Courses
ENVIR 450: Choices and Change in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
This course explores the ways in which the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is linked to national politics, energy supplies, wilderness literature, global and local ecosystems, cultural values, and political and natural history. We examine the ways in which people talk and write about development (energy and jobs for America) versus protection (the biological heart of the Refuge and America’s Serengeti) of the coastal plain. A crucial part of the course is a field trip to Alaska that includes 8 days of camping, hiking and rafting in the Arctic Refuge, and visits with Native Alaskans in Arctic Village and Kaktovik.
ENVIR/ESS/SMA/ATMS 585: Pacific Northwest Climate Impacts
This interdisciplinary course focuses on determining cases in which an understanding of the patterns and predictability of Pacific Northwest climate variations could be used to improve regional natural resource management. Students will develop an understanding of the causes and consequences of natural variations in regional climate (driven by such large-scale climate oscillations as El Niño/La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and projected trends resulting from global warming. We will study the importance of climate fluctuations for the region’s natural resources as well as past societal reactions to climate forecasts, events and regional impacts. Focusing on PNW water, fish, forest, and coastal resources, we will examine the natural, economic, and institutional contexts in which regional resource management decisions are made. The ultimate objective of the course is to identify real-world opportunities where existing information about natural climate variability and human-caused global warming could improve regional resource management.