.

Master of Forest Science
The Master of Forest Science is intended for students who seek a master’s program with focus on forest science, most often as preparation for a research career or doctoral study. Each Master of Forest Science curriculum will have three components: disciplinary and research project courses, research methods courses, and electives. The Master of Forest Science program requires the student to produce a “scholarly product.” This product may be in the form of a traditional master’s thesis or a paper submitted to a refereed journal. A minimum of two full years in residence and sixteen full courses is required for successful completion of this program. A minimum of four research project courses is also required.

Joint Master’s Degree Programs
The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies supports several curricula that work concurrently toward two degrees from different administrative units of Yale University. Opportunities for development of joint-degree programs exist with the Divinity School, the Law School, the School of Management, the School of Medicine’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, the Graduate School’s International Relations program, and the International and Development Economics program of the Graduate School’s Department of Economics. Applicants are urged to apply to both units at the same time. All of these programs are subject to several general guidelines.

Applicants must apply to, and be accepted by, both units of the University according to normal admissions procedures. A minimum residency at Yale and a minimum number of credit hours at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, dependent upon the degree program, are required. These courses must meet the curriculum requirements for one of the School’s degree programs. A minimum of one and one-half years is required at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

On successful completion of the formal joint-degree program, the student will be awarded the Master of Forestry or the Master of Environmental Management, together with the joint degree as follows:

1. Law School—Juris Doctor; four years.
2. School of Medicine (Department of Epidemiology and Public Health)—Master of Public Health; three years.
3. School of Management—Master of Business Administration; three years.
4. Department of Economics, International Development and Economics program—Master of Arts; two and one-half to three years.
5. International Relations—Master of Arts; two and one-half to three years.
6. Divinity School—Master of Arts in Religion; three years.

For students interested in a joint environment/law degree, the School has recently launched joint-degree programs with Vermont Law School and the Pace University School of Law—in addition to the existing joint-degree program with Yale Law School. For questions about this and other joint-degree programs, please consult the admissions director at F&ES or the associate dean for academic affairs.

Special Students
For those who do not wish to pursue a full-time degree program, F&ES offers the option of special student status. Applicants interested in this option must follow normal admissions procedures and are expected to meet the regular admissions requirements. Special students may be registered for a period as short as one term and may enroll in a minimum of one course or elect to take a full program of four courses per term. Under normal circumstances, no one may hold special student status for more than one academic year.

Doctoral Degree Programs
The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is conferred through the Graduate School of Yale University. Work toward this doctoral degree is directed by the Department of Forestry & Environmental Studies of the Graduate School, which is composed of the faculty of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. The degree of Doctor of Forestry and Environmental Studies (D.F.E.S., formerly designated as the Doctor of Forestry degree) is conferred through the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. In the 2003–2004 academic year, the D.F.E.S. program has merged with the Ph.D. program. The D.F.E.S. program will continue to exist until all its current students complete the program. No additional students will be admitted into the D.F.E.S. program. New students will be admitted into the Ph.D. program. Doctoral work is concentrated in areas of faculty research, which currently encompass the following broad foci: agroforestry; biodiversity conservation; biostatistics and biometry; community ecology; ecosystems ecology; ecosystems management; environmental biophysics and meteorology; environmental chemistry; environmental ethics; environmental governance; environmental health risk assessment; environmental history; environmental law and politics; environmental and resource policy; forest ecology; hydrology; industrial ecology; industrial environmental management; plant physiology and anatomy; pollution management; population ecology; resource economics; energy and the environment, silviculture, social ecology; stand development, tropical ecology, and conservation; urban planning; water resource management; environmental management and social ecology in developing countries.

Requirements for the Doctoral Degree
All courses listed in this bulletin are open to students working for the doctoral degree. Other courses are available in other departments—e.g., Chemistry; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Economics; Geology and Geophysics; Management; Mathematics; Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology; Political Science; Sociology; and Statistics—and are listed in the bulletin of the Graduate School.

A doctoral committee will be appointed for each student no later than the student’s second term in the program. The committee consists of a minimum of three faculty members from the Yale University community. When appropriate for their research areas, students are encouraged to suggest committee members from other universities. Doctoral students work under the supervision of their doctoral committees.

Students are required to take the Doctoral Student Seminar, 824a, in the first term of their program.

Two Honors grades must be achieved before a student is eligible to sit for the qualifying examination. In addition, students are expected to serve two terms as teaching fellows, in partial fulfillment of their doctoral training.

A written and oral qualifying examination (or written comprehensive examination) must be passed in the student’s area of interest and in such subordinate subjects as may be required by the student’s doctoral committee and major professor. The student will be advised as to the nature and scope of the examination prior to or at the start of the term in which it is to be administered. This examination must be completed before the start of the fifth term. It includes a thesis proposal that must be defended before the student’s doctoral committee and other interested faculty.

The director of doctoral studies (DDS) of the School serves as director of graduate studies for the Department of Forestry & Environmental Studies of the Graduate School, administers the doctoral program, and may be consulted about specific problems or questions concerning the program.

Before beginning work, the student must secure approval from his or her committee and the DDS for a proposed program of study and for the general plan of the dissertation. Appropriate advanced work is required. Courses chosen should form a coherent plan of study and should support research work for the proposed dissertation.

The dissertation should demonstrate the student’s technical mastery of the field as well as the ability to do independent scholarly work and to formulate conclusions that may modify or enlarge previous knowledge.

A guidance manual for preparing dissertations is available from the DDS. Candidates must present themselves for the oral defense of the dissertation at such time and place as the student, the DDS, and the committee determine.

Joint Doctoral Degree

Department of Anthropology
The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies offers a combined doctoral degree with Yale’s Department of Anthropology. The purpose of this program is threefold: (1) it combines the interdisciplinary character and possibilities of F&ES, especially in terms of bridging the social and natural sciences, with the disciplinary identity and strengths of the Anthropology department; (2) it combines the strengths in ecological and environmental studies of F&ES with the social science strengths of the Anthropology department; and (3) it combines the emphasis within F&ES on linking theory with policy and practice with the Anthropology department’s strengths in theory. The combined doctoral degree offers its graduates great flexibility when entering the marketplace. They can represent themselves as anthropologists and/or environmental scientists, as theoreticians and/or practitioners. They have the credentials to apply for policy-oriented positions with international institutions as well as academic positions in teaching and research. For further information, contact the director of doctoral studies or the coordinator of the combined degree program.

New York Botanical Gardens
The School of Forestry & Environmental Studies has entered into an agreement with the New York Botanical Garden to offer a joint doctoral degree, either the Ph.D. or the D.F.E.S. For more information, please contact the director of doctoral studies.

Focal Areas

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies recognizes that it is as important to solve problems for local watersheds as it is to address issues related to global climate change. Likewise, it is as important to coach tomorrow’s leaders to get their hands dirty with fieldwork as it is to train them to analyze and formulate policy. To address the breadth and scope of such a wide range of environmental challenges, the faculty of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies created nine focal areas through which to channel teaching and research.

Some of these focal areas are new, and some have been at the heart of the School’s mission for a century. At the core of each area is the goal of facilitating outstanding teaching, research, and outreach.

Each focal area has a core group of faculty as its keystone. These faculty members, led by a coordinator from the School’s senior faculty, teach classes, guide students, and conduct research to meet the goals set forth by the mission statement of their focal areas. Most faculty are involved with more than one focal area.

Ecology, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity
This focal area represents the School’s collective scientific endeavor to understand both the interactions of living organisms with each other and the physical and chemical components of their surrounding environment, and the cause of changes in global patterns in species distribution and abundance. This endeavor requires the integration of chemistry and biology, biophysics, physiology, genetics, behavior and evolution, mathematical modeling as well as sociology, anthropology, and policy. The goals of this area are to develop the body of natural, social, and political scientific knowledge needed to improve our understanding of the complex interrelationships between humans and the rich diversity of organisms living in ecosystems, and to provide students with a comprehensive set of courses that will enable them to develop an integrated understanding of these issues.

The faculty in this focal area teach a variety of graduate courses and seminars, including such issues as aquatic ecology; methods of ecosystem analysis; forest ecosystem health; wildlife conservation ecology; human dimensions in the conservation of biological diversity; and management plans for protected areas. Undergraduate courses are also offered, including the study of ecology and environmental problem solving and a study of the local flora.

Faculty: Oswald J. Schmitz (Coordinator), Mark S. Ashton, Graeme P. Berlyn, William R. Burch, Ann E. Camp, Timothy W. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Gordon T. Geballe, Timothy G. Gregoire, Stephen R. Kellert, Xuhui Lee, Kathleen McAfee, Peter A. Raymond, James E. Saiers, Thomas G. Siccama, David K. Skelly

Associated Center: Center for Biodiversity Conservation and Science

The Social Ecology of Conservation and Development: Assessing Social and Environmental Change
This focal area developed out of the realization over the past generation that understanding the social, cultural, political, economic, and historic dimensions of the environment is as important as understanding its bio-physical dimensions. This area focuses on the links between the resource-use systems of local communities and wider societies, between urban and rural, rich and poor, and less- and more-developed countries. A distinguishing characteristic of this area is its special focus on the environmental relations of local communities. But teaching and research in this area encompass communities, local and national governments, and NGOs, and address such topics as indigenous environmental knowledge, community-based conservation, protected area management, environmental justice, and environmental values/movements/and discourses.

This area is the focal point within F&ES for the joint doctoral degree program with Anthropology and the joint master’s degree program with International Relations. The faculty teach courses and seminars on such topics as tropical ecosystem dynamics and anthropogenic change; risk and property; society and natural resources; environmental values; agrarian societies; the economics of sustainable development; and the foundations of natural resource management.

Faculty: Michael R. Dove (Coordinator), Mark S. Ashton, William R. Burch, Carol Carpenter, Benjamin Cashore, Timothy W. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Amity A. Doolittle, Paul A. Draghi, Gordon T. Geballe, Stephen R. Kellert, Kathleen McAfee, Florencia Montagnini, Robert Repetto, James Gustave Speth, John P. Wargo

Associated Center: Tropical Resources Institute

Forestry, Forest Science, and the Management of Forests for Conservation and Development
This faculty group embraces a new, more holistic, and more practical concept of forest management. The faculty recognizes that forests worldwide produce multiple products and services from timber supply to water to wildlife habitat. The group seeks to manage these ecosystems to yield equitable social, environmental, and economic outputs across the landscape. Moving from a focus on timber to a more encompassing perspective requires many changes in the ways forestry is practiced and forested ecosystems are managed.

Under this approach, students are required to have a thorough understanding of the entire forest ecosystem and how each component relates to the rest of the system. Forestry must adopt adaptive management techniques to test outcomes in the field and improve our understanding over time. Students are trained to create modeling scenarios for better forest management assessments and the development of more refined decision support systems for generating management options and outcomes. They must then learn how society weighs these alternative outcomes, and must examine existing institutions and laws to understand whether they encourage optimal outcomes in forests across the world.

The faculty teach courses and seminars on such topics as biogeochemistry and pollution; the physiology of trees and forests; fire ecology; climate and life; sampling methodology and practice; natural resource economics; private investment and the environment; environmental law and policy; and management plans for protected areas.

Faculty: Mark S. Ashton (Coordinator), Graeme P. Berlyn, William R. Burch, Ann E. Camp, Benjamin Cashore, Timothy W. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Michael R. Dove, Paul A. Draghi, Bradford S. Gentry, Xuhui Lee, Robert Mendelsohn, Florencia Montagnini, Chadwick D. Oliver, Oswald J. Schmitz, Thomas G. Siccama

Associated Centers & Programs: Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry, Tropical Resources Institute, Urban Resources Initiative, Center for Biodiversity Conservation

Global Change Science and Policy
The goal of this focal area is to address issues arising from major environmental changes that are impacting a substantial portion of the world. The faculty in this focal area are particularly interested in the arena of climate change science and policy and seek to generate new scientific knowledge of the interactions among the atmosphere, the biosphere, and their human dimensions, and to explore innovative approaches to reducing the threats to the global climate system.

Through an interdisciplinary education curriculum, this area seeks to prepare students with the intellectual skills crucial for examining the major global change phenomena, their interactions with anthropogenic drivers, and the international policy and management responses. Courses and seminars in this area include observing the earth from space; patterns and processes in terrestrial ecosystems; domestic and global environmental governance; designing the ecocity; climate economics; and the global change agenda.

Faculty: Xuhui Lee (Coordinator), Garry D. Brewer, Ann E. Camp, Benjamin Cashore, Timothy W. Clark, Lisa M. Curran, Paul A. Draghi, William Ellis, Daniel C. Esty, Thomas E. Graedel, Erin T. Mansur, Kathleen McAfee, Robert Mendelsohn, Peter A. Raymond, Robert Repetto, Oswald J. Schmitz, James Gustave Speth

Environment, Health, and Policy
This area promotes research and teaching to understand relations between environmental hazards, development, and human health. This knowledge provides a basis for understanding the potential of law and policy to protect health from hazardous substances in air, water, food, soil, and consumer products.

There are several themes around which students can focus their studies in this area, such as children’s exposure to hazardous substances; metals and the environment; exposure and risk assessment methods; land use, ecology, and vector-borne disease; air pollution; respiratory illness; agriculture, food safety, and human health; school environmental health; environmental health law and policy.

This area is the focal point within F&ES for the joint master’s degree program in Environmental Science, Management, and Public Health with the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health. Course and seminars offered include environmental hydrology; foundations of environmental policy and politics; international environmental policy and law; organic pollutants in the environment; and global environmental health.

Faculty: John P. Wargo (Coordinator), Shimon C. Anisfeld, Gaboury Benoit, Graeme P. Berlyn, Garry D. Brewer, Florencia Montagnini, Sheila Olmstead, James E. Saiers

Associated Center: Environmental Health Initiative

Industrial Environmental Management
This focal area is centered on using principles of ecology to transform industry through several research and teaching themes. One overarching theme in this area pertains to accounting for resource and product flows. The focus of materials accounting can be on a single element, a single resource, or on multiple resources such as energy, water, and materials. Students and faculty apply this focus at different scales: from the facility level, to the inter-firm level, to a river basin or other regional site, and indeed globally. Another major theme that is introduced to students addresses quantitative sustainability under the argument that in order to set sustainability as a target or goal for our industrial society, we must be able to quantify what that target or goal is.

The faculty and students in this area also work on the overarching theme of industrial ecology education for developing economies. This is seen in a major research project in Puerto Rico where preliminary investigative research has begun, using new ideas and tools of industrial ecology to examine the industrial systems of the island and to devise theoretical plans to reorient its economic development to include the notion of sustainability. Course work in this focal area includes environmental aspects of the technological society; industrial ecology; theory and practice of urban ecology; business concepts for environmental managers; and environmental management and strategy.

Faculty: Thomas E. Graedel (Coordinator), Shimon C. Anisfeld, Garry D. Brewer, Marian R. Chertow, William Ellis, Gordon T. Geballe, Reid J. Lifset, Erin T. Mansur, Robert Repetto

Associated Center: Center for Industrial Ecology

Policy, Economics, and Law
This focal area was founded on the belief that natural resource and environmental policy should be based on cumulative knowledge about society and environmental processes. The faculty in this area teach students that the key to a great deal of environmental policy is the appropriate integration of the insights of many disciplines. There are three overarching themes that are the foundation of research and instruction by the Policy group. First, the group advocates that an organized combination of natural and social science theory be used to guide environmental policy in the best service of society. Second, the group recognizes the importance of empirical analysis. Third, the Policy group is involved in designing optimal and equitable programs to protect the environment. The governance of environmental protection is a central concern of the entire group.

There are a wide range of courses that apply to this area, including risk and property; integrated resource planning; natural resource economics; pollution economics; energy economics; valuing the environment; public-private partnerships for the urban environment; environmental protection clinic; and environmental law and policy.

Faculty: Robert Mendelsohn (Coordinator), Garry D. Brewer, Benjamin Cashore, Marian R. Chertow, Timothy W. Clark, William Ellis, Daniel C. Esty, Bradford S. Gentry, Reid J. Lifset, Erin T. Mansur, Kathleen McAfee, Sheila Olmstead, Robert Repetto, James Gustave Speth, John P. Wargo

Associated Center: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy

Urban Ecology and Environmental Design
This faculty group works under the premise that the ecological health and integrity of urban ecosystems have a profound impact on urban economic productivity and quality of life. They believe that students must be prepared to carry out pioneering research, have a grounding in new theoretical understanding, and conduct innovative practices in order to gain the knowledge and tools necessary to foster healthy natural systems essential for the future well-being of the modern city.

Because this focal area is inherently interdisciplinary, there are a wide range of natural science, social science, and policy courses that are relevant, depending on student interest and specialty. Students are recommended to take at least one course in each of the following areas: biological environmental sciences; physical environmental sciences; social environmental sciences; quantitative methods and mapping; architecture and engineering; and policy and law. The faculty then encourage students to take courses at F&ES and other parts of Yale with a particular reference to this area, such as urban anthropology and global history; urban poverty and policy; the future of American cities; environmental aspects of the technological society; issues and approaches in environmental education; and ecological imagination and environmental design.

Faculty: Stephen R. Kellert (Coordinator), Diana Balmori, Gaboury Benoit, William R. Burch, Marian R. Chertow, Gordon T. Geballe, Bradford S. Gentry, Thomas E. Graedel

Associated Centers: Hixon Center for Urban Ecology, Center for Sustainable Environmental Design

Water science, Policy, and Management
This focal area uses the watershed (stream or river basin) as its unit of analysis, instruction, and action. The global water crisis takes diverse forms, including water scarcity, polluted lakes and rivers, contaminated ground water, spread of water-related diseases, and extinction of aquatic species. The complexity and interdisciplinary nature of these problems necessitate a collaboration of biologists, physical scientists, policy experts, economists, lawyers, and social scientists to design and execute effective restoration and management activities.

Key research and teaching questions include: How can environmental managers wisely protect and restore ecosystems even when they lack full scientific understanding; and how can scientists make their work as useful as possible to environmental managers, without sacrificing objectivity? These are highlighted through course work such as water resource management; aquatic chemistry; coastal ecosystem governance; marine protected areas; environmental hydrology; water quality control; and water system economics.

Faculty: Gaboury Benoit (Coordinator), Shimon C. Anisfeld, Richard Burroughs, Bradford S. Gentry, Stephen R. Kellert, Sheila Olmstead, Peter A. Raymond, James E. Saiers, Thomas G. Siccama, David K. Skelly

Associated Center: Center for Coastal and Watershed Systems

Subjects of Instruction

Courses offered by the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies are described below. The letters “a’’ and “b’’ following the course numbers indicate fall- and spring-term courses respectively. Bracketed courses will not be offered during the academic year 2003–2004.

Project courses embrace individually assigned advanced field or laboratory work, or literature review, on topics of special interest to the student; credits and hours for these projects are determined for each student in consultation with the instructor.

Courses throughout the University are generally open to students enrolled in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, subject to limitations on class size and requirements for prerequisites. Courses numbered 500 and above are graduate courses. The sequence of numbers does not reflect level of advancement.

List of Courses by Topic

Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
F&ES 519b Methods of Ecosystem Analysis
F&ES 528b Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics and Anthropogenic Change
F&ES 556b Seminar in the Conservation and Development of Amazonia
[F&ES 557b] Reconciling Development and Conservation on the Amazon Frontier: A Tropical Conservation Field Course
F&ES 574a Tropical Forest Ecology and Management
F&ES 575a Ecosystem Pattern and Process
F&ES 604b Topics in the Tropics
[F&ES 621a] Biogeography, Biodiversity, and Conservation
F&ES 623b Tropical Field Botany

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology
[F&ES 509a] Aquatic Ecology
F&ES 520a Species and Ecosystem Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach
F&ES 560b Wildlife Conservation Ecology
F&ES 565a Human Dimensions in the Conservation of Biological Diversity
[F&ES 578a] Seminar in Molecular Approaches to Systematics, Conservation Genetics, and Behavioral Ecology
F&ES 587a Laboratory in Molecular Systematics
F&ES 588a Seminar in Conservation Genetics
F&ES 760a Landscape Ecology
[F&ES 762b] Ecology Seminar

Environmental Education and Communication
F&ES 582b Issues and Approaches in Environmental Education
F&ES 583a Environmental Writing
[F&ES 724a] Information Management for Environmental Professionals
F&ES 745b Archetypes and the Environment
F&ES 824a Doctoral Student Seminar

Forestry

Forest Biology
F&ES 505b Local Flora
F&ES 524b Fire: Science and Policy
F&ES 551b Forest Health
F&ES 592b Agroforestry in the Tropics: Sustainability and Services
F&ES 600a Structure, Function, and Development of Higher Plants: From Seed to Towering Tree
F&ES 601b Research Methods in Anatomy and Physiology of Trees
F&ES 610b Physiology of Trees and Forests: The Pathway to Understanding the World’s Forests

Forest Management
[F&ES 576b] Botanical Resources of the Tropics
F&ES 602b Forest Landscape Management
F&ES 605a Sustainable Forestry: Biology and Management
F&ES 700b Principles in Applied Ecology: The Practice of Silviculture
F&ES 701a Management Plans for Protected Areas
[F&ES 702b] Rapid Assessments in Forest Conservation
F&ES 703a Growth and Development of Forest Stands
[F&ES 704a] Analysis of Silvicultural Problems
F&ES 705a Seminar in Advanced Silviculture
F&ES 708a,b Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture
F&ES 710a Seminar on Invasive Species Biology and Ecology
F&ES 727a Forest Financial Analysis
F&ES 803a Forestry Operations for Resource Professionals

Physical Sciences

Atmospheric Sciences
F&ES 603a Marine and Surficial Geochemistry
[F&ES 612b] Seminar in Alpine, Arctic, and Boreal Ecosystems
F&ES 834b Seminar on Climate Change Science and Policy
F&ES 868b Climate and Life
[F&ES 869a] A Biological Perspective of Global Change

Environmental Chemistry
[F&ES 502a,b] Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature: Applied Environmental Chemistry
F&ES 507b Organic Pollutants in the Environment
F&ES 544a Aquatic Chemistry
[F&ES 545a] Biogeochemistry and Pollution
F&ES 596a Air Pollution
F&ES 598b Water Quality Control

Soil Science
F&ES 530a Introduction to Soil Science

Water Resources
F&ES 515b Coastal Ecosystem Governance
F&ES 533b Water Resource Management
F&ES 536a Estuarine Ecology and Anthropogenic Impacts
F&ES 540a Environmental Hydrology
[F&ES 541b] Hydrologic Modeling
F&ES 542b Hydrology Seminar
F&ES 550a The Science and Policy of Eutrophication
F&ES 558b Applied Hydrology
F&ES 829a River Processes and Restoration
[F&ES 866b] Caribbean Coastal Watershed Development: Science and Policy

Quantitative and Research Methods

F&ES 506b Observing the Earth from Space
F&ES 510a Research Methods
F&ES 513b Social Science Research Methods
F&ES 529a,b Preparation for Research
F&ES 622a Seminar in Forest Inventory
F&ES 711a Sampling Methodology and Practice
F&ES 713b Statistics for Environmental Sciences
F&ES 714a Introduction to Statistics in the Environmental Sciences
F&ES 715a Modeling Geographic Space
F&ES 716b Modeling Geographic Objects
F&ES 719b Statistical Design of Experiments
F&ES 844b Multivariate Statistical Analysis in the Environmental Sciences

Social Sciences

Economics
F&ES 733b Economics of Pollution
F&ES 734a Economics of Natural Resource Management
[F&ES 737b] Valuing the Environment
F&ES 852b Economics of Energy and the Environment
F&ES 863b Economics of Water Quality and Water Scarcity

Environmental Policy
F&ES 503a Seminar in Environmental and Natural Resource Leadership
F&ES 521b Seminar on Forest Certification
F&ES 594a Comparing Environmental Governance Across Countries: Theory and Evidence
[F&ES 725b] Science and Politics of Environmental Regulation
F&ES 731a Foundations of Environmental Policy and Politics
F&ES 739b Natural Resource Policy Practicum
F&ES 766b Public-Private Partnerships: Lessons from the Water Sector
[F&ES 768b] Business and Environment Leadership
F&ES 769a Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Problem Solving
[F&ES 770b] Scope of the Policy Sciences
F&ES 801a Energy Systems Analysis
F&ES 802a Technological Change and the Environment
F&ES 819a Social and Environmental Dimensions of Biotechnology
F&ES 842a The Economics of Sustainable Development
F&ES 843a The Economics of Climate Change
F&ES 846b Strategies for Land Conservation
F&ES 847b Understanding Environmental Campaigns: Strategies and Tactics
F&ES 848b Comparative Environmental Law in Global Legal Systems
F&ES 851b Local Environmental Law and Land-Use Practices
F&ES 853a Private Investment and the Environment
F&ES 858a History of the Environment and Ecological Science
F&ES 861a Environmental Law and Policy
F&ES 864a,b Environmental Protection Clinic
F&ES 870b International Environmental Law and Policy
F&ES 886b The Law of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation
F&ES 891b Foundations of Natural Resource Policy and Management

Health and Environment
[F&ES 721b] Environmental Health Policy
F&ES 722a Assessing Exposures to Environmental Stressors
F&ES 726a Applied Risk Assessment

Industrial Environmental Management
F&ES 500a Greening the Industrial Facility
F&ES 501b Industrial Ecology
F&ES 504a Seminar in Industrial Ecology
F&ES 810a Business Concepts for Environmental Managers
F&ES 812b Environmental Management and Strategy
F&ES 905a Public and Private Management of the Environment

Social and Political Ecology
[F&ES 729b] Environmental Ethics
[F&ES 743b] Environment and Development: Dilemmas of Power and Place
F&ES 744a Introduction to Planning and Development
F&ES 746b Society and Natural Resources
F&ES 747a Society and Environment: Introduction to Theory and Method
[F&ES 748b] Environmental Values
F&ES 752b Society and Environment: Advanced Readings
F&ES 753a Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development
F&ES 757a Sustainable Development and Conservation: Introduction to Social Aspects
[F&ES 759b] Sustainable Development and Conservation: Advanced Readings
[F&ES 761a] Issues in Environment and Design
F&ES 767b Monitoring and Evaluation Techniques, Theory, and Methods Applied to Ecosystem Rehabilitation/Community Revitalization Interventions
F&ES 795a Cities and Sustainability in the Developing World
F&ES 839b Development and Globalization
F&ES 884a Ecological Imagination and Environmental Design
F&ES 908a Global to Local Approaches for Developing Urban Ecosystem Theory, Methods, and Applications
F&ES 912a Seminar: Nature, Economy, and Society

Course Descriptions
At F&ES, new courses are often added after this bulletin is printed. Our Web site at http://www.yale.edu/environment/ will have an updated list, as well as a list of environmental courses available in other departments at Yale.

Ecology

Ecosystem Ecology
F&ES 519b, Methods of Ecosystem Analysis. 3 credits. This course exposes students to ecosystem-level questions; demonstrates field-data collection and laboratory analyses; emphasizes data manipulation on the microcomputer; and introduces professional data presentation techniques (plotting, transparencies, slides, Web design). Some projects chosen by students have large enough data sets to test hypotheses and develop publishable conclusions. Class sessions consist of a morning lecture and afternoon in field and laboratory. See https://classes.yale.edu:444/fes519b/. Thomas G. Siccama, Ann E. Camp.

F&ES 528b, Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics and Anthropogenic Change. 3 credits. This course has four major objectives: to introduce students to the major conceptual and theoretical questions and approach in tropical terrestrial ecology; to compare and contrast tropical ecosystems for insights into the similarities and differences of specific regions; to integrate empirical studies on tropical ecosystem dynamics with management concerns; and to explore how anthropogenic change has altered tropical ecosystems. Current topics to be addressed in depth from an ecological perspective include: land use and forest fragmentation; timber harvest and plantations; hunting and non-timber product extraction; and synergistic effects of climate, land use, fire, and ecological interactions. This course links an ecological understanding of terrestrial ecosystem dynamics at multiple spatio-temporal scales with problem solving and specific applications in major tropical biomes. Primary scientific literature supplements lectures and discussion. Participants complete a review paper and policy memoranda and a final interdisciplinary grant proposal. Prerequisites: a basic course in ecology or equivalent. Three hours lecture and discussion. Lisa M. Curran.

F&ES 556b, Seminar in the Conservation and Development of Amazonia. 3 credits. The human enterprise is exploiting and substituting the world’s tropical forests through a highly predictable process of frontier expansion and consolidation. Governance capacity and the prospect for natural resource conservation emerge only as the frontier boom economy goes “bust” and resources are largely depleted. In this seminar, we analyze the ecology, economics, and politics of Amazonia with the goal of learning to design robust, interdisciplinary approaches to the large-scale conservation of tropical forest ecosystems. We examine the biodiversity paradigm that dominates tropical conservation efforts today, the political constituencies (local, national, and international) in support of conservation and sustainable economies in Amazonia, and the emerging markets for ecological services performed by tropical forests (carbon storage, watershed function, biodiversity conservation). Finally, we review approaches to Amazon forest conservation in the context of scenarios of regional and global climate change. Lisa M. Curran, Daniel Nepstad, David McGrath.

[F&ES 557b, Reconciling Development and Conservation on the Amazon Frontier: A Tropical Conservation Field Course. 1 credit. The human enterprise is exploiting and substituting the world’s tropical forests through a highly predictable process of frontier expansion and consolidation. In the typical sequence, geopolitical and economic policies drive frontier expansion into remote forest landscapes through investments in transportation systems and other infrastructure, and through fiscal incentives, stimulating “boom” economies of resource exploitation. Governance capacity and the prospect for forest conservation generally emerge only as the boom economy goes “bust” and the forests are already reduced to fragments. In this course, we examine the competing interests of private enterprise, environmental conservation, and social movements during three three-hour lecture/discussions in New Haven. We further explore the interactions among tropical frontier actors during a thirteen-day expedition along a portion of the Cuiabá-Santarém highway in east-central Amazonia (Brazil), which is slated for paving. Each student conducts an independent research project that draws on both the theoretical and field components of the course. Enrollment limited to twelve students. Lisa M. Curran, Daniel Nepstad.]

F&ES 574a, Tropical Forest Ecology and Management. 3 credits. The purpose of this course is to summarize ecological knowledge on tropical forest ecosystems, and to show how this scientific basis can be used for forest management, for conservation and rehabilitation, and for implementing other tree-based land utilization schemes such as plantation forestry and agroforestry. Topics to be covered include: Introduction: challenges of tropical forestry in the twenty-first century; environmentally friendly forestry systems for the humid tropics. Soils of the tropics: types, fertility, physical properties, and management. Natural forest structure and composition. The forest microenvironment: light, temperature, and water regimes. High-elevation forests and savannas. Tree growth and reproductive ecology; plant species diversity; plant-animal interactions. Nutrient cycling. Effects of disturbance; forest succession and regeneration. Management and utilization of primary and secondary forests. Plantation forestry: productivity and environmental services. Ecological aspect of agroforestry. Rehabilitation of degraded tropical forest ecosystems. Three hours lecture. Florencia Montagnini.

F&ES 575a, Ecosystem Pattern and Process. 4 credits. Ecosystem science provides a unique vantage point from which scientists can begin to understand complex adaptive systems. The basis of ecosystem science is to determine how patterns in biological processes emerge from interactions between organisms and the abiotic environment. This course introduces the ecosystem concept, investigates the structure and functioning of ecological systems, studies the response of systems to changing environmental conditions, and applies resulting knowledge to preservation and management issues. Presentation is balanced between terrestrial and marine/aquatic systems. A cross-section of northeastern ecosystems is visited and studied. The class generally consists of three hours of lecture and four hours of field work per week. There are weekly field trips, one weekend trip to New Hampshire, and one Saturday field trip to Fire Island National Seashore. See https://classes.yale.edu:444/fes275a/. Peter A. Raymond, Thomas G. Siccama.

F&ES 604b, Topics in the Tropics. 1 credit. Seminar course with topics suggested by the faculty and selected by the students based on class interest. The aim is to discuss current papers, review methods, and discuss our research in progress around the selected topical focus. Students critique papers, discuss and debate methods, and offer their work in progress for group input. The course is graded credit/noncredit only. There are no written submissions or examinations. Lisa M. Curran.

[F&ES 621a, Biogeography, Biodiversity, and Conservation. 3 credits. This course is designed to apply the principles of systematics to historic and ecological biogeography and in turn apply these to the conservation of biodiversity. In doing so, consideration is given to the circumscription of terrestrial biomes and speciation and extinction models. Reconstruction of past geologic and climatic events as well as the impact of human activities is related to the current distribution of the biota. The use of this information as related to CITES legislation and the development of IUCN Action Plans is explored through case studies. Dennis W. Stevenson.]

F&ES 623b, Tropical Field Botany. 3 credits. This course teaches students how to identify the most important tropical plant families, with an emphasis on trees. Students learn key characteristics for identification. We concentrate on those families that have high economic or ethnobotanic value. We also discuss distribution, habitat, and ecology. Different families or groups of families are covered by instructors from the New York Botanical Garden, all world-class experts in their respective families/groups. The course has a strong practical component, and instructors emphasize vegetative characters with which to identify families. The course includes a one-week field trip to Puerto Rico. NYBG Faculty.

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology
[F&ES 509a/E&EB 370a/670a, Aquatic Ecology. 4 credits. An intensive introduction to the ecology of populations and communities in freshwater systems. The aim of this class is to learn the concepts, patterns, and organisms important in lakes and streams along with the major techniques of information collection and analysis. Weekly field trips are used to gather data that form the basis of lab exercises and research projects. The course presumes familiarity with ecological concepts and terminology. Permission of the instructor required. David K. Skelly.]

F&ES 520a, Species and Ecosystem Conservation: An Interdisciplinary Approach. 3 credits. The loss of global biodiversity is a major problem with profound repercussions for present and future human generations. Professional conservationists now living are the last generation that can prevent the extinction of large numbers of species and the disruption of large-scale ecosystem processes. Professionals must apply relevant conservation sciences and at the same time know explicitly about the organizational and policy settings in which they work. The course combines the problem-solving approaches of the conservation sciences with the policy sciences by surveying a range of policy and organizational contexts, theories, and techniques, using a variety of case studies. The role of the individual professional in these complex contexts is emphasized. Timothy W. Clark.

F&ES 560b/E&EB 660b, Wildlife Conservation Ecology. 4 credits. The study of wildlife ecology from an evolutionary ecological perspective to understand the behavior and life history of animals. The course explores how behavior and life history evolve and what factors ultimately shape population demography. The course examines behavioral and evolutionary ecological theories like optimal activity budgets; optimal foraging; and habitat choice in the context of age and stage-based models of population dynamics. The course links an understanding of animal behavior and life history to solving current conservation problems related to wildlife habitat loss and population viability. Three hours lecture and one hour discussion. Faculty.

F&ES 565a, Human Dimensions in the Conservation of Biological Diversity. 3 credits. An examination of socioeconomic, cultural, and political issues in the management and conservation of biological diversity. Topics include biodiversity loss, endangered species, human/wildlife conflicts, utilization, parks and protected areas, attitudes and values, and legal and organizational structures. Issues involving the conservation of biological diversity in the United States and internationally are covered. Three hours lecture. Terry Terhaar for Stephen R. Kellert.

[F&ES 578a/E&EB 375a/675a, Seminar in Molecular Approaches to Systematics, Conservation Genetics, and Behavioral Ecology. 2 credits. The seminar focuses on molecular techniques that either have been commonly used in the past to address ecology/systematic related questions or have recently become available. The idea is to provide students with knowledge of all possible molecular techniques in the field, so that they can evaluate results in the literature and be able to choose the best technological tool to address a specific research question.

The seminar is organized by techniques. In each session the technical aspects of a particular molecular method are discussed in detail, evaluating: (1) different protocols, (2) their limits and merits for different types of ecological and evolutionary questions, (3) the genetic assumptions inherent in each method, (4) the analytical aspects of the interpretation of the results. The discussion includes actual case studies, which students are challenged to critically evaluate. The two final weeks are devoted to relating these molecular approaches to problems in conservation biology. Adalgisa Caccone.]

F&ES 587a/E&EB 315La, Laboratory in Molecular Systematics. 3 credits. This course focuses on molecular techniques in evolutionary biology (DNA extraction, PCR, cloning, sequencing) and their application to field studies of natural history, population genetic structure, mating systems, paternity, and the historical analysis of lineages. The course consists of a series of lectures and independent research projects carried out by each student. Aside from the bench work, experimental design, statistical analysis of genetic data, and phylogenetic reconstruction within and among species are emphasized, illustrating how the disciplines of population biology and phylogenetic systematics increasingly overlap. The course revolves around a few class projects. Each student is supposed to carry out his/her part of these projects; data gathered by all students is then combined and analyzed together.

The primary objectives are to give students both a strong foundation in the systematics and conservation questions and issues that can be addressed with a molecular approach, and a working knowledge of the molecular tools necessary to address those issues. Both of these components are essential to the training of those individuals who will conduct research in these emerging and rapidly growing fields. Adalgisa Caccone.

F&ES 588a/E&EB 320a/620a, Seminar in Conservation Genetics. 3 credits. This seminar is intended to provide an introduction to conservation genetics for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The goal is to provide students with an understanding of the importance of genetic diversity and the means for preserving it. Adalgisa Caccone.

F&ES 760a/E&EB 365a/665a, Landscape Ecology. 3 credits. This course is an introduction to the study of large-scale ecological patterns and processes. Landscape ecology is a relatively young, rapidly changing field. The topics covered reflect the diverse interests of landscape ecologists: species-area relationships, island biogeography, metapopulation theory, individual-based models, cellular automata, models of biodiversity, etc. The application of these concepts is addressed through consideration of species viability, ecosystem management, and the design of nature reserves. Throughout the course the emphasis is on when and how to integrate a spatial perspective into consideration of major ecological questions. Readings from the primary literature augment material covered in lectures. Students complete a project resulting in a manuscript on a landscape-related topic. Ofer Ovadia for David K. Skelly.

[F&ES 762b, Ecology Seminar. 1 credit. The ability to read and understand the literature is a critical skill. This seminar is structured to encourage participation in discussions of papers from the ecological literature. The specific papers to be read vary from year to year; however, each year we focus on papers that have made major contributions to the conceptual foundations of ecology. Many of the papers have direct or indirect relevance to applied issues such as the conservation of species and ecosystems. Seminar responsibilities include active participation in weekly meetings and the leadership of one discussion. David K. Skelly.]

Environmental Education and Communication
F&ES 582b, Issues and Approaches in Environmental Education. 3 credits. This course is intended for those with a career interest in environmental education. Topics include learning theory, environmental education curricula, content issues in environmental education, informal environmental education, interpretation, outdoor and experiential education, exhibitry, and mass media. Class presentations, final examination, and term project required. Stephen R. Kellert.

F&ES 583a, Environmental Writing. 1 credit, half term, or 3 credits, full term. Students in this course should plan to produce one full-length article, 3,000 to 4,000 words, that could appear in a wide-circulation magazine such as Audubon, Atlantic, Sierra, or Smithsonian. One-credit students begin a potentially publishable article; three-credit students complete a publishable article. Admission is by application, which must include a proposed writing topic, at the beginning of the term. For information on applying, please see classes.yale.edu/fes583a/. Three-hour seminar and writing workshops. Fred Strebeigh.

[F&ES 724a, Information Management for Environmental Professionals. 3 credits. This course has four major objectives. First, it seeks to acquaint students with the principal resources at Yale in print-based, electronic, and visual media that are useful for research in all aspects of environmental studies, and to provide skills in using any necessary databases, indexes, catalogues, and finding aids that give access to these sources. Second, it presents an overview of important information resources on environmental topics that are available worldwide. Third, the course outlines the basics of effective writing and correct documentation of sources and demonstrates the use of bibliographic software packages (i.e., Endnote). Finally, the class provides the opportunity to explore the impact of critical thinking and information design on each student’s research and writing interests. The course includes several visits to libraries and museums at Yale. Several classes include panel discussions involving visitors from the F&ES faculty, the Yale library system, and other Yale departments. Three hours lecture/discussion/computer lab. Taught alternate years. Next offered fall 2004. Paul A. Draghi.]

F&ES 745b, Archetypes and the Environment. 3 credits. This course explores the mythologies, literatures, arts, and folklore of a variety of cultures in search of archetypal characters whose role is to mediate between nature and society. Beginning with sources as early as The Epic of Gilgamesh and ending with contemporary film and media, the course seeks to examine and understand the ways in which diverse peoples integrate an awareness of their traditional and popular arts and cultures. The course makes use of works from a variety of languages, including Akkadian, Greek, Tibetan, Bhutanese, Chinese, German, French, and Italian, but all readings are available in English; students with reading abilities in foreign languages will be encouraged to examine primary sources wherever possible. The course includes visits to the Yale Center for British Art and the Yale Art Gallery. Three hours lecture/discussion. Paul A. Draghi.

F&ES 824a, Doctoral Student Seminar. 3 credits. This course is required for all doctoral students during their first two terms; the course is open to all doctoral students at later stages in their programs. The seminar brings together researchers from the natural and social sciences to enhance students’ abilities to develop effective research proposals, to examine critically the positive and negative aspects of seminars and publications, and to present proposals and research results effectively. Oswald J. Schmitz.

Forestry

Forest Biology
F&ES 505b, Local Flora. 3 credits. A field course which studies the flora of the Northeast at various local ecosystems one afternoon each week. Students are required to make a labeled collection of woody plants, prepare brief written site descriptions of each ecosystem visited, and carry out a small project and write a paper related to the local flora. Four-hour field trip weekly. See https://classes.yale.edu:444/fes220b/. Thomas G. Siccama.

F&ES 524b, Fire: Science and Policy. 3 credits. This course examines the ecological, social, and policy implications of forest and grassland fire. Topics include the historical and cultural role of fire, fire behavior, fire regimes, fire ecology, the use of fire in ecosystem restoration, fire policy in the United States and elsewhere, and controversies around suppressing fires and post-fire rehabilitation practices. Conditions permitting, the course also involves implementing a prescribed fire to achieve management goals in restoring meadow and oak savanna at Yale Myers forest. Ann E. Camp.

F&ES 551b, Forest Health. 3 credits. This course is an introduction to the biotic and abiotic agents affecting the health of forest ecosystems, including insects, pathogens, parasites, exotic invasive species, climate change, and acid deposition. The course emphasizes the ecological roles played by these agents, discusses how they affect the sustainability of forest ecosystems, and identifies when and how management can be used to return forests to healthier conditions. The course provides students with the necessary background to determine if stressors are negatively impacting management objectives, to identify the probable stress agents, and to decide what, if any, actions should be initiated to protect forests from further damage. The course includes several field trips. Ann E. Camp.

F&ES 592b, Agroforestry in the Tropics: Sustainability and Services. 3 credits. Focuses on factors influencing sustainability of agroforestry systems in tropical regions of developing countries and on the environmental services that agroforestry can provide, such as biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, and restoration of degraded ecosystems. Topics include the following: Environmental variables in agroforestry: light and water. Soil productivity and sustainability in agroforestry. Nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency in agroforestry systems. Agroforestry components: multiple-purpose trees, nitrogen-fixing trees. Economic aspects. Examples of susbsistence-oriented and commercial agroforestry: improved fallows, home gardens, agrosilvopastoral systems, and alley-cropping. Environmental services of agroforestry: biodiversity conservation and carbon storage. Agroforestry as a tool for development. Agroforestry extension and education. Current trends in agroforestry research. In addition, seminar presentations by students deal with particular aspects of agroforestry of interest to students. Florencia Montagnini.

F&ES 600a/MCDB 660a, Structure, Function, and Development of Higher Plants: From Seed to Towering Tree. 3 credits. This first course focuses on two aspects of plant life: (1) basic processes that drive plant systems such as fertilization, embryogeny, seed development, germination, seedling establishment, maturation, and senescence; and (2) basic structure and function of plants such as root systems, leaf formation and development, height, and diameter growth. Differences between different groups of seed plants are analyzed from structural, functional, ecological, and evolutionary standpoints. Special attention is given to woody plants because they have both primary and secondary plant bodies and because of their importance in the biosphere and human life. Wood and bark structure and formation in tropical and temperate trees are discussed from the standpoints of evolution and ecophysiology. Plant cell types are discussed in the context of how they evolved and their molecular and structural adaptations in terms of strength, storage, and water and solute transport. Prerequisites: general biology or botany or the equivalent. Graeme P. Berlyn.

F&ES 601b, Research Methods in Anatomy and Physiology of Trees. 4 credits. Advanced investigative techniques with emphasis on instrumentation, experimental design, execution, and analysis. After a series of class exercises are completed, each student selects a personal project under the direction of the instructor and prepares a minidissertation complete with literature review, materials and methods, results, and discussion. Weekly seminars and progress reports on the projects are required. Prerequisites: F&ES 600a and 610b. Permission of the instructor required. Four hours lecture/laboratory. Offered on demand. Graeme P. Berlyn.

F&ES 610b, Physiology of Trees and Forests: The Pathway to Understanding the World’s Forests. 3 credits. Topics in the physiology of trees and forests, primarily at the individual tree level with extensions downward to the cellular and biochemical level and upward to the stand and ecosystem level. Topics covered include the ecology and adaptation of species, mineral nutrition, root structure and function, symbioses, nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis, water relations, respiration, bioenergetics, growth analysis, and environmental physiology and adaptation of forests, both temperate and tropical. Two one-and-one-half-hour lectures per week. Graeme P. Berlyn.

Forest Management
[F&ES 576b, Botanical Resources of the Tropics. 3 credits. This course addresses the botany, utilization, and economics of tropical plants used by people in the past and at present. The lecture and laboratory sessions provide an opportunity to learn about plants employed for food, fuel, construction materials, spices, perfumes, stimulants, narcotics, medicines, poisons, fatty oils and waxes, gums and resins, and rubber and other latexes. The ecological impacts of exploiting these resources are also considered, and different ways to enhance the sustainability of tropic forest exploitation are examined. Three hours combined lecture and laboratory. NYBG Faculty.]

F&ES 602b, Forest Landscape Management. 3 credits. The challenge of forest management is to provide the many objectives people demand from the forest across time and space. This management can be cost-effective and applicable to many places with the proper integration of management and social scientific knowledge. Students master the scientific basis, methods (and reasons for the methods), and technical tools for landscape (forest) management. The course briefly covers systems concepts, decision analysis, the dynamic nature of forests, silvicultural pathways, scheduling operations, portfolio management, monitoring, and continuous quality improvement. Students use the Landscape Management System (LMS) and companion technical tools to integrate these subjects by developing (and simulating implementation of) a management plan on actual forest landscapes. Chadwick D. Oliver.

F&ES 605a, Sustainable Forestry: Biology and Management. 3 credits. Forests potentially cover 30 percent of the earth’s land surface, and most people live in, farm, and get water from these potentially forested ecosystems. This course examines the biological, socioeconomic, and management conditions of the world’s forests relative to the many values people want from the forest. The course gives an overview of the condition of the world’s forests and related resources and their consumption, and forms the basis for forest resource management and policy considerations in specific areas. Each of the seven Montreal Process “criteria of sustainable forestry” is examined from the natural and social science perspectives; these criteria include biodiversity, commodities, forest health, soil and water conservation, carbon sequestration, socioeconomic conditions, and the infrastructure to provide these. Course includes lectures, guest speakers, and projects. Chadwick D. Oliver.

F&ES 700b, Principles in Applied Ecology: The Practice of Silviculture. 4 credits. The scientific principles and techniques of controlling, protecting, and restoring the regeneration, composition, and growth of natural forest vegetation and its plantation analogs. Analysis of biological and socioeconomic problems affecting specific forest stands and design of silvicultural systems to solve these problems. Applications are discussed for management of wildlife habitat, water resources, urban resources, timber and nontimber products, and landscape design. Recommended: some knowledge of soils, ecology, plant physiology, human behavior, and resource economics. Four hours lecture. One hour tutorial. Seven days fieldwork. Mark S. Ashton.

F&ES 701a, Management Plans for Protected Areas. 6 credits. A seminar that comprises the documentation of land-use history and zoning, mapping and interpretation, and the collection and analysis of socioeconomic, biological, and physical information for the construction of management plans. Plans are constructed for lands managed by the Nature Conservancy, Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations, private industrial and nonindustrial landowners, town land trusts, city parks and woodlands of New Haven, New York, and Boston, and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Prerequisites: F&ES 700b or 703a; F&ES 560b; F&ES 734a or permission of the instructor. Eight days fieldwork. Limited enrollment. Mark S. Ashton, Thomas G. Siccama, Timothy W. Clark.

[F&ES 702b, Rapid Assessments in Forest Conservation. 3 credits. An advanced interdisciplinary course concerned with protecting and maintaining the biological diversity of complex forested ecosystems while producing various goods and services. Examples of independent case analyses concern landscape management of biogeographic regions in the Pacific Northwest, Ecuador, Venezuela, Belize, central and southern Mexico, and the Panama Canal Watersheds. Students are encouraged to travel on extended class field trips to these regions. Prerequisites: F&ES 700b or 703a; F&ES 560b; F&ES 734a; or permission of the instructor. Three hours lecture. Eight days fieldwork. Limited enrollment. Next offered spring 2005. Mark S. Ashton, Timothy W. Clark.]

F&ES 703a, Growth and Development of Forest Stands. 3 credits. This course introduces the study of forest stand dynamics—how the structure of different forest types changes over time. Understanding the dynamic nature of forest stands is important for creating and maintaining a variety of critical wildlife habitats on the landscape, managing for sustainable supplies of wood products and other forest values, or predicting the risks and managing the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Through lectures and laboratory projects we explore forest development processes and pathways, concentrating on some key biological mechanisms driving forest structural change and the roles of natural and human disturbances in initiating and altering stand development trajectories. We make use of New England forests as living laboratories, while discussing how similar patterns and processes of forest development are played out in forests around the globe. Ann E. Camp.

[F&ES 704a, Analysis of Silvicultural Problems. 3 credits. An advanced course exploring the silvicultural options for problem stands. Problems can be both biological (fire, pathogens) and social (multiple value conflicts, property rights). Solutions are sought through synthesis and analysis of relevant literature for case studies. Quantitative silvicultural and economic techniques are used for comparative evaluation of solutions. Prerequisites: F&ES 700b or 703a, F&ES 733b or 734a; or permission of instructor. Next offered fall 2004. Mark S. Ashton.]

F&ES 705a, Seminar in Advanced Silviculture. 2 credits. This course considers selected topics in silviculture for students with previous instruction in silviculture. Two hours lecture. Mark S. Ashton, Ann E. Camp.

F&ES 708a,b, Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture. 1 credit. Seven- to nine-day field trips to study the silviculture and forest management of particular forest regions. In previous years, classes have visited Slovenia, Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom, British Columbia, and, in the United States, the southern Coastal Plain and Piedmont, and the Allegheny, Appalachian, Adirondack, and Green mountains. Mark S. Ashton, Ann E. Camp.

F&ES 710a, Seminar on Invasive Species Biology and Ecology. 3 credits. The seminar focuses on current issues surrounding invasive species (both plants and animals) at several spatial and temporal scales. While the biology and ecology of invasive species are emphasized, the economics and policy implications of invasive species are also addressed. Ann E. Camp.

F&ES 727a, Forest Financial Analysis. 3 credits. This course provides a framework and techniques to address financial decisions in forest management. Major topics include: timber markets, forest capital analysis and budgeting, risk and selection of interest rates, inflation, taxation, analysis of tradeoffs between timber and nonmarket resources, forest finance, and forest valuation and appraisal. Includes an overview of the developing fields of carbon offsets, green payments, and conservation land acquisitions in relation to forest finance. A substantial applied course project is required. Prerequisites/corequisites: F&ES 734a and F&ES 700b or permission of instructor. (F&ES 602b helpful.) Three hours lecture. Weekly problem sets. Lloyd Irland.

F&ES 803a, Forestry Operations for Resource Professionals. 3 credits. This course covers the operational aspects of managing forestland, including a range of topics essential to the professional practice of forest management. The course focuses on operational aspects of regeneration, intermediate tending, and harvesting (planning, layout, implementation, and post-operation evaluation), Best Management Practices, regulatory and wetlands considerations, and socio-economic dimensions of field operations. Included is a workshop on ethical and professional responsibilities of forest managers. Classes feature field trips to view forestry operations, including a five-day trip to an important timber-producing region of the northeastern United States early in the term. The course is limited to twenty students, with preference given to second-year students. Chadwick D. Oliver, Michael Ferrucci.

Physical Sciences

Atmospheric Sciences
F&ES 603a/GEOL 657a, Marine and Surficial Geochemistry. 3 credits. Geochemical processes at the Earth’s surface, including the atmosphere, oceans, ice caps, and the upper layers of the crust, are investigated using radioactive, radiogenic, and light stable isotopes. Karl Turekian.

[F&ES 612b, Seminar in Alpine, Arctic, and Boreal Ecosystems. 3 credits. Biogeoclimatic analysis of these systems worldwide with special attention to biogeography, biometeorology, physiology, histology, morphology, autecology, and silviculture of high-elevation and high-latitude forests are studied through lectures, guest lectures and discussions, student seminars, and field experience. One and one-half hours lecture weekly plus field trip. Student contributions are one or more seminars and a term paper. Prerequisites: F&ES 610b, 869a, 700b or the equivalent, or permission of the instructors. Next offered spring 2005. Graeme P. Berlyn, Xuhui Lee, Mark S. Ashton.]

F&ES 834b, Seminar on Climate Change Science and Policy. 2–3 credits. An advanced seminar that explores current topics in global climate change, including scientific evidence for global warming, climate change impacts on natural ecosystems and the human society, and policy and management options for mitigating climate change. Meetings are divided between student presentation, invited lecture, and panel debate on selected hot issues. Preference is given to second-year students, but first-year students with background and interest in the subject area are also encouraged to participate. Presentation/literature critique/term paper. Xuhui Lee.

F&ES 868b, Climate and Life. 3 credits. A descriptive overview of the earth’s atmospheric environment. The basic principles of climatology and meteorology and their application to the environment are discussed. Topics include climate elements, energy flow in the atmosphere, atmospheric motions, effect on agricultural systems, climatological impact on forest resources and animal habitats, urban climate and human bioclimatology, air quality, air resources (wind and solar energy), and climate change. Three hours lecture. Problem sets. Xuhui Lee.

[F&ES 869a, A Biological Perspective of Global Change. 3 credits. The course aims to promote understanding of the interface between major aspects of global change and the biospheric systems, with special attention to the role of the terrestrial biosphere in pollution deposition, photochemical smog, UVB radiation, greenhouse gas sources/sinks, and global warming. Students also establish familiarity with quantitative tools for analysis of global change impacts on the terrestrial ecosystems. Three hours lecture. Lab sessions/reports, term paper/presentation, and field trips. Xuhui Lee.]

Environmental Chemistry
[F&ES 502a,b, Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature: Applied Environmental Chemistry. 2 credits. An advanced seminar exploring the chemical principles underlying the behavior of natural and anthropogenic materials in the environment. The object of the course is to sharpen students’ understanding of environmental chemistry, but especially to enhance their ability to critically analyze technical literature, which can be useful in any field. All media are considered, but aquatic systems are emphasized. Both pristine and polluted environments are examined. Prerequisite: F&ES 545a, which may be taken concurrently, or equivalent. Interested students must attend the first class meeting. Two-hour participatory discussion, class presentation, dinners. Students may take this course more than once, space permitting. Gaboury Benoit.]

F&ES 507b, Organic Pollutants in the Environment. 3 credits. An overview of the pollution problems posed by synthetic organic chemicals (e.g., pesticides, PCBs, PAHs) and petroleum products. The course is appropriate both for students with no background in organic chemistry and for those who have taken college organic chemistry. The first two weeks are spent in a quick introduction to the language of organic chemistry, which provides those who have little chemistry background with the basic tools needed to “decode” organic structures. The course aims to give students an understanding of the processes governing the environmental fate of organic pollutants (e.g., evaporation, bioconcentration, biodegradation); and of how those processes apply to the pollution problems posed by specific groups of chemicals. We also discuss technologies for prevention and remediation of organic pollution, as well as issues related to specific classes of chemicals (e.g., oil spill response, pesticide choices). Several case studies are examined. Media covered include both surface and ground water. Three hours lecture, five problem sets, field trips. Shimon C. Anisfeld.

F&ES 544a, Aquatic Chemistry. 4 credits. A detailed examination of the principles governing chemical reactions in water. Emphasis is on developing the ability to predict the aqueous chemistry of natural and perturbed systems based on a knowledge of their biogeochemical setting. Calculation of quantitative solutions to chemical equilibria. Focus is on inorganic chemistry, and topics include elementary thermodynamics, acid-base equilibria, alkalinity, speciation, solubility, mineral stability, redox chemistry, and surface complexation reactions. Illustrative examples are taken from the aquatic chemistry of estuaries, lakes, rivers, wetlands, soils, aquifers, and the atmosphere. A standard software package used to predict chemical equilibria may also be presented. Prerequisites: general chemistry, algebra, and F&ES 545a or equivalent. Three hours lecture, frequent problem sets. Steve Mylon for Gaboury Benoit.

[F&ES 545a, Biogeochemistry and Pollution. 3 credits. A descriptive overview of baseline biogeochemistry and the nature and behavior of pollutants in the environment. The course is designed to aid future environmental professionals who may find it necessary to make decisions based on chemical data. It is geared to the nonspecialist who needs to establish familiarity with various classes of pollutants and the chemical, biological, and physical processes that control their transport and fate. Topics include the periodic characteristics of the elements, fundamental classes of chemical reactions in the environment, critical analysis of chemical data, sampling techniques, analytical methods, natural biogeochemical controls on environmental chemistry, as well as detailed examination of contaminants of special interest like acid precipitation, nutrients, and sewage. Recommended: college-level general chemistry. Three hours lecture. One class project, problem sets, midterm, final exam. Optional field trips. Gaboury Benoit.]

F&ES 596a/CENG 373a/ENVE 373a, Air Pollution. 3 credits. Kinetics, thermodynamics, and transport of chemical reactions of common air pollutants including suspended particulate matter. The role of surface chemistry and transport phenomena in air pollution. Pollutant dispersion modeling. Technology available to prevent or control air pollutants is discussed in conjunction with their physics, chemistry, and design and performance characteristics. Prerequisite: CENG 210a or permission of the instructor. Faculty.

F&ES 598b/CENG 377b/ENVE 377b, Water Quality Control. 3 credits. Study of the preparation of water for domestic and other uses and treatment of waste water for recycling or discharge to the environment. Topics include processes for removal of organics and inorganics, regulation of dissolved oxygen, and techniques such as ion exchange, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, activated carbon adsorption, and biological methods. Prerequisite: CENG 210a or permission of the instructor. Sheryl Stuart.

Soil Science
F&ES 530a, Introduction to Soil Science. 3 credits. An introduction to the fundamental concepts of soil science. Soil topics are presented in relation to natural and managed ecosystems with emphasis on soil processes and their relationship to plant productivity. Two lectures a week. Four all-day Saturday field trips. See https://classes.yale.edu:444/ fes530a/. Thomas G. Siccama, Florencia Montagnini.

Water Resources
F&ES 515b, Coastal Ecosystem Governance. 3 credits. This introduction to coastal management links human impacts on the environment with existing or proposed governance solutions for protection or restoration. Examples of single sector initiatives include sewerage, wetlands, and dredging. For each topic the natural science underlying the issue is introduced and the responding governance system is evaluated. Ecosystem management, a new approach and practice, informs pending issues such as nonpoint source control and requires a much broader scientific and social diagnosis to develop effective solutions. The course concludes with a discussion of the promises and challenges for ecosystem management of coastal environments. Prerequisite: F&ES 536a or equivalent. Richard Burroughs.

F&ES 533b, Water Resource Management. 3 credits. An examination of water resource issues at scales ranging from global to local. The course looks at multiple dimensions of the water problem, including both human and ecosystem impacts; both water quantity and water quality issues; and both the scientific understanding of problems and the management tools available for moving toward solutions. Topics include: water scarcity, water use projections, human impacts on aquatic ecosystems, water quality control, water law, the watershed framework, and restoration. Three hours lecture, one term project, field trips. Prerequisites: F&ES 540a and F&ES 545a, or instructor’s permission. Shimon C. Anisfeld.

F&ES 536a, Estuarine Ecology and Anthropogenic Impacts. 3 credits. An examination of the natural processes controlling coastal ecosystems (primarily estuaries and tidal marshes), and the anthropogenic perturbations to these processes. The course covers a wide range of important processes, with greatest detail given to nutrient cycling and the controls on—and fate of—primary production. Perturbations covered range from local to global, and include nutrient enrichment, hypoxia, sea level rise, invasive species, and wetland filling. Three hours lecture, several field trips. Shimon C. Anisfeld.

F&ES 540a, Environmental Hydrology. 3 credits. An introduction to the processes that govern the earth’s hydrologic cycle. Topics include land-atmosphere interactions, movement of water in subsurface environments, contaminant transport in groundwater systems, streamflow generation, and surface-water flow dynamics in wetlands. Computer software packages are used to reinforce concepts presented in class. Three hours lecture, problem sets. James E. Saiers.

[F&ES 541b, Hydrologic Modeling. 3 credits. Application of computer models to solve problems related to water movement and chemical migration in subsurface environments. Unsaturated and saturated flow phenomena are considered, and the role of geochemical and microbiological processes in chemical fate and transport is examined. Three hours lecture. Term project and presentation. Prerequisites: F&ES 540a or equivalent. James E. Saiers.]

F&ES 542b, Hydrology Seminar. 2 credits. A seminar exploring current research topics in hydrology. An integrative analysis of hydrological, geochemical, and biological processes is emphasized. A theme for the seminar is chosen by consensus of the students during the first class meeting. Students may take this course more than once. James E. Saiers.

F&ES 550a, The Science and Policy of Eutrophication. 3 credits. Large enrichments of anthropogenic nutrients to estuaries and the coastal ocean can stimulate large deleterious phytoplankton blooms that alter the structure and function of coastal water bodies. The eutrophication problem and strategies for ecosystem restoration have been a primary focus of scientists, managers, and policy makers for past decades. Interesting system-specific responses to nutrient loading and policy and management strategies that need to cross local, state, and even country jurisdictions provide challenges to the eutrophication problem. This course begins with a set of lectures to introduce students to the science and policy of the eutrophication problem and discusses past/present management models that strive to restore coastal systems to normal function by controlling nutrient loading. Students then interact with experts from around the country who present case studies on the eutrophication problem from different coastal systems. Finally, the class ends with student presentations which draw on and integrate the case studies, in order to recommend a strategy for dealing with nutrient enrichment on both national and regional scales. Peter A. Raymond, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Richard Burroughs, and Mary Beth Decker.

F&ES 558b, Applied Hydrology. 3 credits. An intermediate-level treatment of surface and subsurface hydrology, with an emphasis on the application of computer models to address issues related to water quality, water supply, and restoration. The relationships between hydrologic variables and the movement of water and waterborne constituents in fluvial, wetland, and groundwater systems are explored. Three hours lecture, problem sets, field labs, and a team project. Prerequisite: F&ES 540a or equivalent. James E. Saiers, James G. MacBroom.

F&ES 829a, River Processes and Restoration. 3 credits. This course studies the geophysical processes of natural rivers with emphasis on qualitative and quantitative aspects of fluid morphology; the course addresses channel dynamics, urban rivers, human impacts on rivers and climate change. It also addresses restoration of degraded rivers, including dechannelization, dam removal, sediment transport, aquatic habitat improvements, and naturalistic design. Students learn to inspect, classify, identify, and measure river features. Quantitative analyses of river hydraulics and morphology are performed to predict river reactions to human activities and watershed change. The class includes class lectures, readings, problem sets, field labs, and a team project. A previous course in hydrology (F&ES 540a or equivalent) is recommended; beginning in 2003 it will be required. James G. MacBroom, assisted by Laura Wildman.

[F&ES 866b, Caribbean Coastal Watershed Development: Science and Policy. 3 credits. Investigation of the environmental impacts of development in coastal watersheds of a typical Caribbean island. Emphasis on coral reefs and other near-shore ecosystems. The course is co-taught by Benoit and a visiting lecturer, so emphasis changes from year to year. In general, links are made between policies and social forces promoting growth, their influence on the landscape, consequent accelerated erosion, and final effects on downstream ecosystems. Opportunities for GIS and remote sensing activities. One-week field trip to Roatan, Honduras. Weekly lecture, readings, group or individual project. Taught only in alternate years. Gaboury Benoit and a visiting lecturer.]

Quantitative and Research Methods
F&ES 506b/G&G 562b, Observing the Earth from Space. 3 credits. Course topics include the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, satellite-borne radiometers, data transmission and storage, computer image analysis, and merging satellite imagery with GIS in their applications to weather and climate, oceanography, surficial geology, ecology and epidemiology, forestry, agriculture, and watershed management. Preference to students in F&ES, Geology and Geophysics, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Studies in the Environment. Prerequisites: college-level physics or chemistry, two courses in geology and natural science of the environment or equivalents, and computer literacy. Ronald B. Smith, Xuhui Lee, Mark S. Ashton.

F&ES 510a, Research Methods. 3 credits. Elementary principles of the philosophy and methods of science; research planning, including problem analysis and project planning; preparation, criticism, and oral presentation of study plans; communication of research findings; limitations of research techniques; and structure of research organizations. Three hours lecture and student reports. Ofer Ovadia.

F&ES 513b, Social Science Research Methods. 3 credits. The class surveys the array of theoretical and epistemological approaches used in social science research. Emphasis is placed on understanding how choices over methodology shape data collection and results, and the various qualitative and quantitative efforts currently being employed to address complex social phenomena. Doctoral students and master’s students doing research projects can use this course to develop their research project proposals. Pam McElwee.

F&ES 529a,b, Preparation for Research. Preparation of dissertation prospectus and research plan for Ph.D. and D.F.E.S. candidates. Should be taken during the first year of doctoral studies. Faculty.

F&ES 622a, Seminar in Forest Inventory. 2 credits. An advanced seminar that explores the design and implementation of forest inventory. Topics are varied to meet the interest of the class, but generally include the evolution and current status of broad regional and national inventories in the United States and abroad; the use of remote sensing data and GIS in forest inventory planning; forest inventory and consulting; the generation of forest inventory estimates at various scales of concern; acquisition of forest inventory data from Internet databases. Readings are assigned on a weekly basis and discussed during the seminar. A familiarity with the precepts and vernacular of probability sampling or statistics is presumed. Prerequisite: F&ES 711a. Limited enrollment. Timothy G. Gregoire.

F&ES 711a, Sampling Methodology and Practice. 3 credits. This course is intended to provide a fundamental understanding of the principles of statistical sampling, alternative estimators of population parameters, and the basis for inference in survey sampling. Natural, ecological, and environmental resource applications of sampling are emphasized, with particular focus upon the sampling of forest-related resources. Sample designs to be studied include simple random; systematic; unequal probability; fixed- and variable-radius plot; and 3P/Poisson. Line-intersect and importance-sampling variants of probability proportional to size designs are also covered. Weekly and biweekly problem sets requiring the use of a computer spreadsheet. Timothy G. Gregoire.

F&ES 713b, Statistics for Environmental Sciences. 3 credits. This course in applied statistics assists scientific researchers in the analysis and interpretation of both experimental and observational data. After considering statistical and graphical summaries of data, the notion of a random variable, distributional properties, parameter estimation, and testing are reviewed. Frequently encountered discrete and continuous distributions are examined in greater detail, with specific emphasis on the Gaussian distribution and the role of the central limit theorem. The major topics of the course are estimation and inference with linear and nonlinear regression models. Three hours lecture. Statistical computing, weekly problem exercises. Prerequisite: introductory statistics. Timothy G. Gregoire.

F&ES 714a, Introduction to Statistics in the Environmental Sciences. 3 credits. An introduction to probability and statistics with emphasis on applications in forestry and environmental sciences. Includes methods of graphical analysis, introduction of common probability distributions, and hypothesis testing. The final third of the course introduces the topics of regression and analysis of variance that are covered more thoroughly in F&ES 713b. There are weekly problem sets using MINITAB software, as well as a final project. This course assumes no prior knowledge of statistics; this course (or equivalent) is a prerequisite for more advanced F&ES statistics courses. Three hours lecture. Jonathan D. Reuning-Scherer.

F&ES 715a, Modeling Geographic Space. 3 credits. An introduction to the conventions and capabilities of image-based geographic information systems (GIS) for the analysis and synthesis of spatial patterns and processes. In contrast to F&ES 716b, the course is oriented more toward the qualities of geographic space itself (e.g., proximity, density, or interspersion) than the discrete objects that may occupy such space (e.g., water bodies, land parcels, or structures). Three hours lecture, problem sets, one class project. No previous experience is required. Faculty.

F&ES 716b, Modeling Geographic Objects. 3 credits. This course offers a broad and practical introduction to the nature and use of drawing-based geographic information systems (GIS) for the preparation, interpretation, and presentation of digital cartographic data. In contrast to F&ES 715a, the course is oriented more toward discrete objects in geographical space (e.g., water bodies, land parcels, or structures) than the qualities of that space itself (e.g., proximity, density, or interspersion). Three hours lecture, problem sets, one class project. No previous experience is required. Faculty.

F&ES 719b, Statistical Design of Experiments. 3 credits. Principles of design for planned experiments, coupled with method of analysis of experimental data. The course is applications oriented using the results of established theory. The nuances, strengths, and weaknesses of a number of classical designs are discussed. These include completely randomized design, block designs, and split plot designs. The analysis of data from these designs is treated at length. Prerequisite: a prior course in introductory statistics. Timothy G. Gregoire.

F&ES 844b, Multivariate Statistical Analysis in the Environmental Sciences. 3 credits. An introduction to the analysis of multivariate data. Topics include multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), principle components analysis, cluster analysis (hierarchical clustering, k-means), canonical correlation, multidimensional scaling, and factor analysis. Some analysis of multivariate spatial data may be included. Emphasis is placed on practical application of multivariate techniques to a variety of natural and social examples in the environmental sciences. Students are required to select a dataset early in the term for use throughout the term. There are regular assignments and a final project. Three hours lecture/discussion. Jonathan D. Reuning-Scherer.

Social Sciences

Economics
F&ES 733b, Economics of Pollution. 3 credits. This course is designed to teach students how to think about managing pollution. It explains why market economies produce pollution and why regulations are needed. Social solutions to the problem are explored, and students learn how to analyze the effectiveness of control alternatives and policies. Specific examples are discussed, including air and water pollution, acid rain, global warming, hazardous waste, and human waste. Three hours lecture. Robert Mendelsohn.

F&ES 734a, Economics of Natural Resource Management. 3 credits. This course provides an introductory survey, from the perspective of economics, of issues regarding the use and management of natural resources. The course covers both conceptual and methodological topics and applications. The first part of the course is an introduction to the principles of natural resource economics. We develop the basic theory required to understand the economic concept of efficiency, as well as conditions under which markets can and cannot be expected to allocate resources efficiently. Next, we develop an understanding of environmental benefit valuation techniques. The remaining three-quarters of class sessions are devoted to applying these theoretical concepts and methods to questions of managing both nonrenewable resources (oil and minerals) and renewable resources (water, fisheries, forests, and species). This applied portion of the course also includes class sessions on the economics of land-use change, as well as macroeconomic topics like economic growth, sustainability, and green accounting. Important themes in the course include the uses and limits of markets in natural resource management; measurement of the benefits of natural resource amenities like clean water and recreational public lands; economic and environmental implications of poorly defined property rights for resources like fisheries and groundwater; and economic definitions of sustainability. Sheila M. Olmstead.

[F&ES 737b, Valuing the Environment. 3 credits. This quantitative course demonstrates alternative methods used to value environmental services. The course covers valuing pollution, ecosystems, and other natural resources. The focus of the course is on determining the “shadow price” of nonmarket resources that have no prices but yet are considered valuable by society. Taught every other year. Three hours lecture. Robert Mendelsohn.]

F&ES 852b, Economics of Energy and the Environment. 3 credits. Energy markets throughout the world are being deregulated. Simultaneously, environmental regulators of energy companies are drawing on economic principles more often by using incentive-based environmental regulation. This advanced economics course considers the economic structure and environmental impacts of energy markets including oil, natural gas, gasoline, and electricity. In the context of these markets, we discuss the rationale for and effects of economic and environmental policies. Topics include promoting effective competition, financial tools of energy markets, methods of environmental protection, energy conservation issues, the role and implementation of renewable resources, and expected future energy supplies. Erin T. Mansur.

F&ES 863b, Economics of Water Quality and Water Scarcity. 3 credits. This limited-enrollment seminar is a survey of selected issues in the economics of water resources management. The course is divided into two parts, the first focusing on water quality, and the second on water scarcity. Issues covered in the first part of the course may include: efficiency and cost-effectiveness of U.S. federal water quality regulations, including the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act; methods used by economists to value the benefits of water quality regulation, as well as specific applications of such methods; cost-effective approaches to water quality regulation, including effluent trading; and the current and potential role of economics in wetlands protection policies. In the second part of the course, we discuss issues such as: water allocation and water marketing; urban water demand and pricing; the economics of water conservation; and the trend of privatization of water supply. Specific topics subject to change each year. The seminar format requires substantial student input, and there is a heavy writing component. Class sessions include a mix of discussion of study questions related to assigned readings and/or formal cases, followed by student presentations on relevant topics. Prerequisite: F&ES 733b, F&ES 734a, or an equivalent microeconomics course. Sheila M. Olmstead.

Environmental Policy
F&ES 503a, Seminar in Environmental and Natural Resource Leadership. 3 credits. This seminar explores the qualities, characteristics, and behaviors of leaders in the fields of natural resources, science, and management. Through lectures, guest speakers, and individual and team projects, students analyze the attributes of leadership in individuals and organizations, leadership skills, and the role of scientists in leadership and management decision. Leaders from many areas make presentations to the class describing their leadership experiences in the field, reflecting on the qualities and characteristics that each associates with leadership, and assessing the challenges facing the next generation of environmental and natural resource leaders. Guest speakers come from government, business, private nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, academia, and the U.S. Congress. Through this experience, students have the opportunity to assess their own leadership capabilities and identify means to address deficiencies. Chadwick D. Oliver.

F&ES 521b, Seminar on Forest Certification. 3 credits. This seminar-style course teaches students the basics of forest certification systems and their differences, their histories, and the theory behind certification as a tool for conservation. Students learn from the instructors as well as expert guest lecturers about the evolution, structure, and application of forest certification systems globally. The seminar explores case studies comparing both forest certification politics in different jurisdictions/countries, as well as on actual certified forests. Benjamin Cashore.

F&ES 594a, Comparing Environmental Governance Across Countries: Theory and Evidence. 3 credits. This course explores theories of domestic and international environmental policy making in order to understand better the processes through which policy change (and stability) occurs. The course examines traditional domestic and international public policy-making processes, and emerging institutions that seek to privatize environmental governance and restructure power relations among organized interests. The course examines these questions from comparative and international perspectives. Special attention is placed on the international-domestic nexus, and the effects of economic globalization and international governance on domestic policy change. Benjamin Cashore.

[F&ES 725b, Science and Politics of Environmental Regulation. 3 credits. This course explores the interplay among science, values, and power within diverse environmental decision contexts. Scientific uncertainty is examined as the focus of political conflict over appropriate levels of regulation. Regulation is used in its broadest sense, i.e., attempts to control human uses of natural systems. The course focuses on the underlying behavior of key actors as a foundation for evaluating the historical effectiveness of diverse regulatory regimes, domestic and international. The course includes case studies of many toxic substance and land-use issues. Three-hour seminar. John P. Wargo.]

F&ES 731a, Foundations of Environmental Policy and Politics. 3 credits. This course examines theories of policy making and politics, applied to problems of environmental management. Theories of property rights, risk assessment, and decision making are explored and applied to problems in managing land use, air quality, water quality, food safety, hazardous site restoration, and vector-borne disease. Students take a final exam and prepare a research paper or project as the primary course requirements. Two lectures per week, one discussion section. John P. Wargo.

F&ES 739b, Natural Resource Policy Practicum. 3 credits. This practicum provides opportunities for students to participate in the analysis and development of current issues/policies affecting natural resources in the United States. Students are organized into teams and assigned a number of current policy issues for analysis and discussion. The identified issues originate from discussions with staff of national environmental organizations, Congressional offices, and federal natural resource agencies that serve as “clients” for the purposes of this practicum. Students are required to communicate directly with the organizations and individuals seeking policy analysis assistance, to conduct research and interdisciplinary analysis of the subject, to prepare a report and recommendations for the identified client, and to brief the client on the product of their analysis. Each team is responsible for a minimum of three policy analysis projects during the term. Following an initial organizational meeting, student teams meet with the instructor once a week to provide updates on project. James R. Lyons.

F&ES 766b, Public-Private Partnerships: Lessons from the Water Sector. 3 credits. Governments around the world are finding that they cannot meet pressing environmental problems alone. Nor can they compel the private sector to take all the necessary actions. Increasingly, they are looking to partnerships with businesses, NGOs, and communities as a tool for improving environmental performance in many different sectors and contexts. This is particularly true in the water sector, both urban and rural. Private involvement in the water sector is particularly controversial, however, raising fundamental issues about the roles of governments, businesses, and civil society in meeting basic human and environmental needs. In collaboration with the U.N. Development Program and universities around the world, this seminar explores the fundamentals of partnerships as a policy tool, as well as the opportunities and limits of its application in the water sector. Particular attention is paid to urban water services. Limited enrollment; preference to first-year students. Bradford S. Gentry.

[F&ES 768b/MGT 687b, Business and Environment Leadership. 3 credits. During the last decade, business and environmental leaders began to realize that understanding one another and working together, while unaccustomed and often difficult, offer many tangible benefits. The course focuses on the lives and experiences of such leaders, several of whom pioneered Yale’s joint M.B.A./M.E.M. degree program. Professional pathways, career development, challenges in the workplace, and many other topics are explored. Emergent opportunities as well as common problems are considered. Specific attention is given to differences that exist in the views, values, and cultures of the business and environmental worlds. Garry D. Brewer.]

F&ES 769a/MGT 689a, Ecological Knowledge and Environmental Problem Solving. 3 credits. The “heart” of the course is a distillation of core ecological concepts and their translation into an accessible framework. The framework guides both scientists and decision makers through a series of steps and questions that allow them to frame environmental problems in a realistic way. The first half of the course concludes with increasingly complex cases that familiarize one with the approach. The remainder of the course focuses on specific environmental issues of current and continuing interest. Class members work in groups to confront these topics as scientists and decision makers might in actual circumstances. Topics may vary, although the following are illustrative: risk assessment and communication, fisheries management, offshore oil and gas exploration and development, nuclear waste disposal, and global warming and climate change. Garry D. Brewer.

[F&ES 770b/MGT 676b, Scope of the Policy Sciences. 3 credits. Emphasizing a systematic and comprehensive approach to the study of policy, this course concentrates on a general sequence of decision comprised of six distinct, interrelated phases of the “life” of a policy or problem. The course has served as a foundation upon which other substantive policy courses and work have been built. Furthermore, it works to integrate theory with practice in a variety of substantive fields. Garry D. Brewer.]

F&ES 801a, Energy Systems Analysis. 3 credits. This lecture course offers a systems analysis approach to describe and explain energy systems, including all forms of energy (fossil and renewable), all sectors/activities of energy production/conversion, and all end-uses, irrespective of the form of market transaction (commercial or noncommercial) or form of technology (traditional as well as novel advanced concepts) deployed. Students gain a comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge base from which to analyze energy-environmental issues as well as to participate effectively in policy debates. The evolution of energy systems is reviewed from a historical as well as futures (scenarios) perspective. Special attention is given to traditionally lesser-researched elements of energy systems (energy use in developing countries; urban energy use; income, gender, and lifestyle differences in energy end-use patterns). Particular emphasis is also given to market externalities and market failures characteristic of energy systems and a discussion of their policy implications. 1 credit for field trips. Arnulf Grübler.

F&ES 802a, Technological Change and the Environment. 3 credits. This seminar addresses technology’s dual role as both source and remedy of global environmental change. The seminar discusses both conceptual and theoretical aspects of technological change (one-third) as well as examples of technological change and its environmental impacts in agriculture, industries, and the service economy (two-thirds). Questions addressed include: Why are some technological innovations successful (e.g. cell-phones) while others (e.g. fast breeder reactors) are not? What determines rates of change in the adoption of new technologies and how can these be accelerated? How many people can the earth feed? Is dematerialization actually occurring, and why? What are the implications of the Internet’s digital North-South divide and what are strategies to overcome it? Active student participation reporting on assigned readings, empirical “fact finding missions,” and policy roundtable discussions are essential ingredient of the seminar. Arnulf Grübler.
F&ES 819a, Social and Environmental Dimensions of Biotechnology. 3 credits. This course addresses economic, environmental, legal, and social-justice dimensions of new biotechnologies and agricultural alternatives in the context of globalization. We ask whether and how crop genetic engineering may or may not be key to reducing hunger and rural poverty and mitigating the negative environmental effects of industrialized agriculture. We briefly survey genetic engineering science and applications, then consider different views about the benefits and risks of genetically altered organisms for people, ecosystems, and biodiversity. We look at the political economy of biotech research, the changing structure of the “life industry,” and the effect of patents on living things and scientific knowledge. We examine why biotechnology, intellectual property, and bio-prospecting are at the center of international disputes among developing and industrialized countries. We explore the effects of ideas about biotechnology and how scientific concepts and practices are shaped by the socioeconomic contexts in which science is carried out: How does biotechnology discourse—for example, the metaphor of the “genetic code”—affect public opinion and policy? What is known, and what remains unknown, now that human, animal, and plant genomes are being mapped? Finally, we look at alternatives or complements to genetic engineering that may make agriculture more productive and ecologically and socially sustainable, and we consider the role of new social movements in developing these alternatives. Readings, lectures, student presentations, guest lectures, and class discussions address controversial choices faced by scientists, public officials, farmers, consumers, NGOs, and global governance agencies. Some background social ecology and ecology and basic biology/genetics is helpful but not essential. Kathleen McAfee.

F&ES 842a, The Economics of Sustainable Development. 3 credits. Exploration of interpretations and definitions of sustainable development with attention to indicators and measures of progress. The course emphasizes the principal economic obstacles to sustainable development, the policy options available with which to overcome such obstacles, and recent experience—largely in developing countries—in attempting to apply such policies. Among these obstacles are institutional, market, and government policy failures. Each is studied across several resource sectors, such as agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. The course also examines issues surrounding the role of international development institutions in overcoming these obstacles. It is assumed that students in the course will have varying levels of prior preparation in economics. Robert Repetto.

F&ES 843a, The Economics of Climate Change. 2 credits. This weekly seminar examines key issues in the economic analysis of the climate change problem. Topics include the economic evaluation of climate change damages, the treatment of risk and uncertainty in evaluating impacts, the benefit-cost approach to forming climate change mitigation policies, the choice of policy instruments for controlling greenhouse gas emissions, the economics of carbon sequestration, the design of carbon emission trading systems, the “double dividend” debate in climate policy, equity and efficiency issues in international burden-sharing, and issues in seeking voluntary international agreements. Enrollment limited to fifteen students. Participating students are expected to assume significant responsibilities in the seminar. Robert Repetto.

F&ES 846b, Strategies for Land Conservation. 1 or 3 credits. This is a professional seminar on land conservation strategies and techniques—with particular emphasis on the legal and financial tools used in the United States. Its focus is on practical approaches for achieving land conservation objectives, as well as the professional skills necessary to apply those tools. The seminar is built around presentations by guest speakers from land conservation organizations, who describe their work, present case studies, and answer questions from the students. The speakers’ topics are designed to explore the details of land conservation, from the start of the acquisition process to stewardship of the land after the deal is done. The tools used to protect land are discussed, including the basics of real estate law, conservation finance, and tax incentives. Creative partnerships for conservation are explored, from negotiating with landowners to generating public support. One-credit and a limited number of three-credit project options are available. Enrollment limited to second-year students or a maximum of twenty-five. Bradford S. Gentry.

F&ES 847b, Understanding Environmental Campaigns: Strategies and Tactics. 1–3 credits. This is a course about the strategies and tactics used in successful environmental campaigns, taught from a practitioner’s perspective. Though this topic is neither well documented nor regularly taught, there is a tactical toolkit that can be learned. Many environmental campaigners learn on the job. For those students interested in pursuing careers in environmental policy making and advocacy, this course is designed to be one that can jumpstart professional development. In a fashion comparable to the case study method offered in business schools, this course examines six cases, all from the past five years, and seeks to discern lessons for best practice. No single environmental campaign is the same, and strategies and tactics are always evolving, but there are several key lessons that can be drawn from such campaigns and there is also value in understanding current best practice even if it is constantly evolving. The six case topics examined in class are the Kyoto Protocol, protecting Alaska’s old growth rainforests, conserving the Pine Barrens Watershed in Eastern Long Island, Home Depot’s decision to preference sustainably managed forest products, the Give Swordfish A Break Campaign, and the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Treaty. Resource people who have played leadership roles in each of these efforts join us for class. The class examines each case, synthesizes lessons learned, and seeks to formulate a practical understanding of key strategies and tactics used to affect positive outcomes. Michael Northrop.

F&ES 848b, Comparative Environmental Law in Global Legal Systems. 3 credits. This course examines environmental law in the various legal systems of the world—from the common and civil law traditions to socialist laws, customary law, and Islamic law. In particular, environmental law and case studies from a number of countries are examined, including Australia, Canada, China, Europe, New Zealand, the United States, Singapore, and states of Southeast Asia. The objective is to understand the scope and evolution of national environmental law through the patterns of legislative, administrative, and judicial decision making in the various legal regimes. The systems of central/unitary governments are contrasted with those of federal systems. As corporations engage in the same manufacturing activities around the world, it is important that corporate managers and their legal advisers understand how these activities are regulated in the different legal systems. Additionally, as earth’s natural systems are integrated throughout the biosphere, the effectiveness of one nation’s environmental laws is complemented or undermined by the efficacy of another nation’s comparable laws. Lye Lin Heng.

F&ES 851b, Local Environmental Law and Land-Use Practices. 3 credits. This course explores the regulation by local governments of land uses in watershed areas and the effect of development on the natural environment. The course helps students understand, in a practical way, how the environment can be protected through effective regulation at the local level. It introduces students to federal, state, and regional laws and programs that affect watershed protection and to the laws that delegate to local governments primary responsibility for decision making in the land-use field. Theories of federalism, regionalism, states’ rights, and localism are studied. The history of the delegation of planning and land-use authority to local governments is traced, leading to an examination of local land-use practices particularly as they relate to controlling development in and around watershed areas. Course participants engage in empirical research working to identify, catalogue, and evaluate innovative local laws that successfully protect environmental functions and natural resources. Nearby watersheds are used as a context for the students’ understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of local planning and regulation. Attention is paid, in detail, to how the development of the land adversely affects natural resources and how these impacts can be mitigated through local environmental regulations. John R. Nolon.

F&ES 853a, Private Investment and the Environment. 3 credits. This class explores the opportunities and limits of using private investment to improve environmental performance. It has two parts: (a) an examination of the links between private investment and environmental performance, including the motivations of private investors, and the roles of governments, businesses, and civil society in environmental protection; and (b) an exploration of the approaches now being used to attract—or drive—private investment into better environmental performance, including information, regulatory, and partnership approaches. Examples from around the world are used to illustrate the main issues. In 2003, the class is taught jointly by a U.S. lawyer and a Brazilian banker. Students are expected to produce substantial research papers on a topic of their choice. Prerequisites: Environmental Law and Policy, or Business Concepts for Environmental Managers, or equivalent. Bradford S. Gentry, John Forgach (McCluskey Fellow).

F&ES 858a, History of the Environment and Ecological Science. 3 credits. In this seminar, students explore the tools of historical research and analysis and develop their narrative writing skills. After focusing on environmental history and how it furthers current problem solving, the seminar turns to the history of ecology and ecology’s mixed influence on social and economic theory. Work centers on practical applications of historical research and analysis rather than the historical record, in the expectation that students will articulate their own narratives and gain increased power in problem analysis. History’s analytic tools and perspectives offer social and natural scientists an excellent platform for establishing context and for making long-term projections. The ecological orientation afforded by historical analysis further leads to more successful and ethical policy making through its emphasis on context, on emergent processes, and on the central role of individuals in system dynamics. Arvid Nelson.

F&ES 861a/LAW 20348, Environmental Law and Policy. 3 credits. Introduction to the legal requirements and policy underpinnings of the basic U.S. environmental laws, including the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and various statutes governing waste, food safety, and toxic substances. This course examines and evaluates current approaches to pollution control and resource management as well as the “next generation” of regulatory strategies, including economic incentives and other market mechanisms, voluntary emissions reductions, regulatory negotiation, and public disclosure requirements. Mechanisms for addressing environmental issues at the local, regional, and global levels are also considered. Daniel C. Esty.

F&ES 864a,b, Environmental Protection Clinic. 3 credits. A clinical program with weekly class sessions, alternating between seminars and project team meetings. The Environmental Protection Clinic is designed to introduce students to several major environmental policy questions and a variety of methods of advocating for environmental improvement. Students work in small interdisciplinary teams (with students from the Law School and occasionally other parts of the Yale community), ten to twelve hours per week, for a single client organization, such as a local, national, or international environmental organization, a community group, or a local, state, or national governmental entity. Students work on a specific project or series of projects that involve environmental law and policy issues, and that may include litigation, drafting legislation, organizing community action, developing media campaigns, participating in stakeholder working groups, and developing policy proposals. Students may propose projects and client organizations, subject to approval by the instructor. Dale Bryk.

F&ES 870b/LAW 20326, International Environmental Law and Policy. 3 credits. An introduction to international environmental law and policy. After reviewing the rise of the international environmental agenda, the course concentrates on how societies have responded to global-scale environmental challenges, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, desertification, climate change, ozone depletion, toxic substances, and the loss of living marine resources. The principal response to date has been in the area of international environmental law and policy, where a major new field of law and diplomacy has opened up and new multilateral institutions have been created. This first attempt at global environmental governance is surveyed and critically evaluated. Alternatives are examined. The main text for the course is a law casebook, David Hunter, Durwood Zaelke, James Salzman, International Environmental Law and Policy (University Casebook Series, 2002). James Gustave Speth, James Salzman.

F&ES 886b/LAW 21423, The Law of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation. 2 credits. This seminar examines how the law regulates the living environment and attempts to satisfy the very different and deeply held expectations within society over the proper uses of wildlife and plants, ranging from hunting and commercial harvesting to conservation and preservation. The first classes lay a foundation for how to think about management of living resources, considering the different values of living resources, how these values have changed over time, the issue of who owns wildlife, and the various means of overcoming common pool problems. The next set of classes examines the legal regimes protecting specific living resources, including fisheries, whaling, endangered species, and biological diversity. We also consider the role of international trade law in promoting nature conservation. The last set of classes shifts from a species-specific approach to consider ecosystem management, focusing on forestry, rangelands, and the management and design of national parks. A number of classes examine these issues through the use of case studies and in-depth problem exercises. Enrollment limited to eighteen students. Paper required. James Salzman.

F&ES 891b, Foundations of Natural Resource Policy and Management. 3 credits. This research seminar focuses on the foundations of natural resource policy and management and is designed for students in any subfield of forestry and environmental studies, or in other disciplines. Comprehensive and integrated methods for thinking about and proposing solutions to problems in natural resource policy and management are explored. Students gain familiarity with the core methods of problem identification, clarification, and resolution and then apply these methods to particular issues in natural resource policy and management. Each student, alone or in collaboration, is responsible for researching a particular problem. Students circulate drafts of their papers to other seminar participants and lecture on and lead discussions of their topics in class sessions. Papers of sufficient quality may be collected in a volume for publication. The seminar is intended to complement, not duplicate, material in other courses in the School and at the University. Enrollment limited to sixteen; application required. Timothy W. Clark, Andrew R. Willard (Law).

Health and Environment
[F&ES 721b/PLSC 855b, Environmental Health Policy. 3 credits. This course focuses on five types of environmental health problems. The first case is malaria, concentrating on the resurgence of drug-resistant strains in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Western Africa. The second case explores age-related health risks from air pollution, especially small diameter particulate matter in urban centers, with cases considered in both the industrial and the developing world. The third case surrounds age-related risks from lead, especially the relative contribution of different contaminated media—air, water, food, and soil. The fourth case explores farmworker and childhood exposure to pesticides in the United States and abroad. The fifth case examines age and spatial distribution of breast and prostate cancer in Connecticut, considering variance in probable exposure to such different estrogenic environmental contaminants as DDT and PCBs. In each instance, the temporal, spatial, and demographic variances in the distribution of the problem are characterized to provide a basis for considering the effect of past policies—public and private—in promoting or diminishing the problem while providing a basis for considering policy reforms. John P. Wargo.]

F&ES 722a/EHS 508a, Assessing Exposures to Environmental Stressors. 2 credits. This course examines human exposures to environmental stressors, as it applies to environmental epidemiology and risk assessment. Indirect and direct methods of assessing exposures are reviewed, and case studies are presented. Brian P. Leaderer.

F&ES 726a/EHS 511a, Applied Risk Assessment I. 2 credits This course introduces students to the nomenclature, concepts, and basic skills of quantitative risk assessment (QRA). The goal is to provide an understanding necessary to read and critically evaluate QRA. Emphasis is on the intellectual and conceptual basis of risk assessment, particularly its dependence on toxicology and epidemiology, rather than its mathematical constructs and statistical models. Specific cases consider the use of risk assessment for setting occupational exposure limits, establishing community exposure limits, and quantifying the hazards of environmental exposures to chemicals in air and drinking water. Jonathan Borak.

Industrial Environmental Management
F&ES 500a, Greening the Industrial Facility. 3 credits. Industrial environmental managers need to be familiar with the technological processes by which modern society accomplishes its purposes, their potential to cause environmental damage, prospects for improvement, and anticipated change, and to do so in local, regional, and global perspectives. This course intersperses lectures and field trips to provide an introduction to the environmental aspects of the production of materials, the manufacture of products, the construction of buildings and roadways, and the recycling of objects, components, and materials. Thomas E. Graedel.

F&ES 501b, Industrial Ecology. 3 credits. Industrial ecology is an organizing concept that is increasingly applied to define the interactions of today’s technological society with natural and altered environments. Technology and its potential for change are central to this subject, as are implications for government policy and corporate response. The course discusses how industrial ecology serves as an environmentally related framework for technology, policy, and resource management in government and society. Thomas E. Graedel, Marian R. Chertow.

F&ES 504a, Seminar in Industrial Ecology. 3 credits. A seminar exploring current research topics in industrial ecology. An overall theme for the seminar is chosen by consensus during the first class meeting. Attendance restricted to twelve students; preference given to doctoral and second-year M.E.M. students. One three-hour class per week. Each student writes and presents a term paper. Students may take this course more than once. Marian R. Chertow, Thomas E. Graedel.

F&ES 810a/MGT 693a, Business Concepts for Environmental Managers. 3 credits. The objectives of this course are to offer environmental managers a basic understanding of accounting systems to enable them to interpret financial data in corporate and governmental settings, to integrate traditional business concepts with those of sustainable environmental management, and to recognize the role of environmental management among the multiple interests within business negotiations. The first part of the course develops skill in financial accounting, and this knowledge is then applied to areas in environmental financial management, including budgeting, project finance, and valuation. Marian R. Chertow, William Ellis.
F&ES 812b/MGT 688b, Environmental Management and Strategy. 3 credits. The course focuses on understanding how adroit environmental management and strategy can enhance business opportunities and reduce environmental impact. The course seeks to analyze under what circumstances different competitive approaches are likely to be successful and to increase knowledge of programs, structures, and tools of environmental management. The course combines weekly lectures and class discussions on theory with sessions involving tools and applications. Enrollment limited to eighteen. Marian R. Chertow.

F&ES 905a/MGT 528, Public and Private Management of the Environment. 4 units. This course explores the management of the environment and natural resources from the perspectives of private corporations, government regulators, and nonprofit organizations. A major theme is the consideration of various approaches to environmental protection: from conventional command and control regulation, to innovative market-based instruments such as tradeable emissions permits, to “demand-side” approaches such as product labeling, to voluntary “green business” practices by private firms. As its title suggests, the course examines environmental policies in both the public and private realms. The first part of the course, comprising lectures and case discussions, employs the analytical framework of economics to understand the genesis of environmental problems and sketch the public policies that can help solve them. How should regulators design environmental policy? What should be the role of cost-benefit analysis in determining the level of environmental protection? How have markets for environmental protection been established in the real world, to tackle issues ranging from sulfur dioxide pollution to endangered species habitat? The second part of the course uses a series of case studies to develop an understanding of corporate and nonprofit environmental strategy. In the private sector, what opportunities exist for innovative environmental policies that preserve or even enhance the corporate bottom line? How do concerns about the environment fit into corporate competitive strategy? What obligations do private companies have toward the environment and natural resources? Finally, what role can nonprofit organizations play in influencing public policy and shaping corporate practices? Prerequisite: Economic Analysis or the equivalent. Nathaniel Keohane.

Social and Political Ecology
[F&ES 729b/REL 870b, Environmental Ethics. 3 credits. This course addresses contemporary ethical issues involved in sustaining the environment, and historical and contemporary perspectives on humanity and nature. The course aims to facilitate an integrated scientific, philosophical, religious, and spiritual understanding of current environmental issues. It is an interdisciplinary course; hence it aims to facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue and research. Its goals include the development of ethical positions relevant to environmental policy making. Permission of instructor required. Stephen R. Kellert, Margaret Farley.]

[F&ES 743b/PLSC 367b/ANTH 417b/EP&E 452b, Environment and Development: Dilemmas of Power and Place. 3 credits. An intensive, comparative investigation of conservation and development as they are conceptualized and practiced in specific regions of Africa and Asia. Examination of the interrelated concepts of modernity, rationality, postcolonialism, power and knowledge, and governmentalism, through analyses focused on the history, ethnography, and ecology of these regions. Arun Agrawal, Rebecca Hardin, Eric Worby, Estienne Rodary.]

F&ES 744a/ARCH 903a, Introduction to Planning and Development. 3 credits. This course demonstrates the ways in which financial and political feasibility determine the design of buildings and the character of the built environment. Students propose projects and then adjust them to the conflicting interests of the financial institutions, real estate developers, civic organizations, community groups, public officials, and the widest variety of participants in the planning process. Subjects covered include housing, commercial development, zoning, historic preservation, parks and public open space, suburban subdivisions, planned communities, and comprehensive plans. Alexander Garvin.

F&ES 746b, Society and Natural Resources. 1–3 credits. This research seminar explores the relationship between society and natural resources. Although the specific topic of the seminar varies from year to year, the consistent underlying theme is an examination of how societies organize themselves, use natural resources, and affect their environment. In past years, the seminar focused on energy and the environment, interdisciplinary problem solving, and other topics. The seminar overall, looks at people seeking values using natural resources through institutions. This relationship (people, values, natural resources, and institutions) has been extensively written about and discussed in diverse fields. The last seminar examined and compared conceptual (theoretical) models about society and natural resources from policy sciences, social ecology, and other knowledge areas. The applied utility of each model was examined through cases as appropriate. The next seminar focuses on “Complex Sustainability Cases.” Guests and students make presentations and carry out discussions each week. Student papers are required. Timothy W. Clark, William R. Burch, Jr.

F&ES 747a/ANTH 581a, Society and Environment: Introduction to Theory and Method. 3 credits. An introductory course on the social scientific contributions to the study of the environment and natural resources, designed as the first course for students who specialize in the social sciences as well as the only course for students who take just one course in this field. The approach taken is inductive, problem-oriented, and case study-based. Subjects covered include the framing of environmental “problems,” social science field methods, rethinking environmental perturbation and change, and the environmental relations of local communities. The course offers students an opportunity to develop analytic frameworks for past or proposed research projects. The course is a prerequisite for F&ES 752b and F&ES 759b. Three hours lecture/seminar. Enrollment limited to thirty. Michael R. Dove.

[F&ES 748b, Environmental Values. 3 credits. This course explores the meaning and, when possible, the measurement of diverse environmental values including utilitarian, scientific, aesthetic, naturalistic, symbolic, ethical, and spiritual values. The course also examines variations in these values among societal groups distinguished by education, income, occupation, age, gender, race, ethnicity, geography, and culture. Case studies are reviewed, emphasizing the importance of understanding and assessing environmental values in environmental policy and management. Stephen R. Kellert.]

F&ES 752b/ANTH 610b, Society and Environment: Advanced Readings. 3 credits. An advanced seminar on the social science theory of the relationship between society and environment, intended for students interested in research design, and policy planning in this field. The course examines key theoretical developments and current issues in social/political/historical ecology and ecological anthropology. Topics discussed include conceptions of nature and culture, discourses of environmental degradation and restoration, and structural and post-structural theory. The course attempts to place current debates about human-environment relations in their historical and theoretical context. Students are expected to use the course to develop their own research and writing. Prerequisite: F&ES 747a or F&ES 756b or F&ES 757a. Enrollment limited to twelve. Three hours lecture/seminar. Taught alternate years; next offered spring 2005. Michael R. Dove, Carol Carpenter.

F&ES 753a/ANTH 541a/HIST 965a/PLSC 779a, Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development. 3 credits. An interdisciplinary examination of agrarian societies, contemporary and historical, Western and non-Western. Major analytical perspectives from anthropology, economics, history, political science, and environmental studies are used to develop a meaning-centered and historically grounded account of the transformation of rural societies. Two-hour lecture and two-hour seminar. Michael R. Dove, Robert Harms, and other campus-wide faculty.

F&ES 757a/ANTH 597a, Sustainable Development and Conservation: Introduction to Social Aspects. 3 credits. This course provides a fundamental understanding of the social aspects involved in implementing sustainable development and conservation projects. Social science has two things to contribute to the practice of development and conservation. First, it provides ways of thinking about, researching, and working with social groupings—including rural households and communities, but also development and conservation institutions, states, and NGOs. Second, social science tackles the analysis of the knowledge systems that implicitly shape development and conservation policy and impinge on practice. The goal of the course is to stimulate students to apply informed and critical thinking to whatever roles they play in sustainable development and conservation, in order to move toward more environmentally and socially sustainable projects and policies. A prerequisite for F&ES 752b and F&ES 759b. Three hours lecture/seminar. Carol Carpenter.

[F&ES 759b/ANTH 598b, Sustainable Development and Conservation: Advanced Readings. 3 credits. An advanced seminar on the social science theory of sustainable development and conservation, intended for students interested in research design and policy planning in this field. It traces the conceptual history of the ideas of progress and development from the colonial period through the present and examines how these ideas are used by the parties who fund, design, and manage development projects, looking at both public expressions appearing in publications and underlying discourses. It also examines the response by local communities to development projects and compares development and conservation rationales with alternative local rationales. Finally, the linkage between the development project and the academy is examined. Students are expected to use the course to develop their own research and writing. Prerequisite: F&ES 747a or F&ES 757a. Enrollment limited to twelve. Three-hour lecture/seminar. Taught alternate years. Carol Carpenter, Michael R. Dove.]

[F&ES 761a, Issues in Environment and Design. 3 credits. This course is being offered in collaboration with the School of Architecture. It offers an ecological examination of the activity of architects and seeks to give future architects and ecologists an understanding of each others’ goals. Leading designers of communities, buildings, and the landscape have been increasingly concerned with environmental challenges that shape the built environment. This course investigates the positions, methods, and projects of the most promising of these designers. Students review the perspectives and practices of a select group of designers and undertake design exercises in a term-long project related to the designers’ activities. The course meets in a seminar for one and one-half hours and a studio for three hours every other week. Alternating weeks feature public lectures by leading designers, who also participate in design reviews. Written critical reviews of selected readings, case study presentations of built projects, and completion of a design project are required. Enrollment is limited to sixteen students, eight each from Architecture and F&ES. Stephen R. Kellert, James W. Axley.]

F&ES 767b, Monitoring and Evaluation Techniques, Theory, and Methods Applied to Ecosystem Rehabilitation/Community Revitalization Interventions. 4–6 credits. This course is an introduction, exploration, and application of performance-based tracking of interventions to repair ecosystems and to revitalize their associated human communities. The underlying assumption is that one cannot occur without the other. Our task is to test that notion with qualitative and quantitative measures of real-life cases. Seminar members are grouped into three interdisciplinary, peer learning, service-oriented professional teams according to different organizational scales and different ecological approaches. Readings from the literature and case studies such as Chicago Wild and diffusion of innovation literature guide our effort. Studies and cases from Web sites are analyzed, data sets are collected for study locales. These studies and data sets are one source of theory, methods, and data for application to an actual, client-driven field analysis and diagnostic report that each team carries out. Field trips are made to the study sites. A binding thread in this effort is an interest in the use of generic “outdoor/environmental education” approaches as critical means for developing local knowledge and practices for rehabilitation/revitalization design and to monitor and sustain the system. William R. Burch, Jr., Colleen Murphy-Dunning.

F&ES 795a, Cities and Sustainability in the Developing World. 3 credits. Most population growth in the twenty-first century will occur in the urban areas of the developing world, which are expected to increase by 2.1 billion inhabitants between 2000 and 2030. Urban living poses environmental hazards, which affect the current population, and especially the poor, through immediate, local impacts on health and safety. It also causes environmental degradation, with longer-term, wider-area, and intergenerational consequences. Variations in the incidence and relative severity of a range of environmental problems across cities at different levels of development suggest differences in priorities for action. In coming decades, in order to support sustainable national development, urban areas will need to ensure a healthful and attractive environment for their rapidly expanding populations, while protecting natural resources and reducing harmful impacts on wider regions and later generations. The massive new investment in the capital stock of cities required for the doubling of urban population by 2030 will be critical to environmental outcomes. Using a number of city case studies, the course highlights local solutions, as well as new technologies for monitoring, planning, and managing urban growth. Ellen Brennan-Galvin.

F&ES 839b, Development and Globalization. 3 credits. Five centuries of globalization have produced a world characterized by great inequalities among and within nations: a central problem for sustainable development. Part 1 of this course concerns the reshaping of the world since 1492: how structures established during colonialism contribute to poverty and unsustainable resource use; how deep-rooted cultural patterns affect the way people in different places and social positions interact with the natural world. Part 2 examines postcolonial development as a project of governments, international agencies, academic analysts, and activists. We assess theories and outcomes of modernization, marginality, dependency, import substitution and export-led growth, and “anti-development” arguments. Part 3 addresses the material dimensions of today’s world-market economy: where are resources produced and consumed, and with what human and ecological consequences? What are the linkages among commodity trade, capital mobility, labor migration, food insecurity, environmental degradation, and debt? What theories help us understand the current phase of globalization? Part 4 covers institutions of economic and environmental governance: the origins and evolution, and the human and eco-economic impacts of the World Bank and the IMF. We discuss contradictions of the WTO and recent global environmental treaties, and the roles of social movements and NGOs in restructuring and re-imagining sustainable development. This course may be elected to satisfy the M.E.M. social science requirement. It also offers opportunities for experienced students to explore classic and new literature and to do country-specific background research for master’s or doctoral projects. Kathleen McAfee.

F&ES 884a, Ecological Imagination and Environmental Design. 3 credits. This course explores the integration of ecological values, issues, and processes with the design of commercial, residential, educational, and recreational facilities. It considers ways of capturing in the human built environment various physical, material, aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional benefits of nature. Lecture, discussions, and projects. Stephen R. Kellert.

F&ES 908a, Global to Local Approaches for Developing Urban Ecosystem Theory, Methods, and Applications. 3–6 credits. This course examines classic and current theories of urban pattern and process. The trends and issues for a variety of international urban regions provide context. The techniques of cross-discipline measures and the application of community-based strategies for policy, planning, and management interventions serve as a base for professional action. Extensive readings in the literature, lectures by experts, field trips, and specific field project tasks in the New Haven/New York areas structure the learning process. A core of the theory and findings comes from the emerging data sets of the NSF-Long Term Urban Ecosystem Studies in Baltimore. Also, the lessons learned from over a decade of action research in Baltimore and New Haven inform the course. A focal interest is exploring the critical role that cities must play in ensuring a sustainable global future. William R. Burch, Jr., Colleen Murphy-Dunning.

F&ES 912a, Seminar: Nature, Economy, and Society. 3 credits. The emergence of environment as a major focus of science and governance has stimulated profound rethinking in economics and the social sciences, and in agencies such as the World Bank, about the relationship between nature and society. While many agree that the natural world must be taken into account in trade, development, and regulatory policy, there are deep differences about how to do so. This seminar samples a range of recent, influential writing in environmental economics, political economy, political ecology, and anthropology and considers the policy implications of contrasting theoretical approaches. Must nature earn its own right to exist in a global market economy? Are privatization and market exchange of natural resources the best way to foster their optimal use? Does the treatment of natural resources as commodities increase or lesson equality and sustainability in the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens? Do the discursive practices of ecological modernization promoted by global environmental institutions foster “biology as an accumulation strategy” at the expense of people and nature? Do new economic approaches take account of the place-specificity, bio-complexity, and social embeddedness of natural resources? Is it possible to devise measurements of environmental values that are applicable worldwide? A prerequisite is any of the following: F&ES 725b, 733b, 734a, 737b, 743b, 746b, 747a, 748b, 752b, 753a, 756b, 757a, 759b, 768b, 794a,b, 819a, 839b, or permission of the instructor. Kathleen McAfee.

F&ES Undergraduate Courses

Ecology

Ecosystem Ecology
F&ES 262a/EVST 262a, Ecology and Environmental Problem Solving. A study of ecological principles and their potential application to problems in conserving biodiversity. Topics of study include: the biosphere; organizational hierarchies and time scales; individual behavior in an evolutionary contest; ecology of species interactions; ecological complexity; and linkages among species and ecosystem functions. The lecture course is accompanied by laboratory and field exercises. Students learn to use basic ecological sampling methods and to apply these techniques to understanding of ecological patterns. Students conduct experiments to understand relations between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Oswald J. Schmitz.

F&ES 263La/EVST263La, Lab for Ecology and Environmental Problem Solving. The course provides grounding in the principles of sampling and quantifying biodiversity and defining landscape-level patterns. Students are given the opportunity to execute experiments and run computer simulations that help to clarify the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function. Emphasis on quantitative aspects of sampling, analysis and modeling, and scientific communication through report writing. Oswald J. Schmitz.

F&ES 275a, Ecosystem Patterns and Processes. See F&ES 575a for description.

F&ES 276La, Laboratory for Ecosystem Patterns and Processes. Field trips to interpret the ecosystem-level functions of a wide variety of natural landscapes. Must be taken concurrently with F&ES 275a. Thomas G. Siccama.

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Biology
[F&ES 315a/E&EB 115a, Conservation Biology. An introduction to the basic ecological and evolutionary principles underpinning efforts to conserve the earth’s biodiversity. These principles are then examined in the context of efforts to halt the rapid increase in disappearance of both plants and animals. Case studies are examined in detail. While some sociological and economic issues are discussed, the emphasis is on the biological aspects of these crucial problems. Jeffrey Powell, David K. Skelly, Stephen C. Stearns.]

F&ES 360b/E&EB 360b, Wildlife Conservation Ecology. See F&ES 560b for description.

F&ES 365a/E&EB 365a, Landscape Ecology. See F&ES 760a for description.

[F&ES 370a/E&EB 370a, Aquatic Ecology. See F&ES 509a for description.]

Forestry

Forest Biology
F&ES 220b, Local Flora. See F&ES 505b for description.

F&ES 260a, Structure, Function, and Development of Trees. See F&ES 600a for description.

F&ES 261Lb, Laboratory for Structure, Function, and Development of Vascular Plants.

Physical Sciences

Environmental Chemistry
F&ES 344a, Aquatic Chemistry. See F&ES 544a for description.

Quantitative and Research Methods
GEOL 362b, Observing the Earth from Space. See F&ES 506b for description.

Social Sciences

Economics
F&ES 230b/EVST 230b, Environmental Economics and Policy. Basic economic analysis of environmental problems. Weighing the costs and benefits of major environmental issues. Problems include global warming, toxic waste, air pollution, wilderness protection, deforestation, and preserving biodiversity. Taught every other year. Next offered spring 2004. For non-Economics majors. Robert Mendelsohn.

Environmental Policy
F&ES 245b, International Environmental Policy and Governance. An examination of the emergence of global-scale environmental challenges, environmental diplomacy, and global environmental governance. Particular attention is given to the linked issues of climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and desertification, and to the interplay of science and politics in framing policy responses to these issues. Permission of instructor not required. Benjamin Cashore.

F&ES 255b/EVST 255b, Environmental Politics, Policy, and Law. This course explores the politics, policy, and law associated with attempts to manage environmental quality and natural resources. Themes of democracy, liberty, power, property, equality, causation, and risk are examined. Case histories include air quality, water quality and quantity, pesticides and toxic substances, land use, agriculture and food, parks and protected area, and energy. John P. Wargo.

Industrial Environmental Management
F&ES 300b, Technology and Environment. An introduction to the environmental aspects of the production of materials, the manufacture of products, the construction of buildings and roadways, the prvisioning of services, and the recycling of objects, components, and materials. Examination of the technological processes by which modern society accomplishes its purposes, their potential to cause environmental damage, and prospects for improvement, using local, regional, and global perspectives. Thomas E. Graedel.

Social and Political Ecology
[F&ES 250b, Values and Perception of the Natural Environment. This course examines the way humans view and value the natural world. The biological and cultural bases for these values are explored, including historical, social, and ethical expression and their role in human motivation and behavior. The topic is related to current environmental issues including loss of biological diversity and environmental pollution. Next offered spring 2005. Stephen R. Kellert.]

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