13 courses with the subject ENSS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
ENSS 160Intro to Environmental Studies3
This course investigates major contributions of the social and natural sciences to our understanding of how and why environmental problems happen. Environmentally harmful human behavior is not simply a fact of life, but a product of social conditions that can be studied, understood, and changed. We will examine approaches to resolving environmental problems, including individual and group-based strategies, such as reducing carbon footprints and public policy initiatives, and social movements that promote environmental justice and sustainable development. Students will apply conceptual approaches to the root causes and consequences of, and solutions to, specific environmental issues.
Sustainability represents much more than just saving the rainforests and recycling trash. The idea of sustainability invites bigger questions about who we are, why we act the way we do, how we got into this situation, and what we are going to do about it. This course integrates the ideas, theories, and practices of sustainability in real world applications to the local living environment. We will focus our study on the prospects for sustainability on both global and local scales. By the end of the semester, students will be familiar with the framework of the field of sustainability and will have gained experience in researching and analyzing sustainable issues in order to promote potential long-term changes in community practices.
Earth's soils are critical to feeding the world and protecting our environment. Through lectures, discussion sessions, and in-class projects, this course examines the important physical, chemical, and biological processes in the formation of soils, as well as the critical interactions between bedrock and soil minerals, water, microbial communities and biofilms, and the plants and animals that occupy the soil. Cross listed as GEOL 209. (LAB)
This course will examine the physical and anthropogenic geographical aspects of global environmental change, focusing on natural variations of the environment over time, the impact of human activities on the Earth's systems, and the projection of future environmental changes. Offered in January Terms. Cross listed as GEOL 212.
Nearly 663 million people in the world lack access to clean water. While many in the United States have seen access to safe water as a “developing world issue,” the water crises that were exposed in Flint, Michigan, Hoosick Falls, NY and numerous other communities in recent years have brought the issue more fully into Americans’ awareness. This course provides an opportunity to delve into questions related to humans’ need for clean water and the environmental, ethical, technical and political challenges this raises. Issues to be considered include understanding the water cycle and challenges to access to water posed by a changing environment; water as part of a broader international sustainable development agenda and local, national and international environmental justice work; the economics of water ownership and provision; international law and organization for human rights; and the roles of NGOs, governments and international organizations in this field.
OSHA 30 Gen Const Ind Cert Internship The topics covered in this class are safety management systems, health and safety matrix, and project management. Students earn an OSHA 30 General/Construction Industry certification. Offered in fall semesters. OSHA 10 Gen Ind Cert Internship The topics covered in this class are OSHA regulations and awareness of common job-related safety and health hazards. Students earn an OSHA 10 General Industry certification. Offered in January terms. OSHA 10 Const Ind Cert Internship The topics covered in this class are construction-related safety hazards/Environmental hazard awareness (EPA/DEC) regulations. Students earn an OSHA 10 Construction Industry certificate. Offered in spring semesters.
This course explores the meaning of sustainability, and in particular how to have sustainable agriculture. Students will investigate sustainability through the lenses of food insecurity, labor, soil management, race, profitability, climate change, and environmental injustice. The class will examine and discuss industrial agricultural techniques and the Green Revolution that promised food for all, but greatly missed the mark and has contributed to the degradation of the land. In addition, the emerging conservation and regenerative methods will be explored that focuses on soil health and soil carbon storage. The class plans to visit local farms and interact with farmers who practice sustainable land management.
In this course students explore Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their use in problem solving and decision making. Students will be introduced to ESRl's ArcGIS software suite which they will utilize to identify; reference; classify and manipulate geospatial data. Through map making and by drawing on geospatial data from a variety of fields, students will critically evaluate the information that is generated by GIS applications. Students will also complete a mapping project in which they apply GIS to a research topic of their choice.
This course examines current environmental law at the federal, state and local levels to provide students with an overview of how environmental law is structured, where it originates from, and how to research issues in environmental law. We will examine the various segments of environmental law that affect individuals and business and we will work on building an appreciation for the importance of environmental law to all parts of society. The course is designed to help students learn about the tools available with which they will be able to research issues within environmental law to a greater degree as their interests develop. Cross listed as POSC 370.
This course examines current energy policy issues through the lens of public policy theories, examining institutions, stakeholders, and legal/regulatory frameworks. Students will learn about current energy policy challenges and opportunities by analyzing what governmental and non-governmental groups do to affect energy choices in the United States, how power is shared between the federal and the state governments, and how communication between interests affected by energy policies develops. The goal is to develop an appreciation for the complex influences on energy policy in the United States. Cross listed as POSC 380.
In this senior capstone for the Environment, Sustainability, and Society Major, students will research issues related to the environment and sustainability and applications within society or natural and built environments and write a formal paper exploring the issue or detailing the project.
