Course |
Fall 2023 |
Spring 2024 |
Fall 2024 |
Spring 2025 |
511
Ecological Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-2 10/23-12/08)
511 Ecological Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-2 10/23-12/08) :
This course gives students a fundamental mechanistic understanding about the way abiotic (e.g., climate) and biotic (e.g., resources, competitors, predators) factors determine pattern in the distribution and abundance of species. Students learn how individuals within a species cope with changing environmental conditions by altering their behavior, making physiological adjustments, and changing the allocation of resources among survival, growth, and reproduction. Students learn how populations of species coexist within communities and how species interactions within communities can drive ecosystem functioning. Students also learn how ecologists use scientific insight to deal with emerging environmental problems such as protecting biodiversity, understanding the consequences of habitat loss on species diversity, and forecasting the effects of global climate change on species population viability and geographic distribution.
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: TBD Faculty : Oswald J. Schmitz
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Schmitz TBA - TBA |
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512
Microeconomic Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall 1 08/30-10/13)
512 Microeconomic Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall 1 08/30-10/13) : This six-week course which meets Fall-1 provides an introduction to microeconomic analysis and its application to environmental policy. Students study how markets work to allocate scarce resources. This includes consideration of how individuals and firms make decisions, and how policy analysts seek to quantify the benefits and costs of consumption and production. We consider the conditions under which markets are beneficial to society and when they fail. We see that market failure arises frequently in the context of environmental and natural resource management. The last part of the course focuses on the design of environmental and natural resource policies to address such market failures. The course is designed to cover basic knowledge of economics analysis and prepare students for ENV 834 and other more advanced offerings. : Matthew J. Kotchen : TBD Faculty
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Kotchen TBA - TBA |
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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521
Physical Science Foundations for Environmental Managers
521 Physical Science Foundations for Environmental Managers : This required foundational course provides students with the physical science basics that they need to understand and manage environmental problems. The course draws on climatology, environmental chemistry, geology, hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, and soil science. Focus is on understanding both the underlying concepts and how they apply to real-world environmental challenges. Useful both as a freestanding course and as a gateway to a wide spectrum of intermediate and advanced courses. : Shimon C. Anisfeld : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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522
Human Science Foundations for Environmental Managers
522 Human Science Foundations for Environmental Managers : The environmental fields of inquiry that focus on human behavior, culture, governance, and history have matured and proliferated in the 21st century (environmental anthropology, environmental sociology, environmental governance, environmental history, environmental humanities and more). This new scholarship has advanced the academic state of knowledge and sharpened our collective ability to understand human-environmental relations. Yet despite better science, we struggle to make material change in the collective rate of human consumption of Earth’s natural resources. Not only is the planet harmed by our failures, but millions of people are also harmed.
Embedded in all scientific endeavors is a theory of change. But rarely are theories of change made explicit for environmental stewardship. In this course, we will investigate new bodies of scholarship that explore relational values, varying concepts of stewardship, a range of theories of change and, finally, capabilities or human rights-based measure of the life well lived.
We will explore the following questions: What does it mean to be an environmental steward in a world filled with social, political, and economic inequalities? How can we weave together multiple knowledge systems or ways of knowing through environmental stewardship? How can we balance the need for social and environmental change in a way that is both place-based and responsive to global concerns? Can theories of change help us act when the scientific data is both clear and uncertain? How can we incorporate non-economic measures of human well-being into our decision-making? : Amity Doolittle : Amity Doolittle
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Doolittle TBA - TBA |
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Doolittle TBA - TBA |
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550
Natural Science Research Methods
550 Natural Science Research Methods :
The course prepares students to design and execute an intensive research project. It covers elementary principles and philosophy of science; research planning, including preparation, criticism, and oral presentation of study plans; communicating research findings; limitations of research techniques; the structure of research organizations; and professional scientific ethics : William Lauenroth : William Lauenroth
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
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551
Qualitative Inquiry for the Human Sciences
551 Qualitative Inquiry for the Human Sciences : Qualitative research is a robust and reliable means of knowledge production and is central to exploring questions of the human condition. As an approach to understanding the human-nature nexus, qualitative research prioritizes multiple ways of knowing the world (epistemology), engages with philosophical concerns about how can we know what is “truth” (ontology), and ultimately seeks to design better futures (a normative endeavor based in values or axiology). The tools we will explore include 1) oral methods (interviews, life histories, focus groups), 2) text-based methods (archival research and document or textual analysis), and 3) participatory methods based on observation and knowledge co-production. Students will learn how to interpret and analyze qualitative data, as well as evaluate the claims made by qualitative researchers. The course is intended for doctoral students who are in the beginning stage of their dissertation research, as well as for MESc students developing research proposals for their thesis projects. Advanced undergraduate students are welcome. The final project for this course is a research proposal and annotated bibliography. *While we discuss the value of mixed methods, this course DOES NOT cover quantitative approaches such as survey research, econometrics, Q methodology, spatial analysis or social network analysis. : Amity Doolittle : Amity Doolittle
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Doolittle TBA - TBA |
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Doolittle TBA - TBA |
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552
Master's Student Research Colloquium
552 Master's Student Research Colloquium :
One of the most important aspects of scientific research involves the communication of research findings to the wider scientific community. Therefore, second-year M.E.Sc. and M.F.S. students are required to present the results of their faculty-supervised research as participants in the Master’s Student Research Conference, a daylong event held near the end of the spring term. Student contributors participate by delivering a fifteen-minute oral presentation to the YSE faculty and student body or by presenting a research poster in a session open to the YSE community. Students receive a score of satisfactory completion for this effort. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
553
Perspectives: Environmental Leadership
553 Perspectives: Environmental Leadership :
The course is intended to offer a common experience and exposure to the variety of perspectives represented by YSE faculty and guest experts on the challenges and opportunities of environmental management. This year’s theme is Environmental Leadership and over the semester we will create and foster a leadership toolkit and systems-thinking appreciation that enables 1st-year MEM students to map out and maximize an impactful path through Yale, their careers and their lives
Discussion Sections to be added after first class
: Julie Zimmerman : Julie Zimmerman : Peter Boyd
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Zimmerman TBA - TBA |
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Zimmerman TBA - TBA |
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561
Energy Justice Seminar
561 Energy Justice Seminar :
Energy justice refers to the goal of achieving equity in the social and economic participation in the energy system, while also remedying social, economic, and health impacts on those disproportionately harmed by the energy system. This seminar-based course provides students with exposure to the latest thinking in the burgeoning field of energy justice. As this is an inherently interdisciplinary area, this course will draw from multiple disciplines, including but not limited to law, sociology, anthropology, and economics. It will cover topics relating to energy justice in the areas of policy and regulation, community advocacy, legal implications, health implications, and private sector interactions. : Gerald Torres : Gerald Torres : TBD Faculty
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Torres TBA - TBA |
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Torres Tentative |
568
Overshoot: The Environmental and Policy Implications of Exceeding 1.5°C (Fall -1 August 30-October 11)
568 Overshoot: The Environmental and Policy Implications of Exceeding 1.5°C (Fall -1 August 30-October 11) : Despite dire warnings from the IPCC and earnest pledges of various governments and other institutions including Yale, humanity is likely to surpass 1.5°C early in the next decade and 2°C by mid-century, placing us in the dangerous realm of temperature “overshoot”. The course will start by examining our likely climate trajectory, relying heavily on recent IPCC reporting including the AR6. We will then delve into the toolkit of climate responses that would become relevant in an Overshoot Scenario – not merely mitigation and adaptation, but also negative emissions technologies and strategies to reflect incoming sunlight. After exploring the technological, economic, and political feasibility of these potential interventions, we will close by considering their governance requirements, ethical implications, and the impact of public perception on policy options. The entire course will be framed via the lens of the Global Commission on Governing Risks from Climate Overshoot, an independent group of eminent global leaders assembled in 2022 to recommend strategies to reduce risks should global warming goals be exceeded. The Commission is scheduled to deliver its report in to the UN General Assembly in September 2023. We will examine the report in detail and arrange dialogue (likely via Zoom) with members of the Commission and/or it’s Secretariat. A field trip to Manhattan to observe the report’s initial presentation will also be explored (but cannot be assured). : TBD Faculty :
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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573
Urban Ecology for Local and Regional Decision Making
573 Urban Ecology for Local and Regional Decision Making : Urban ecology is the interdisciplinary study of urban and urbanizing systems from local to global scales. While urban ecology shares many features with the biological science of ecology, it emphasizes linkages with social, economic, and physical sciences and the humanities. Geographically, the subject includes central and edge cities, suburbs of various ages and densities, and exurban settlements in which urban lifestyles and economic commitments are dominant. In application, urban ecology can be useful as a social-ecological science for making cities more sustainable, resilient, and equitable. Emerging “grand challenges” in urban ecology include the development of robust approaches and understanding of (1) integrated social-ecological systems in urban and urbanizing environments; (2) the assembly and function of novel ecological communities and ecosystems under novel environmental conditions; (3) drivers of human well-being in diverse urban areas; (4) pathways for developing healthy, sustainable, and disaster-resilient cities; and (5) co-production of actionable science for policy, planning, design, and management. : Morgan Grove : Morgan Grove
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Grove TBA - TBA |
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Grove Tentative |
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584
Application of Industrial Ecology
584 Application of Industrial Ecology : Industrial ecology (IE) is an interdisciplinary environmental field that blends environmental and social science, engineering, management, and policy analysis. IE is centered on the study of physical resource flows through systems at different scales. The unusual name “industrial ecology” stems from an analogy made with biological ecosystems and borrows from it on several fronts, such as its focus on resource cycling, multi-scalar systems, resource and energy stocks and flows, and food webs. Increasingly, industrial ecology contributes insights into environmental management and policy on issues ranging from industrial waste to global climate change. YSE 584 is a 1.5 credit survey course that combines basic introductions to industrial ecology tools and concepts with examples of their use in environmental policy and management. : Reid J. Lifset :
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Lifset TBA - TBA |
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586
Topics in Applied Aquatic Ecology
586 Topics in Applied Aquatic Ecology : Climate change, land use conversion, and aquifer depletion are among the many challenges affecting wetlands, ponds, lakes & rivers. Human water use, both past and present, has significantly impacted global water resources. Understanding how aquatic ecosystems are impacted by human activities as well as anthropogenic climate change is critical if we are to conserve & use our water resources sustainably. This course will focus on the ecological effects aquatic ecosystems experience due to human activities. Human alteration of aquatic ecosystems dates back thousands of years. We will analyze, through the lens of Western science as well as through global perspectives spanning local, regional, and indigenous knowledge, how human activity has impacted aquatic systems and their biota. Our particular focus will be the use of aquatic ecosystems for food resources (e.g., fisheries, agriculture). Within this topic we will explore (1) how rivers, lakes and wetlands have been modified to provide food and (2) how these modifications impact resident biota, aquatic resources, and adjacent terrestrial systems. Increased pressure on natural resources is anticipated as the global population increases. An understanding of the consequences of our modifications on the aquatic landscape will help in assessing and planning for how these aquatic resources can be managed sustainably. : Kealoha Freidenburg : Kealoha Freidenburg
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Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
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Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
592
Documentary Film Workshop
592 Documentary Film Workshop :
This workshop in audiovisual scholarship explores ways to present research through the moving image. Students work within a Public Humanities framework to make a documentary that draws on their disciplinary fields of study. Designed to fulfill requirements for the M.A. with a concentration in Public Humanities. : Charles Musser : Charles Musser
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Musser TBA - TBA |
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Musser Tentative |
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595
Yale Environment Review
595 Yale Environment Review :
The Yale Environment Review is a student-run publication that aims to increase access to the latest developments in environmental studies. We aim to shed light on cutting-edge environmental research through summaries, analysis, and interviews. During this one-credit course, students produce one or two articles on subjects of their choosing for publication on the YER website. Please refer to our Canvas page for an overview of the different types of content that YER produces. Students receive coaching to improve their writing skills, and their work goes through a rigorous editing process. Participation in Yale Environment Review helps students sharpen their writing skills and familiarize themselves with science communication, and it provides a platform to showcase their expertise. Enrollment is limited to sixteen, and the class is selected through an application process. Application instructions can be found on our Canvas page. Please e-mail environment.review@yale.edu with any questions. Class meets five to six times throughout the term, dates to be announced. An information session will be held on a date to be determined.
: Matthew J. Kotchen : Matthew J. Kotchen
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Kotchen TBA - TBA |
Kotchen TBA - TBA |
Kotchen TBA - TBA |
Kotchen TBA - TBA |
598
Documentary and the Environment
598 Documentary and the Environment :
Survey of documentaries about environmental issues, with a focus on Darwin's Nightmare (2004), An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Food, Inc. (2009), GasLand (2010), and related films. Brief historical overview, from early films such as The River (1937) to the proliferation of environmental film festivals.
This course meets during the Reading period: the week between the last week of classes and finals week : Charles Musser : Charles Musser
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Musser TBA - TBA |
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Musser Tentative |
602
Ecosystems and Landscapes
602 Ecosystems and Landscapes :
Concepts and their application in ecosystem and landscape ecology. Topics covered include biogeochemical cycling, food web interactions, biodiversity, and the abiotic and biotic controls that act on them. The course emphasizes how to integrate this knowledge to understand and manage ecosystem budgets. : Mark Bradford : Mark Bradford
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Bradford TBA - TBA |
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Bradford TBA - TBA |
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603
Environmental Data Visualization for Communication
603 Environmental Data Visualization for Communication :
Application Instructions: TBD
Welcome to the Information Age! It is now much easier to generate and access more data than ever before. Yet, our ability to manage, analyze, understand, and communicate all this data is extremely limited. Visualization is a powerful means of enhancing our abilities to learn from data and to communicate results to others, especially when informed by insights into human behavior and social systems. Developing the quantitative skills necessary for analyzing data is important, but for addressing complex and often urgent environmental problems that involve diverse audiences – understanding how to effectively communicate with data is equally essential for researchers, policymakers, and the public alike.This course is for students who wish to gain an understanding of the principles, tools, and techniques needed to communicate effectively with data. Classes will consist of short lectures about principles of design, data preparation, and visual communication, discussions about examples from the news and scientific literature, guest lectures, peer critiques, and hands-on individual and collaborative group activities. Throughout the semester, we will use Excel, PowerPoint, R, Tableau, and other tools to develop visualizations using diverse datasets. Students will also work with a dataset of their own choice or from a partner organization to develop a final project consisting of a poster, infographic, report, dashboard, story map, or related product. Enrollment is limited and application is required. : Simon Queenborough : Simon Queenborough : Jennifer Marlon
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
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605
Environmental Risk Communication
605 Environmental Risk Communication : Risk communication is a critical but often overlooked part of how organizations identify and manage risks. Effective risk communication can help people understand risks and determine appropriate responses to them. It should help people to take seriously risks they might otherwise ignore (e.g., to get vaccinated or evacuate from a coming hurricane), or to understand that certain activities do not pose significant risks. Effective risk communication enables environmental professionals to communicate information in a way that is understood and accepted by different stakeholders (e.g., the public, industry, government leaders, etc.) and allows the participation of these stakeholders in risk management decisions. This course provides an overview of the theory and practice of effective communication about environmental and health risks to diverse stakeholders. Students are expected to actively participate in class discussions, drawing upon assigned readings, lectures, and videos. : Andrew Schwarz : Andrew Schwarz
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Schwarz TBA - TBA |
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Schwarz Tentative |
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608
Our Air, Our Health
608 Our Air, Our Health : : : TBD Faculty
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Tentative (No Semester)
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610
Managing Ecosystems for Climate Change Solutions
610 Managing Ecosystems for Climate Change Solutions :
This course will explore how natural climate solutions (i.e., actions to protect, better manage and restore ecosystems) can mitigate climate change. It will also assess the challenges and barriers that must be overcome in order to make natural climate solutions more sustainable. During the course, students will be exposed to concepts about how the conservation and management of natural and anthropogenic terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., conservation of natural ecosystems, forest and agriculture management, and restoration of degraded areas) have influenced the carbon and water cycles, two important climate services provided by terrestrial ecosystems. Students will also address some of the potential socio-ecological consequences of nature-based solutions, with a focus in the tropics. Finally, the course will cover some of the main challenges and opportunities for scaling up carbon natural climate solutions. The flipped classroom approach and active learning activities : Paulo Brando : Paulo Brando
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Brando TBA - TBA |
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Brando TBA - TBA |
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613
Writing as a Public Scholar
613 Writing as a Public Scholar :
Environmental scholars and practitioners increasingly recognize the need, and often have the desire, to communicate their passions and expertise to a wide, lay audience. The seminar starts from the premise that to do this effectively a mastery of written storytelling is essential, particularly in today’s saturated and fractured media landscape. Students will read popular works by classic and contemporary scholars, such as Rachel Carson and Richard Prum; practitioners in the sciences, such as Atul Gawande and Peter Wohlleben; and journalists such as Elizabeth Kolbert and John McPhee; as well as growing number of authors, such as Bill McKibben, whose work crosses these categories. Some pieces students will analyze multiple times, developing a increasingly nuanced understanding of storytelling technique : Stephanie Hanes Wilson : Stephanie Hanes Wilson
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Wilson Tentative |
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Wilson Tentative |
617
Real World Environmental Data Science
617 Real World Environmental Data Science : Application is required: Link TBD
The goal of this course is to provide students with a foundational understanding of what it takes to perform environmental data work in a practical, professional setting. To make sound policy decisions, we need data, and the reality is that data is often messy, difficult to find, and incomplete. In order to effectively leverage the data, students need to be able to troubleshoot when there is a problem. We focus on understanding the mechanics and nuances of working with messy data in the professional setting, not teaching statistics. We will provide a high-level explanation of methods, what they will tell us and how they are useful, and then focus on implementation. : Elena Grewal : Elena Grewal : Sarah McGowan
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Grewal TBA - TBA |
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Grewal Tentative |
618
Anthropology of Smallholder Agriculture in Developing Countries
618 Anthropology of Smallholder Agriculture in Developing Countries :
The premise of this course is that small-scale agriculture, its distinctive economic character, and its ecology shape each other in important ways. This course will explore smallholder farming in the developing world through ethnographies.
It is often said that small-scale agriculture provides half of the contemporary global food supply (see for example Graeub et al 2016); in fact there are no good global statistics on small farm production, especially in the developing world (in which many nations just don’t have statistics on food production and farm size, Ricciardi et al 2018). I argue simply that small-scale agricultural food production is important to both livelihoods and food security. If this is so, then the inter-linkages between farms, economies, and ecologies are important. These inter-linkages are also complex. : Carol Carpenter : Carol Carpenter
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Carpenter TBA - TBA |
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Carpenter TBA - TBA |
619
Philosophical Environmental Ethics
619 Philosophical Environmental Ethics : This is a philosophical introduction to environmental ethics. The course introduces students to the basic contours of the field and to a small number of special philosophical problems within the field. No philosophical background is required or expected. Readings are posted on Canvas and consist almost entirely of contemporary essays by philosophers and environmentalists. : Stephen Latham : Stephen Latham
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Latham TBA - TBA |
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Latham Tentative |
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621
The Ministry for the Future—Imagining the Potential for Global Climate Cooperation
621 The Ministry for the Future—Imagining the Potential for Global Climate Cooperation : : : Luke Sanford
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Tentative (No Semester)
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622
Decarbonizing Pathways to Limit Climate Change
622 Decarbonizing Pathways to Limit Climate Change : : : TBD Faculty
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Tentative (No Semester)
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623
The Role of Methane in Global Climate Disruption: The Search for Solutions
623 The Role of Methane in Global Climate Disruption: The Search for Solutions : In this course students develop methane literacy, reviewing evidence from primary literature to understand the methane cycle and how it impacts the global climate system. Students read primary scientific literature, contribute questions/topics for discussion, and map the provenance of research. Meeting time is used for presentations and discussions. : Sparkle Malone : Sparkle Malone
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Malone TBA - TBA |
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Malone TBA - TBA |
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624
The Science, Policy, and Management of GHG Removal Strategies
624 The Science, Policy, and Management of GHG Removal Strategies : In order to void the worst effects of climate change, there is growing interest in the advancement of greenhouse gas (GHG) removal from the atmosphere as a complementary strategy to emission reductions. This interdisciplinary seminar will cover the science, policy, and management of a broad range of GHG removal strategies. What are they? What is the current scientific basis? What are their potentials? And how might policy, markets, and institutions promote or impede GHG removal? While the seminar will cover a set of nature-based climate solutions, we will also consider more engineered approaches, along with original research related to advancing new technologies and program evaluation. The seminar will be organized around readings in the primary literature with weekly student presentations and discussion. : James E. Saiers : James E. Saiers : Matthew J. Kotchen
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Saiers TBA - TBA |
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Saiers TBA - TBA |
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625
Writing Workshop (half semester class TBD)
625 Writing Workshop (half semester class TBD) : This is a practical course aimed at helping students improve their writing. The goal is to help students develop their writing skills and make them better able to communicate their work and ideas through writing that is clear, accessible, and free of jargon. Students are required to write short pieces each week and to write one longer article. The class is organized as a workshop, with students reading and commenting on each other’s work. The instructor is available for weekly meetings with students to discuss their writing. There are regular readings of articles or short book selections, but the focus is on improving the students’ own writing. Students are evaluated on the completion of all assignments on time; the quality of their work; the progress their writing shows over the course of the term; and participation in discussions. : Roger Cohn : Roger Cohn
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Cohn TBA - TBA |
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Cohn Tentative |
626
Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences
626 Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences :
This course will give students insights into the process of writing manuscripts for publication in the natural sciences. The seminar will guide students through the stages of writing a paper and end the semester with a submitted manuscript. We will also consider various strategies for writing, accountability, time management, and productivity. The course is aimed at students in the natural sciences with cleaned and analyzed data that they want to write up for publication. : Simon Queenborough : Simon Queenborough
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
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628
Global Aspects of Food and Nutrition
628 Global Aspects of Food and Nutrition : : : TBD Faculty
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Tentative (No Semester)
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629
North American Drylands: Ecology and Land Use
629 North American Drylands: Ecology and Land Use : : : William Lauenroth
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
630
The Physical Science of Climate Change
630 The Physical Science of Climate Change : This course covers the science behind Earth’s climate system. The first part of the course entails understanding the components of Earth’sclimate, including the chemical and physical atmosphere and the role of land, ice, and the oceans in regulating global climate. The second half takes a closer look at how Earth’s climate system impacts global sustainable boundaries, including its impact on ecosystems, waterresources, the built environment, human health, and the global food system. During the first half of the course students are expected to complete weekly homework assignments that reinforce class concepts and perform a guided analysis using a climate model. The second half of the course involves project work on the impact of climate on a system (e.g., ecosystem, water resource, community, health, etc). : Peter A. Raymond : Peter A. Raymond : Xuhui Lee
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
631
Poverty, Environment and Inequality
631 Poverty, Environment and Inequality :
This course explores the relationship between poverty, environment and social inequality. It examines how race and class interact in American rural and urban environments to produce or sustain inequalities. The course examines how structural factors and community characteristics influence environmental outcomes. Students will begin by examining the relationship between degraded environments and poor schooling. They will examine the environmental hazards that exist in or adjacent to urban and rural public schools. Students will analyze inner-city and poor rural communities as they examine disinvestment, the concentration of poverty, efforts to disperse the poor, and the potential for community revitalization. The class will examine homelessness and the ways in which climate disasters impact housing experiences. The course also examines another aspect of poverty – the issue of food security; it looks at the rise in community gardening in poor communities as an attempt to combat lack of access to healthy food.
Students will examine residential segregation and zoning. The class will also study the spatial inequalities that arise from the siting of hazardous facilities in minority and low-income urban and rural communities. The course examines the classic environmental justice question – which came first the facilities or the people? It examines economic questions related to costs of hosting noxious facilities and if and how communities can seek compensation to host such facilities. The course also examines the quandary communities face when presented with economic models that seek to provide compensation – the question of the long-term health of the people and environment take center stage as community residents seek to determine how to balance economic development with concerns about sustainability. Students will analyze water, energy, and climate justice. : Dorceta Taylor : Dorceta Taylor
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Taylor TBA - TBA |
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Taylor Tentative |
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632
Intro to Social Entrepreneurship
632 Intro to Social Entrepreneurship : Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship is a practice-based course in which students from across campus form interdisciplinary teams to work on a social challenge of their choice. Teams include students from SOM, SPH, FES, YDS, Jackson Institute, and other schools and programs. Students start by identifying a topic area of focus, then form teams based on shared interests and complementary skills. Over the course of thirteen weeks, student teams delve into understanding the challenge through root cause analysis, research on existing solutions and populations affected; then apply human centered design thinking and systems thinking to design, prototype, test, and iterate solutions. Using tools such as the theory of change, logframe, business canvas, and social marketing strategy; teams build and test their impact models, operational models, and revenue models. Readings and assignments from the textbook “Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship” are used to guide this journey. These include technical templates, case studies, and interviews with social entrepreneurs and thought leaders in different sectors and geographies around the world. The class meets weekly for three hours in a workshop-style session, and includes guests from local social enterprises who join the class to share their experience, advice and challenges. At the end of the semester, student teams pitch their ventures to a panel of judges including social venture funders and social entrepreneurs. Teams are encouraged, but not required, to submit their ventures to one of the campus wide startup prizes (see: city.yale.edu/funding). While there are no prerequisites, this course builds on the SOM core course Innovator, and electives including Principles of Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship & New Ventures, Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Public Health, Global Social Entrepreneurship, Managing Social Enterprises, Business & the Environment Solutions. : Teresa Chahine : Teresa Chahine
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Chahine Tentative |
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Chahine Tentative |
633
Critical Race Theory
633 Critical Race Theory : This class will study Critical Race Theory from its origins to its current expression.Understanding the deep interconnections between race and law, and how race and law are co-constitutive is the project of Critical Race Theory. One of the central claims of Critical Race Theory is that racial subordination is not a deviation from the liberal legal ideal but is, unfortunately, part of its expression. We will focus on the origins of the critique that is central to the development of the theory and contrast its analysis with conventional analytic frameworks on race and American law and society.Because it is a positive theory but also driven by a normative vision, we will explore the possibility of transforming the relationship between law and racial power. The law is not the only site of Critical Race Theory; it has had a significant impact on other disciplines in the social sciences. We will examine those impacts as well. : Gerald Torres : Gerald Torres
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Torres TBA - TBA |
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Torres Tentative |
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635
Renewable Energy Project Finance
635 Renewable Energy Project Finance : Application Required: Link TBD
The course is intended to be a practicum, exposing students to real-world tools of the trade as well as the theory underlying them. In place of a textbook, students are provided with approximately 400 pages of actual project documents used for a U.S. wind energy project constructed relatively recently. Through weekly homework assignments, students develop the skills necessary to construct a detailed financial model, largely comparable to what would be used by an investment firm, project developer, or independent power producer. Modeling skills include sizing debt capacity, sensitivity analysis, stochastic forecasting, taxes, and the creation of financial statements. Lectures also provide an introduction to risk management, energy market dynamics, alternative contractual structures, financial structuring, and the core engineering and risks inherent in the most common renewable energy technologies.
While cross-listed at the School of Management, it will follow the YSE Academic Calendar. : Daniel Gross : Daniel Gross
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Gross Tentative |
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Gross Tentative |
640
Ethical Consumption: Promoting Workers’ Rights, Fair Prices, and Sustainability
640 Ethical Consumption: Promoting Workers’ Rights, Fair Prices, and Sustainability : Many people want the things they consume to be made in just and sustainable ways, but the market does not automatically meet this kind of consumer demand. Often consumers, like workers, must organize and act collectively if they are to bend market dynamics toward their ethical concerns. This course examines historical and contemporary efforts to do just that, focusing on the apparel and food supply chains and the social movements, past and present, that have tried to change the dynamics of these sectors. We explore the strategies and actions of these consumer organizing efforts, what they were able to achieve, and what factors account for varying degrees of success. Our overarching goal is to learn how to increase the effectiveness of such efforts. : Edward Ian Robinson : Edward Ian Robinson
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Robinson Tentative |
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Robinson Tentative |
641
Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management
641 Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management : Online Course
This course provides students with both the theory and application of environmental water transactions (EWTs) to water management challenges, such as river restoration, drought-mitigation, and agricultural allocation. The geographic focus is primarily the western United States, as this region, out of necessity, has been very active in implementing EWTs in recent years. Other market-based mechanisms for water management also are explored, such as groundwater mitigation banks, urban stormwater markets, and water quality markets. The course also covers considerations such as environmental justice, tribal access to and use of water, and diversity/equity/inclusion in water management. A final project will give students the opportunity to develop a simple hydrological and water rights model for a fictional watershed to use as the basis for designing a suite of water transactions and market-based water management solutions. This is an online course taught by experienced professionals who value a hands-on approach to learning. In addition, the course will feature discussion of current events in water, case studies, and guest lectures from practitioners actively using market-based mechanisms for water management. : Sarah Kruse : Sarah Kruse : David Pilz
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OnlineKruse TBA - TBA |
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OnlineKruse Tentative |
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642
Environmental Justice/Climate Justice
642 Environmental Justice/Climate Justice : In this class, we focus on the evolution and development of the environmental justice movement. We pay particular attention to its embrace of climate justice, and we ask what conception of justice is at play in both the environmental justice and climate justice movements. We begin with a legal and social-historical survey but quickly bring the inquiry up to the current moment. We explore the legal and policy developments that have followed the environmental justice critique. : Gerald Torres : Gerald Torres
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Torres TBA - TBA |
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Torres Tentative |
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645
Urbanization, Global Change and Sustainability
645 Urbanization, Global Change and Sustainability : Urbanization and associated changes in human activities on the land (land use) and in the physical attributes of Earth’s surface (land cover) have profound environmental consequences. Aggregated globally, these effects constitute some of the most significant human impacts on the functioning of Earth as a system. This class examines the interactions and relationships between urbanization and global change at local, regional, and global scales with an emphasis on the biophysical aspects of urbanization. Topics include urbanization in the context of global land use change, habitat and biodiversity loss, modification of surface energy balance and the urban heat island, climate change and impacts on urban areas, urban biogeochemistry, and urbanization as a component of sustainability. Emphasis is on management of urban areas worldwide or at national scales for planetary sustainability. : Karen C. Seto : Karen C. Seto
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Seto TBA - TBA |
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Seto Tentative |
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646
Foundations of Agriculture and Environment
646 Foundations of Agriculture and Environment : Agricultural systems have a profound impact on the environment, but also depend on environmental processes—such as climate and nutrient cycling—for continued productivity. Because of this two-way relationship, there has been a growing integration of environmental and agricultural sciences over the past several decades with growing recognition that designing and implementing agricultural systems that minimize environmental harm and benefit people is necessary to sustainable development. This course provides foundational knowledge of how agricultural and environmental systems are linked. The goal is to provide theoretical understanding of the important environmental and human processes, as well as practical experience interpreting these processes and applying them to real-world scenarios. : Stephen Wood : Stephen Wood
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Wood TBA - TBA |
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Wood Tentative |
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648
Organizing: People, Power, and Change
648 Organizing: People, Power, and Change : Fulfilling the democratic promise of equity, accountability, and effectiveness requires the participation of an “organized” citizenry able to formulate, articulate, and assert its shared interests. Organizing, in turn, requires leadership: accepting responsibility for enabling others to achieve shared purpose in the face of uncertainty. Organizers ask three questions: who are my people, what challenges do they face, and how can they turn their resources into the power they need to meet these challenges? Organizers identify, recruit, and develop leadership; build community around that leadership; and build power from the resources of that community. In this course, students form leadership teams of three to five persons to organize people into a “constituency” able to work together to achieve real outcomes in pursuit of a shared purpose by the end of the term. Students learn five core leadership practices: building public relationships; turning values into motivation through public narrative; turning resources into power by strategizing; turning intentions into effective action; and structuring organization to develop leadership, engage constituents, and achieve goals, distinguishing “mobilizing” from “organizing.” Students learn to coach others and to receive coaching in organizing practices. : Edward Ian Robinson : Edward Ian Robinson
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Robinson Tentative |
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Robinson Tentative |
649
Food Systems: The Implications of Unequal Access
649 Food Systems: The Implications of Unequal Access : The course examines several dimensions of food insecurity. It starts with an assessment household food insecurity in the U.S. Discussions will cover access to food in urban and rural areas of the U.S. The course will also examine the research and conceptualization of food systems as analyze concepts such as “food deserts,” “food oases,” “food swamps,” “food grasslands,” and “food sovereignty.” We will examine food systems and take a supply chain approach wherein we study food producers (farmers, urban agriculturalists, community gardeners). We will also study food suppliers and processors such as farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and food retailers. Students will have an opportunity to study incubator kitchens and small-scale entrepreneurship in low-income communities. We will also examine consumer access to food as well as perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors.
We will examine understudied parts of food systems such as urban farms, community and school gardens, and emergency food assistance programs. We will also examine food production and food acquisition strategies in low-income areas. The course will also study the pricing of food and whether retailers decide to sell healthy foods or not.
Three to four mandatory field trips are being planned but these could be affected by the pandemic protocols and the weather. Field trips are being planned for farms, farmer’s markets, grocery stores and other food outlets in and around the New Haven area.
All students will complete an individual take-home assignment, group class exercises, and a group term paper. Attendance at field trips, class attendance, and class participation (including class presentations) are also graded. : Dorceta Taylor : Dorceta Taylor
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Taylor TBA - TBA |
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Taylor Tentative |
650
Fire Ecology and Management of the US West
650 Fire Ecology and Management of the US West : : : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
652
Wood: Structure and Function
652 Wood: Structure and Function : : : Craig Brodersen
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Brodersen TBA - TBA |
653
Maple: From Tree to Table
653 Maple: From Tree to Table : This course covers the cultural, industrial, and sustainable practices of non-timber forest products through the lens of maple sap and syrup. Maple sugar is a forest product unique to northeastern North America, and it has seen a resurgence in interest as global consumers seek nutritious, natural, and sustainably produced foods. This course covers the booming industry and culture around maple syrup, from backyard operations through modern 100,000-tap investment operations. Maple producers are on the front lines of climate change and forest health threats. The course provides students with the knowledge of how challenges related to forest health and climate change are directly impacting maple producers and how these producers are learning to adapt in ways that are environmentally friendly, ecologically sound, and financially competitive in a global market. : Joseph Orefice : Joseph Orefice
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
654
Structure, Function, and Development of Trees
654 Structure, Function, and Development of Trees :
This course focuses on two aspects of plant life: (1) basic processes that drive plant development, such as seed formation, 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 and their importance in the biosphere and human life. Coverage includes tropical, temperate, and boreal trees. Plant biology is discussed in the context of physiological and structural adaptations in terms of strength, storage, and water and solute transport. : Graeme P. Berlyn : Graeme P. Berlyn
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Berlyn TBA - TBA |
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Berlyn Tentative |
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656
Physiology of Trees and Forests
656 Physiology of Trees and Forests :
Mineral nutrition and cycling, mycorrhizas, symbiosis, nitrogen fixation, light processing, photosynthesis, respiration, water relations including transpiration, and ecophysiology are covered. The interaction of photosynthesis with water relations, mineral nutrition, temperature, and environmental stress is discussed. Effects of climate changes on forests, past and present, and other current topics like wild land fires are also considered. Term paper required. : Graeme P. Berlyn : Graeme P. Berlyn
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Berlyn TBA - TBA |
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Berlyn Tentative |
659
The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips)
659 The Practice of Silviculture: Principles in Applied Forest Ecology (Friday field trips) :
The scientific principles and techniques of controlling, protecting, and restoring the regeneration, composition, and growth of natural forest vegetation and its plantation and agroforestry analogs worldwide. Analysis of biological and socioeconomic problems affecting specific forest stands and design of silvicultural systems to solve these problems. Applications are discussed for the management of wildlife habitat, bioenergy and carbon sequestration, water resources, urban environments, timber and nontimber products, and landscape design. Four to six hours lecture. One-hour tutorial. Seven days of fieldwork. Recommended: some knowledge of soils, ecology, plant physiology, human behavior, and resource economics. : Mark S. Ashton : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
660
Forest Ecology & Dynamics
660 Forest Ecology & Dynamics : This course introduces the study of forest stand dynamics — how forest structures and compositions change over time with growth and disturbances. Understanding the dynamic nature of forest stands is important for creating and maintaining a variety of critical ecosystem services sustainably and synergistically, including sustainable supplies of wood products, biodiversity and wildlife habitats, water, fire protection, and others. Through readings, lectures, discussions, and field trips we explore forest development processes and pathways, concentrating on the driving mechanisms and emergent properties including natural and human disturbances. We make use of New England forests as living laboratories while discussing how similar forest patterns and processes are played out throughout the temperate, tropical, and boreal worlds. This class is a core component of the M.F. degree but is explicitly designed to be accessible to anyone interested in an in-depth exploration of forest ecosystems. : Marlyse Duguid : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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668
Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture
668 Field Trips in Forest Resource Management and Silviculture :
Seven- to twelve-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. Enrollment limited to sixteen. : Mark S. Ashton : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton Tentative |
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Ashton Tentative |
669
Forest Ecosystem Management and Operations (Friday field trips)
669 Forest Ecosystem Management and Operations (Friday field trips) : : : TBD Faculty
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Tentative (No Semester)
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670
Southern Forest and Forestry Field Trip
670 Southern Forest and Forestry Field Trip :
This course augments our forestry curriculum by providing a forum for viewing and discussing forestry and forest management with practitioners. The trip provides M.F. candidates and other interested students with an opportunity to experience the diversity of southeastern forested ecosystems and ownership objectives ranging from intensively managed pine plantations to restoration and protection of endangered habitats. Students discuss forest management issues—including forest health, fragmentation, policy, law, and business perspectives—with landowners and managers from large industries, nonindustrial private landowners, TIMOs, federal and state land managers, NGOs, and forestry consultants. We also tour sawmills, paper mills, and other kinds of forest products processing facilities, active logging operations, and, weather permitting, participate on prescribed fires. Not least, we experience the unique cultures, food, and hospitality of the southeastern United States. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty Tentative |
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Faculty Tentative |
671
Temperate Woody Plant Taxonomy and Dendrology
671 Temperate Woody Plant Taxonomy and Dendrology :
Dendrology literally translates as “the study of trees” and integrates morphology, phenology, ecology, biogeography, and the natural history of tree species. In this course you will learn how to identify the major temperate woody plant families, with a focus on North American forest species. In addition, you will learn the morphological and ecological traits used for field identification of woody plants. We will use phylogenetic systematics as the structure for understanding the evolutionary history and relationships between species. Class period will consist of practical field and laboratory skills used in plant taxonomy and field lecturing. Weather permitting, we will be in the field for the majority of class periods. We will use an ecosystem focused approach for plant identification. Besides learning how to identify species, we will discuss principles of plant ecology, biogeography, and natural history in each of the ecosystems we visit. : Marlyse Duguid : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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674
Forest Ecosystem Health
674 Forest Ecosystem Health : This course is an introduction to the biotic and abiotic agents affecting the health of forest ecosystems and forest sustainability, including insects, pathogens, parasites, climate change, and other large-scale disturbances, and includes the consideration of linkages between forest health and human health. Using a case-study approach, several different forest types are examined in detail, with students interacting with research and management professionals who visit the class in person or via remote conferencing. Students learn concepts and methods of assessing forest health, as well as some of the challenges in describing and defining forest health. The course emphasizes the ecological roles played by disturbance agents (both biotic and abiotic), discusses how they affect the health and sustainability of forest ecosystems, and identifies when and how management can be used to improve forest health and/or forest sustainability to manage or mitigate disturbance agents such as invasive pathogens and insects. The course provides students with the necessary background to determine how different stressors may negatively impact management objectives, to identify the probable stress agents, and to decide what, if any, actions should be initiated to protect forest health and sustainability. The course includes several field trips and workshops on the weekends. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty : Robert Talbot Trotter III
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
677
Ecological Restoration
677 Ecological Restoration : This course is intended as a broad overview of restoration ecology. We will use the framework of ecosystem science to understand how and why humans facilitate the recovery of degraded ecosystems. We will balance discussions on the theory, background, and application of restoration ecology with topics related to the implementation of restoration projects (e.g., planning, evaluation, and policy). These various concepts will be integrated through the discussion of case studies presented by a variety of practitioners and scientists working across different systems (coral reefs, wildlife, fire, wetlands, etc.) and with diverse perspectives so that students get a broad exposure to the breadth and depth of scholarship and work in the field.
Application required : Marlyse Duguid : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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Duguid Tentative |
679
Plant Ecophysiology
679 Plant Ecophysiology : This course focuses on the physiological ecology of plants and their interaction with the biotic and abiotic environment, understood through the lens of first principles. We use a quantitative approach to demonstrate the linkages between photosynthesis, growth, and carbon allocation at the tissue and whole plant level, which can then be scaled up to forests and ecosystems. We also focus on specific physiological and anatomical adaptations plants use to survive in the many varied habitats on Earth. Enrollment limited to twenty-four. : Craig Brodersen : Craig Brodersen
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Brodersen TBA - TBA |
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Brodersen TBA - TBA |
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683
Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration
683 Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration : This seminar is focused on the biological and social science, management, and policy governing reforestation in tropical regions. Topics covered include the ecology and management of native species plantations and second-growth forests; the social drivers of and barriers to restoration; and the methodological protocols of gathering and assessing social, economic, and cultural values. A particular emphasis is placed on tropical Asia and Latin America. Part of this course is taught online, part in a series of weekly discussions. Optional 1-credit field trip on dry tropical forest restoration, Azuero, Panama. Enrollment limited to twenty : Mark S. Ashton : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
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Ashton Tentative |
684
Forest Finance
684 Forest Finance : Understanding the tools used in financial analysis is an important component of successful forestland investment and forest management decision making. This course will provide students with a basic suite of financial tools used in the acquisition and management of forestland/timber. It will include an overview of traditional financial analysis metrics used in land acquisition, timber management, and risk management, as well as topics related to supply and demand for forest products, international timberland investment and emerging trends in forestland investing. The first eight weeks of the course will be a lecture format, and the remainder of the course will be a case study / project that will give students an opportunity to apply their knowledge in the analysis of an actual “deal”. : Deborah Spalding : Deborah Spalding
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Spalding TBA - TBA |
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Spalding Tentative |
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685
Engaging Landholders and Communities in Conserving and Restoring Tropical Forest Landscapes
685 Engaging Landholders and Communities in Conserving and Restoring Tropical Forest Landscapes : The design and implementation of sustainable land management strategies in tropical forest landscapes must effectively involve the people and communities who manage and govern these regions. In many cases, however, practitioners design projects that focus on technical solutions only and ignore people altogether, or base their projects upon incorrect assumptions about the people at the heart of their interventions. These trends ultimately lead to project failure and can cause a host of adverse unintended consequences that further exacerbate the problems that practitioners were trying to resolve. This pattern is particularly prevalent with recent pledges by global organizations and national governments to plant trillions of trees around the globe in an effort to address the adverse effects of climate change (see The Bonn Challenge and Trillion Trees). While these initiatives are largely well-intended, they largely ignore the socio-cultural and political complexities of the landscapes where the trees would be planted, including whether landholders already plant or protect trees and if they want to increase this practice and how, which species they want to plant or protect and how, and the effects of tree planting on land tenure systems, traditional livelihood strategies and gender dynamics. Little attention is also given to examining who removed the trees from the landscape and why, and whether tree planting is an appropriate solution. This course aims to provide forestry and land conservation students with the tools to think critically about the socio-cultural and political complexities of tropical forest landscapes and to more effectively engage landholders and communities in land management interventions. The course draws upon theoretical considerations in the social sciences literature and the applied experiences of the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI), a Center & Program of YSE focused on capacity development in tropical forest landscapes. ELTI staff and affiliates have 16 years of experience developing the capacity of people who manage and govern tropical forest landscapes to implement land management strategies that restore and protect tree and forest cover while supporting livelihoods. The program has a diverse collection of applied case studies featuring a range of strategies and approaches that practitioners use to engage landholders and communities on these themes. The course is designed to link YSE students to ELTI team members so they can learn directly from their experiences in a variety of contexts. Students will also interact with selected participants of ELTI’s yearlong online certificate program, Tropical Forest Landscapes: Conservation, Restoration & Sustainable Use, who are practitioners developing applied conservation and restoration projects around the globe. : Eva Garen : Eva Garen : Alicia Calle
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Garen Tentative |
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Garen Tentative |
688
Forest Management and Operations
688 Forest Management and Operations : This course will provide students with an opportunity to understand many aspects of forest management, especially as it relates to multiple use forestry. Course content will include understanding and critique of forest inventory, and students will be introduced to growth and yield concepts. Forest planning and optimization for objectives such as forest products and carbon will be covered. Stewardship of forestland will be discussed as will legal aspects to land ownership and forest conservation.
Included in this course is are sections focused on forest operations. Students will gain experience in the diverse elements and aspects of forest harvesting. The course is taught from the perspective of what a forester should know about harvesting which includes logging safety, timber harvesting operations and sale administration, legal dimensions of harvesting, planning and maintaining forest access systems, timber procurement and appraisal, logging costs and analysis, and environmental and social influences. Field experiences will compliment lecture material : Joseph Orefice : Joseph Orefice
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
692
Science and Practice of Temperate Agroforestry
692 Science and Practice of Temperate Agroforestry : This course explores the science and practices of temperate agroforestry, covering current knowledge of agroforestry science and shedding light on the myths and assumptions that have yet to be tested regarding the integration of trees in agricultural systems. The course begins with an overview of modern agriculture to help us better understand why agroforestry systems have potential to improve the sustainability of farming systems. We also cover the social science regarding agroforestry and why it has not been widely adopted. Silvopasture and forest farming systems are the primary focus, but windbreaks, alley cropping, and riparian forest buffers are also covered. The field of agroforestry has struggled with the promotion of hypothetical practices; this course introduces students to real-world production agroforestry systems and helps them better contribute to financially viable and environmentally sound agricultural operations. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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693
Advanced Readings: Social Science of Development and Conservation
693 Advanced Readings: Social Science of Development and Conservation : : : Carol Carpenter
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Tentative (No Semester)
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694
Invasive Species: Ecology, Policy, and Management
694 Invasive Species: Ecology, Policy, and Management : : : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
698
Carbon Containment
698 Carbon Containment :
There is growing recognition that reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions alone is not sufficient to mitigate catastrophic effects of global climate change. As GHGs accumulate in the atmosphere, it is increasingly important to draw down these emissions cost-effectively in large quantities via carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and carbon capture and storage (CCS) techniques–which can be broadly described as “carbon containment.” Recognizing the urgency of the problem at hand and the need for private and philanthropic action, many large companies, investors, and donors have stepped up commitments to stabilize the climate and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. In addition to decarbonization strategies that reduce emissions, climate leaders are investing in and purchasing credits from negative emission carbon containment projects that reduce atmospheric levels of GHGs. Currently, the options for entities to credibly meet ambitious climate goals using carbon containment approaches are very limited. This goal of this course is to: (1) teach and engage students from a range of disciplines about the existing technologies and markets for carbon containment, (2) investigate nascent or neglected carbon containment mechanisms, and (3) develop case studies highlighting strategies and risks for moving promising pre-commercial ideas from concept to practice.
There are no prerequisites for this course, although familiarity with basic climate science, policy, carbon markets, and GHG emissions inventories is helpful.
Course follows a seminar format. Application is required : Anastasia O’Rourke : Anastasia O’Rourke : TBD Faculty : Michael Oristaglio
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O’Rourke TBA - TBA |
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O’Rourke Tentative |
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701
Seminar on Climate Change Policy and Economics
701 Seminar on Climate Change Policy and Economics : : : Robert O. Mendelsohn
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Mendelsohn TBA - TBA |
704
Workshop on Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry with Drones
704 Workshop on Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry with Drones :
A workshop that explores the current state and future outlook of remote sensing with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) for environmental monitoring. UAV-based remote sensing is a rapidly developing field in environmental science and technology. Versatile and inexpensive, it has the potential to offer solutions in a wide range of applications, such as forestry inventory, precision agriculture, flood hazard assessment, pollution monitoring, and land surveys. The class meets once a week for three hours. The workshop is divided into three parts: (1) reviewing the state of the technology on UAV types, sensor configurations, and data acquisition methods; (2) exploring GIS and remote-sensing software tools for analyzing super-high-resolution spectral data acquired by fixed-wing drones; (3) cross-validating drone products against Lidar data and satellite imagery. Students may also have the opportunity to participate in drone flight missions. Data analysis/presentation/literature critique/field trips.
: Xuhui Lee : Xuhui Lee
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Lee TBA - TBA |
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Lee TBA - TBA |
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706
Organic Pollutants in the Environment
706 Organic Pollutants in the Environment : : : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Tentative (No Semester)
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707
Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
707 Introduction to Environmental Chemistry : : : Gaboury Benoit
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Benoit TBA - TBA |
708
Aquatic Chemistry
708 Aquatic Chemistry :
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. 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. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
709
Lectures, Discussions and Applications of Soil Science
709 Lectures, Discussions and Applications of Soil Science :
Topics cover the structure and functioning of soils, and how this relates to soil fertility, carbon accounting, climate feedbacks, and ecosystem function in a changing environment. : Mark Bradford : Mark Bradford
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Bradford TBA - TBA |
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Bradford TBA - TBA |
712
Water Management
712 Water Management :
An exploration of water management at scales ranging from local to global. The course looks at multiple dimensions of the water crisis, including both human and ecosystem impacts; quantity and quality problems; and infrastructural and institutional issues. Theory is illustrated through a variety of case studies. Topics covered include global water resources; flooding; water scarcity; residential, agricultural, and industrial water use; water and health; water justice; impacts of climate change and land-use change; stormwater management; dams and other technologies for water management; human impacts on aquatic ecosystems; water and energy; water economics; water rights; water conflict and cooperation. : Shimon C. Anisfeld : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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713
Coastal Ecosystems
713 Coastal Ecosystems :
An examination of the natural processes controlling coastal ecosystems, the anthropogenic threats to the health of these systems, and the potential for restoration. Coverage of estuaries, rocky shores, seagrass meadows, coral reefs, and mangrove swamps, with a special emphasis on tidal marshes. The course covers a wide range of physical, chemical, and ecological processes. Anthropogenic impacts covered range from local to global and include nutrient enrichment, hypoxia, sea-level rise, invasive species, over-fishing, chemical pollution, marsh drowning, and wetland filling. : Shimon C. Anisfeld : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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Anisfeld Tentative |
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716
Renewable Energy
716 Renewable Energy : Introduction to renewable energy, including physical principles, existing and emerging technologies, and interaction with the environment. Energy demand; transmission and storage; generation by hydroelectric, wind, solar, biofuel, and geothermal sources, as well as waves and tidal generation. Includes field trips to conventional, hydroelectric, and wind-power facilities in Connecticut. Prerequisites: high school physics, chemistry, and mathematics; college-level science, engineering, and mathematics recommended. : Michael Oristaglio : Michael Oristaglio
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Oristaglio Tentative |
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Oristaglio Tentative |
717
Tropical Field Ecology
717 Tropical Field Ecology : APPLICATIONS DUE TBD (by 5pm EST) for ENV 717 TROPICAL FIELD ECOLOGY (ECUADOR FIELD TRIP)
TBD and mandatory field trip to Ecuador over Spring Break
Please find below a course description for Tropical Field Ecology (ENV 717b) for the Spring 2023 semester. The course involves a mandatory field trip to Ecuador over spring break (tentative dates: TBD. In the spring semester, we will meet once per week TBD. Because the appropriate logistics and arrangements must be secured several months in advance, enrollment must be finalized by the end of December.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE: If you are interested in taking the course, please read the description below and email Dr. Simon Queenborough (simon.queenborough@yale.edu) with the following information by 5PM, DECEMBER TBD:
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Name
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Degree program and expected graduation date
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List of previous relevant coursework
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A brief explanation of why you want to take the course and how it would further your academic and career goals (200 words max)
Course expenses (including airfare, local transportation, meals, lodging, fees, etc.) for YSE students will be covered by the YSE field trip fund. Students from outside of YSE and Yale College must seek alternative funding. Interested YSE and Yale College students should apply regardless of financial situation, and we will work with selected students individually to ensure participation is possible.
SELECTION PROCEDURE:For logistical and financial reasons, enrollment is limited. Top priority will be given to students for whom the course will clearly advance their academic/career goals (i.e., students planning to conduct ecological field research and/or focus on tropical ecosystems in their careers). Some previous coursework in ecology is required, but ENV 752 Ecology & Conservation of Tropical Forests is not a prerequisite this year (we will provide some of this content during pre-trip lectures).
You must be available for the entire length of the field trip (no arriving late or leaving early to attend other spring break field courses or for other personal/academic/work commitments).
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ENV 717b, Tropical Field Ecology | 3 credits | Time: TBD | enrollment capped at 12
This course is designed to give students firsthand knowledge of tropical biology and the issues surrounding conservation of biodiversity in the tropics, through a combination of seminar-style discussions and a mandatory12-day field trip over winter break. The emphasis is on active learning and developing independent research projects carried out during the field trip. Using a case-study approach, topics covered include patterns of biodiversity, tropical forest dynamics, reforestation, species interactions and coevolution, climate change impacts, ecosystem services, and human land use. Students also gain experience with study design, data collection methods, and statistical analysis.
This year’s field trip is to Ecuador, a country famous for its high biological, cultural, and economic diversity. We visit a variety of forest ecosystems and hear from local and international scientists about current research in the field. Students undertake two short research projects and also learn basic identification and natural history of tropical plant, bird, and insect species. Students should expect to spend a major part of each day outside in the natural tropical environment under adverse conditions. Enrollment limited to twelve. Priority will be given to students planning to conduct field research in the tropics. This year (2023/2024), ENV 752 is not a required prerequisite: additional lectures will be provided during Spring 2027.
This course is designed to provide students with an introduction to tropical biology and the conservation of biodiversity in the tropics, through a combination of lectures, discussions, and hands-on research projects. Lectures provide background on the climate, structure, function, and diversity of tropical forests, with an emphasis on the evolutionary and ecological processes shaping these ecosystems. Through guest lectures and hands-on projects, students also gain experience with study design, data collection methods, statistical analysis, and scientific writing and presentations. If conditions permit, this course will include a mandatory spring break field trip to the Neotropics. : Liza Comita : Liza Comita : Simon Queenborough
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Comita TBA - TBA |
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Comita TBA - TBA |
718
Climate Change Seminar
718 Climate Change Seminar : : : Peter A. Raymond
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Tentative (No Semester)
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720
Introduction to R
720 Introduction to R : : : Simon Queenborough
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
|
722
Boundary Layer Meteorology (First Organizational Meeting, TBD)
722 Boundary Layer Meteorology (First Organizational Meeting, TBD) : : : Xuhui Lee
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
723
Wetlands Ecology, Conservation & Management
723 Wetlands Ecology, Conservation & Management :
Wetlands are ubiquitous. Collectively they cover 370,000 square miles in the United States and globally encompass more than five million square miles. Most points on a map are less than one kilometer from the nearest wetland. Yet wetlands are nearly invisible to most people. In this course we explore wetlands in all of their dimensions, including the critical services they provide to other systems, the rich biodiversity they harbor, and their impact on global climate. Additionally, wetlands are linchpin environments for scientific policy and regulation. The overarching aim of the course is to connect what we know about wetlands from a scientific perspective to the ways in which wetlands matter for people.
: Kealoha Freidenburg : Kealoha Freidenburg
|
Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
|
Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
|
725
Water, Energy, and Food Interconnections in a Changing Climate
725 Water, Energy, and Food Interconnections in a Changing Climate : : : James E. Saiers
|
|
|
|
Saiers TBA - TBA |
726
Observing Earth from Space
726 Observing Earth from Space :
A practical introduction to satellite image analysis of Earth’s surface. Topics include the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, satellite-borne radiometers, data transmission and storage, computer image analysis, the merging of satellite imagery with GIS and applicationsto weather and climate, oceanography, surficial geology, ecology and epidemiology, forestry, agriculture, archaeology, and watershed management. : Xuhui Lee : Xuhui Lee
|
|
Lee TBA - TBA |
|
Lee Tentative |
727
Global Food Challenges
727 Global Food Challenges : : : John P. Wargo
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
728
Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences
728 Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences :
An introduction to statistics and data analysis with emphasis on practical applications in the environmental sciences. Includes graphical analysis, common probability distributions, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, and linear regression. The second part of the course introduces the topics of multiple regression and ANOVA that are typically not covered in an introductory class such as AP statistics. There are weekly problem sets, 2 exams, and a final project. Assignments require use of Minitab, SPSS, or R. This course is a prerequisite for other statistics courses offered through YSE, and it presents statistical methods used in many Yale courses in both the natural and social sciences. Three hours lecture. : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
|
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
|
Reuning-Scherer Tentative |
|
730
Environmental Data Science in R: Understanding Methane Dynamics
730 Environmental Data Science in R: Understanding Methane Dynamics : Over a 100-year timeframe CH4is 28-34 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere compared to an equivalent mass of CO2and accounts for ∼42 % of warming since the pre-industrial period (IPCC, 2021). To date we have caused about 1.3°C of warming and with this we have observed changes in the productivity of natural and managed ecosystems and an increase in extreme events that could lead to further increases in carbon (C) emissions (IPCC 2021). To prepare for an uncertain future, we are looking to understand how surface processes influence atmospheric composition of CH4by developing dynamic models. In this course we will work with different data sources to design models that will allow us to evaluate ch4 dynamics in natural ecosystems. : Sparkle Malone : Sparkle Malone
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|
Malone TBA - TBA |
|
Malone TBA - TBA |
731
Tropical Field Botany
731 Tropical Field Botany : : : Fabian Michelangeli : Lawrence Kelly
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
734
Biological Oceanography
734 Biological Oceanography :
This natural science course provides a foundation for those interested in the ecology and management of marine systems. Includes an exploration of a range of coastal and pelagic ecosystems. Relationships between biological systems and the physical processes that control the movements of water and productivity of marine systems. This course also covers anthropogenic impacts on oceans, such as the effects of fishing and climate change. Includes up to three Friday field trips. Recommended prerequisite: college-level biology or ecology course. Three hours lecture : Mary Beth Decker : Mary Beth Decker
|
|
Decker Tentative |
|
Decker Tentative |
735
Hydrologic Science for Environmental Managers
735 Hydrologic Science for Environmental Managers : : : James E. Saiers
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
736
Impacts of Climate Change on Freshwater Ecosystems
736 Impacts of Climate Change on Freshwater Ecosystems : This course is a graduate-level ecology course on impacts and responses to global change, especially climate change, of freshwater ecosystems, including lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The course will provide an overview of several major global change threats, such as pollution, emerging diseases, hydrologic alteration, species introductions, urbanization, and land-use change, which gives context to the relative importance of climate change as a global-change driver in freshwater ecosystems. The course will then cover changes in the hydrologic cycle, temperature, and extreme events attributed to climate change and their impacts in different settings where freshwater ecosystems occur. The course will also cover the ecosystem services provided by freshwater ecosystems, how they are threatened by global change, and strategies for mitigating and adapting to these threats.
Impacts of Climate Change on Freshwater Systems is capped at 20 students. Priority (in order) will be given to YSE students in their second year or beyond, YSE students in their first year, students from other Yale graduate schools, and finally Yale College students. Final enrollment decisions will be shared by August 27. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
|
Faculty TBA - TBA |
|
Faculty Tentative |
|
738
Wildlife Movement Ecology
738 Wildlife Movement Ecology : On a crowded planet, wildlife must navigate multiple forces to guide their movement. Through a flipped and interactive classroom, students will evaluate and model drivers of animal movement across different spatial and temporal scales as well as draw connections to human societies and landscape histories. : Nyeema Harris : Nyeema Harris
|
Harris TBA - TBA |
|
Harris TBA - TBA |
|
742
Fundamentals of Working with People
742 Fundamentals of Working with People : Using environmental science to help inform and change human actions is a key challenge for environmental managers. Doing so requires that professionals be able to work across different scales, including: (1) understanding their own values and ways of working, as well as those of others; (2) forming, working in, and leading teams reflecting a diversity of experiences and skills; (3) influencing the actions of the organizations within which they are working; and (4) building and managing collaborative networks with others in other organizations affecting the resource systems about which they care. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the scholarship being done (mostly within management fields) on how best to make these connections, as well as the ways individuals are putting those lessons learned into action. The course also introduces students to the professors, individual courses, workshops and other offerings across Yale that offer deeper dives into specific approaches to working more effectively with people. : Stuart DeCew : Stuart DeCew
|
|
DeCew TBA - TBA |
|
DeCew Tentative |
744
Conservation Science and Landscape Planning
744 Conservation Science and Landscape Planning :
This advanced course applies ecological principles to understand and manage biodiversity and attendant ecosystem functioning and services in the anthropocene. The course addresses the ethical and functional basis for conservation and fosters thinking about why and how humans ought to share the planet with nonhuman life. It covers scientific principles such as evolution, life-history and the viability of species, species endangerment and extinction risk, the kinds of biodiversity, the spatial distribution of biodiversity, the functional roles of species in ecosystems, vulnerability and risk assessments, and valuing biodiversity and ecosystem services. The course applies these principles to the exploration of such topics as biodiversity’s role in the functioning and sustainability of ecological systems, restoration of environmental damages, conserving biodiversity in dynamic landscapes, adapting landscapes to climate change, balancing conservation with urban development and agriculture, and renewable energy siting. It provides students with the quantitative skills to conduct population viability analyses, geospatial analyses of the distribution of biodiversity across landscapes, vulnerability analyses, and decision-analysis to balance trade-offs among multiple objectives of human land development and biodiversity conservation. Prerequisites: ENV 602aor equivalent course in population or community ecology, ENV 755b or equivalent course in GIS, and ENV 728a or equivalent course in statistical analysis of biological data. A course in economics or applied math for environmental studies is strongly encouraged : Oswald J. Schmitz : Oswald J. Schmitz
|
|
Schmitz TBA - TBA |
|
Schmitz TBA - TBA |
745
Global Human-Wildlife Interactions
745 Global Human-Wildlife Interactions : Wildlife and humans have increasingly complex interactions, balancing a myriad of potentially positive and negative outcomes. In a highly interactive format, students evaluate the importance of human-wildlife interactions across diverse ecosystems, exacerbators that influence outcomes, and management interventions that promote coexistence. : Nyeema Harris : Nyeema Harris
|
Harris TBA - TBA |
|
Harris TBA - TBA |
|
750
Writing the World
750 Writing the World :
This is a practical writing course meant to develop your skills as a writer. But its real subject is perception and the writer’s authority—the relationship between what you notice in the world around you and what, culturally speaking, you’re allowed to notice. What you write during the semester is driven entirely by your own interest and attention. How you write is the question at hand. We’ll be exploring the overlapping habitats of language—present and past—and the natural environment. And, to a lesser extent, we’ll be exploring the character of persuasion in environmental themes. Every member of the class will write every week, and we will all read what everyone writes every week. It makes no difference whether you’re a would-be journalist, scientist, environmental advocate or policy-maker. The goal is to rework your writing and sharpen your perceptions, both sensory and intellectual. Application for interested students will be avaiable in August. : Verlyn Klinkenborg : Verlyn Klinkenborg
|
Klinkenborg TBA - TBA |
|
Klinkenborg Tentative |
|
751
Sampling Methodology and Practice
751 Sampling Methodology and Practice :
This course is intended to provide a fundamental understanding of the principles of statistical sampling, alternative estimators of population parameters, and the design basis for inference in survey sampling. Natural, ecological, and environmental resource applications of sampling are used to exemplify numerous sampling strategies. Sample designs to be studied include simple random; systematic; unequal probability, with and without replacement; stratified sampling; sampling with fixed-radius plots; horizontal point sampling; and line intercept. The Horvitz-Thompson, ratio, regression, and other estimators are introduced and used repeatedly throughout the course. Three hours lecture. Weekly and biweekly problem sets and fina project. : Timothy G. Gregoire : Timothy G. Gregoire
|
|
Gregoire TBA - TBA |
|
Gregoire TBA - TBA |
752
Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Forests
752 Ecology and Conservation of Tropical Forests : : : Liza Comita
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
753
Regression Modeling of Ecological and Environmental Data
753 Regression Modeling of Ecological and Environmental Data :
This course in applied statistics assists scientific researchers in the analysis and interpretation of observational and field data. After considering the notion of a random variable, the statistical properties of linear transformations and linear combinations of random data are established. This serves as a foundation for the major topics of the course, which explore the estimation and fitting of linear and nonlinear regression models to observed data. Three hours lecture. Statistical computing with R, weekly problem exercises.
: Timothy G. Gregoire : Timothy G. Gregoire
|
Gregoire TBA - TBA |
|
Gregoire TBA - TBA |
|
754
Geospatial Software Design
754 Geospatial Software Design : : : Charles Dana Tomlin
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
755
Modeling Geographic Space
755 Modeling Geographic Space :
An introduction to the conventions and capabilities of image-based (raster) geographic information systems (GIS) for the analysis and synthesis of spatial patterns and processes. In contrast to ENV 756a, 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. No previous experience is required. : Charles Dana Tomlin : Charles Dana Tomlin
|
|
Tomlin TBA - TBA |
|
Tomlin Tentative |
756
Modeling Geographic Objects
756 Modeling Geographic Objects :
This course offers a broad and practical introduction to the nature and use of drawing-based (vector) geographic information systems (GIS) for the preparation, interpretation, and presentation of digital cartographic data. In contrast to ENV 755b, 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. No previous experience is required. : Charles Dana Tomlin : Charles Dana Tomlin
|
Tomlin TBA - TBA |
|
Tomlin Tentative |
|
757
Data Exploration and Analysis
757 Data Exploration and Analysis : Survey of statistical methods: plots, transformations, regression, analysis of variance, clustering, principal components, contingency tables, and time series analysis. The R computing language and web data sources are used.
Follows Yale College Calendar : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
|
Faculty TBA - TBA |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
Faculty TBA - TBA |
758
Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences
758 Multivariate Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences :
An introduction to the analysis of multivariate data. Topics include multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), principal components analysis, cluster analysis, canonical correlation, ordination methods including multidimensional scaling, discriminate analysis, factor analysis, and structural equations modeling. Emphasis is placed on practical application of multivariate techniques to a variety of examples in the natural and social 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. Extensive use of computers is required—students may use any combination of R, SAS, SPSS, MINITAB, and STATA. Three hours lecture/discussion. : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
|
|
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
|
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
759
Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science
759 Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science : Introductory graduate course on the social science of contemporary environmental and natural resource challenges, paying special attention to issues involving power and knowledge. Section I, overview of the course. Section II, disasters and environmental perturbation: pandemics, and the social dimensions of disaster. Section III, power and politics: river restoration in Nepal; the conceptual boundaries of resource systems, and the political ecology of water in Mumbai. Section IV, methods: the dynamics of working within development projects; and a multi-sited study of irrigation in Egypt. Section V, local communities: representing the poor, development discourse, and indigenous peoples and knowledge. The goal of the course is to develop analytic distance from current conservation and development debates and discourse. This is a core course for MEM students in YSE, and a core course in the combined YSE/Anthropology degree program. Enrollment is capped. : Michael R. Dove : Michael R. Dove
|
Dove TBA - TBA |
|
Dove TBA - TBA |
|
760
Conservation in Practice: An International Perspective
760 Conservation in Practice: An International Perspective :
This seminar focuses on the practice of wildlife and wildlands conservation, examining key topics from the dual perspectives of academic literature and actual field experiences; bringing together interdisciplinary thinking; and drawing on examples from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. The thematic outline of the seminar is organized around three fundamental questions in nature conservation: What are we trying to save—and why? How is this being done—and how has it changed over time? What lessons are we learning—and what overarching issues remain problematic? Specific topics include how different players define and value wildness; selection and prioritization of conservation targets; comparisons of various species and landscape conservation approaches; and governance and decision making in conservation, including ties between conservation and development and community-based conservation. During the semester, students work in small teams to assess one of several current case studies - integrating biological, social, economic, and governance considerations - to propose an effective path forward for conservation. Participation and leadership are key, as the seminar is discussion-based and approximately half the sessions are student-led. Evaluation is based on participation, presentations, and a final paper. : Amy Vedder : Amy Vedder : Bill Weber
|
|
Vedder TBA - TBA |
|
Vedder Tentative |
761
Negotiating International Agreements: The Case of Climate Change
761 Negotiating International Agreements: The Case of Climate Change : This class is a practical introduction to the negotiation of international agreements, with a focus on climate change. Through the climate lens, students explore cross-cutting features of international agreements, the process of international negotiations, the development of national positions, advocacy of national positions internationally, and the many ways in which differences among negotiating countries are resolved. The seminar also examines the history and substance of the climate change regime, including, inter alia, the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, the 2015 Paris Agreement, and recent developments. There will be two mock negotiations.
Permission from the Instructor needed to register : Susan Biniaz : Susan Biniaz
|
Biniaz TBA - TBA |
|
Biniaz Tentative |
|
762
Applied Math for Environmental Studies (AMES):Foundations for Measuring and Modeling Environmental and Socio-environmental Systems
762 Applied Math for Environmental Studies (AMES):Foundations for Measuring and Modeling Environmental and Socio-environmental Systems :
The language of mathematics is an important leg in the stool of interdisciplinary research and analysis, and many graduate courses at YSE involve mathematical content. However, many graduate students have not taken a math course in years, and their math skills are rusty. Furthermore, many graduate-level mathematical concepts may be entirely new. Experience suggests that many students either opt out of taking courses they are truly interested in or muddle through, struggle with the math, and miss important concepts. AMES is meant to help students refresh or acquire new math skills and succeed in content and “toolbox” graduate-level courses. AMES provides a structured opportunity to learn a range of mathematical concepts used in environmental studies. The course assumes that, at a minimum, students took college algebra and perhaps a semester of calculus (but might not really remember it). Concepts are presented heuristically in a “how to” and “why” approach with examples from environmental studies. The goal is for students to be conversant and have intuition about (i.e., to demystify) why logs, exponents, derivatives, integrals, linear algebra, probability, optimization, stability analysis, and differential equations show up throughout environmental studies. Students learn (review) how to use these techniques. Also covered is a bit of history of math and an introduction to computer programming. : Eli Fenichel : Eli Fenichel
|
Fenichel TBA - TBA |
|
Fenichel Tentative |
|
764
Sociology of Sacred Values: Modernity, Ecology, and Policy
764 Sociology of Sacred Values: Modernity, Ecology, and Policy : : : Justin Farrell
|
|
|
Farrell TBA - TBA |
|
767
Building a Conservation Toolkit: From Project Design to Evaluation
767 Building a Conservation Toolkit: From Project Design to Evaluation : As wildlife and wildland conservation programs have multiplied and grown in size, conservation organizations have sought methods to improve strategic project planning, assessment of progress, cross-project comparison, learning of lessons, and transparency for donors. To address these challenges, major nonprofit organizations have collaboratively designed a set of decision-support tools for planning field projects and programs and for monitoring their progress, summarized in the “Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation” ( http://cmp-openstandards.org). Use of these tools has allowed organizations to more clearly articulate strategies, define priority actions, critically assess success, manage adaptively, and derive lessons—all of which help to improve effectiveness and respond to donor interests. Students in this course explore a mutually reinforcing suite of these project tools: their underlying principles are introduced, students practice the techniques, and current case studies from field conservation are examined to explore tool utility. Students synthesize use of these design tools in a final project proposal focused on a single case study of their choice. The suite of decision-support tools covered includes situation (logic) models for project design, stakeholder assessments, threats and opportunities analysis, conservation target identification, and monitoring frameworks. Students gain experience in design of projects and their monitoring, as well as familiarity with budgeting. Enrollment limited to twelve. : Amy Vedder : Amy Vedder : Bill Weber
|
|
Vedder TBA - TBA |
|
Vedder Tentative |
771
Fundamentals of Green Engineering and Green Chemistry
771 Fundamentals of Green Engineering and Green Chemistry :
There is a broad desire to ensure that consumer products, manufacturing processes, and material and energy systems are compatible with public health, environmental sustainability, and this course provides the fundamental knowledge on the frameworks, methods, tools, and techniques of how to design for sustainability. Through an understanding of the conceptual contracts and the application to real-world case studies, students will understand the impacts of design on health (including toxic and eco-toxic effects) and the ways to ensure that new products, processes, and systems can be constructed through the principles of green engineering and green chemistry. This is a course of fundamentals that set the foundation for more advanced investigations in sustainable design and therefore there are no pre-requisites. : TBD Faculty : Paul Anastas
|
|
Faculty Tentative |
|
Anastas TBA - TBA |
773
Air Pollution Control (APC)
773 Air Pollution Control (APC) :
An overview of air quality problems worldwide with a focus on emissions, chemistry, transport, and other processes that govern dynamic behavior in the atmosphere. Quantitative assessment of the determining factors of air pollution (e.g., transportation and other combustion–related sources, chemical transformations), climate change, photochemical “smog,” pollutant measurement techniques, and air quality management strategies. : Drew Gentner : Drew Gentner
|
Gentner TBA - TBA |
|
Gentner Tentative |
|
774
Agriculture: Origins, Evolution, Crises
774 Agriculture: Origins, Evolution, Crises : : : Harvey Weiss
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
775
Federal Indian Law
775 Federal Indian Law : This course will cover the basics of federal Indian law. It will not address the substantive content of tribal law. Tribal law is a specialized study arising from the exercise of the legal authority that the tribes retain. This course is designed to lay the ground work for a deep understanding of what kinds of sovereignty Indian nations may exercise within the framework of our legal system. Normally, courses of this type begin with an historical exploration of the foundations of the relations between Indian and non-Indian peoples. Instead, we will begin with questions that are current and sketch out, roughly, where we are now. Typically, we start with cases pending before or recently decided by the Supreme Court. We use the Marshall Trilogy to build from the present back to the origins to see how the doctrines reflect the positive aspects of the legal expression of contact between Europe and the native nations of the Western hemisphere as well as the more malign aspects. We will not neglect the history; it will prove critical for understanding the ways in which federal Indian law is sui generis in domestic jurisprudence, but we will see how that history is always haunted by the specter of colonialism, extra-legality, and finally international legal norms. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. Students are required to attend the first day of class.
Follows Law School Calendar : Gerald Torres : Gerald Torres
|
|
Torres TBA - TBA |
|
Torres Tentative |
781
Applied Spatial Statistics
781 Applied Spatial Statistics :
An introduction to spatial statistical techniques with computer applications. Topics include modeling spatially correlated data, quantifying spatial association and autocorrelation, interpolation methods, variograms, kriging, and spatial point patterns. Examples are drawn from ecology, sociology, public health, and subjects proposed by students. Four to five lab/homework assignments and a final project. The class makes extensive use of the R programming language.
Prerequisite: introductory course in statistics is mandatory. An intermediate-level course in statistical modeling and handling spatial data is strongly preferred, but not required. : Timothy G. Gregoire : Timothy G. Gregoire
|
|
Gregoire TBA - TBA |
|
Gregoire TBA - TBA |
782
Globalization Space: International Infrastructure and Extrastatecraft
782 Globalization Space: International Infrastructure and Extrastatecraft : Infrastructure space as a primary medium of change in global polity. Networks of trade, energy, communication, transportation, spatial products, finance, management, and labor, as well as new strains of political opportunity that reside within their spatial disposition. Case studies include free zones and automated ports around the world, satellite urbanism in South Asia, high-speed rail in Japan and the Middle East, agripoles in southern Spain, fiber optic submarine cable in East Africa, spatial products of tourism in North Korea, and management platforms of the International Organization for Standardization. : Keller Easterling : Keller Easterling
|
|
Easterling TBA - TBA |
|
Easterling Tentative |
785
Material Flow Analysis for the Circular Economy
785 Material Flow Analysis for the Circular Economy : Material Flow Analysis is a tool routinely used by many scientists to monitor the consumption of national resources. In this course, students will become proficient in material flow analysis (MFA) and material stock analysis (MSA) and explore how MFA data are used to monitor material efficiency. Specifically, the course is designed to offer ample opportunities to practice with dynamic MFA—a branch of MFA that deals with multi-year data—to quantify resource consumption, estimate waste generation, and measure the circularity of a system. Classes alternate between frontal lectures and practical sessions. During the practical sessions, students will learn how to implement MFA and MSA analyses in Microsoft Excel and Python. The overarching theme of circularity issues provides the opportunity to reflect on various physical aspects of the economy and the extent to which circular economy initiatives can succeed. : Alessio Miatto : Alessio Miatto
|
|
Miatto Tentative |
|
Miatto Tentative |
789
Energy and Development
789 Energy and Development : This 3 credit course delves into the relationship between energy use and economic development, at a household, national and global scale. The course will provide both a quantitative and qualitative understanding of poverty, energy demand, and the relationship between the two. Students will grapple with different income and multidimensional poverty and living standards indicators, GDP and its limitations as a human development measure. We will learn about energy poverty in various parts of the world, energy consumption patterns with rising income. Students will be exposed to cutting edge research on living standards measures and their embodied energy needs. Students will study actual household survey and national statistics data on consumption and energy use. We will cover basic models for household energy transitions, and appliance diffusion. This is a seminar course, wherein students will be expected to present readings in class. The course involves one term project and presentation which may be quantitative or qualitative. Basic math, excel and microeconomics are required. Those selecting technical projects should have basic R or other data manipulation skills. : Narasimha Rao : Narasimha Rao
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|
Rao TBA - TBA |
|
Rao TBA - TBA |
793
Abrupt Climate Change and Societal Collapse
793 Abrupt Climate Change and Societal Collapse : : : Harvey Weiss
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
795
Nature as Capital: Merging Ecological and Economic Models
795 Nature as Capital: Merging Ecological and Economic Models :
Students learnconcepts and develop skills in natural resource economicsincluding thinking about natural resources as capital assets with a specific link to quantitative measures that may be useful in assessing sustainability. Students gain a working knowledge of concepts necessary to apply capital theory to ecosystems and develop a skill set sufficient to build dynamic bioeconomic models that can help them approximate the value of changes in ecosystems. Students also learn computational toolsin Excel and Rin dynamic optimization, which are useful for forward-looking decision-making. Application focus on natural resources and conservation questions. : Eli Fenichel : Eli Fenichel
|
|
Fenichel Tentative |
|
Fenichel Tentative |
796
Biopolitics of Human-Nonhuman Relations
796 Biopolitics of Human-Nonhuman Relations : : : Michael R. Dove
|
|
|
|
Dove TBA - TBA |
799
Sustainable Development Goals and Implementation
799 Sustainable Development Goals and Implementation : : : TBD Faculty
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
800
Energy Economics and Policy Analysis
800 Energy Economics and Policy Analysis :
This course examines energy policy issues that pertain to the environment, with a focus on providing tools for analyzing these issues. A primary objective is to apply economics to particular issues of energy markets, environmental impacts, investment in renewables, and other energy issues such as transportation and energy efficiency. We cover the economic and technical considerations behind a particular energy policy issue and then discuss a related article or case study. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
|
|
Faculty TBA - TBA |
|
Faculty TBA - TBA |
804
Economics of Environmental & Natural Resource Management
804 Economics of Environmental & Natural Resource Management : : : Robert O. Mendelsohn
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
805
Seminar on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
805 Seminar on Environmental and Natural Resource Economics :
This seminar is based on outside speakers and internal student/faculty presentations oriented toward original research in the field of environmental and natural resource economics and policy. Presentations are aimed at the doctoral level, but interested master’s students may enroll with permission of the instructors. : Kenneth Gillingham : Kenneth Gillingham : Matthew J. Kotchen
|
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
807
Corporate Environmental Management and Strategy
807 Corporate Environmental Management and Strategy :
This course will focus on understanding the legal, business, and policy logic for making the environment and sustainability a core element of corporate management and strategy. Participants will be asked to analyze how and when environmental, energy, and other sustainability issues can be translated into business model innovation and competitive advantage. The course will combine lectures, case studies, and class discussions on management theory and tools, legal and regulatory frameworks shaping the business-environment interface, and evolving requirements for business success. Scheduled examination : Daniel C. Esty : Daniel C. Esty
|
|
Esty TBA - TBA |
|
Esty Tentative |
811
Metrics, Tools and Indicators in Corporate Responsibility
811 Metrics, Tools and Indicators in Corporate Responsibility : This is an applied course on the standards, guidelines and tools for designing, implementing, auditing and communicating a corporate environmental and social responsibility (CR) program. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the knowledge and tools needed to enter a career in CR and sustainability. The course is designed for students who currently hold/will hold positions in organizations where they are/will be responsible for creating, implementing, measuring and/or managing internal CR and sustainability programs, or be responsible for assisting a corporations in this area. : Todd Cort : Todd Cort
|
|
Cort Tentative |
|
Cort Tentative |
814
Energy Systems Analysis (First Class Begins Sept 6)
814 Energy Systems Analysis (First Class Begins Sept 6) :
This 3-credit lecture course offers an overview of all aspects of energy systems and their interaction with society and the environment. The course will provide students with a comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge base about energy systems in the world. This course will describe and explain the basics of energy and the laws that govern it, the different components of an energy system (supply technologies, delivery systems, and demand), the institutions that govern the energy sectors, the role of energy in development, its impact on climate change and an understanding of the key challenges of an energy transition towards a sustainable future. The course will have a specific emphasis on electricity systems, how they are operated and governed, and how they have to be transformed to tackle climate change. Students will receive a unique exposure to energy issues in the Global South. This course will provide students with basic analytical tools and knowledge to formulate and solve energy-related decisions at an individual, national and global scale, and to understand and critique ongoing policy dialogues on energy and climate. : Narasimha Rao : Narasimha Rao
|
Rao TBA - TBA |
|
Rao TBA - TBA |
|
816
Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition
816 Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition : : : Lawrence Reilly
|
|
|
Tentative (No Semester)
|
817
Urban, Suburban, and Regional Planning Practice
817 Urban, Suburban, and Regional Planning Practice :
Our cities, towns, and regions represent the cumulative impact of planning policies implemented at multiple scales over the past century. This course explores the dynamic trends facing the United States and its communities and the evolution in planning practice that is occurring at the local and regional scale to address them. It looks at both suburban and urban approaches. The recent deep recession, climate change, and a lack of social cohesion call for a new triple bottom-line approach to decision-making for our future. Existing policies and governance structures are not always well suited for the new challenges and opportunities that we face. Local, state, and the national government are, to varying degrees, crafting new solutions to the challenges of urban and suburban America. : David Kooris : David Kooris
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Kooris TBA - TBA |
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Kooris Tentative |
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820
Land Use Law and Environmental Planning
820 Land Use Law and Environmental Planning :
This course explores the regulation by local governments of land uses in urban, rural, and suburban areas and the effect of development on the natural environment. The course helps students understand how the environment can be protected through effective regulation at the local level. It provides an introduction to federal, state, regional, and local laws and programs that promote 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, as are the cases that provide a foundation in regulatory takings and the legitimate scope of land use regulation. 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 that relate to human settlement patterns, water resources, low impact development, watershed protection, alternatives to Euclidean zoning, brownfields redevelopment, resiliency and adaptation in response to sea-level rise and climate change. Students engage in empirical research to identify, catalogue, and evaluate innovative local laws that successfully protect environmental functions and natural resources, and the manner in which towns incorporate climate change into their planning and regulations. 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 planning and subsequent adoption of environmental and other regulations designed to promote sustainable development in a climate-changing world. : Marjorie Shansky :
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Shansky TBA - TBA |
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821
Environmental Policymaking: From Local to Global
821 Environmental Policymaking: From Local to Global : This course focuses on policymaking around environmental issues. We will explore and analyze institutions at all levels of government, from community management of forests to global management of greenhouse gas emissions. We will also explore a variety of environmental case studies. Students will learn to examine issues and institutions through the lens of the actors involved, their incentives, and the information they have. The course will include a simulation taking place over multiple weeks where students will negotiate an international environmental agreement
by application (tbd) : Luke Sanford : Luke Sanford
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Sanford TBA - TBA |
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Sanford TBA - TBA |
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822
Strategic Communication: Delivering Effective Presentations(see description for section times and dates)
822 Strategic Communication: Delivering Effective Presentations(see description for section times and dates) : Must get permission from Instructor to enroll in course - Cannot add this course to online worksheet
Enrollment cap of 6 YSE students per section.
F&ES students are asked to submit a statement of interest to Professor Reich.
2 Sections available in Fall-2
Section -01: T/Th 10:10-11:30 - Evans Hall
Section -02: T/Th 1:00-2:20 - Evans Hall
The focus of this course is to increase one's competencies in oral communication and presentation. Developing and executing effective communication strategies is essential in a variety of business settings. Business leaders are often expected to present their message with confidence and clarity to employees, clients, partners, investors and the public. This highly interactive, practical course will help students develop confidence in public speaking through weekly presentations and assignments, lectures and discussions, guest speakers, simulated activities, and filmed feedback. Students will be given the opportunity to present both individually and as part of a team. We will explore the essentials of communication strategy and persuasion: audience analysis, message construction, communicator credibility, and delivery. Students at all levels of mastery of public speaking will benefit from this course. Enrollment is limited to 36. Students are required to attend the first class session in order to remain enrolled or to bid for the course. : Taly Reich : Taly Reich
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Reich Tentative |
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Reich Tentative |
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823
Energy Law and Policy (Follows Law School Calendar)
823 Energy Law and Policy (Follows Law School Calendar) :
This course explores the troubled intersection between energy, environmental, economic and national security policies. We consider a diverse range of regulatory approaches to minimize adverse environmental effects of various forms of energy development. These include emerging issues regarding climate change and promoting renewable energy, hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), regulation of off-shore drilling and lessons from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, liability for natural resources and other damages from oil spills under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90), the Fukushima, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear accidents and the role of nuclear energy, if any, going forward. We also cover the basics of utility rate setting and the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC). We conclude by considering the geopolitical implications of various energy policies. There are no prerequisites. Supervised Analytic Writing or Substantial Paper credit available for three credits, or a shorter seminar paper or self-scheduled essay exam for two credits. Self-scheduled examination or paper option : E. Donald Elliott : E. Donald Elliott
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Elliott TBA - TBA |
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Elliott Tentative |
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824
Environmental Law and Policy
824 Environmental Law and Policy :
Introduction to the legal requirements and policy underpinnings of the basic U.S. laws, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and various statutes governing waste, food safety, and toxic substances. This course will examine and evaluate current approaches to pollution control and resource management as well as the "next generation" of regulatory strategies, including economic incentives, voluntary emissions reductions, and information disclosure requirements. Mechanisms for addressing environmental issues at the local, regional, and global levels will also be considered. Scheduled examination : Robert Klee : Robert Klee
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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Klee TBA - TBA |
831
Society and Natural Resources Seminar: A “Reflexive Conversation"
831 Society and Natural Resources Seminar: A “Reflexive Conversation" : : : Susan G. Clark
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Tentative (No Semester)
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834
Environmental Economics and Policy
834 Environmental Economics and Policy : This is a course in environmental and natural resource economics and policy. It covers both general methodological principles and specific applications. Rather than serving as a standard course in environmental and natural resource economics, the material is tailored specifically to master’s students pursuing professional degrees in environmental management. The course therefore has a focus on environmental problem solving in the real world. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: evaluation of environmental policies (e.g., standards, taxes, cap-and-trade); cost-benefit analysis and its critiques; nonmarket valuation (ecosystem services, revealed and stated preferences); discounting and macroeconomic perspectives on climate change; management of nonrenewable resources (oil, minerals, etc.); management of renewable resources (forests, fisheries, etc.); land and biodiversity conservation; the relationship between development, trade, and the environment; strategic incentives for international environmental agreements; and environmental behavioral economics. : Matthew J. Kotchen : Matthew J. Kotchen
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Kotchen TBA - TBA |
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Kotchen TBA - TBA |
835
Seminar on Land Use Planning
835 Seminar on Land Use Planning : Land use control exercised by state and local governments determines where development occurs on the American landscape, the preservation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the conservation of energy, and the shape and livability of cities and towns. The exercise of legal authority to plan and regulate the development and conservation of privately owned land plays a key role in meeting the needs of the nation’s growing population for equitable housing, energy, and nonresidential development as well as ensuring that critical environmental functions are protected from the adverse impacts of land development. This course explores the multifaceted discipline of land use and urban planning and their associated ecological implications. Numerous land use strategies are discussed, including identifying and defining climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including affordable housing, community revitalization, energy development and siting, equitable community engagement, transit-oriented development, building and neighborhood energy conservation, distressed building remediation, jobs and housing balance, coastal resiliency, and biological carbon sequestration. The class will also explore how recent events impact these planning issues. The focus of this seminar is to expose students to the basics of land use and urban planning, especially in the U.S. but also internationally, and to serve as an introduction for a YSE curricular concentration in land use. Guest speakers are professionals involved in sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth, renewable energy, and climate change management. : Jessica Bacher : Jessica Bacher
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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Bacher Tentative |
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835E
Seminar on Land Use Planning (Online)
835E Seminar on Land Use Planning (Online) : Land use control exercised by state and local governments determines where development occurs on the American landscape, the preservation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the conservation of energy, and the shape and livability of cities and towns. The exercise of legal authority to plan and regulate the development and conservation of privately owned land plays a key role in meeting the needs of the nation’s growing population for equitable housing, energy, and nonresidential development as well as ensuring that critical environmental functions are protected from the adverse impacts of land development. This course explores the multifaceted discipline of land use and urban planning and their associated ecological implications. Numerous land use strategies are discussed, including identifying and defining climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including affordable housing, community revitalization, energy development and siting, equitable community engagement, transit-oriented development, building and neighborhood energy conservation, distressed building remediation, jobs and housing balance, coastal resiliency, and biological carbon sequestration. The class will also explore how recent events impact these planning issues. The focus of this seminar is to expose students to the basics of land use and urban planning, especially in the U.S. but also internationally, and to serve as an introduction for a YSE curricular concentration in land use. Guest speakers are professionals involved in sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth, renewable energy, and climate change management. : Jessica Bacher : Jessica Bacher
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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Bacher Tentative |
836
Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development
836 Agrarian Societies: Culture, Society, History, and Development :
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 transformations of rural society. Team-taught. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty : Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
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838
Life Cycle Assessment
838 Life Cycle Assessment :
The increasing concerns about environmental pollutions and resource challenges drive the development of sustainable solutions that can meet societal needs without compromising the environment or depleting the resources for future generations. Given many technological, behavioral, and policy options, it is challenging to determine which option best serves humanity and the environment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) offers a systems approach to support these decisions. This course is an overview of life cycle thinking, the fundamental theory of LCA framework, and practical applications in supporting real-world decision-making. Students will learn state-of-the-art LCA tools, industrial case studies, and advanced LCA methodologies. The course will have an emphasis on systems thinking. The course is appropriate for all MEM specializations.
Application required. : Yuan Yao : Yuan Yao
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Yao TBA - TBA |
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Yao Tentative |
839
Power in Conservation
839 Power in Conservation : This course examines the anthropology of power, particularly power in conservation interventions in the global South. It is intended to give students a tool-box of ideas about power in order to improve the effectiveness of conservation. Conservation thought and practice is power laden—conservation thought is powerfully shaped by the history of ideas of nature and its relation to people, and conservation interventions govern and affect peoples and ecologies. This course argues that being able to think deeply, particularly about power, improves conservation policy-making and practice.
Political ecology is by far the most well-known and well-published approach to thinking about power in conservation; this course emphasizes the relatively neglected but robust anthropology of conservation literature outside political ecology, especially literature rooted in Foucault. It is intended to make four of Foucault’s concepts of power accessible, concepts that are the most used in the anthropology of conservation: the power of discourses, discipline and governmentality, subject formation, and neoliberal governmentality. The important ethnographic literature that these concepts have stimulated is also examined. Together, theory and ethnography can underpin our emerging understanding of a new, Anthropocene-shaped world.
This course will be of interest to students and scholars of conservation, environmental anthropology and political ecology, as well as conservation practitioners and policymakers. It is a required course for students in the joint YSE/Anthropology doctoral degree. It is highly recommended for MESc students who need an in-depth course on social science theory. MEM students interested in conservation practice and policy-making are also encouraged to consider this course, which makes an effort to bridge the gap between the best academic literature and practice. It is also open to advanced undergraduate students. No prerequisites. Three hour discussion-centered seminar. : Carol Carpenter : Carol Carpenter
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Carpenter TBA - TBA |
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Carpenter TBA - TBA |
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840
Climate Change Policy and Perspectives
840 Climate Change Policy and Perspectives : This course examines the scientific, economic, legal, political, institutional, and historic underpinnings of climate change and the related policy challenge of developing the energy system needed to support a prosperous and sustainable modern society. Particular attention is given to analyzing the existing framework of treaties, law, regulations, and policy—and the incentives they have created—which have done little over the past several decades to change the world’s trajectory with regard to the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. What would a twenty-first-century policy framework that is designed to deliver a sustainable energy future and a successful response to climate change look like? How would such a framework address issues of equity? How might incentives be structured to engage the business community and deliver the innovation needed in many domains? While designed as a lecture course, class sessions are highly interactive. Self-scheduled examination or paper option. : Robert Klee : Robert Klee
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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850
International Organizations and Conferences
850 International Organizations and Conferences :
This course focuses on the historic, present, and future roles of international environmental conferences. Through guest speakers, assigned readings, and discussions, students explore conferences including IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity, UNFCCC’s climate change conference, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Students, along with visiting alumni and guest speakers, discuss the roles and impacts of the various conferences in international environmental decision-making and the future of international conferences in a post-COVID world. The course also assesses the potential for improved equity, justice, and inclusion in international conferences, organizations, and their secretariats. Students attending fall conferences (in person or virtually) develop work plans to be completed during the conference under the guidance of their host delegations and the instructor. : Peter Boyd : Peter Boyd
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Boyd TBA - TBA |
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Boyd Tentative |
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855
Climate Change Mitigation in Urban Areas (Dates TBD)
855 Climate Change Mitigation in Urban Areas (Dates TBD) : : : Karen C. Seto
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Tentative (No Semester)
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857
Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Developing Countries
857 Financing Climate Change Adaptation in Developing Countries : This course is intended for students who are interested in applied work in development organizations or public institutions focused on nature, climate, energy and waste that are involved in catalyzing finance for climate change adaptation, particularly in the global south. The course has no specific prerequisites but students will find that courses in development economics, natural resources management, finance and law will be helpful. The class will entail in-class discussions where students will be expected to critically analyze course content, discuss and debate as well as present material. : TBD Faculty :
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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860
Developing Environmental Policies and Winning Campaigns
860 Developing Environmental Policies and Winning Campaigns : This course is about what makes an environmental policy idea successful — one that can go from concept to law, get implemented well, and achieve its intended goals. In addition, this class will cover how to develop and run effective campaigns to win environmental policies. Good policy does not just happen. It takes creative thinking, learning from experience and history, and an ability to ‘look around corners’ to help ensure that your idea can actually be well implemented, won’t have unintended consequences, and will actually solve the problem you set out to alleviate. And, once you have a honed policy idea, there is no magic wand that will turn it into the law of the land. Whether in city hall, the state legislature, the U.S. Congress, or a corporate boardroom, many stakeholders will have a hand in determining whether an idea turns into a law.
capped at 24 students. Priority (in order) will be given to YSE students in their second year or beyond, YSE students in their first year, students from other Yale graduate schools, and finally Yale College students. Final enrollment decisions will be shared by August 27. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
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873
Global Environmental History
873 Global Environmental History : : : Harvey Weiss
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Tentative (No Semester)
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877
Anthropology of the Global Economy for Conservation and Development
877 Anthropology of the Global Economy for Conservation and Development : : : Carol Carpenter
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Tentative (No Semester)
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878
Climate and Society: Past to Present
878 Climate and Society: Past to Present : Seminar on the major traditions of thought and debate regarding climate, climate change, and society, drawing largely on the social sciences and humanities. Section I, overview of the course. Section II, disaster: the social origins of disastrous events; and the attribution of societal ‘collapse’ to extreme climatic events. Section III, causality: the revelatory character of climatic perturbation; politics and the history of efforts to control weather/climate; and 19th-20th century theories of environmental determinism. Section IV, history and culture: the ancient tradition of explaining differences among people in terms of differences in climate; and cross-cultural differences in views of climate. Section V, knowledge: the study of folk knowledge of climate; and local views of climatic perturbation and change. Section VI, politics: knowledge, humor, and symbolism in North-South climate debates. The goal of the course is to examine the embedded historical, cultural, and political drivers of current climate change debates and discourses. This course can be applied towards Yale College distributional requirements in Social Science and Writing. The course is open to both graduate and undergraduate students. Enrollment capped. : Michael R. Dove : Michael R. Dove
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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884
Industrial Ecology
884 Industrial Ecology :
Industrial ecology studies (1) the flows of materials and energy in industrial and consumer activities, (2) the effects of these flows on the environment, and (3) the influences of economic, political, regulatory, and social factors on the flow, use, and transformation of resources. The goals of the course are to define and describe industrial ecology; to demonstrate the relationships among production, consumption, sustainability, and industrial ecology in diverse settings, from firms to cities to international trade flows; to show how industrial ecology serves as a framework for the consideration of environmental and sustainability-related aspects of science, technology, and policy; and to define and describe tools, applications, and implications of industrial ecology. : TBD Faculty : Yuan Yao
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Faculty Tentative |
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Yao TBA - TBA |
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893
Principles of Risk Assessment
893 Principles of Risk Assessment :
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. : Vasilis Vasiliou : Vasilis Vasiliou
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Vasiliou Tentative |
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Vasiliou Tentative |
894
Green Building: Issues and Perspectives
894 Green Building: Issues and Perspectives :
Our built environment shapes the planet, our communities, and each of us. Green buildings seek to minimize environmental impacts, strengthen the fabric of our cities and towns, and make our work and our homes more productive and fulfilling. This course is an applied course, exploring both the technical and the social-business-political aspects of buildings. Topics range from building science (hygrothermal performance of building enclosures) to indoor environmental quality; from product certifications to resilience (robust buildings and communities in the face of disasters and extended service outages). The purpose of the course is to build a solid background in the processes and issues related to green buildings, equipping students with practical knowledge about the built environment. Extensive use is made of resources from BuildingGreen, Inc., one of the leading information companies supporting green building and green building professionals. The course takes a “joint-discovery” approach with substantial emphasis on research and group project work, some fieldwork, and online individual testing. There are too many topics within green building to cover in one term, so the course is broken down into two sections. The first six weeks focus on the following topics, led by the instructor and/or an expert guest lecturer: building science, materials, indoor environmental quality, rating programs and systems, resilience, systems integration. The second half of the course focuses on selected topics driven by students and their particular interest/academic focus. The class meets once a week, with the instructor available to students that same day. Enrollment limited to twenty-four. : Melissa Kops : Melissa Kops
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Kops TBA - TBA |
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Kops Tentative |
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896
Public Health Toxicology
896 Public Health Toxicology :
This course is designed to serve as a foundation for understanding environmental toxicology. It includes basic principles of toxicology, mechanisms of toxicity and cellular defense, and the fundamental interactions between chemicals and biological systems. Human exposure to foreign chemicals and their adverse effects are considered, as is the importance of federal and state agencies in protecting public health. Through the use of case studies, the course provides insights into prevention of mortality and morbidity resulting from environmental exposure to toxic substances, the fundamentals of risk assessment and regulatory toxicology, and the causes underlying the variability in susceptibility of people to chemicals. : Vasilis Vasiliou : Vasilis Vasiliou
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Vasiliou Tentative |
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Vasiliou Tentative |
898
Environment and Human Health
898 Environment and Human Health :
This course provides an overview of the critical relationships between the environment and human health. The class explores the interaction between health and different parts of the environmental system including weather, air pollution, greenspace, environmental justice, and occupational health. Other topics include environmental ethics, exposure assessment, case studies of environmental health disasters, links between climate change and health, and integration of scientific evidence on environmental health. Students learn about current key topics in environmental health and how to critique and understand scientific studies on the environment and human health. The course incorporates lectures and discussion. : Michelle L. Bell : Michelle L. Bell
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Bell TBA - TBA |
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Bell TBA - TBA |
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900
Doctoral Student Seminar and Responsible Conduct of Research
900 Doctoral Student Seminar and Responsible Conduct of Research :
This course provides the foundation for doctoral study at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. As a major part of the course, students will learn what it means to do scholarly research as well as become adept with philosophy of science and research methodology and proposal writing, as a basis for exploring diverse approaches to formulating and addressing research questions. Students will work with their advisers to put these concepts and principles into practice to develop the basis for their dissertation research (including building bibliography, identifying and crafting research questions, formulating research hypotheses and drafting a research proposal). Students will further learn about funding opportunities and procedures for submitting grants. The course will also cover professional ethics and responsible conduct of research, including ethical approaches to inquiry and measurement, data acquisition and management, authorship and publication, peer review, conflicts of interest, mentoring, collaborative research, and animal and human subjects research. Finally, the course will explore ethical ways to advocate for the application of scholarly knowledge in the interest of environmental problem solving. Weekly assigned readings will support concepts and issues addressed in class. Students will present their embryonic research ideas in class and use feedback from the group to further develop their ideas : Peter A. Raymond : Peter A. Raymond
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
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902
Environmental Anthropology Colloquy
902 Environmental Anthropology Colloquy :
1 course credit/credit/fail. A biweekly seminar for Dove doctoral advisees and students in the combined YSE/Anthropology doctoral program. Presentation and discussion of grant proposals, dissertation prospectuses, and dissertation chapters; trial runs of conference presentations and job talks; discussion of comprehensive exams, grantsmanship, fieldwork, data analysis, writing and publishing, and the job search; and collaborative writing and publishing projects. : Michael R. Dove : Michael R. Dove
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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905
Doctoral Seminar in Environmental and Energy Economics
905 Doctoral Seminar in Environmental and Energy Economics : : : Kenneth Gillingham
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Gillingham TBA - TBA |
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908
Urban and Environmental Economics
908 Urban and Environmental Economics : A Ph.D. field course covering latest research topics in urban economics and in environmental and energy economics. Topics include the links between urban planning and city productivity and livability, infrastructure investments in electrification and water management, managing externalities, environmental regulation, effects of climate change in cities and in rural areas.
Prerequisites: First-year Ph.D. Economics courses in microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics (or equivalent). Or instructor permission. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
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910
Survival Skills for Doctoral Students
910 Survival Skills for Doctoral Students : : : William Lauenroth : Indy Burke
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Tentative (No Semester)
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951
Strategic Environmental Communication
951 Strategic Environmental Communication : Strategic communication is a powerful means of achieving an organization’s mission, especially when informed by insights into human behavior and social systems. By the end of this course, students are able to develop communication strategies and apply insights from the social and behavioral sciences to improve the effectiveness of their communication campaigns. Enrollment limited to twelve. : Anthony Leiserowitz : Anthony Leiserowitz
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Leiserowitz TBA - TBA |
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Leiserowitz TBA - TBA |
952
Political Ecology of Conservation and Restoration of Tropical Forest Landscapes
952 Political Ecology of Conservation and Restoration of Tropical Forest Landscapes : : : Amity Doolittle
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Tentative (No Semester)
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953
Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting
953 Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting :
The intended outcome of this course is to provide you with a ‘capstone’ experience; consulting to established organizations confronting real-life challenges at the intersection of business and environmental sustainability. The course is designed for you to apply tools and insights gained in this and other courses to a defined project, creating deliverables that will be useful to the partner organizations.
This course is designed to help prepare anyone who wishes to become a consultant after graduation; though it is also intended to be useful for those that intend engaging with consultants in their career post-Yale. In short, there is hopefully something in it for many of you!
The brief from the client will be topical and relevant to challenges and opportunities faced by their organization and intersect business and environmental opportunity. It is also likely to surface potential trade-offs and require addressing cross-cutting critical issues of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; all complicated by living through, and emerging from, the pandemic. Consulting teams will be consistently applying tools learnt in this and other courses, and the clients will be on hand to provide insight and guidance at points throughout the term.
Through a combination of individual & group work and lively discussion, you will establish an understanding of the client’s wider Purpose and Priorities; then help co-define and connect the Potential success of the project with the organization’s broader goals. You will work together in small consulting teams, holding each other accountable to Perform, creating defined deliverables for the client. In this way the course builds off some of the core elements of the Perspectives Course (ENV 553 - Fall 2020) : Peter Boyd : Peter Boyd
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Boyd TBA - TBA |
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Boyd Tentative |
954
Management Plans for Protected Areas (includes Friday and Saturday Field trips)
954 Management Plans for Protected Areas (includes Friday and Saturday Field trips) :
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 private small-holders within the Quiet Corner Initiative partnership managed by the Yale School Forests. In the past plans have been completed for the Nature Conservancy; Massachusetts Trustees of Reservations; town land trusts; city parks and woodlands of New Haven, New York, and Boston; and the Appalachian Mountain Club. Prerequisite: ENV 659b or 660a, or permission of the instructor. Ten days fieldwork.
Must also take ENV 957 in same semester. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
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955
Seminar in Research Analysis, Writing and Communication in Forest Ecology
955 Seminar in Research Analysis, Writing and Communication in Forest Ecology :
A seminar for students in their second year working on research projects. Students start by working through the peer-review publication process. They identify the scope and scale of the appropriate journal for their work. They then work on their projects, which comprise data and projects in applied forest ecology. Discussions involve rationale and hypothesis testing for a project, data analysis techniques, and reporting and interpretation of results. It is expected that manuscripts developed in the course are worthy of publication and that oral presentations are of a caliber for subject-area conferences and meetings. Extensive training in writing and presenting work is provided.
1 credit option is available for incoming students only. Must be taken for 3 credits to count as a capstone course.
: Mark S. Ashton : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
Ashton Tentative |
Ashton Tentative |
956
Strategies for Land Conservation
956 Strategies for Land Conservation :
This is a professional seminar on private land conservation strategies and techniques, with particular emphasis on the legal, financial, and management tools used in the United States. The seminar is built around presentations by guest speakers from land conservation organizations. Speakers are assigned topics across the land conservation spectrum, from identification of target sites, through the acquisition process, to ongoing 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 project/organization management. Students are required to undertake a clinical project with a local land conservation organization. Enrollment limited to twenty-five; preference to second-year students if limit reached. : Bradford S. Gentry : Bradford S. Gentry
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Gentry TBA - TBA |
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Gentry TBA - TBA |
957
Field Skills in Land Stewardship
957 Field Skills in Land Stewardship : See ENV 954 for description.
Must register for both ENV 954 & 957 at the same time. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
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958
Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting Clinic- Entrepreneurs
958 Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting Clinic- Entrepreneurs : : : Peter Boyd
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Tentative (No Semester)
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959
Clinic in Climate Justice, Climate Policy, the Law, and Public Health
959 Clinic in Climate Justice, Climate Policy, the Law, and Public Health :
In the course, interdisciplinary student teams carry out applied projects at the intersection of climate justice, law and public policy, and public health. Each team works with a partner organization (e.g., state agency, community organization, other nongovernmental organization) to study, design, and implement a project, typically through community-based participatory research practices. The course affords the opportunity to have a real-world impact by applying concepts and competencies learned in the classroom. This course should be of interest to graduate and professional students across the University and is open to Yale College juniors and seniors. In addition, this course is one of the options available to students to fulfill the practice requirement for the M.P.H. degree at YSPH and the capstone requirement for the M.E.M. degree at YSE. Students who plan to enroll must complete an application, which will be used to match each student with a clinic project. Check the course’s Canvas site or contact the Yale instructor at laura.bozzi@yale.edu for more information.
Prerequisite: EHS 547 or permission of the instructor. : Laura Bozzi : Laura Bozzi
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Bozzi TBA - TBA |
Bozzi TBA - TBA |
Bozzi Tentative |
Bozzi Tentative |
960
Climate Solutions Capstone: Nature Based Solutions Clinic
960 Climate Solutions Capstone: Nature Based Solutions Clinic : : : Bradford S. Gentry
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Tentative (No Semester)
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961
Environmental Law and Politics: Research and Advanced Topics Seminar
961 Environmental Law and Politics: Research and Advanced Topics Seminar : : : John P. Wargo
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Tentative (No Semester)
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962
Tribal Resources and Sovereignty-Clinic
962 Tribal Resources and Sovereignty-Clinic :
All interested must send in an application for consideration
The application linkTBD
Application opens TBD
The course attendance will be capped at 25 students and also requires 1 hour discussion section
Understanding Tribal Resource Management: We will identify and describe the varieties of tribal resources and the limitation of the management prerogatives facing Tribal Nations under the current legal regime. We will explore those resources governed by the trust duty and the federal government’s role. We will also look at the emerging resources
in the green economy and investigate the relations between tribes, states, and private actors.
• Co-management, the trust duty, and tribal sovereignty will be the main themes around which the clinic will be structured.
• This will be a graduate-level course. This course has no prerequisites and is not capped. It requires an application. It is designed for master’s and Ph.D. students at the Yale School of the Environment, students at the Law School, the School of Management, and the Divinity School. The course is open to Yale College undergraduates and graduate
students from elsewhere in Yale if they get the approval of the instructor.
• This course will enable students to:
1. Gain familiarity with concepts in natural resource management problems;
2. Attain an understanding of the various roles and tools of policymakers and policymaking;
3. Develop an appreciation of the complex dialectic between policy formulation and the different levels of government, as well as other stakeholders;
4. Assess the implications of incorporating different forms of knowledge (disciplinary knowledge, local knowledge, indigenous knowledge, expert knowledge, and citizen knowledge);
5. Gain an appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of interdisciplinary work;
6. Synthesize both existing work and individual values and ethics into a defensible approach to complex natural resource management problems
7. Appraise varying forms of injustice and inequities arising from the dynamics of this work;
8. Develop a critical theoretical and historical underpinning for their work, develop a personal self-reflexive stance of openness to various forms of knowledge and different community values, Sharpen their written and oral analytic skills.
9.Students working on this project will integrate technical forestry and policy expertise with other disciplines to create research that can be communicated to forestry and non-forestry decision-makers. In addition, students should have a willingness to learn to work with tribal staff and assert inherent sovereignty at the local, state, national and international levels by coordinating policy, law, and business. : Patrick Gonzalez-Rogers :
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Gonzalez-Rogers TBA - TBA |
Gonzalez-Rogers TBA - TBA |
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963
Case Studies in Water Management: Conflict and Cooperation
963 Case Studies in Water Management: Conflict and Cooperation : Water management largely operates at local to regional scales (with some important exceptions), so it is particularly suited to a case-study approach that delves into the unique specificities of particular locations while also trying to extract lessons that can be applied to other locations. Course content consists of case studies presented by the instructor, guest lecturers, and students, along with background lectures on underlying principles. This year’s iteration of the course will use water conflict and cooperation as our lens, delving into the ways that water scarcity, flooding, and water quality can lead to conflict at different scales (from local to international), and how those conflictual interactions can be shifted towards more cooperative, just, and sustainable outcomes. Students are expected to prepare a semester-long case study of their own choosing with ongoing guidance from the instructor. This advanced course is designed primarily for students who have already taken a water management course, though other students will be admitted as space permits. For second-year MEM students with an appropriate background, this course can qualify as a capstone course. Can be taken more than once. : Shimon C. Anisfeld : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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Anisfeld Tentative |
970
Environmental Protection Clinic Policy and Advocacy (Follows Law School Calendar)
970 Environmental Protection Clinic Policy and Advocacy (Follows Law School Calendar) :
Follows Law School Calendar
The clinic’s mission is to train students in environmental advocacy through skills-based seminars, interdisciplinary project work, and collaboration with the Natural Resources Defense Council and other significant environmental organizations. Students are assigned to teams of two-to-four members drawn from both the Law School and the School of the Environment. Teams work on a project developed in collaboration with client organizations, with most projects having both legal and policy components. In addition to covering substantive areas of environmental law, clinic seminars help students master the tools of effective environmental advocacy, including the abilities to research law and science, write and cite persuasively, navigate environmental organizations, and manage projects cooperatively. Enrollment limited to eighteen. For all questions, please e-mail jennifer.skene@yale.edu.
Note: Attendance at the first-class meeting is mandatory for admitted students and for those on the waiting list who wish to remain in consideration for admission if a place becomes available. Admitted students must confirm their participation in advance of the first class by a date designated by the instructors. A no-drop policy applies.
Course Bidding: Students in the School ofthe Environment (and students from any other school besides Yale Law School) must complete the Clinic’s Bidding Form by 4:30 p.m. on June 27th. The Bidding Form is available here.
: Douglas Kysar : Douglas Kysar : Elizabeth Suatoni : David Hawkins
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Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar Tentative |
Kysar Tentative |
971
Land Use Clinic
971 Land Use Clinic : Land use control exercised by state and local governments determines where development occurs on the American landscape, the preservation of natural resources, the emission of greenhouse gases, the conservation of energy, and the shape and livability of cities and towns. The exercise of legal authority to plan and regulate the development and conservation of privately owned land plays a key role in meeting the needs of the nation’s growing population for equitable housing, energy, and nonresidential development as well as ensuring that critical environmental functions are protected from the adverse impacts of land development. This course explores the multifaceted discipline of land use and urban planning and their associated ecological implications. Numerous land use strategies are discussed, including identifying and defining climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, including affordable housing, community revitalization, energy development and siting, equitable community engagement, transit-oriented development, building and neighborhood energy conservation, distressed building remediation, jobs and housing balance, coastal resiliency, and biological carbon sequestration. The course also explores how recent events impact these planning issues. The focus is on exposing students to the basics of land use and urban planning, especially in the United States but also internationally, and serving as an introduction for a YSE curricular concentration in land use. Guest speakers are professionals involved in sustainable development, land conservation, smart growth, renewable energy, and climate change management. : Jessica Bacher : Jessica Bacher
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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Bacher Tentative |
972
Advanced Environmental Protection Clinic (Follows Law School Calendar)
972 Advanced Environmental Protection Clinic (Follows Law School Calendar) : Follows Law School Calendar
Open only to students who have successfully completed the Environmental Protection Clinic (ENV 970). No statement of interest required. Attendance at clinic seminar is optional, except for several dates during the semester (see syllabus).For all questions, please e-mail samuel.whillans@yale.edu : Douglas Kysar : Douglas Kysar : Elizabeth Suatoni : TBD Faculty
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Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar Tentative |
Kysar Tentative |
973
Capstone on Waste in the Urban Environment: Technology, Policy, and Management
973 Capstone on Waste in the Urban Environment: Technology, Policy, and Management : : : Alessio Miatto
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Tentative (No Semester)
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974
Social Innovation Starter
974 Social Innovation Starter : Social Innovation Starter is a new course based at Jackson School of Global Affairs. Students apply the ten stage framework of the textbook “Social Entrepreneurship: Building Impact Step by Step” to innovate new solutions for host organizations. Host organizations are social enterprises or other social purpose organizations based globally and locally who present Yale students with a problem statement to work on over the course of one semester. This could include creating new programs or products, reaching new populations, measuring the impact of existing work, creating new communications tools for existing work, or other challenges. Students gain social innovation and entrepreneurship experience and host organizations benefit from students’ problem solving. Students from all programs and concentrations at Yale are welcome to join Jackson students in forming inter-disciplinary teams to tackle social challenges.
This course runs during the same time as Social Entrepreneurship Lab. The key distinction is that in the former, students pick their own topic to research and ideate on; whereas in this course students work on projects for host organizations. Jackson students may elect to follow up on this course with a summer internship to the host organization, to help support implementation of their solution, if the host organization and the School administration accepts their application : Teresa Chahine : Teresa Chahine
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Chahine TBA - TBA |
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Chahine Tentative |
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975
Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice
975 Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice : This project-based course is for students engaged in social research, humanities study, applied management, natural science, and/or conservation policy in Western U.S. landscapes. Western lands and communities face growing ecological, cultural, economic, and social equity problems that require integrated solutions. Working individually or in small teams, students will complete self-driven projects. There are two options for these projects: (1) scholarly research, or (2) applied research for a practitioner-client. Students conducting scholarly research will hone and apply skills for data collection, analysis, and scholarly writing for publication. Applied students will engage in similar work, but they'll establish a relationship with a client of their choosing and carry out a project with concrete deliverables informed by the needs of that client (e.g., NGOs, federal land agencies, Native Nations, local governments, etc.). The course counts toward the MEM Capstone, if desired. There is a mandatory field trip for experiential learning during spring break. As such, the course is capped at 12 and requires an application. No preference is given to a particular field of study. Some preference is given to students having prior experience with Western lands and communities.
Application Information - TBD : Justin Farrell : Justin Farrell
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Farrell TBA - TBA |
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Farrell TBA - TBA |
979
Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors
979 Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors : Recent scientific reports from the IPCC and the US National Climate Assessment on the impacts of global warming provide a stark warning of the future our planet faces unless we make dramatic and meaningful greenhouse gas reductions by 2030—approximately 50 percent reductions below 2010 levels. The scale and scope of the challenge will require concerted effort from across all parts of civil society. This client-based capstone course will explore how states, cities, companies, and/or institutions can meaningfully engage in decarbonization to address the climate crisis. Students will work in teams with clients from the government, private, non-profit, and academic sectors. Clients are updated every year, but recent representative clients have included the State of Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, the City of Ithaca, the U.S. Climate Alliance, Sustainable CT, Yale University, a clean energy angel investor fund, and similar organizations. Students analyze, model, and/or implement decarbonization policies and programs in key sectors, including electricity, buildings, transportation, materials management, and/or carbon capture and sequestration. The course starts with introductory sessions on the climate crisis, as well as sessions on teamwork and consulting skills. Most classes are split between a seminar-style discussion led by one of our client/hosts on their innovative subnational decarbonization activities, and time for students to work on their projects, with opportunities for feedback and guidance from the instructor and each other. At the end of the term, the students present their findings and recommendations to their client/hosts and each other. : Robert Klee : Robert Klee
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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Klee Tentative |
982
Green Engineering and Sustainable Design
982 Green Engineering and Sustainable Design :
Study of green engineering, focusing on key approaches to advancing sustainability through engineering design. Topics include current design, manufacturing, and disposal processes; toxicity and benign alternatives; policy implications; pollution prevention and source reduction; separations and disassembly; material and energy efficiencies and flows; systems analysis; biomimicry; and life cycle design, management, and analysis. : Julie Zimmerman : Julie Zimmerman
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Zimmerman TBA - TBA |
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Zimmerman TBA - TBA |
983
Water Resource Science & Management Capstone
983 Water Resource Science & Management Capstone : : : Gaboury Benoit
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Tentative (No Semester)
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985
Capstone: Neighborhood Planning Workshop
985 Capstone: Neighborhood Planning Workshop :
This capstone workshop provides an opportunity for students to apply the theory of practice developed in ENV 817 (or comparable study/experience) to a real-world, local urban planning project as part of an interdisciplinary student team. Up to two teams of up to six students each will work together, for a client, to develop a strategy for a neighborhood in New Haven or its environs. The emphasis in each neighborhood will be on identifying and overcoming the tensions and conflicts between economic, social, and environmental objectives to develop a balanced strategy for each neighborhood that meets stakeholders’ goals while acknowledging the context of overarching regional, national, and global challenges and opportunities (e.g., climate change, demographic shifts). Toward that end, students are exposed to the detailed processes of local government as well as techniques used by city planners to collect and assess data and combine those quantitative tools with stakeholder engagement to develop strategies to achieve community vision. With a focus on interdisciplinary problem solving and the collective project management resulting in a client-driven work product, students learn valuable skills for their future careers. : David Kooris : David Kooris
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Kooris TBA - TBA |
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Kooris Tentative |
990
Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law & Policy Lab — Pre-Registration Deadline: TBD
990 Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law & Policy Lab — Pre-Registration Deadline: TBD : Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law & Policy Lab (“CAFE Lab”) (30241). 3 units. Students in the CAFE Lab will work with faculty, outside experts, and non-governmental organizations to develop innovative litigation and legislative initiatives to bring systemic change to the global food industry, which is one of the top contributors to climate change, animal suffering, human exploitation, and environmental degradation worldwide. The Lab’s primary focus areas for 2022-23 include litigation to address GHG emissions from industrial agriculture and legislative models to hold industrial food producers accountable for the currently uncounted, externalized costs of industrial agriculture for animals, workers, communities, and the environment.
Students enrolled in the Lab will work directly with the teaching team, NGO attorneys, and a wide range of stakeholders with expertise in food, animal, climate, and environmental law on real-world litigation and legislative intervention projects. The Lab will include orientation and training sessions, and students will be required to meet regularly with Lab instructors and outside partners and experts, either as a group or in subgroups as we collaborate in each area of our work. More information on CAFE Lab projects is available for review on the CAFE Lab website. Enrollment limited. Permission of instructors is required. Also ENV 981. D. Kysar, J. Lovvorn, D. Bray, and V. Morris.
Note: Attendance at the first class meeting is mandatory for admitted students and for those on the waiting list who wish to remain in consideration for admission if a place becomes available. Admitted students must confirm their participation in advance of the first class by a date designated by the instructors. A no-drop policy applies. Students who have accepted their places may drop up until August 20 but cannot drop during the normal add/drop period after classes begin.
Note: Students from other graduate and professional schools are welcome to apply to this course by sending a resume and statement of interest directly to Professor Kysar (douglas.kysar@yale.edu) by August 15. : Douglas Kysar : Douglas Kysar
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Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar Tentative |
Kysar Tentative |
991
Advanced Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab
991 Advanced Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab : : : Douglas Kysar : TBD Faculty
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Tentative (No Semester)
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