Environmental and Resource Use Challenges

Aim

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:- account for dynamics, change and challenges based on knowledge and understanding of environmental systems contextualized in history and in future scenarios to- demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key perspectives in international negotiations regarding water and energy-related issues;- show how environmental challenges are linked to consumption patterns, resource use and demographic change;- show knowledge and understanding of key technological developments regarded as possible solutions to certain environmental challenges, but also how technology may be identified as the source of environmental problems;- communicate environmental issues orally and in text.

Content

The course provides a basic understanding of environmental changes and challenges induced by energy consumption, industrial processes as well as water and land use. It will also illustrate how knowledge of such changes is formed through advanced modelling and construction of scenarios. The course will provide an elaborated understanding of the driving forces behind, and potential solutions to, environmental changes. Through the multidisciplinary approach, the linkages between the nature and the society will be focused upon from both a natural sciences and social sciences perspective.