UC Davis Eco-Courses
Fall Quarter
- ANT/ECL 211: Advanced Topics in Cultural Ecology: Water Sustainability
- CRD 20: Food Systems
- ECL 290 Section 014: Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability in our Research Labs
- ECL 290/GEO 290/SSC 290: Integrated ecosystem assessment: Agriculture, nitrogen, and climate change in California
- ECL 290/TTP 298A-007: Improving Community and Landscape Connectivity
- LDA 190: A Sustainable Campus: What's being done? What more can we do?
ANT/ECL 211 : Advanced Topics in Cultural Ecology: Water Sustainability
CRN: | 44079 |
Units: | 3 |
When: | Fall, 2009, Mondays 1-4 p.m. |
Where: | 3 Wellman |
Instructor: | Ben Orlove |
The CRN is 44079 for ANT 211 or 44080 for ECL 211.
In this seminar, the class will review recent literature from anthropology, geography, political science, sociology and history to examine four issues about water, a topic of growing importance world-wide.
1. Value: Water is both a natural resource and a human right. How are these two values addressed in different societies?
2. Equity: How is access to water distributed in different societies?
3. Governance: What kinds of organizations and rules shape water systems in different societies?
4. Politics: What are the patterns of conflict over water in different societies?
MODIFIED ON: 6/24/2009
CRD 20 : Food Systems
Units: | 3 |
When: | Fall, 2009, T & R 3:10 to 4:30 p.m. |
Where: | 204 Art |
Instructor: | Ryan E. Galt, Assistant Professor, |
Lab times, all in 105 Bowley:
W 9:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. - CRN 17505
W 12:10 to 3:00 p.m. - CRN 17506
W 3:10 to 6:00 p.m. - CRN 17507
Ever think about your food, where it comes from, and how it got to your plate? Do you wonder about who produces and processes it, and what they get out of the deal? Why is hunger so pervasive while globalization allows privileged consumers to buy “jet fresh” produce flown in from all corners of the world? How can obesity, food insecurity, and food deserts occur simultaneously in society, and what should we do about it? Why do different cultures have such different diets? Does fair trade coffee actually make a difference for small farmers? Should you eat organic, or become a vegetarian, a vegan, or a “locavore”? Who benefits most, and who and what is most harmed, by the current social and environmental arrangements that put food on your plate? How to we overcome forces that sustain the unsustainable? If you are interested in these and related questions, CRD 20–Food Systems is for you.
Through the lens of the social sciences, this course addresses these and other questions. It focuses on the whole food system from farm to fork and back again to examine possibilities for sustainability and equity. We place the food system within a capitalist economy and view it historically and geographically. Labs include hands-on field trips that explore the positions of different people in the food system, on and off campus. Lectures and lab involve wide-ranging discussion to help us understand the food system as a whole.
CRD 20 complements Plant Sciences (PLS) 15–Introduction to Sustainable Agriculture by providing a social science perspective on food and agriculture within the context of an interdisciplinary approach to sustainability. Both courses form the introduction to a new major in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems at UC Davis.
MODIFIED ON: 9/18/2009
ECL 290 Section 014 : Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability in our Research Labs
CRN: | 19873 |
Units: | 1 |
When: | Fall, 2009, Wednesday 4:10-5pm |
Instructor: | Professor Johan Six |
How much energy does it take to run an ultra-cold freezer, a laser or a gas chromatograph? Can you save plastics, borrow a spectrophotometer, eliminate mercury from your methods, or switch away from distilled water, and what are the resource impacts? While researchers understand limits to air, water and habitat quality, we rarely pursue conservation practices at work, partially because we are preoccupied and also because the benefits and costs are invisible to us. We are also insulated from operational decisions, which can simply or complicate our work, and greatly increase campus costs.
Consider joining us this fall to explore how we can make your research labs more efficient and greener. Enrolled students will study current technologies and lab practices to conserve resources. Each week, we will review current literature in the following arenas: energy; water; solid waste, recycling & re-use; electronics; green chemistry. As well, visiting experts will describe what goes on to run our buildings or deliver our supplies. Students will research topics, present findings and lead discussion to explore, understand, and implement low-impact, highly-effective research. By the end of the quarter, the goal will be a green lab certification for labs of all disciplines at UC Davis, and be a model for the UC system.
MODIFIED ON: 10/12/2009
ECL 290/GEO 290/SSC 290 : Integrated ecosystem assessment: Agriculture, nitrogen, and climate change in California
CRN: | 19929 |
Units: | 2 |
When: | Fall, 2009, Wednesday 10:00 am –12:00 pm |
Where: | Robbins Hall 140 |
Instructor: | Thomas P. Tomich and Kate M. Scow with ASI staff |
This Fall 2009 Graduate Student Seminar is offered by the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute.
Policymakers, scientists, non-governmental organizations, and environmental decision makers around the world are turning to integrative ecosystem assessments as a way of understanding and making decisions about the pressing environmental problems in our world today. This seminar will develop student understanding of such assessments(e.g.,Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment), explore when and why they are distinctive and useful, and review specific methods of the assessment process.We will discuss these methods within the context of the California Nitrogen Assessment(nitrogen.ucdavis.edu),an on-going assessment project which aims to provide insights into the balance between the benefits of agricultural nitrogen to society,and the effects of surplus nitrogen in the environment for a wide range of stakeholders—policymakers, agricultural producers, NGOs, and the public.
Each week, students—together with Dr. Tomich, Dr. Scow and ASI staff—will discuss assessment methodology (e.g., stakeholder engagement, conceptual frameworks, scenario development, etc) and a related substantive topic of the students' choosing. Discussions of the methods and challenges of performing assessments will be based on readings from the forthcoming Ecosystem Assessment Methods Manual (inpress)and topical articles, selected by students, that relate to the seminar’s theme (agriculture, nitrogen, and climate change). All students are expected to lead one discussion. Students enrolling for two units are expected to give a brief presentation of their topic, lead discussion of the articles, and write a short synopsis of their findings. These synopses will be considered for inclusion in the assessment document; students whose synopses are included will be listed as co-authors.
Please contact Todd Rosenstock (trosenstock@ucdavis.edu) with any questions.
*The seminar is offered for either one or two units as ECO 290, GEO 290 or SSC 290. The CRNs for each subject are: ECL (19929), GEO (44171), SSC (41244).
MODIFIED ON: 9/24/2009
ECL 290/TTP 298A-007 : Improving Community and Landscape Connectivity
CRN: | 44073 |
Units: | 2 |
When: | Fall, 2009, Mondays 12:10 - 2:00 p.m. |
Where: | Olson Hall 141 |
Web site: |
Instructor: | Fraser Schilling |
Land development is the primary cause of extinction and habitat degradation. Can we build and connect our homes, farms and towns without destroying ecological flows? Sign up this fall and help figure out how. This seminar from the Road Ecology Center at UC Davis will feature invited speakers and group participation. For more information, contact Fraser Shilling: fmshilling@ucdavis.edu.
MODIFIED ON: 6/16/2009
LDA 190 : A Sustainable Campus: What's being done? What more can we do?
CRN: | 28912 |
Units: | 1 |
When: | Fall, 2009, Fridays 12:10-1:00 |
Where: | Room 1130 Hart (NEW ROOM) |
The Landscape Architecture Lunchbag Series features weekly lectures on the theme "A Sustainable Campus: What's being done? What more can we do?". UC Davis course credit is offered: LDA 190/1 credit/Fall 2009/CRN 28912
MODIFIED ON: 10/12/2009