Course |
Fall 2021 |
Spring 2022 |
Fall 2022 |
Spring 2023 |
511
Ecological Foundations for Environmental Managers
511 Ecological Foundations for Environmental Managers :
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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: Kealoha Freidenburg : Oswald J. Schmitz
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Freidenburg Tu - 10:30-11:50 |
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Schmitz TBA - TBA |
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512
Microeconomic Foundations for Environmental Managers
512 Microeconomic Foundations for Environmental Managers : 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. : Stephanie Weber : Matthew J. Kotchen
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Weber M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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Kotchen 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 in order to understand and manage environmental problems. The course draws on the following disciplines: 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 W - 2:30-3:50 |
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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522
Social Science Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-2 Oct 18-Dec 10)
522 Social Science Foundations for Environmental Managers (Fall-2 Oct 18-Dec 10) : The environmental social sciences shed light on how humans define, perceive, understand, manage and otherwise influence the environment. Insights into the cultural, institutional, political-economic, and historic drivers of human actions are needed to describe and understand human-environment interactions as well as to move towards long-lasting and flexible responses to socioenvironmental change. This basic knowledge course is designed to introduce students to a range of social science disciplines that are engaged in understanding the relationships between nature and society. Explicit focus will be in on how to mobilize the insights gained from environmental social sciences for natural resource management. : Amity Doolittle : Amity Doolittle
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Doolittle M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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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 Tu,Th - 8:30-9:50 |
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
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551
Qualitative Social Science Research Methods
551 Qualitative Social Science Research Methods : This course is designed to provide a broad introduction to issues of qualitative research methods and design. The course is intended for both doctoral students who are in the beginning stage of their dissertation research, as well as master’s students developing research proposals for their thesis projects with a focus on understanding the nexus of human-environment issues. The course covers the basic techniques of designing qualitative research and for collecting, interpreting, and analyzing qualitative data. We explore three interrelated dimensions of research: theoretical foundations of science and research, specific methods available to researchers for data collection and analysis, and the application and practice of research methods—all with a strong emphasis on the relationship between people and natural resources. The final product for this course is a research proposal. : Amity Doolittle : Amity Doolittle
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Doolittle Tu,Th - 11:00-12:20 |
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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
: Peter Boyd : Julie Zimmerman
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Boyd M,W - 4:00-5:20 |
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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. : Kenneth Gillingham : Kenneth Gillingham : Gerald Torres
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Gillingham M - 2:30-3:50 |
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Gillingham TBA - TBA |
562
The Future of Forest Products in a Changing Climate: Bioenergy from Forests
562 The Future of Forest Products in a Changing Climate: Bioenergy from Forests :
Bioenergy from forests has been heralded by some as a promising renewable energy source that can help fight climate change. Yet others raise concerns over negative impacts on the environment and human health with potential increases in green-house gas emissions. To delve deeper into this issue, The Yale Forest Forum is excited to announce the next speaker series for the spring 2022 semester, jointly hosted by the Yale Carbon Containment Lab, Yale Center for Industrial Ecology, and The Forests Dialogue. The series will bring in a wide range of experts from academia, private, public, and the NGO sector to discuss the future role of bioenergy from forests in addressing climate, resource, societal and environmental challenges at regional and global scales. Speakers representing forestry, energy, conservation, and climate science will describe their personal and organizational experience with bioenergy from forests, and discuss the environmental, economic, and societal implications for increased use in the energy sector, sustainable forest management, the forest products industry and society more generally. Each presentation is a public webinar that is followed by a private classroom discussion between the speaker and the students.
Join us every Tuesday from January 25 - April 19 from 11:30am-12:10pm US EST. This virtual webinar is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Click here to register. Register once to attend all webinars. : Mark S. Ashton : : Anastasia O’Rourke : Reid J. Lifset : Gary Dunning
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Ashton Tu - 11:30-12:50 |
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567
Urban Transport Planning (January 26-Feb 23)
567 Urban Transport Planning (January 26-Feb 23) : 6 week course. Transport activity, a key enabler of economic development and human welfare, is increasing around the world as cities and economies grow. Yet, conventional forms of transport carry significant costs—to the environment, energy systems, equity and the economy. This course provides graduate students (and advanced undergraduates) with an overview of the necessary theoretical, policy, and practical strategies to understand the landscape of transport in cities and opportunities for change. Using both domestic and international contexts, we explore how transport considerations interact with land use (and cities, more generally) and the role of supporting infrastructure to allow dynamic, equitable and environmentally sound cities to result. Technological advances are helping mitigate many of the issues facing society, transport included. Many challenges exist to understand if technology is a friend or foe. In the fast-moving domain of transport planning, we will focus on how and why urban regions function the way they do and sustainable opportunities for reform. We explore the merits of employing planning polices or infrastructure investments to design communities and networks that comport with common aims of environmental stewardship and more. : Kevin Krizek :
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HybridKrizek W - 1:00-3:50 |
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569
Environmentally Extended Input-Output (EEIO) Analysis
569 Environmentally Extended Input-Output (EEIO) Analysis : There is growing recognition that a country’s environmental impacts not only derive from what it produces, but also from what it consumes. Through consumption-based accounting, environmentally extended input-output (EEIO) models enable identification of environmental impact hot spots, drivers, and trends. EEIO analysis is one of the core methods in the field of industrial ecology. EEIO models are based on snapshots of monetary exchanges, and environmental data are attributed to the responsible sectors. Social impacts such as income and labor rights can be incorporated as well. As with life-cycle assessment (LCA), impacts can be traced from the final product back through the entire supply chain with EEIO. Whereas LCA provides detailed assessments of specific products, EEIO covers all products in an economy, but at lower resolution. : Reed Miller :
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Miller M - 4:00-5:20 |
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571
Advanced Remote Sensing of Urban Land Change
571 Advanced Remote Sensing of Urban Land Change : This is a reading seminar that explores advances in remote sensing algorithms to characterize urban land change. We will read peer reviewed articles and examine a suite of methods to capture change. Focus will be on time series methods. Students must have prior remote sensing experience. : Karen C. Seto :
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Seto Tu - 1:00-1:50 |
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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 M - 1:00-3:50 |
Grove TBA - TBA |
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577
PSC: Environmental Communicator (Jan 27 - Mar 3)
577 PSC: Environmental Communicator (Jan 27 - Mar 3) :
This course prepares students for the communication tasks they will face as environmental professionals, researchers, or employees. In their careers, most professionals spend more than half their work time communicating with others, both inside and outside their organization. To advance in their careers and contribute to the progress of an environmental cause, students need a refined ability to communicate their ideas with clarity and credibility. This course focuses on building a constellation of skills that students can apply to their work. They learn how to use communication to influence others, advocate their ideas, and collaborate with colleagues on project teams. Course topics include strategy in communication, diplomatic language, public speaking, writing styles, listening to people, and framing environmental issues for the public. The course meets for a weekly two-hour lecture and demonstration, and students attend a one-hour small group practice session that allows them to reinforce new communicative behaviors in simulated job tasks, such as project meetings, budget requests, and public hearings. : William Vance : William Vance
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Vance Th - 6:00-8:00 |
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Vance Tentative |
580
Theory to Practice of Urban Forest Management
580 Theory to Practice of Urban Forest Management : The structure and function of forests in rural areas have similarities to natural areas in cities. However, the importance of street trees as part of the tree canopy and stressors in urban areas require different management approaches. Moreover, other essential facets of urban forestry vary from counterparts of rural forest management, including differing objectives and methods to achieve goals. For instance, objectives of urban forest management may be focused on reducing impacts of urban heat island (UHI) or reversing inequitable tree cover in low-income communities. Concepts of community forestry also apply across the spectrum of rural-to-urban; however, the density of landowners in urban forestry makes the application of the model different in cities. Moreover, urban forestry draws upon multiple fields including forest management, arboriculture, and landscape design. Students are introduced to key management concepts through lectures and readings reinforced by field exercises to implement theory to practice : Colleen Murphy-Dunning : : Mark S. Ashton
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Murphy-Dunning Th - 11:30-1:00 |
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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 T/W - T-7:00-10:00pm/W-10:30-1:20 |
Musser T -7pm-10pm; W - 10:30-1:20 |
Musser TBA - TBA |
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594
Global Carbon Cycle
594 Global Carbon Cycle :
Carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the universe, the building block for all of biochemistry, and the energy exchange material for the Earth’s metabolism. Over the past 200 years, people have mined fossil carbon to power the global economy, leading to profound transformations in the cycling of carbon among land, oceans, and atmosphere and disrupting Earth’s climate.
This course explores in detail the cycling of labile carbon among the major biogeochemical reservoirs. We’ll spend roughly 4 weeks each on land, oceans, and atmosphere and finish up by considering carbon-climate feedback and climate sensitivity to cumulative fossil fuel emissions. : A. Scott Denning :
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Denning M,W - 9:00-10:20 |
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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 website and Canvas 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. : Matthew J. Kotchen : Matthew J. Kotchen
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Kotchen Based on Student schedules |
Kotchen Th - 12:00-12:50 |
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. : Charles Musser :
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Musser M,T - Mon 7pm-10pm; Tues 3:30-5:20 |
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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 M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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Bradford TBA - TBA |
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603
Environmental Data Visualization & Communication
603 Environmental Data Visualization & Communication :
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 M - 9:00-11:50 |
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
604
Social Entrepreneurship in Public Health (Fall-1)
604 Social Entrepreneurship in Public Health (Fall-1) : Follows School of Management calendar
2 sections available -
This is a case-based course about innovation and entrepreneurship for health equity and drivers of health. Health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, racism, gender, and other biases and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, healthy foods, safe environments, and health care. We refer to these as drivers of health. COVID-19 has brought to light for many the complexities in drivers of health, and the role of entrepreneurship and cross-sectoral collaboration in eliminating health disparities. Students examine cases of entrepreneurship for health equity in the United States and globally, using a research-based framework to analyze the role of innovation and design thinking, resource mobilization, financial viability, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and systems strengthening. Cases include start-ups and new ventures within existing institutions, referred to as intrapreneurship. Students also examine cases of collective impact, or innovating across multiple institutions. Over the years, students in this class have begun referring to these as extrapreneurship. This course brings together students from Yale College, the Graduate School, and the Schools of Management, Public Health, Environment, Divinity, and Engineering & Applied Science. : Teresa Chahine :
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Chahine Section 1 - T/Th 1:00-2:20; Section 2 - 2:40-4:00 |
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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. Risk communication can help people take risks seriously (e.g., to wear a seatbelt or bicycle helmet, check for radon in their homes, evacuate from a coming hurricane) that they might otherwise ignore. Risk communication can also provide
reassurance when data indicate that a risk is not serious. For environmental professionals, effective risk communication enables them 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 will provide an overview of the theory and practice of effective communication about environmental and health risks to diverse stakeholders. Students will be expected to actively participate in class discussions, drawing upon assigned readings, lectures, and videos. : Andrew Schwarz : Andrew Schwarz
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Schwarz Th - 2:30-5:20 |
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Schwarz TBA - TBA |
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606
Methods in Climate Change and Health Research
606 Methods in Climate Change and Health Research : Climate change is recognized as one of the greatest public health challenges of the 21st century. This course will take multidisciplinary approaches to identify, assess, quantify, and project public health impacts of climate change and of measures to address climate change. It will first introduce the fundamental principles of health impact assessment and give a brief overview of the public health approaches to address climate change. Then it will apply advanced data analysis methodologies in environmental epidemiology, including time-series analysis, spatial epidemiology, and vulnerability assessment, to characterize the present climate-health (exposure-response) relationships and to identify vulnerable populations. This course will discuss key concepts of scenario-based climate projections and their applications in projecting future health impacts, evaluating health co-benefits of climate mitigation polices, and assessing climate change adaptation measures. Emphasis will be placed on hands-on computer lab excises with real-data examples and R scripts. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty M/T, M- 4:30-6:20/T- 1:00-1:50 |
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Faculty Tentative |
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608
Air Pollution and Public Health
608 Air Pollution and Public Health : Exposure to air pollution is a leading contributor to the global disease burden. This course discusses major emission sources, atmospheric transformation and transport, measurement and modeling techniques for human exposure assessment, and the health impacts of air pollutants. Emphasis is placed on students gaining hands-on experience with measurement (e.g., low-cost sensors, passive samplers) and spatial analysis tools (e.g., ArcGIS) for application to research, public health practice, and community engagement. Through a series of laboratory sessions, students quantitatively characterize indoor and outdoor exposure concentrations and learn methods to critically assess data quality. The public health implications of air pollutant exposure are examined through review of recent epidemiological and toxicological research. The course discusses inequitable distribution of air pollutant exposure across the United States in relation to environmental health disparities. The health benefits of air pollutant intervention strategies in developed and developing regions and implications for policy action are also covered. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty W - 8:00-9:50 |
Faculty Tentative |
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613
Writing as a Public Scholar
613 Writing as a Public Scholar : : : Stephanie Hanes Wilson
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Wilson Tentative |
616
Global Crisis Response
616 Global Crisis Response : With a special emphasis on the United States, this course explores how the international community responds to humanitarian crises and military interventions. We examine the roles and responsibilities of members of the diplomatic corps, senior military officials, nongovernmental organizations, and international financial organizations in order to understand the skill sets required for these organizations to be effective. Through readings, discussions, role-play, writing exercises, and other tools, we learn how organizations succeed and sometimes fail in assisting individuals and nations in peril. We examine emerging regional hot spots, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. We explore the challenges facing the governments, civil society organizations, and businesses in the aftermath of crises and the impact on citizens. We review the effectiveness of regional organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the African Union (AU) in assisting governments rebuild and stabilize their societies. We have several role-playing simulations during which students play the role of an individual or organization responsible for briefing counterparts on key events.
Application Process. : TBD Faculty :
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Faculty F - 1:30-3:20 |
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617
Real World Environmental Data Science
617 Real World Environmental Data Science : 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.
Application now required:
https://forms.gle/wxoZU7ifjzX8d7y16 : Elena Grewal : : Sarah McGowan
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Grewal Tu - 2:30-5:20 |
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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 W - 9:00-11:50 |
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Carpenter TBA - TBA |
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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 Tu,Th - 11:35-12:50 |
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Latham TBA - TBA |
622
Decarbonizing Pathways to Limit Climate Change
622 Decarbonizing Pathways to Limit Climate Change : Pollution from fossil fuels, deforestation, and other causes have already resulted in more than 1˚C of warming above pre-industrial levels, which has radically altered our climate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that the world will face severe climate impacts even with 1.5˚C temperature rise. And without increased ambition in countries’ climate commitments and climate actions we can anticipate at least 3˚C of warming by the end of the century (UNEP 2019), leading to an unrecognizable planet. To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, global emissions will need to be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by mid-century. As we head into this decisive decade, we need to understand the magnitude of the climate challenge and which mitigation pathways are available to transition to a net-zero future and limit the most dangerous climate impacts. Accordingly, this course is devoted to understanding the scale of the climate problem and solution sets that would set us on an emissions pathway to achieve net-zero emissions. We start the course by examining emissions trends and impacts, as well as the necessary scale of emissions cuts consistent with achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. We then turn our attention to strengthening our global response, with an investigation into countries’ commitments, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), long-term strategies and net-zero targets. This is particularly relevant this coming year as countries are preparing these commitments in advance of the 26th Conference of the Parties, to be held in November 2021. The last portion of the class is dedicated to informing the design of climate solutions, as we have a narrow window of time to steer action. We first explore theoretical frameworks for shaping our interventions, and then examine the role of different sectors and solutions sets in achieving netzero greenhouse gas emissions. : Kelly Levin : TBD Faculty
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Levin Th - 4:00-6:50 |
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Faculty Tentative |
625
Writing Workshop
625 Writing Workshop : This course is aimed at helping you improve your writing. The goal is to develop your writing skills and make you better able to communicate your work and ideas through writing – writing that is clear, accessible, and free of jargon. Students will be required to write every week throughout the course – short assignments (600-800 words) each week, and one longer assignment (1,500-2,000 words) due at the end of the semester.
The class will be capped at 12 students. Priority will be given to YSE students, but students from other Yale graduate schools and undergraduates are also welcome. Submit a paragraph to the instructor by January 19 stating why you are interested in this course; send to roger.cohn@yale.edu, with “Writing Workshop” in the subject field.
: Roger Cohn : Roger Cohn
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Cohn Tu - 1:00-3:50 |
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Cohn TBA - TBA |
626
Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences
626 Writing for Publication in the Natural Sciences : This course is intended to give students insights into the process of writing natural science manuscripts. The seminar guides students through writing a paper and ends the term with a submitted manuscript. We 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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OnlineQueenborough Tu - 1130-1230 |
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Queenborough TBA - TBA |
627
Reopening and Reimagining Africa
627 Reopening and Reimagining Africa : It is time to “reopen and reimagine Africa.” This course requires students to research and redesign policies that will help African nations emerge economically stronger and with a population that is better educated and healthier by 2050. Similarly, students examine, analyze, and support and/or criticize the long-term policies of African nations. This requires students to engage with up-and-coming African scholars, businesspersons, educators, and policy makers to ensure that the recommendations are not conceived in a vacuum. This course also examines the obstacles and challenges of great-power competition among the United States, PRC, Russia, and the EU on Africa when designing alternative or status quo policies. : TBD Faculty :
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Faculty M - 9:25-11:15 |
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630
The Physical Science of Climate Change
630 The Physical Science of Climate Change : The course provides students with core knowledge on the processes controlling the earth's climate system. The first half of the class focuses on the four components of the earth climate system, providing a knowledge base on the atmospheric energy and water budgets and the roles of anthropogenic greenhouse gases, the oceans, land and cryosphere in altering these budgets. Students also learn how to run a climate GCM (general circulation model). The second half of the class focuses on impacts of climate change on a number of societal sectors including natural ecosystems, energy use, water resources, the food system and the built environment. : Peter A. Raymond : Peter A. Raymond : Xuhui Lee
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Raymond Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
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 Tu,Th - 2:40-4:00 |
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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 :
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Torres Tu,Th - 2:30-3:50 |
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634
Ecology of Global Drylands
634 Ecology of Global Drylands : This course explores the controls on the geographic distribution, community and ecosystem structure, and functioning of drylands globally. Lectures, writing, and student-led discussions. : William Lauenroth : William Lauenroth
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Lauenroth M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
635
Renewable Energy Project Finance
635 Renewable Energy Project Finance : 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.
Renewable Energy Project Finance (ENV 635) has received strong of interest from students outside of YSE, so there will likely be a cap on enrollment. While there is currently a waitlist for students from SOM, Yale College, Jackson and other programs, a fixed number of seats have been reserved for YSE. As mentioned in the online course catalog, enrollment in the course requires submission of a short application essay. Applications from YSE are being reviewed on a first-come-first-served basis, with some preference to students pursuing a career in renewable energy or sustainable infrastructure. If you are interested in the course, you are encouraged to submit your application as soon as possible by completing the form at https://forms.gle/u5Y84yWqiYVQbB867. We cannot guarantee that there will be space available if you wait until registration period to apply. : Daniel Gross : Daniel Gross
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OnlineGross M,W - 7:30pm-8:50pm |
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Gross Tentative |
637
A Toolkit for Communicating Environmental Science
637 A Toolkit for Communicating Environmental Science : This course is designed to provide students with a sophisticated understanding of why environmental science communication often fails, and to leave them with a skillset that will enable them to overcome these difficulties and communicate successfully. It will introduce students to the complex intersection between environmental science and the media – broadly defined -- and give them the tools to navigate it the 2020s and beyond, whether they plan to pursue careers as scientists or as environmental leaders who will need to communicate often with the media and public. : Chris Mooney :
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Mooney M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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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 Tu,Th - 9:00-10:20 |
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Robinson TBA - TBA |
641
Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management
641 Market-Based Mechanisms for Water Management : This course provides students with both a theoretical foundation of and practical experience with applying environmental water transactions (EWTs) to water management challenges, such as river restoration, drought-mitigation, and agricultural allocation. Other market-based mechanisms for water management will be explored, though EWTs and western US water law and management are the primary focus. As part of the course, students will have 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 for the watershed.
This is an online course taught by experienced professionals who value a hands-on approach to learning. Classes typically will be part lecture and part applied work, with opportunities for discussion, breakout groups, and scheduled Zoom breaks in order to minimize screen fatigue. In addition, the course will feature case studies and guest lectures from practitioners actively using market-based mechanisms for water management (prospective guest lecturers include staff from Environmental Defense Fund, American Rivers, Deschutes River Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, and others). : Sarah Kruse :
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OnlineKruse Tu - 1:00-3:50 |
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642
Environmental Justice/Climate Justice
642 Environmental Justice/Climate Justice : In this seminar, we will focus on the evolution and development of the environmental justice movement. We will pay particular attention to its embrace of climate justice, and we will ask what conception of justice is at play in both the environmental justice and climate justice movement. We will begin with a legal and social-historical survey but will quickly bring the inquiry up to the current moment. We will explore the legal and policy developments that have followed the environmental justice critique. I will expect students to choose a particular movement (or one expression of it) and write a paper bringing to bear all of the questions we raise in the seminar. (For example, how did opposition from environmental justice advocates lead to a reformed climate change initiative in California? Or What is the genesis of the Sunrise movement and what legal or policy changes would be required to make it a reality.)The paper need not focus on a domestic response, because the environmental/climate justice critique is now global. : Gerald Torres : Gerald Torres
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Torres Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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Torres TBA - TBA |
643
The Environment Project: Research, Methods, and Discourse
643 The Environment Project: Research, Methods, and Discourse : As climate breakdown advances, the intersection between architecture and environmental action must be redefined. For too long, much of environmental discourse focused on the built environment has taken for granted how built form affects and intersects with environmental degradation. Prioritizing technical aspects of building and construction has made it seem that at the ecological brink, architecture’s most pressing concern is energy efficiency while the city’s priority should be infrastructural modernization. This stance compartmentalizes architectural thought and dislocates the origins of the climate crisis from the dominant political, economic, and spatial organizations that are its cause. This course is designed for students who seek new terrain for architectural thought within the context of our evolving environmental catastrophe. The course is run as a colloquium and workshop in which students develop a research and/or design project operating at the intersection of the built and natural environments. The projects themselves, however, are not carried out within the time frame of this course. The final output of the course is a proposal, to be carried out in studios, independent studies, grant projects, capstone projects, or future professional and/or academic work. The trajectory of the term is dedicated to building the foundation for the proposed project via annotated bibliographies, literature reviews, and critical discussion with classmates and invited guests. Research methods are foregrounded, yet the seminar is more than a methods course. In the short term, students build research skills and cultivate critical thinking, while in the long term, students build the foundations for their future professional and/or academic trajectory while strengthening environmental discourse within urban studies and architecture. : Elisa Iturbe :
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Iturbe Th - 11:00 - 12:50 |
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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 Tu - 9:00-11:50 |
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Seto TBA - TBA |
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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 W - 1:00-3:50 |
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Wood TBA - TBA |
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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 Tu - 1:00-3:50 |
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Robinson TBA - TBA |
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 :
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Taylor Th - 1:00-3:50 |
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650
Seminar in Wildland Fire of the Western US
650 Seminar in Wildland Fire of the Western US : : : Mark S. Ashton
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Tentative (No Semester)
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651
Seminar in the Biosphere: History, Development, and Consequences
651 Seminar in the Biosphere: History, Development, and Consequences : : : Graeme P. Berlyn
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Berlyn TBA - TBA |
652
Wood: Structure and Function
652 Wood: Structure and Function : This course focuses on the extraordinary diversity of wood anatomy at the cellular level, and on the practice of dendrochronology that allows students to take advantage of predictable, inter-annual variability in tree growth to reconstruct environmental history. The primary focus of the course is on common northeastern trees and other commercially important timber species. A primary goal is to participate in the development of a master tree-ring chronology for the School forests. Basic statistics and a background in tree physiology and anatomy are strongly recommended. : Craig Brodersen :
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Brodersen Tu,Th - 9:00-10:20 |
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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 M - 5:30-6:50 |
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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 Tu,Th - 4:00-5:20 |
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Berlyn TBA - TBA |
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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 Tu,Th - 4:00-5:20 |
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Berlyn TBA - TBA |
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 management of wildlife habitat, bioenergy and carbon sequestration, water resources, urban environments, timber and nontimber products, and landscape design. Recommended: some knowledge of soils, ecology, plant physiology, human behavior, and resource economics. Four to six hours lecture. One hour tutorial. Seven days fieldwork. : Mark S. Ashton : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton M,W - 8:30-10:20 |
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
660
Forest Dynamics
660 Forest 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 Tu,Th - 10:00-11:20 |
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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 |
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 TBA - TBA |
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Faculty Tentative |
671
Woody Plant Taxonomy and Dendrology
671 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 students learn how to identify more than 120 individual species of woody plants using common morphological and ecological traits used for field identification. Dendrology is by nature context-specific, so this course has a focus on North American forest species, primarily of eastern North America. In addition, we use phylogenetic systematics as the structure for understanding taxonomy and the evolutionary history and relationships between species. Enrollment limited to thirteen.
To apply for this class please 1) register so I have you in the canvas roster 2) fill out this google form before August 24th: https://forms.gle/T1RRv71TsCLP5mxv7. (Links to an external site.)Students will be told if they are accepted or on the waitlist for this class by August 25th : Marlyse Duguid : Marlyse Duguid
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Duguid Th - 1:00-5:00 |
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Duguid TBA - TBA |
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674
Seminar in Forest Ecosystem Health and Stability in a Changing Climate
674 Seminar in Forest Ecosystem Health and Stability in a Changing Climate : 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. : Mark S. Ashton : : Robert Talbot Trotter III
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Ashton M,W - 4:00-5:20, plus some Friday Field trips |
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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. The laboratory component of this course ( ENV 679L) involves the theory, programming, and deployment of micrometeorological equipment to monitor environmental conditions in the field, as well as methods for measuring photosynthesis and growth in the greenhouse and field. Enrollment limited to twenty-four. : Craig Brodersen : Craig Brodersen
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Brodersen M,W - 2:30-3:50 |
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Brodersen TBA - TBA |
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681
Ethnobotany
681 Ethnobotany : : : Ina Vandebroek
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Vandebroek Tentative |
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683
Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration
683 Seminar in Tropical Forest Restoration : Application instructions:
Please email a statement as to why you wish to take this course and what your qualifications are. The email should be sent to Mark Ashton (mark.ashton@yale.edu). State whether you intend taking the class for 3 credits only or if you intend participating in the field trip for an extra credit if it is offered. Submissions must be made before January 5th.
Notification of admittance will be made January 10th. This course is considered advanced with assumed knowledge of forest stand dynamics, tropical forest ecology and silviculture. It is required that students have taken silviculture and/or tropical ecology either here at YSE or in prior coursework. For first year students you should consider taking silviculture concurrently with this seminar if you have not taken this course/topic area..
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; understanding the social drivers and barriers of restoration; and becoming familiar with 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. Prerequisite: F&ES 659b. Enrollment limited to sixteen. : Mark S. Ashton :
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Ashton M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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684
Forest Finance
684 Forest Finance : : : Deborah Spalding
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Spalding TBA - TBA |
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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
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Garen M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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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 M,W - 2:30-3:50 |
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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. : Joseph Orefice : Joseph Orefice
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Orefice M,W - 2:30-3:50 |
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Orefice TBA - TBA |
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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 |
695
Yale Forest Forum Speaker Series: The Future of Wood Building Products in a Changing Climate: Mass Timber and Biomaterials
695 Yale Forest Forum Speaker Series: The Future of Wood Building Products in a Changing Climate: Mass Timber and Biomaterials : The Forest School and the Center for Industrial Ecology at the Yale School of Environment have developed a seminar for Fall 2021 examining The Future Role of Solid Wood Products in a Changing Climate, including a wide range of perspectives and experiences from around the world. The seminar is offered to YSE/Yale students for one credit and co-led by Dr. Mark Ashton, Dr. Yuan Yao, Dr. Barbara Reck and Gary Dunning. The course is guest lecture/discussion based and includes a weekly public presentation hosted by the Yale Forest Forum (YFF).
This course is being developed as the first in a four seminar series focused on forest products in a changing Climate. Other themes include: Pulp and Paper; Industrial Plantations; and BioEnergy.
Guest speakers will describe their personal and organizational experience with solid wood products
Seminar Timing: Thursdays 11:30-12:10 (Public presentation), 12:10 - 12:50 (Course discussion with registered YSE students). All times ET. : Mark S. Ashton : : Yuan Yao : Barbara Reck : TBD Faculty
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Ashton Th - 11:30-12:50 |
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700
Alpine, Arctic, and Boreal Ecosystems Seminar
700 Alpine, Arctic, and Boreal Ecosystems Seminar : : : Graeme P. Berlyn
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Tentative (No Semester)
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701
Seminar on Climate Change Policy and Economics
701 Seminar on Climate Change Policy and Economics :
The seminar reviews the economic and scientific framework and the facts that underlie efficient mitigation and adaption decisions concerning climate change. The course then focuses on the key uncertainties and value judgements that make managing climate change complicated and controversial.
: Robert O. Mendelsohn :
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Mendelsohn M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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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 :
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Lee W - 2:30-5:20 |
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705
Current Topics in Global Climate Change
705 Current Topics in Global Climate Change : People are currently mining millions of years’ worth of stored photosynthetic carbon from the solid Earth and transferring it to the atmosphere where it is profoundly changing the chemistry, physics, and biology of the atmosphere, land, and oceans. Exchanges with the oceans and land surface have been modified substantially, so that currently only about half of anthropogenic emissions remain in the atmosphere. These “carbon sinks” are poorly understood, contributing a great deal of uncertainty to future climate. We consider biogeochemical and transport processes in land ecosystems, the oceans, and atmosphere as well as anthropogenic emissions. We conclude with a study of changes in carbon cycling in the past and future, including predictions by coupled Earth System Models. : A. Scott Denning :
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Denning M,W - 11:35-12:50 |
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706
Organic Pollutants in the Environment
706 Organic Pollutants in the Environment : : : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
707
Introduction to Environmental Chemistry
707 Introduction to Environmental Chemistry :
A descriptive overview of baseline biogeochemistry and the nature and behavior of pollutants in the environment. The course is designed to aid future environmental professionals who sometimes may find it necessary to make decisions based on knowledge of environmental chemistry. It is geared to the nonspecialist who needs to establish familiarity with various classes of pollutants and the chemical, biological, and physical processes that control their sources, behavior, toxicity, and fate. Topics include the fundamental kinds of chemical reactions in the environment, critical analysis of chemical data, sampling techniques, analytical methods, natural biogeochemical controls on environmental chemistry, water treatment, and green infrastructure, as well as detailed examination of such contaminants as acid precipitation, nutrients, urban runoff, and sewage. Three hours lecture. One class project, problem sets, midterm, final exam. A small number of field trips. : Gaboury Benoit : Gaboury Benoit
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Benoit Tu,Th - 1:00-2:15 |
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Benoit Tentative |
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708
Aquatic Chemistry
708 Aquatic Chemistry :
A detailed examination of the principles governing chemical reactions in water. Emphasis on developing the ability to predict the aqueous chemistry of natural, engineered, and perturbed systems based on a knowledge of their biogeochemical setting. Calculation of quantitative solutions to chemical equilibria. Focus on inorganic chemistry. Topics include elementary thermodynamics, acid-base equilibria, alkalinity, speciation, solubility, mineral stability, redox chemistry, and surface complexation reactions. : Gaboury Benoit : Gaboury Benoit
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Benoit Tu,Th - 1:00-2:15 |
Tentative (No Semester)
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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 :
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Bradford M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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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 issues; and engineering, legal, economic, and behavioral solutions. 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 Th - 12:00-5:00 |
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
714
Environmental Hydrology
714 Environmental Hydrology : Groundwater quenches the thirst of more than one third of the planet’s population. It also supports 40 percent of the world’s irrigated agriculture, while enabling production of numerous commodities that make us comfortable and content. Groundwater is in high demand and, in some places, we’ve taken too much, causing streams to disappear, land to sink, and wells to run dry. Groundwater in other places has been ruined by pollutants that are dangerous side effects of mining, reckless agricultural practices, and unchecked industrial processes. Unless we begin to make better decisions, stresses on groundwater resources will worsen, ultimately to the detriment of human health, food security, and ecosystems. This course introduces principles of and approaches to hydrologic science requisite to informing the smart management of groundwater resources. It is designed for M.E.M., M.E.Sc., and Ph.D. students seeking to (i) learn about processes governing the circulation, availability, and quality of groundwater; (ii) apply hydrological models used by environmental professionals to evaluate groundwater resource issues; (iii) gain familiarity with methods used to interpret data encountered in groundwater-oriented problems; and (iv) sharpen analytical skills that have broad application to environmental science and management. Hydrology is a quantitative science, so students enrolled in ENV 714 should be comfortable with arithmetic and algebra and should have completed at least one semester of college calculus. Students use hydrologic simulation models during this course and may, depending on the level of interest, learn to develop simple computer models themselves. But previous experience with hydrologic models or computer programming is not assumed or needed to succeed in the course. There is very little content overlap between ENV 714 and other ENV courses, including ENV 724 : James E. Saiers : James E. Saiers
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Saiers Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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Saiers TBA - TBA |
715
Case Studies in Water Management: Rural-Urban Linkages
715 Case Studies in Water Management: Rural-Urban Linkages : : : Shimon C. Anisfeld
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Anisfeld TBA - TBA |
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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 : Ronald Smith
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Oristaglio M,W - 9:00-10:15 |
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Smith Tentative |
717
Tropical Field Ecology
717 Tropical Field Ecology :
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 will 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 analyzing real-world ecological data from the tropics, students will also gain experience with study design, data collection methods, statistical analysis, and scientific writing and presentations. Students should have a basic background in ecology through prior coursework (either at YSE or through undergraduate courses). If conditions permit, a subset of students from this course will be selected to participate in an optional field trip to the Neotropics (either during spring break in March, or more likely, in May/June). Participation in the field trip is not guaranteed and will require a short application once we determine whether (and when) the trip will be possible. : Liza Comita : Liza Comita : Simon Queenborough
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Comita Tu,Th - 1:00-2:20 |
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Comita TBA - TBA |
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
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Freidenburg M,W - 1:00-2:15 |
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Freidenburg TBA - TBA |
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724
Watershed Cycles and Processes
724 Watershed Cycles and Processes :
Everyone lives in a watershed, an area of land that funnels rainfall and snowmelt to a stream, river, lake, or section of coastline. ENV 724 examines watershed processes that affect, or are affected by, the stocks, flows, and quality of freshwater. It also surveys challenges faced by watershed managers, while emphasizing the science that informs their choices. By drawing from the fields of hydrology, ecology, and chemistry, the course begins by investigating cycles that govern the fates of water, nutrients, carbon, and pollutants within watersheds. This basic knowledge underpins watershed management decisions that are, for example, intended to safeguard drinking-water quality, ensure sustainable freshwater consumption, and preserve ecosystem services that depend on healthy riparian corridors. In coordination with treatments of watershed functions, ENV 724 explores the impacts of anthropogenic stresses on freshwater flows, water quality, and the ecology of sensitive watershed ecosystems. The course also covers measurements, models, and other tools used in watershed assessment and case studies of science-based watershed planning and adaptive management. : James E. Saiers : James E. Saiers : Peter A. Raymond
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Saiers Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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Saiers TBA - TBA |
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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 : Ronald Smith
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Lee Tu,Th - 9:00-10:15 |
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Smith TBA - TBA |
727
Global Food Challenges
727 Global Food Challenges : ENV 727, Global Food Challenges, Applications Instructions:
Enrollment is limited. YC students may be admitted if sufficient space exists during the first week of classes. Students who wish to apply should respond to the Google Doc questionnaire found at Application to ENV 727 Glob Food Chall.
Applications are due by January 1, 2022
This seminar explores significant challenges posed by the global food supply to environmental quality and human health. The primary obligation is a research paper, dissertation chapter, master’s project, or senior essay draft. We read critically 150-200 pages per week, and students should be prepared to discuss or present analyses. Challenges examined include fresh vs. processed foods, nutritional sufficiency and excess, radionuclides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, animal feeds, plastics, flame retardants, flavors, fragrances, ingredient fraud, genetic modification, waste, energy input and yield, locality, processing technologies, packaging, and carbon emissions. Corporate case histories are considered in a number of sessions. Private innovations in the production and management of food are analyzed, including trends in certification and labeling initiatives. Most sessions examine one or several foods. Examples include cow milk, human milk, infant formula, grapes, wine, corn, bananas, tomatoes, salmon, cod, tuna, sodas, fruit juice, water, coffee, and olive oil. Enrollment limited to eighteen. : John P. Wargo : John P. Wargo
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Wargo W - 1:00-3:50 |
Wargo TBA - TBA |
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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 using MINITAB, SPSS, or R, as well as a final project. 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
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Reuning-Scherer Tu,Th - 2:30-3:50 |
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Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
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729
Caribbean Coastal Development: Science and Policy
729 Caribbean Coastal Development: Science and Policy :
This seminar explores human-ecosystem interactions at the land-sea interface in the tropics, with Caribbean islands as the main study sites. Many tropical islands are undergoing rapid, uncontrolled development, placing severe local stress on several unique and vulnerable ecosystems types. In addition, human induced environmental changes on scales up to global also impose stresses. This course examines the normal functioning of these ecosystems, scientific methods to evaluate and characterize ecosystem condition and processes, how human activities interfere with natural cycles in biophysical systems, and what management and policy tools can be applied to reduce impacts.
Class enrollment is limited to 12, and priority will be given to YSE students, though undergrads are also eligible. Preference will be given to students planning careers in either natural or social/policy sciences related to marine systems, land use and development, and nonpoint source pollution. Other selection criteria will include (1) previous relevant coursework (undergrad and grad), (2) undergraduate major, (3) experience, (4) career goals, and other factors.
If you are interested, please complete this Google form by EoB Dec 9:
https://forms.gle/voikhpvcDNhCJNbC9
: Gaboury Benoit : Gaboury Benoit : Mary Beth Decker
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Benoit M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Benoit TBA - TBA |
731
Tropical Field Botany
731 Tropical Field Botany : : : Fabian Michelangeli : Lawrence Kelly
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Michelangeli Tentative |
734
Biological Oceanography
734 Biological Oceanography : : : Mary Beth Decker
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Decker TBA - TBA |
738
Wildlife Movement Ecology
738 Wildlife Movement Ecology : On a crowded planet, wildlife must navigate a myriad of externalities coupled with intrinsic life history characteristics that influence their movement patterns. Students will evaluate this crucial animal behavior at different temporal and spatial scales using theoretical, empirical, and experimental approaches as well as draw connections to human societies and landscape histories : Nyeema Harris :
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Harris Tu,Th - 1:00-2:20 |
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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
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DeCew Tu,Th - 8:30-9:50 |
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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
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Schmitz Tu,Th - 9:00-10:20 |
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Schmitz TBA - TBA |
746
Conservation Ethics
746 Conservation Ethics : : : Oswald J. Schmitz : TBD Faculty
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Schmitz 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
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Klinkenborg Tu - 2:30-5:20 |
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Klinkenborg TBA - TBA |
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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
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Gregoire M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Gregoire TBA - TBA |
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
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Gregoire M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Gregoire TBA - TBA |
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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
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Tomlin Th - 1:00-3:50 |
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Tomlin TBA - TBA |
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
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Tomlin Th - 1:00-3:50 |
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Tomlin TBA - TBA |
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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 : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
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Faculty Tu,Th - 9:00-10:15 |
Faculty Tu,Th - 9:00-10:15 |
Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
Reuning-Scherer 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 (hierarchical clustering, k-means), canonical correlation, multidimensional scaling ordination methods, discriminate analysis, factor analysis, and structural equations modeling. Emphasis is placed on practical application of multivariate techniques to a variety of natural and social examples in the environmental sciences. Students are required to select a dataset early in the term for use throughout the term. There are regular assignments and a final project. Extensive use of computers is required—students may use any combination of R, SAS, SPSS, STATA, and MINITAB. Prerequisites: a prior course in introductory statistics and a good understanding of multiple linear regression. Three hours lecture/discussion. : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
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Reuning-Scherer Tu,Th - 1:00-2:20 |
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Reuning-Scherer TBA - TBA |
759
Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science
759 Power, Knowledge, and the Environment: Social Science : Course on the social scientific contributions to environmental and natural resource issues, emphasizing equity, politics, and knowledge. Section I, introduction to the course. Section II, disaster and environmental perturbation: the social science of emerging diseases; and the social origins of disaster. Section III, boundaries: cost and benefit in the Green Revolution; riverine restoration; and aspirational infrastructure. Section IV, methods: working within development projects, and rapid appraisal and consultancies. Section V, local communities, resources, and (under)development: representing the poor, development discourse, and indigenous peoples and knowledge. This is a core M.E.M. specialization course in YSE, and a core course in the combined YSE/Anthropology doctoral degree program. Enrollment capped. : Michael R. Dove : Michael R. Dove
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Dove M - 1:00-3:50 |
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Dove TBA - TBA |
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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
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Vedder Tu,Th - 5:30-6:50 |
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Vedder TBA - TBA |
764
Sociology of Sacred Values: Modernity, Ecology, and Policy
764 Sociology of Sacred Values: Modernity, Ecology, and Policy :
This course equips students to understand how moral culture shapes all environmental issues and management, driving even the most basic decisions that on the surface may appear to be entirely obvious, rational, or scientific. Modern people and modern institutions are propelled toward certain ends and possibilities that are inescapably rooted in questions of human culture about who we are, what we should do, and why it all matters. The first half of the course draws on theoretical readings from sociology, philosophy, and religious studies to understand the ubiquity of sacred codes and how they work, with an emphasis on late-modernity, rationality, capitalism, and the sacred/profane. The second half of the course introduces recent case studies to see in practice how moral values are embedded in environmental work, including policymaking, advocacy, the free market, scientific research, race and class, death and extinction, ecotourism, and more. Cultivating a lens to see culture and moral values in all things will improve students' applied work in all sectors.
: Justin Farrell : Justin Farrell
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Farrell Th - 8:00-10:50 |
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Farrell TBA - TBA |
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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
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Vedder M,W - 2:30-3:50 |
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Vedder TBA - TBA |
770
Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice
770 Western Lands and Communities Field Clinic: Research to Practice : This project-based course is for students engaged in basic research, humanities study, applied management, and/or conservation policy in Western U.S. landscapes. Western lands and communities face a host of growing ecological, economic, and social equity problems that require integrated solutions. Either individually or in teams, students will work closely with the professor and/or practitioner-clients (e.g., land trusts, federal land agencies, Native Nations, local governments, NGOs, etc.) to conduct self-driven scholarly research or complete a self-driven applied project. Research-oriented students will learn and apply skills for data collection, analysis, and scholarly writing for publication. Applied students have a clinic-oriented option that will be self-driven, to design and carry out a client-based project with concrete deliverables. The course includes a mandatory field trip to the Intermountain West during the first or second week of spring break. As such, the course is capped at 12 and requires an application.
Application process: Write an email with the subject "Field Course Application" to Justin Farrell ( justin.farrell@yale.edu) explaining in less than 300 words in total: (1) Name, degree program, year. (2) Per the course description, what is your specific project? (3) What is your intended end-of-the-semester deliverable for this project? (4) How will this field-based clinic benefit your project? (5) How does this course align with your future professional goals?
Application due date: ASAP, but no later than January 7 : Justin Farrell :
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Farrell based on student schedules |
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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. : Hanno Erythropel : Paul Anastas : Paul Anastas
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Erythropel M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
|
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 M,W - 2:30-3:45 |
|
Gentner Tentative |
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774
Agriculture: Origins, Evolution, Crises
774 Agriculture: Origins, Evolution, Crises :
Analysis of the societal and environmental drivers and effects of plant and animal domestication, the intensification of agroproduction, and the crises of agroproduction: land degradation, societal collapses, sociopolitical transformation, sustainability, and biodiversity. : Harvey Weiss :
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|
Weiss Th - 9:25-11:15 |
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775
Federal Indian Law
775 Federal Indian Law : Follows Yale Law calendar
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
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Torres M,W - 10:35-12:00 |
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Torres Tentative |
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777
Water Quality Control
777 Water Quality Control :
Study of the preparation of water for domestic and other uses and treatment of wastewater for recycling or discharge to the environment. Topics include processes for removal of organics and inorganics, regulation of dissolved oxygen, and techniques such as ion exchange, electrodialysis, reverse osmosis, activated carbon adsorption, and biological methods. : Jaehong Kim : Jaehong Kim
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Kim Tu,Th - 2:30-3:45 |
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Kim Tentative |
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778
State Constitutional Foundations for Environmental Protection
778 State Constitutional Foundations for Environmental Protection : Policymakers have pursued many different paths for enacting environmental protection policies. One idea that has drawn little attention so far is the role that state constitutions can play in setting environmental policy—either through creating rights to a clean environment or by solving specific environmental problems.
In building out strategies to combat climate change and decarbonize the economy, modern environmental lawyers and policymakers should consider how they can use state constitutions, along with the federal constitution, to advance their goals. In this unique course, students will critically survey environmental provisions in American constitutions. Throughout the course, they will learn about constitutional doctrines, philosophies, and theories that are relevant to the environmental policy world—including water rights, taxation, land management, and eminent domain—and will feature takeaways from recent landmark environmental rights cases from the United States and around the world. Students will consider how they might use these principles in today’s political climate to guide electoral, legal, and public campaigns to advance their policy goals. This course uses a custom reader that includes excerpts from judicial decisions, law review articles, and books. Grading based on class participation and a policy brief. : Tyler Yeargain :
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Yeargain M,W - 2:30-3:50 |
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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 : Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
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Gregoire Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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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
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Easterling M,W - 10:30-11:20 |
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Easterling Tentative |
789
Energy and Development
789 Energy and Development : : : Narasimha Rao
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Rao TBA - TBA |
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793
Climate Change, Societal Collapse, and Resilience
793 Climate Change, Societal Collapse, and Resilience :
Collapse documented in the archaeological and early historical records of the Old and New Worlds, including Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Europe. Analysis of politicoeconomic vulnerabilities, resiliencies, and adaptations in the face of abrupt climate change, anthropogenic environmental degradation, resource depletion, “barbarian” incursions, or class conflict. : Harvey Weiss :
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Weiss Th - 3:30-5:20 |
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796
Biopolitics of Human-Nonhuman Relations
796 Biopolitics of Human-Nonhuman Relations : Seminar on the “post-humanist” turn toward multispecies ethnography. Section I, introduction to the course. Section II, the ontological turn: multispecies ethnography; and ecology and human consciousness; Section III, fauna: human-animal conflict?; hunting and politics; and the bushmeat ‘crisis’. Section IV, flora: ‘weedy/invasive/pest’ species; and ethnobotany. Section V, the long and broad view: the history of natural history; and the classics. Section VI, class contributions: student-selected readings; student presentations of seminar papers; and lecture by teaching fellow. Enrollment capped. : Michael R. Dove : Michael R. Dove
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Dove Th - 4:00-6:50 |
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Dove TBA - TBA |
799
Sustainable Development Goals and Implementation
799 Sustainable Development Goals and Implementation : Students develop an understanding of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and focus on how to manage projects that implement the SDGs. Students develop an understanding of the global sustainability agenda, studying each SDG in detail. Students explore and acquire practical project management skills. The course also taps into the expertise and experience of professors and staff from various disciplines and schools, as well as practitioners directly from the field. : Gordon T. Geballe :
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Geballe Tu,Th - 11:35-12:50 |
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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. : Kenneth Gillingham : Kenneth Gillingham
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Gillingham M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Gillingham TBA - TBA |
803
Green Markets: Voluntary and Information Based Approaches to Environmental Management
803 Green Markets: Voluntary and Information Based Approaches to Environmental Management :
Two observations provide motivation for this seminar. First, voluntary- and information-based approaches to environmental management are becoming increasingly common. Environmental managers should thus be familiar with the approaches, along with their advantages and limitations. Second, students, advocates, and managers are often searching for ways outside of formal regulatory contexts to promote more pro-environmental behavior. There exists a sizable academic literature on the subject, but rarely is it covered in courses on environmental management. The seminar is based on critical readings of original research papers with an eye toward real-world application. We consider both theoretical and empirical studies. In addition to focusing on results, students learn about how different research methods are appropriate for answering different types of questions. Readings span economics, psychology, and political science. Classes are, for the most part, based on structured discussion, rotating responsibility for presentation and critique. A preliminary list of topics to be covered includes: Public Disclosure Strategies for Pollution Control; Behavioral Responses to Environmental and Resource Information; Conservation Behavior Part I: “Doing One’s Part”; Conservation Behavior Part II: “Doing More than One’s Part”; Eco-labeling; Voluntary Environmental Programs; Corporate Social Responsibility and the Environment; Insights of Behavioral Economics and Psychology. : Matthew J. Kotchen :
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Kotchen Tu - 1:00-2:20 |
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804
Economics of Environmental & Natural Resource Management
804 Economics of Environmental & Natural Resource Management :
Linking of abstract economic concepts to concrete policy and management decisions. Application of theoretical tools of economics toglobal warming, pollution control, fisheries, water management, forestry, recreation, and mining. : Robert O. Mendelsohn : Robert O. Mendelsohn
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Mendelsohn M,W - 10:30-11:20 |
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Mendelsohn TBA - TBA |
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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
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Gillingham W - 3:00-4:20 |
Gillingham W - 3:00-4:20 |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
Gillingham TBA - TBA |
807
Business and Environment: Management & Strategy
807 Business and Environment: Management & Strategy :
This survey course focuses on the policy and business logic for making environmental issues and sustainability a core focus of corporate strategy and management. Students are asked to analyze when and how sustainability leadership can translate into competitive advantage by helping to cut costs, reduce risk, drive growth, and promote brand identity and intangible value. The course combines lectures, case studies, and class discussions on management theory and tools, the legal and regulatory frameworks that shape the business-environment interface, and the evolving role of business in society, including how to deal with a world of diverse stakeholders, increasing transparency, and rising expectations related to corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Self-scheduled examination : Marian Chertow : Marian Chertow
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Chertow M,W - 9:00-10:20 |
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Chertow TBA - TBA |
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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
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Cort Tu,Th - 10:10-11:30 |
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Cort Tentative |
814
Energy Systems Analysis
814 Energy Systems Analysis :
This lecture course offers a systems analysis approach to describe and explain the basics of energy systems, including all forms of energy (fossil and renewable), all sectors/activities of energy production/conversion, and all energy end uses, irrespective of the form of market transaction (commercial or noncommercial) or form of technology (traditional as well as novel advanced concepts) deployed. Students gain a comprehensive theoretical and empirical knowledge base from which to analyze energy-environmental issues as well as to participate effectively in policy debates. Special attention is given to introducing students to formal methods used to analyze energy systems or individual energy projects and also to discuss traditionally less-researched elements of energy systems (energy use in developing countries; energy densities and urban energy use; income, gender, and lifestyle differences in energy end-use patterns) in addition to currently dominant energy issues such as climate change. Active student participation is required, including completion of problem sets. Participation in extra-credit skill development exercises (presentations, fact-finding missions, etc.) is encouraged. Invited outside speakers complement topics covered in class. : Narasimha Rao : Narasimha Rao
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Rao M,W - 9:00-10:20 |
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Rao TBA - TBA |
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816
Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition
816 Electric Utilities: an Industry in Transition : The U.S. electric utility industry is a $400 billion business with capital expenditures on the order of $100 billion per year to replace aging infrastructure, implement new technologies, and meet new regulatory requirements. A reliable electricity infrastructure is essential for the U.S. economy and the health and safety of its citizens. The electric industry also has a significant impact on the environment. In the United States, electric power generation is responsible for about 40 percent of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas. Electric utilities in the United States are at a crossroads. Technological innovations, improving economics, and regulatory incentives provide a transformational opportunity to implement demand-side resources and distributed energy technologies that will both lower emissions and improve service to customers. Such significant changes could, however, disrupt existing utility business models and therefore may not be fully supported by incumbent utilities. This course focuses on the issues, challenges, risks, and trade-offs associated with moving the U.S. utility industry toward a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. We explore how utilities are regulated and how economic factors and regulatory policies influence outcomes and opportunities to align customer, environmental, and utility shareholder interests to craft win-win-win solutions. : Lawrence Reilly : Lawrence Reilly
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Reilly Tu - 4:00-6:50 |
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Reilly TBA - TBA |
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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 Tu - 4:00-6:50 |
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Kooris TBA - TBA |
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819
Strategies for Land Conservation
819 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.
Please find canvas course page for application instructions : Bradford S. Gentry : Bradford S. Gentry : Walker Holmes
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Gentry Tu - 2:30-5:20 |
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Gentry TBA - TBA |
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 : Marjorie Shansky
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Shansky M,W - 4:00-5:20 |
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Shansky TBA - TBA |
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.
Please fill out application link:
https://bit.ly/3ra1J8B : Luke Sanford : Luke Sanford
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Sanford Th - 1:00-3:50 |
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 2 sections: T/Th 10:10-11:30 or T/Th 1:00-2:20 |
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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) : : : E. Donald Elliott
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Elliott TBA - TBA |
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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 M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Klee TBA - TBA |
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826
Foundations of Natural Resources and Policy
826 Foundations of Natural Resources and Policy :
This course offers an explicit interdisciplinary (integrative) framework that is genuinely effective in practical problem solving. This unique skill set overcomes the routine ways of thinking and solving conservation problems common to many NGOs and government organizations by explicitly developing more rigorous and effective critical-thinking, observation, and management skills. By simultaneously addressing rational, political, and practical aspects of real-world problem solving, the course helps students gain skills, understand, and offer solutions to the policy problems of managing natural resources. The approach we use requires several things of students (or any problem solvers): that they be contextual in terms of social and decision-making processes; that they use multiple methods and epistemologies from any field that helps in understanding problems; that they strive to be both procedurally and substantively rational in their work; and, finally, that they be clear about their own standpoint relative to the problems at hand. The approach used in this course draws on the oldest and most comprehensive part of the modern policy analytic movement—the policy sciences (interdisciplinary method)—which is growing in its applications worldwide today. The course includes a mix of critical thinking, philosophical issues, history, as well as issues that students bring in. Among the topics covered are human rights, scientific management, decision making, community-based approaches, governance, common interest, sustainability, professionalism, and allied thought and literature. In their course work students apply the basic concepts and tools to a problem of their choice, circulating drafts of their papers to other seminar participants and lecturing on and leading discussions of their topics in class sessions. Papers of sufficient quality may be collected in a volume for publication. Active participation, reading, discussion, lectures, guests, and projects make up the course. The seminar supports and complements other courses in the School and at the University. : Susan G. Clark :
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Clark Tu - 2:30-5:20 |
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827
Animal Law (Follows Law School Calendar)
827 Animal Law (Follows Law School Calendar) :
This course will examine the application of the law to non-human animals, the rules and regulations that govern their treatment, and the concepts of "animal welfare" and "animal rights." The course will explore the historical and philosophical treatment of animals, discuss how such treatment impacts the way judges, politicians, lawyers, legal scholars and lay people see, speak about, and use animals; survey current animal protection laws and regulations, including overlap with such policy issues as food and agriculture, climate change, and biodiversity protection; describe recent political and legal campaigns to reform animal protection laws; examine the concept of "standing" and the problems of litigating on behalf of animals; discuss the current classification of animals as "property" and the impacts of that classification, and debate the merits and limitations of alternative classifications, such as the recognition of "legal rights" for animals. Students will write a series of short response papers. An option to produce a longer research paper for Substantial or Supervised Analytic Writing credit will be available. : Douglas Kysar :
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Kysar M - 4:10-6:00 |
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831
Society and Natural Resources Seminar: A “Reflexive Conversation"
831 Society and Natural Resources Seminar: A “Reflexive Conversation" :
See below for Application Instructions
This research seminar explores the relationship between society and natural resources in a genuinely interdisciplinary manner. This session focuses on the foundations (philosophic, methodological, and pragmatic) of social and integrative/interdisciplinary sciences/approaches to understanding and policy. We demonstrate a major case application. Although the specific topic of the seminar varies from year to year, the consistent underlying theme is an examination of how societies organize themselves, use natural resources, and affect their environment. In past years, the seminar focused on energy and the environment, interdisciplinary problem solving, and environmental psychology and sociology. We focus on leadership (the lead and leader’s relationships), too. Guests and students make presentations and participate in discussions each week. Readings, active participation, and student papers are required. The seminar overall looks at people seeking values using natural resources through institutions. This relationship (people, values, natural resources, and institutions) has been extensively written about and discussed in diverse fields. A few years ago, the seminar examined the relationship of human dignity as a universal value goal, professionalism and practice, and sustainability as an applied notion. Other versions of the seminar have looked at conceptual (theoretical) models about society and natural resources from policy sciences, social ecology, political ecology, and other knowledge areas. Still other seminars focused on “Bridging Local and Professional Knowledge in Environmental Sustainability” and “War and the Environment.” Topic for this year’s seminar to be determined.
Application:
Society and Natural Resources Seminar
2022 Spring YSE 831
A Student Centered Reflexive Conversation on:
Personal Security in a World of Insecurity,
Grounding Ethical Pragmatism
Wed, 1:00-3:50 in Kroon 321(mixed zoom and in person)
Course Application (limit to 2 pages)
Instructions:
Complete this document and email it with subject line: “SES 831a Application - Your Last Name” to susan.g.clark@yale.edu and Lauren.sadowski@yale.eduby 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, January 19th
Please also provide a current CV or resume, if you have one readily available. These are to help us have an idea where you’re coming from and what you expect.
Your Name, email, and ID (e.g. tmt4):
School, Degree Program, and Year:
Course Experience Relevant to this Class: (list history, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and other relevant courses you have taken):
What “real work” experienceshave you had (list, what was lesson learned from them?):
Other Experience Relevant to this Class:
What are your expectations for this course?
What are your expectations for your time at YSE?
Why are you applying to this class?
How do you wish to benefit from it? : Susan G. Clark :
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Clark Tu - 1:00-3:50 |
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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 : TBD Faculty
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Kotchen Tu,Th - 9:00-10:20 |
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Faculty Tentative |
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 W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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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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OnlineBacher Online |
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
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 transformation of rural society. Four hours lecture plus discussion sections. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty : Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan
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Faculty W - 1:30-5:20 |
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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: https://forms.gle/pjiyaQdw8UHgupZn6
: Yuan Yao : Yuan Yao
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Yao Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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Yao TBA - TBA |
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 Th - 1:00-3:50 |
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Carpenter TBA - TBA |
840
Climate Change Policy and Perspectives
840 Climate Change Policy and Perspectives : Class begins Monday, August 30 2:30-3:50. Visit Canvas site for more information.
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. : Daniel C. Esty : Daniel C. Esty
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Esty M,W - 2:30-3:50 |
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Esty TBA - TBA |
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850
International Organizations and Conferences
850 International Organizations and Conferences :
International Organizations and Conferences (IOC) will focus on the historic, present, and future roles of international environmental conferences. Through guest speakers, assigned readings, and discussions, students will explore conferences including IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, the UN’s Convention onBiological Diversity, UNFCCC’s climate change conference, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Students, along with visiting alumni and guest speakers, will 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 will also assess the potential for improved equity, justice, and inclusion in international conferences, organizations, and their secretariats. Students attending fall conferences in-person or virtually,will develop work plans to be completed during the conference under the guidance of their host delegations and the instructor. : Gordon T. Geballe :
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Geballe Tu - 5:30-7:50 |
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852
Food Systems and US Environmental Law (follows Yale law calendar)
852 Food Systems and US Environmental Law (follows Yale law calendar) : : : TBD Faculty
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
857
Environmental History and Values
857 Environmental History and Values :
This course provides an overview of major figures, ideas, and institutions in American environmentalism. The course explores the development of environmental awareness in America as distinct historical strands with diverse ethical concerns. It begins with an examination of Native American perspectives on land and biodiversity and then focuses on writings by Thoreau and Emerson to explore early American voices in the discourse on “nature.” Readings from Pinchot, Muir, and Leopold have been selected to investigate the emergence of conservation and forest management. The beginnings of urban and park planning are considered in relation to these positions on the management of nature. Students survey the environmental movements from the 1960s onward in readings from the social sciences and humanities. The course explores the major debates in environmental ethics and the broader reach for global ethics. Writings celebrating biodiversity are examined along with the emergence of conservation biology as an example of engaged environmental scholarship. New efforts to widen the interdisciplinary approaches toward environmental issues are introduced in investigating world religions and ecology as well as cosmology and ecology. : John Grim : : Mary Evelyn Tucker
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Grim W - 4:00-6:50 |
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860
Understanding Environmental Campaigns and Policymaking: Strategies and Tactics
860 Understanding Environmental Campaigns and Policymaking: Strategies and Tactics : : : Michael Northrop
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Northrop TBA - TBA |
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871
Deep Decarbonization
871 Deep Decarbonization : : : Daniel C. Esty
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Esty TBA - TBA |
878
Climate and Society: Past to Present
878 Climate and Society: Past to Present : Discussion of the major currents of thought—both historic and contemporary—regarding climate, climate change, and society; focusing on the politics of knowledge and belief vs disbelief; and drawing on the social sciences and anthropology in particular. : Michael R. Dove : Michael R. Dove
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Dove Th - 1:30-3:20 |
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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.
Course application is required for students outside Yale School of the Environment by August 27th and the application form can be found here : Yuan Yao : TBD Faculty
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Yao M,W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Faculty Tentative |
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891
Biology of Insect Disease Vectors
891 Biology of Insect Disease Vectors : : : Brian Weiss
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Tentative (No Semester)
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892
Introduction to Planning and Development
892 Introduction to Planning and Development : : : Alexander Garvin
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Garvin Tentative |
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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 and perform QRA. Emphasis is on the intellectual and conceptual basis of risk assessment, particularly its dependence on toxicology, epidemiology, and exposure assessment. Quantitation of exposure and dose response provides practical skills and theoretical background, although not detailed in mathematical and model derivations. 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, drinking water, consumer products, and the built environment. : Vasilis Vasiliou : Vasilis Vasiliou
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Vasiliou F - 3:00-4:50 |
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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. : Peter Yost : TBD Faculty
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Yost F - 9:00-11:50 |
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Faculty Tentative |
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896
Public Health Toxicology
896 Public Health Toxicology :
This course is designed to serve as a foundation for understanding public health toxicology in the twenty-first century. Although it includes the basic principles of toxicology such as dose response and mechanisms of toxicity and cellular defense, this course introduces new concepts of toxicology such as lifetime exposures, low-level exposure to mixtures, high-throughput screening and computational toxicology, and green chemistry in order to understand fundamental interactions between chemicals and biological systems and possible health outcomes. Through the use of case studies and up-to-date published research, the course provides insights into prevention of mortality and morbidity resulting from environmental exposure to toxic substances, the next-generation 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 Th-1:00-2:50, F -1:00-1:50 |
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Vasiliou Tentative |
897
Environmental and Occupational Exposure Science
897 Environmental and Occupational Exposure Science :
This course examines the fundamental and practical aspects of assessing exposures to environmental agents, broadly defined, in the residential, ambient, and workplace environments. The course provides the knowledge and skills to design and conduct exposure assessments, and has a particular focus on applications to environmental epidemiology and risk assessment. Indirect and direct methods of assessing exposures, such as questionnaires, environmental sampling, biological monitoring, and spatial modeling, are reviewed; and case studies and hands-on projects are presented. : TBD Faculty : TBD Faculty
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Faculty Wed - 3:00-4:50; Fri 2:00-2:50 |
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Faculty 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 :
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Bell M - 1:00-3:50 |
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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 : Oswald J. Schmitz : Peter A. Raymond
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Schmitz W - 1:00-3:50 |
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Raymond TBA - TBA |
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902
Environmental Anthropology Research Lab
902 Environmental Anthropology Research Lab :
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 F - 1:00-4:00 |
Dove F - 1:00-4:00 |
Dove TBA - TBA |
Dove TBA - TBA |
903
Master's Thesis Research Lab
903 Master's Thesis Research Lab : Lab setting in which Students working with M.R. Dove on their Master’s theses and Senior theses can discuss theory and methods relevant to their work, develop research proposals, analyze data, and write up their results. : Michael R. Dove :
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Dove F - 1:00-4:00 |
Dove F - 1:00-4:00 |
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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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907
Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainable Laboratory Seminar
907 Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainable Laboratory Seminar : This course is only open to students who are working in the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative (JEDSI) Lab. The course will examine food insecurity and inequities in access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods. The course will also examine disparate impacts arising from exposure to environmental hazards. Students will also examine issues such as energy and health justice, as well as the distribution of and access to environmental amenities such as parks and open space. : Dorceta Taylor : Dorceta Taylor
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Taylor F - 1:00-3:00 |
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Taylor TBA - TBA |
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910
Survival Skills for Doctoral Students
910 Survival Skills for Doctoral Students : : : William Lauenroth : Ingrid C. Burke
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Lauenroth TBA - TBA |
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.
This is a seminar course with a strong emphasis on active participation and discussion, so the enrollment is limited to 12 students.
Please note that this is a hands-on course, in which you will be developing a communication plan for or analysis of an actual organization, as described below. Please do not apply if you will be unable to do this.
Throughout the class, you will either: 1) develop a strategic communication plan for an organization of your choice, ideally one that you have a direct relationship with; or 2) analyze an historical communication campaign that an organization of your choice has implemented in the past.
The organization could be a company, a non-profit, a candidate or elected official, a government agency, or a center or program within the Yale School of the Environment, Yale College or other administrative unit. The organization must be facing or have faced some issue, opportunity, or obstacle related to their environmental mission – your job is to either develop a strategic communication plan to help the organization address this situation or analyze a past communication campaign. By the end of the class, you will have a full campaign plan that the organization could implement, or an assessment of a prior campaign.
To apply, please provide short answers to the following questions and email your responses + your current resume/CV to lisa.fernandez@yale.eduno later than 5:00 pm EST on Wednesday, January 19. You will be notified by C.O.B. January 21st.
1. Why are you interested in taking this class?
2. What organization and/or project are you planning to develop a communication plan for or to analyze?
3. Do you have an existing relationship with that organization and/or project? If so, what is it? Have you asked if they would support your project (not necessary, but very helpful)?
4. Are you a graduate student or undergraduate? What is your specialization or major?
5. When do you expect to graduate? : Anthony Leiserowitz : Anthony Leiserowitz
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Leiserowitz M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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Leiserowitz TBA - TBA |
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 :
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Boyd M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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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 M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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Faculty TBA - TBA |
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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 conducted over both academic semesters 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 approporiate journal for their work. They then work on their projects that comprise data and projects in applied forest ecology. Discussions in the seminar involve rationale and hypothesis testing for a project, data analysis techniques, 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 is provided as the students learn to write and present their work
1 credit option 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 W - 4:00-6:50 |
Ashton W - 5:30-8:20 |
Ashton TBA - TBA |
Ashton 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. : Mark S. Ashton : Mark S. Ashton
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Ashton M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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Ashton TBA - TBA |
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958
Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting Clinic- Entrepreneurs
958 Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting Clinic- Entrepreneurs : Application and instructions can be found here: https://bit.ly/31XqZWP
The intended outcome of this course is to provide you with a ‘capstone’ experience; consulting to an organization in its early formative years, confronting real-life challenges at the intersections of starting-up, business strategy, and environmental sustainability; all with regular contact with a Founding entrepreneurial team that could be contemporaries or just graduated a few years ahead of you.
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 entrepreneurs leading their organization. It 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 to engage with consultants in their careers post-Yale and may be considering becoming an entrepreneur themselves. 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 at their organization’s life-stage. It is highly likely to surface potential trade-offs whereby the organization has ambitious plans but lacking the necessary resources to carry them all out. It may also address cross-cutting critical issues of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; all complicated by living through, and hopefully emerging from, the pandemic. As the clients will be smaller and younger than those in the Fall term of SBCCC, the Founders will be on hand with their team to provide guidance throughout the term. From the Yale side, the Lecturer and Teaching Fellows bring consulting experience and time to help the teams throughout the project.
Through a combination of individual work, group work and lively discussion (with clients and classmates), 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 (ENV553 - Fall 2020) and the more structured classes of the course mirror Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting Clinic (ENV953 – Fall 2020)
For those students that want a full and immersive picture of the consulting experience, this course is designed to be a complement to:
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Sustainable Business Capstone Consulting Clinic: (Fall), this course matches student consulting teams with sustainability teams and other senior executives of large established organizations (Syllabus here: https://bit.ly/BoydSBCCC)
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Climate Solutions Capstone: Nature-Based Solutions Clinic (Fall) and Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors Clinic (Spring): These capstone experiences will focus on projects with clients drawn from local municipalities, local and state NGOs and clients within the Yale community.
: Peter Boyd : Peter Boyd
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Boyd M,W - 1:00-2:20 |
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Boyd Tentative |
959
Clinic in Climate Justice, Climate Policy, the Law, and Public Health
959 Clinic in Climate Justice, Climate Policy, the Law, and Public Health :
This course is an innovative collaboration between Yale School of Public Health and Vermont Law School and includes faculty and students from both Yale and Vermont Law School. 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. Class sessions and team meetings are conducted using a hybrid approach that combines in-person, all-virtual, and virtually connected classroom arrangements. 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 : TBD Faculty
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Bozzi M - 10:00-11:50 |
Bozzi Tu - 3:00-4:50 |
Faculty Tentative |
Faculty Tentative |
960
Climate Solutions Capstone: Nature Based Solutions Clinic
960 Climate Solutions Capstone: Nature Based Solutions Clinic : As the climate crisis worsens, there is greater recognition that – in addition to energy-focused solutions – nature-based solutions also need to be part of climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. This capstone course offers students a hands-on opportunity to work with local organizations to help them design and implement a variety of nature-based solutions.
The course will pair teams of students with state and local governments and non-profit organizations to help advance the nature-based solutions/investments they are pursuing. The focus of the course is on how policy and financing efforts might help advance nature-based solutions from either a mitigation perspective (e.g. storing carbon) or in adaptation and resilience efforts (e.g. managing flooding, reducing temperatures, improving health). Our hope is to attract students from different specializations and backgrounds to form multi-disciplinary teams. : Bradford S. Gentry : Bradford S. Gentry
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Gentry Tu,Th - 4:00-5:20 |
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Gentry Tentative |
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964
Large-Scale Conservation: Integrating Science, Management, and Policy
964 Large-Scale Conservation: Integrating Science, Management, and Policy :
See Application instructions below
Environmental sustainability and human dignity are important societal goals, but figuring out how to achieve them on large scales—geographic, temporal, and in terms of complexity—has proven to be extremely challenging. Abundant trend data show that many species, ecosystems, and other environmental and human systems are being overused, stressed, or degraded, thus undercutting the likelihood that we can reach sustainability and human rights for all. In addition, our institutions for science, management, and policy are not designed to address sustainability challenges on these scales. Over the last few decades numerous management and policy initiatives have been put forward to address large-scale resource use, including single and multiple use, parks and protected areas, ecosystem management, bioregional planning, integrated conservation and development, transboundary approaches, and adaptive governance. This course (a mixed seminar and practicum) explicitly uses an integrative (i.e., via interdisciplinary) framework to examine the conceptual and contextual basis for these efforts; compares and contrasts their scientific, management, and policy components; explores themes of leadership, problem solving, decision making, governance, change, and learning; and surveys cases from three arenas (terrestrial, aquatic, and marine). The course takes a problem-oriented, contextual, and multi-method approach that offers students conceptual, practical, and professional benefits. It includes readings, lectures, discussions, workshops, exercises, oral presentations, guest speakers, individual and small-group assignments, and possibly a field trip and group project. In past years the course took a field trip to the Connecticut River system to evaluate region-wide conservation efforts, the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Grand Canyon Ecosystem. It also organized an international workshop focused on the Yellowstone to Yukon initiative, and assisted a major U.S. NGO plan for transboundary projects along the U.S.-Canadian border. Extensive student participation is required throughout. Enrollment limited to eighteen.
Application instructions:
Large-Scale Conservation:
Integrating Science, Management, and Policy
ENV 964b, 3 or 6 credits
Wednesday, 2:30-5:20, Sage 32
A Reflexive, Practical Course targeting Effective Large Scale Conservation
(Learning Integrated Problem Solving, Action Competence, and Ethical Pragmatism)
Course Application (limit to 2 pages)
Instructions:
Complete this document and email it with subject line: ENV 964b “Application - Your Last Name” to susan.g.clark@yale.eduand yufang.gao@yale.edu
Please also provide a current CV or resume, if you have one readily available. These are to help us have an idea where you’re coming from and what you expect.
Your Name, email, and ID (e.g. tmt4):
School, Degree Program, and Year:
Course Experience Relevant to this Class: (list history, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and other relevant courses you have taken):
What “real work” experienceshave you had (list, what was learned from them?):
Other Experience Relevant to this Class:
What are your expectations for this course?
What are your expectations for your time at YSE?
Why are you applying to this class?
How do you wish to benefit from it? : Susan G. Clark :
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Clark W - 2:30-5:20 |
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967
Wildlife Ecolabeling for Tourism and Consumer Products
967 Wildlife Ecolabeling for Tourism and Consumer Products :
Wildlife and wild places are directly and indirectly threatened by the practices and/or expansion of human enterprise and industry around the globe, and at the same time wildlife and healthy ecosystems contribute to human wellbeing, including the preservation of culture and livelihoods, as well as sustaining enterprise and industry. Lobbying/advising governments and intergovernmental bodies to improve policy and regulation, lobbying/advising the private sector and industry to voluntarily monitor impact and improve practices, and enhancing public engagement and consumer awareness are key strategies of biodiversity conservation professionals in practice. The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN; www.wildlifefriendly.org) was founded in 2007 to address the impacts on wildlife and people arising from unsustainable development and to stimulate companies and producers to adopt production practices that protect wildlife and their habitats. WFEN’s mission is to protect wildlife in wild places, and on agricultural and private lands in-between, by certifying enterprises that assure people and nature coexist and thrive. Certified Wildlife Friendly™ is a type of certification based on building partnerships with trusted organizations who can verify on the ground, that wildlife friendly practices are being followed. This course, serving as a Master of Environmental Management capstone course, is a one-time offering by the current Dorothy S. McCluskey Fellow in Conservation together with WFEN serving as an external client. Throughout the semester, students will work in small groups to design, implement, and complete projects and specific deliverables in support of WFEN and other external, interested parties for real-world application. While group project areas have been identified in consultation with the client, students may also petition for an independent project or alternative group project based on relevant interests.
project or alternative group project based on relevant interests.
Applications should be submitted no later than 12 pm (noon) EST on January 13, 2021. If after this date, please write to anna.behmmasozera@yale.edu to inquire.
The course is capped at 12 students, and the following criteria will be used to select students from those applying in order of priority given:
1. MEM student.
2. Other graduate student.
3. Undergraduate student.
If necessary, secondary selection criteria will be based on the student having a relevant area of study/interest.
Students should learn of the status of their application by 3 pm EST on January 13, 2021.
Apply here: https://forms.gle/FeMX7geKaTSzQvEK6 : Anna Behm Masozera :
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Behm Masozera Tu,Th - 10:30-11:50 |
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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 rebecca.loomis@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 of the Environment (and students from any other school besides Yale Law School) must complete the Clinic’s Bidding Form by 4:30 p.m. on November 10th. The Bidding Form is available here. : Becca Loomis : Douglas Kysar : Elizabeth Suatoni : David Hawkins
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Loomis Tu - 12:10-2:00 |
Loomis Tu - 12:10-2:00 |
Kysar Tentative |
Kysar Tentative |
971
Land Use Clinic
971 Land Use Clinic : This clinic explores a variety of specific community land use topics of current concern and relevance to the field, to the curriculum, and to society. Potential project topics include renewable energy, natural resources, rural-based land uses, the intersection of water and land management, agriculture, climate adaptation, and sustainable urban planning. Students select from a project list or meet with the instructor to design a relevant project at the beginning of the term. Attendance at the first class is mandatory to learn about project options. Students work with the instructor to develop papers, research memorandums, presentations, and/or publications on a selected topic for a client. = The instructor and guest speakers lecture on specific skills and topics related to student projects during a weekly class meeting. A part of the course is a one-week field trip during spring break. Enrollment limited to ten, with priority given to YSE students. Due to high demand, the course requires a short application. Students are selected during the fall term. : Jessica Bacher : Jessica Bacher
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Bacher W - 10:30-11:50 |
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Bacher TBA - TBA |
972
Advanced Environmental Protection Clinic (Follows Law School Calendar)
972 Advanced Environmental Protection Clinic (Follows Law School Calendar) :
Follows Law School Calendar
Course Bidding: Students in the School of the Environment (and students from any other school besides Yale Law School) must complete the Clinic’s Bidding Form by 4:30 p.m. on November 10th. The Bidding Form is available here.
Open only to students who have successfully completed the Environmental Protection Clinic (ENV 970). No statement of interest required. Attendance at the first class meeting is required. A no-drop policy applies. For all questions, please e-mail rebecca.loomis@yale.edu. : Becca Loomis : Douglas Kysar : Elizabeth Suatoni : TBD Faculty
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Loomis Tu - 12:10-2:00 |
Loomis Tu - 12:10-2:00 |
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 : Cities house 50% of world population. Often envisioned as living entities, cities are in constant evolution and, throughout this process, they generate waste—particularly municipal solid waste and construction and demolition waste. Most of this waste ends up in landfills, incineration facilities, or is downcycled for lower-grade applications. This capstone course provides the opportunity to reflect on problems related to the generation and disposition of waste in the urban environment and to exercise critical thinking to indicate potential pathways to address these problems.
This capstone course invites the students—either singularly or in teams of two—to conduct independent research on the fate of end-of-life material resources, with a particular focus on the waste produced in the built environment (construction and demolition and municipal waste). The choice of specific research topics is either originated by students or suggested from a list provided by the instructor. The course contains a mix of content-based sessions (e.g., waste generation, circularity, recycling) and practical sessions (e.g., critical reading, data visualization, scenario analysis) aimed at enhancing the skills necessary to produce rigorous reports. By the end of the semester, students will have compiled what they learned into an oral presentation and written final report sharing findings and recommendations. In addition, presentations will be followed by a Q&A session and feedback from the instructor and fellow students. : Alessio Miatto : Alessio Miatto
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Miatto Tu,Th - 2:30-3:50 |
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Miatto Tentative |
977
Nature Based Carbon Solutions in the Urban Realm: The Yale Campus as a Case Study
977 Nature Based Carbon Solutions in the Urban Realm: The Yale Campus as a Case Study : This integrative capstone course will broadly explore how urban areas can be designed to enlist their natural biophysical features (soils, vegetation, and biodiversity) to enhance natural carbon storage. Students will work collaboratively to develop the final product of the course: a nature-based carbon storage plan for the Yale campus and natural lands. Students will learn fundamental scientific principles of the carbon cycle and learn to apply the principles to leverage urban natural biophysical features to facilitate carbon capture and storage. Students will further learn to conduct economic analysis and financial accounting of carbon storage as investments to offset urban emissions. Finally, students will meet with Yale campus planners and land managers to learn about the kinds of information needed to formulate actionable policy to maximize carbon storage on the Yale campus and natural lands as an offset to Yale’s carbon emissions. : Oswald J. Schmitz :
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Schmitz Tu - 9:00-11:50 |
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979
Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors Clinic
979 Climate Solutions Capstone: Sub-National Actors Clinic : The recent IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5° C above preindustrial levels provided a stark warning of the future our planet faces unless we make dramatic and meaningful greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions by 2030—approximately 50% reductions below 2010 levels. In the United States, in the absence of leadership at the federal level, states, cities, and institutions must step into the breach if we have any hope of addressing the climate crisis.
This capstone course provides students the opportunity to work in teams with clients from state government, city government, academic institutions and/or the non-profit sector. Representative clients may include the State of Connecticut, the City of New Haven, the US Climate Alliance, SustainableCT, Yale University, AudubonCT, the Trust for Public Land, Save the Sound, or similar organizations. Students will analyze, model, and/or implement de-carbonization policies and programs in key sectors, including electricity, buildings, transportation, materials management, and/or natural/working lands.
The course will start with introductory sessions on the climate crisis, as well as teamwork and consulting skills. Most class sessions will be split between a seminar-style discussion on innovative sub-national de-carbonization policies, 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 semester, the students will present their findings and recommendations to their project clients and each other.
This course is being coordinated with the fall climate solutions capstone on nature based solutions (taught by Brad Gentry), so that active and on-going relationships can be maintained with clients over time. : Robert Klee : Robert Klee
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Klee Tu - 2:30-5:20 |
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Klee TBA - TBA |
980
Social Justice in the Global Food System Capstone
980 Social Justice in the Global Food System Capstone : This course explores social justice dimensions of today’s globalized food system, considering justice in terms of sociopolitical and environmental dynamics. We connect theory and practice through work with community-based organizations working at the nexus of food, agriculture, and social justice.
The capstone project work is grounded in food and social justice concepts examined through course materials and seminar discussions: We examine how governmental environmental strategies affect social equity in the food system at multiple scales. We discuss how land grabbing or food insecurity are connected to relative power on the global stage. We consider how phenomena such as structural violence and neoliberalization surface within the food system, and what this means for sustainability and justice – in urban and rural settings. We examine and debate concepts and practices including food sovereignty, agroecology, Black agrarianism, and The Right to Food used to advance positive change.
Through the capstone project, students will have the opportunity to deepen learning and contribute to the work of community groups forging pathways for equity and justice in the food system, particularly among communities historically marginalized from mainstream economies and policy making. Project work will include meetings with organizational leaders to understand context and co-develop appropriate project approaches. Students will work in groups to conduct in-depth research, analysis, and engage in additional professional and educational activities connected to the project. Student groups will prepare a final presentation and report to be shared with the partner organizations.
The course provides opportunities to develop competencies inanalyzing global food systems phenomena through social justice frameworks; and working within diverse settings on food and social justice issues, as practice for management, policymaking, other professional roles.
: Kristin Reynolds : Kristin Reynolds
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Reynolds Th - 2:30-5:20 |
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Reynolds TBA - TBA |
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983
Water Resource Science & Management Capstone
983 Water Resource Science & Management Capstone : : : Gaboury Benoit
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Benoit Tentative |
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 Tu - 4:00-6:50 |
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Kooris TBA - TBA |
990
Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law & Policy Lab (“CAFE Lab”)
990 Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law & Policy Lab (“CAFE Lab”) : : : Douglas Kysar
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Kysar TBA - TBA |
Kysar TBA - TBA |
991
Advanced Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab (Pre-Registration Deadline: August 15)
991 Advanced Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab (Pre-Registration Deadline: August 15) : Follows the Yale Law School Calendar.
Open only to students who have successfully completed ENV 981, Climate, Animals, Food, and Environment Law and Policy Lab (CAFE Lab).Paper required. Enrollment limited to nine. Permission of the instructors required.
In addition to listing this course among experiential permission selections, interested students should submit a brief statement describing the project they intend to pursue through the Advanced CAFE Lab. Statements should be submitted by 4:30 pm on the last day of the bidding period of the Yale Law school.
Note:The instructors will set a regular meeting time once the students have set their schedules. : Douglas Kysar : Douglas Kysar : TBD Faculty
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Kysar TBA - TBA |
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Kysar Tentative |
Kysar Tentative |