State University of New York at Geneseo
AC-1: Academic Courses

ANTHROPOLOGY ___1__ Undergraduate sustainability-focused courses A. Undergraduate sustainability-focused courses: Course name: ANTH 307 – Third World Development Brief course description: This course explores development paradigms, and the cultural, political, and economic implications of these paradigms. As such, the entire focus of the course is about social justice issues and the promotion of economic sustainability. and poverty. Number of times offered: once in Fall 2014 Number of sections, if applicable: one URL where syllabus is located: http://www.geneseo.edu/anthropology/anth_307 Department: Geological Sciences Chair: Ben Laabs CURRICULUM 4 Undergraduate courses with a sustainability component A. Undergraduate courses with a sustainability component: Course name: GSCI 140/141: Environmental Science and Lab, GSCI 150/151: The Geology of Climate Change and Energy, GCI 200: Environmental Geology, GSCI 335: Paleoclimatology Brief course description: GSCI 140: An introduction to the interaction of humansand the natural world, with focus on global environments, resources, population dynamics, energy, geology, and human impacts. GSCI 141: An introduction to laboratory principles and techniques in the environmental sciences for the critical analysis of scientific methods through data collection, data analysis, and interpretation. GSCI 150: This course is intended for non-science majors who have an interest in understanding the relationship between energy usage in the industrial era and climate change. Understanding and adapting to global-scale climate change is one of the most important issues facing scientists and world leaders in the 21st century. The interrelationship of past climate changes and energy consumption from fossil fuels is clear, and understanding the response of the Earth system to rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere is of critical interest as the human population approaches maximum sustainable levels. This course explores the fundamental geologic records of global climate change, Earth-system processes in the context of climate change and the global carbon cycle, critical improvements to the scientific understanding of natural verses human-induced climate change, and the recent and future impact of global-scale energy use on the Earth system. GSCI 151: This laboratory course is designed for nonscience majors. Weekly exercises explore the global carbon cycle, Earth-system processes, geologic records of climate change, national and global-scale consumption of hydrocarbon fuels, and the potential for renewable energy resources in western New York. GSCI 200: A survey of important geologic concepts relevant to current environmental issues. Emphasis is placed on geologic principles underlying problems related to water resources, pollution, natural hazards, waste disposal, energy and mineral resources, and on the scientific bases for current strategies proposed to limit adverse consequences of our impact on environmental systems. The geologic information bases available from governmental agencies are used to characterize and demonstrate practical problems for classroom exercises. Although not required, a general survey course in geology, physical geography, or high school earth science would provide an appropriate background. GSCI 335: The study of fundamental concepts of global scale environmental and climatic changes in the context of Earth-surface pchemical and biological signatures of past environments preserved in the geologic record; causes and effects of major climate changes over various timescales in Earth history; and geologic responses to Pleistocene, Holocene and historical climate change. Laboratory exercises involve characterizing surface processes, data-rich studies of climate- change records and discussions of climate science literature. Number of times offered: each of these classes was offered once in 2014-15. Number of sections, if applicable: one section of each lecture class, 3 sections of GSCI 141 and six of GSCI 151. URL where syllabus is located: syllabi not posted online but can be provided. GEOGRPAHY Do you offer any sustainability-focused degrees (major, minor, or concentrations), diplomas, or certificates? __X__Yes _____No If you answered “Yes”, what are they and what is the URL for where they can be found? Degree… name: Environmental Studies Minor & Concentration Brief description: The Environmental Studies minor is truly interdisciplinary, with courses from twelve different departments in addition to those courses that have ENVR prefixes. Students are provided with an opportunity to approach environmental issues from a holistic or integrative perspective, and are required to take courses from the social sciences and humanities, as well as from the natural sciences. Qualified students may have opportunities to engage in supervised research related to environmental processes and problems, and they may also conduct an internship with an environmental organization. Students are required to complete eight courses (25-28 credit hours) in at least four different disciplines. URL site: Minor: https://www.geneseo.edu/geography/environmental_studies or http://www.geneseo.edu/webfm_send/10247 (pages 336-338) Concentration: http://www.geneseo.edu/webfm_send/10247 (pages 152-153)

A faculty survey was conducted that rated the emphasis of sustainability in Geneseo courses including components and outcomes of courses as well as a brief description.

Jeremy Hall