Course Title
Department Number Instructor
Last time
taught
Human Ecology of Africa
ANTH
238
Colin West
ctw@email.unc.edu
Fall 2011
Ecological Anthropology
ANTH
459
Colin West
ctw@email.unc.edu
Spring 2013
Ecological Analyses and
Applications
ECOL
567
Colin West
ctw@email.unc.edu
Fall 2011
Biogeochemical
Processes
ENST
450
Christopher S. Martens
Spring 2014
cmartens@email.unc.edu
Environmental Markets:
Science and Economics
ENST
490
Andy Yates
ajyates@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
ENVR
890-008
Jason West
jasonwest@unc.edu
Spring 2013
GEOG
412
C.E. Konrad
konrad@unc.edu
Spring 2013
Climate Change
GEOG
414
Erika Wise
ekwise@email.unc.edu
Spring 2014
Introduction to
Watershed Systems
GEOG
441
Diego Riveros-Iregui
diegori@unc.edu
Spring 2014
Advanced Physical
Geography –
Biogeoscience
GEOG
710
Diego Riveros-Iregui
diegori@unc.edu
Spring 2014
The Science of Climate
Change
GEOL
109
Tamlin Pavelsky
pavelsky@unc.edu
Fall 2012
Paleoclimatology
GEOL
432
Donna Surge
donna64@unc.edu
Fall 2012 will be
offered Fall 2014
Environmental History in
Global Perspective
HIST
398.008
Cynthia Radding
radding@email.unc.edu
Spring 2014
442
Victor Flatt
flatt@email.unc.edu
Spring 2013
offered every
other spring
Global Climate Change:
Science, Impacts,
Solutions
Extreme Weather Events:
The Ingredients for
Making Them
International
Environmental
Law/Emphasis: Climate
Change
LAW
The Practice of
Environmental Markets
LAW
455
Victor Flatt
flatt@email.unc.edu
Our Changing Planet:
Science, Social Impacts
MASC
310
Marc Alperin
alperin@email.unc.edu
Spring 2013
A Climate of Uncertainty
MATH
190
Colin Grudzien
cgrudz@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
Climate Modeling Course
MATH
578
Chris Jones
ckrtj@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
Energy, Transportation
and Land Use
PLAN
547
Nikhil Kaza
nkaza@unc.edu
Fall 2014
Planning for Natural
Hazards and Climate
Change Adaptation
PLAN
590
Gavin Smith
gpsmith@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
Development Impact
Assessment
PLAN
745
Todd BenDor
bendor@unc.edu
Spring 2014
Human Ecology of Africa
ANTH
238
Colin West
ctw@email.unc.edu
Fall 2011
This course focuses broadly on the relationships between ecology and society across Africa. It
explores the human ecology of pastoral, agricultural, and hunting-gathering livelihoods through
ethnographic case studies. The main goal is to expose students to the rich diversity of human
adaptations to environmental conditions in African contexts. A secondary goal is to help students
understand how culture, history, and ecology shape these adaptations.
Ecological Anthropology
ANTH
459
Colin West
ctw@email.unc.edu
Spring 2013
Ecological anthropology explores the interface between human populations and their ecological
surroundings, viewing culture as both something which influences the natural environment and is
in turn shaped by it. It investigates how the human/environment relationship varies crossculturally, over time, in different socio-political contexts, and in different ecosystems, and seeks
explanations for this diversity. With the current ecological crises and assimilation of many nonWestern cultures, such investigation takes on added urgency and importance. Our main focus will
be current theoretical themes in the field of ecological anthropology, including political ecology,
disequilibrium, cultural ecology, development anthropology, climate anthropology and
complexity. The books chosen represent a sampling of modern ecological anthropology
monographs. The readings span a variety of perspectives but include some classic works along
with more contemporary pieces.
Ecological Analyses and
Applications
ECOL
567
Colin West
ctw@email.unc.edu
Fall 2011
This seminar course will provide an introduction to interdisciplinary approaches to the study of
ecology, examining ecological concepts from both a natural and social science perspective.
“Ecology” is defined broadly to include the study of living organisms at multiple spatial and
temporal scales. The course will focus on human-environment interactions and draw heavily from
biological, community, and evolutionary ecology as well as landscape, cultural and political
ecology. The course is organized around themes and case studies. Each theme explores basic
concepts within ecology and then applies that concept to conservation issues from around the
world. The main premise of this course is that interdisciplinary knowledge is necessary for
understanding complex human-environment relationships. This understanding requires
appreciating the complex linkages between ecological and social systems along with the ability to
synthesize ideas across disciplines and from disparate perspectives.
Environmental Markets:
Science and Economics
ENST
490
Andy Yates
ajyates@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
This course examines the interplay of science and economics in the design of environmental
markets. The first part of the course is an introduction to the principles of environmental
economics in general and environmental markets in particular. The second part of the course
consists of several case studies of environmental markets. These case studies introduce the
principles of environmental science and illustrate the critical role that scientific models of natural
systems play in the design of environmental markets. The first case study is water pollution
(Nitrogen) from wastewater treatment plants into North Carolina's Neuse River. The second case
study is local air pollution (N0x, S0x, ozone, PM2.5) from electric power plants in the southeast
United States. The third case study is global C02 pollution including special emphasis on carbon
sequestration and markets for carbon offsets. The fourth case study is ecosystem service markets
including wetland and stream mitigation banking.
Biogeochemical
Processes
ENST
450
Christopher S. Martens
Spring 2014
cmartens@email.unc.edu
Principles of chemistry, biology, physics and geology are applied to the analysis of the fate and
transport of materials in sedimentary, aqueous and atmospheric environments with an emphasis on
those elements whose biogeochemical cycles are controlled by microbial processes. The course
covers key biogeochemical processes occurring in oceans, lakes, rivers and the atmosphere with a
core focus on processes that occur at naturally occurring physical and chemical interfaces.
Readings will consist of specific scientific journal articles available on the class Sakai site and
through UNC’s E-journal finder found on the UNC Libraries web site.
This course is aimed at junior and senior science majors who have completed basic coursework in
disciplinary sciences including chemistry, biology, geosciences, physics and mathematics. The
course builds on other coursework offered in the CEE curriculum. Formal prerequisites listed in
the undergraduate bulletin can be waived with permission of the instructor.
Global Climate Change:
Science, Impacts,
Solutions
ENVR
890-008
Jason West
jasonwest@unc.edu
Spring 2013
Climate change is a difficult, contentious, and important issue. It will perhaps be the defining
environmental issue of the 21st century. This course aims to address the whole complexity of
climate change as an issue, by bringing together the science, impacts, economics, abatement
technologies, and policy solutions into one course. Through this course, we will address several
important questions. What is the scientific basis for our understanding of climate change, and in
what ways is that scientific basis uncertain? What changes in climate might we expect over the
coming centuries? What would be the impacts of these changes in climate for human well-being
and the natural world? What are the sources of emissions of greenhouse gases? What technologies
exist or might be developed to allow us to slow climate change, and what international policy
solutions might be necessary or preferred?
Students will be expected to show mastery of relevant concepts drawn from the Earth sciences,
chemistry, physics, engineering, economics, and political science, and be able to explain the
relevance of these concepts for our present understanding of human-caused climate change and for
the viability of different proposed solutions. By the end of this course, students will be able to:
 Explain and evaluate the evidence for human-caused climate change, in the context of
historical climate change, as well as the relevant scientific uncertainties and possible evidence
to the contrary.
 Explain and quantify the impacts of climate change on human well-being and the natural
world, and evaluate means by which these impacts can be reduced (adaptation).
 Explain the human causes of climate change, including the sources of greenhouse gas
emissions. Because energy consumption is central to greenhouse gas emissions, students will
understand the global energy infrastructure in a historical context and evaluate technological
options for reducing emissions.
 Apply quantitative analysis of concepts relevant for climate change, drawn from chemistry,
physics, and economics, through homework problems.
 Evaluate the successes and failures of past national and international efforts to address climate
change, and evaluate prospects for future management of climate change.
 Evaluate the issue of climate change from the perspective of individual nations. Assess the
communication of science and policy for climate change, as a successful or unsuccessful
example of how science and policy can and should inform one another.
In completing this course, students will improve their abilities to read and understand research
papers from several disciplines addressing climate change, and to apply concepts quantitatively.
Students will also improve their abilities to communicate through in-class presentations, and to
develop and test hypotheses through an individual research paper.
Extreme Weather Events:
The Ingredients for Making
Them
GEOG
412
C.E. Konrad
konrad@unc.edu
Spring 2013
Extreme weather events are investigated with much attention again to the larger scale atmospheric
systems (e.g. wave cyclones, squall lines, supercell thunderstorms) that support their development
and sustenance. The ingredients and recipes responsible for their production of extreme weather
events are explored. The ingredients refer to the suite of physical conditions that are brought
together in space-time by the system to produce the extreme weather. The recipes, in turn,
describe the different ways in which the ingredients can be brought together in space and time to
spawn the extreme weather.
In the first two quarters of the course, the processes and atmospheric patterns that produce extreme
weather are described along with the conceptual model of weather entities as living systems.
These are applied to weather entities that produce extreme cold air outbreaks, ice storms,
snowstorms and high winds. The processes and patterns in the cool season extra-tropical
atmosphere are described first, followed by an examination of the cyclonic and anti-cyclonic
systems that bring together the ingredients for extreme weather.
In the third quarter of the course, severe thunderstorms, very heavy rainfall, and tornadoes are
examined with a focus on the supporting meso-scale patterns and processes. Particular attention is
given to meso-scale convective systems and how larger scale cyclonic systems assemble the
ingredients to produce and maintain these entities.
In the last quarter of the course, heat waves and drought are examined and tied to larger scale,
persistent anticyclonic systems that support their development. Tropical cyclonic systems (i.e.
hurricanes) are investigated as well with a focus on the factors that control their strength and
movement.
Climatologies of each event type are described, specifically when and how frequently they occur.
Also, changes in the frequencies of these extreme events are related to global climate change.
The first 5 to 10 minutes of class are used to describe what is going on with the weather both
locally and nationally. A wide variety of web-based weather products (e.g. weather observations
& maps, satellite imagery) are described and used to provide a spatial perspective on how the
ingredients come together to produce extreme weather.
This wide breath of material in this course is treated in a largely conceptual manner with a minimal
amount of time devoted to the underlying mathematics. A diagrammatical-spatial approach will be
used in lecture whereby processes and their interactions in the atmosphere will be described using
numerous maps and conceptual diagrams. Because of the breath and complexity of the lecture
material you will need to spend time outside class learning the nomenclature, coming to grips with
concepts, and linking these concepts together to build conceptual models of the atmosphere.
Although attendance will not be taken, you are expected to show up for class prepared to discuss to
the lecture material. Finally you are expected to observe the weather during the semester and
participate in discussions.
Climate Change
GEOG
414
Erika Wise
ekwise@email.unc.edu
Spring 2014
The Earth’s climate has become front-page news and is at the forefront of scientific inquiry. This
course will provide a “hands on” introduction to climate change science through a combination of
lecture and lab activities. The physical principles governing the Earth’s climate system and
variability in the system through time will first be covered to provide a solid background in climate
science. The course will then delve into the scientific basis of climate change and the current state
of knowledge concerning future projections and their implications for society and the environment.
Lab activities will include working with a variety of climate data and climate model output,
performing basic analyses, and thinking critically about the results.
By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

Describe how and why the Earth's climate has changed in the past and distinguish natural
climate variability from anthropogenic climate change




Explain assumptions underlying climate model projections of future climate and uncertainties
related to these projections
Identify potential impacts of climate change on human, physical, and biological environments
Critically assess news reports concerning climate change and its impacts
Formulate research questions concerning climate change, identify data and methods that can be
used to address those questions, and analyze and interpret a variety of climate data
Introduction to
Watershed Systems
GEOG
441
Diego Riveros-Iregui
diegori@unc.edu
Spring 2014
Introduction to the hydrologic and geomorphic processes and forms in watersheds as applied to
water quality, the biophysical dimensions of water, and interactions and feedbacks between water,
climate, landscape morphology, vegetation cover, and soil processes. Course will cover
hydrological processes, the structure of drainage networks, nested catchments, and distribution and
controls of precipitation, evaporation, runoff, soil moisture, and groundwater flow. Course will
include a two-day field trip to a long-term experimental watershed in western North Carolina.
Advanced Physical
Geography –
Biogeoscience
GEOG
710
Diego Riveros-Iregui
diegori@unc.edu
Spring 2014
Examination of the major processes controlling climate-water-ecosystem interactions at the
landscape level, and development of a quantitative understanding of the physical and biological
processes responsible for landscape pattern and evolution. The course will introduce students to
key concepts in terrestrial and aquatic biogeoscience, including the fundamental principles
governing fluxes of C, N, sediment and dust, and prediction of how the magnitude and dynamics
of these fluxes will be altered under the effects of disturbance (e.g., wildfire, drought,
deforestation, land-use change). The course will be taught through a combination of lectures, inclass discussions, and reading and writing assignments, drawing examples from recent peerreviewed literature.
The Science of Climate
Change
GEOL
109
Tamlin Pavelsky
pavelsky@unc.edu
Fall 2012
Offered every Fall
Climate change is among the defining environmental problems of our time, yet public
understanding of climate science and policy remains limited. The aim of this course is to provide
an introduction to the science of climate change and possible means of addressing it. The first third
of the course will focus on the earth’s climate system. In the second third, we will discuss the
causes and impacts of climate change in the past, present, and future. In the final third, we will
examine policy and political responses to climate change.
Paleoclimatology
GEOL
432
Donna Surge
donna64@unc.edu
Fall 2012 will be
offered Fall 2014
Course Description: Introduction to mechanisms that drive climate, including the interplay
between oceanic and atmospheric circulation and fluctuation in Earth’s orbital parameters.
Examination and analysis of past climate records ranging from historical documentation to
ecological and geochemical proxies (e.g. tree ring analysis; O and C isotopes of skeletal carbonates
and soils). Dating methods used to constrain and correlate climatic periods, utility of computer
models to reconstruct past climates and predict future climate change. Emphasis placed on
paleoclimatology and paleoecology of the late Quaternary (last ~1 million years).
Course Objectives: To provide an understanding of (1) what drives climate; (2) how ancient
climates can be reconstructed; and (3) what are the important questions currently being asked in
the field of paleoclimatology and their significance to present and future climate change.
Structure of Course: The class meets twice a week. Lectures will introduce topics for the
majority of the semester. Several meetings during the semester will have part of the time devoted
to discussion of journal articles related to various topics in paleoclimatology. Students will be
required to hand in a 1-2 page written critique of each paper. Major, overriding concepts (not
specific details) from each paper are fair game for exam questions.
Environmental History in
Global Perspective
HIST
398.008
Cynthia Radding
radding@email.unc.edu
Spring 2014
This seminar in history is designed to provide students with the experience of planning and
carrying out their own research projects and to open discussions on a variety of topics that are
central to environmental history. Its main geographic focus begins in Latin America and extends to
other world regions, including North America and South Asia. Environmental history is an
emerging field with strong linkages to geography, ecology, and anthropology as well as to the
interdisciplinary field of environmental studies. Environmental history helps us understand
changes in the land as well as issues of survival, sustainability, conflict, and cooperation among
different peoples, power brokers, and economic sectors in society. We shall explore the ecological
and social consequences of drought, the problem of communal resource use and management in
different historical settings, and the roots of environmental movements in the U.S. and other world
regions.
International
Environmental
Law/Emphasis: Climate
Change
LAW
442
Victor Flatt
flatt@email.unc.edu
Spring 2013
This class will survey some basic principles of International Environmental Law, discuss some
areas in which it has been important such as water resources, trans-boundary pollution, and
resources in general. The class will then focus on the most pressing international environmental
problem ever, and the one where there is a current struggle to cooperate internationally – climate
change. We will not discuss in depth the issues of radioactive disposal, whaling, or the Antarctic
treaties. While much of the doctrinal text will not be assigned, the International Environmental
Law casebook is a valuable resource for background information (for your papers) and for future
reference.
Importantly, this is also a seminar class, wherein you will write a paper that is publishable, and
review and discuss other papers. Therefore, some of the class will focus on the rules and ways of
writing a law review type article, and on your own choice of international environmental law
and/or climate change law topics. Thus, the class is not an exhaustive examination of all
international environmental law, but an introduction to it – an introduction that you will use to
write your own paper on a selected topic. The class is a three credit hour class, but meets for 2
hours (instead of 2.5). As a seminar class, we are expected by the ABA to use this extra time on
out of class conferences.
A list of law courses being offered each semester is available at:
http://www.law.unc.edu/centers/clear/opportunities/courses/
The Practice of
Environmental Markets
LAW
455
Victor Flatt
flatt@email.unc.edu
This class will explore the evolving markets in environmental amenities, particularly using carbon
trading as a template. The markets will include nutrient trading, and renewable energy credits and
other emerging pollution market devices. We will study how some of these markets work and the
legal regulatory environment that surrounds them. Particular attention will be paid to the emerging
US systems.
A list of law courses being offered each semester is available at:
http://www.law.unc.edu/centers/clear/opportunities/courses/
Our Changing Planet:
Science, Social Impacts
MASC
310
Marc Alperin
alperin@email.unc.edu
Spring 2013
The course is designed to provide background for understanding the scientific and political issues
surrounding the debate over global climate change. Students will be introduced to the complex
interactions between the sun, atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere that ultimately control Earth’s
climate. After covering natural processes that influence climate, the course will focus on the
impact of fossil fuel combustion on the chemical composition of the atmosphere and the Earth’s
energy budget. We will examine evidence that man’s activities have already caused global
warming and investigate scientist’s ability to predict future climate. We will then discuss the
political and social dimensions of global-scale climate change as well as strategies for mitigating
negative impacts.
Students will be assigned weekly problem sets to foster a quantitative understanding of climate
change science (these will contribute 20% to your overall grade). Examples of problems include:
numerical models to predict future populations and age distributions in developing and developed
countries; radiative transfer laws to predict the equilibrium temperature of the Earth with and
without greenhouse gases; critical analysis of thermometer and proxy data; sea level rise due to
thermal expansion of seawater; calculations of personal carbon footprints; and quantitative analysis
of the impact of ‘green’-energy alternatives to fossil fuel combustion.
A Climate of Uncertainty
MATH
190
Colin Grudzien
cgrudz@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
This course will focus around the following questions:
 What are the physical mechanisms that drive our climate?
 How are these processes measured and integrated into model simulations?
 How does climate impact human life, and vice versa?
 How do we make informed decisions about climate, and policy which impacts it?
The first ten weeks will focus largely around the first three questions, with the final project
focusing on the last. You should expect nightly homework throughout the semester. There will be
some lecture days, but class time will be largely spent on activity based learning through labs, role
plays, group discussion and debates.
Climate Modeling Course
MATH
578
Chris Jones
ckrtj@email.unc.edu
Fall 2013
Unsure when next
offered
This will be an active learning class in which the students will be involved in discussing and
exploring the models themselves. It will therefore require a commitment to the class and the
occasional drop-in will not be feasible (sorry!)
There will be four components:
 Background material on dynamical systems and stochastic dynamics will be provided through
video recordings. These will be available on the web and the expectation is that all students
keep up with these recordings. Discussion of material and testing of understanding will happen
in class each week.
 Each week a new model will be introduced in lecture format. Background material on
geophysical fluids will also be covered in these lectures.
 One class time each week will be devoted to team-work aimed at further exploration of the
models, and their variants. The focus will be on the formulation of questions, both
mathematical and physical, and approaches to answering them. Each participant will be a
member of a team and will take on a role in the team, e.g., applied mathematician,
computational scientist or climate scientist. Each student will rotate through the different roles
over the semester.

There will be three weeks during the semester when the course will take a break from classwork and the student teams will focus on more in-depth projects which will be presented when
the class resumes.
Energy, Transportation and
Land Use
PLAN
547
Nikhil Kaza
nkaza@unc.edu
Fall 2014
Recent interest in climate change, in general, as well as large projects like Keystone XL. in particular, has focussed the attention of urban planners on the impacts of land use and transportation
planning on energy use. This course seeks to explore the reciprocal connections between all
aspects of energy (production/conversion, distribution and use), land use, environment and
transportation. Evaluation of Federal, state and local policies on energy conservation, alternative
energy sources are emphasised. At the end of the course, the students are expected to have learnt
the skills to critically analyse impacts, interdependencies and uncertainties of various energy
conservation measures and production technologies on different sectors, organisations and
communities
Planning for Natural
Hazards and Climate
Change Adaptation
PLAN
590
Gavin Smith
Fall 2013
gpsmith@email.unc.edu
This course provides a graduate-level introduction to natural hazards risk management planning,
including climate change-induced hazards. Specific areas of study include the practice of planning
and its application to hazard mitigation and disaster recovery. Emphasis is also placed on the
connectivity between planning for natural hazards and disasters and climate change adaptation,
emphasizing the principles of sustainability and disaster resilience. While the course is grounded in
planning principles and practice, and involves the evaluation of plans, it is not limited to planning
students. Rather, the course is intended for students that seek to gain a better understanding of how
planning plays an important role in the larger issue of natural hazards risk management, including
our ability to adapt to a changing climate and create more sustainable, disaster resilient
communities.
Course Objectives
1) To identify and explore key planning principles and assess the degree to which they are
applied in natural hazards risk management planning through the evaluation of the quality
of hazard mitigation and disaster recovery plans at the federal, state, and local level;
2) To gain a sound understanding of natural hazards risk management as understood through
the lenses of hazard mitigation and disaster recovery;
3) To explore the relationship between sustainability, disaster resilience, and climate change
adaptation; and
4) To identify and assess different types of natural hazards risk management governance
frameworks, including how existing policies and programs facilitate or hinder pre- and
post- disaster planning and the creation of sustainable, disaster resilient communities that
are able to better adapt to changing climactic conditions.
This course will meet once per week. Class sessions include lectures (emphasizing applicable
cases selected from across the United States and abroad) and discussion, oral presentations, and the
review of plans by students. Invited speakers include nationally and internationally recognized
scholars and practitioners in the field of natural hazards risk management and climate change
adaptation.
Development Impact
Assessment
PLAN
745
Todd BenDor
bendor@unc.edu
Spring 2014
This course provides intensive instruction in methods for predicting, evaluating, and
mitigating potential adverse impacts of land development projects, particularly as they affect
urban infrastructure. Its purpose is to develop basic skills in using impact assessment
techniques, an ability to apply those techniques to the assessment of impacts from actual
development projects, and an ability to report impact assessment analyses, findings, and
recommendations in a competent, professional manner, assuming your report is to be read
and understood by both professional and nonprofessional audiences.
Development impact assessment methods are used in a variety of ways in public and private
planning, including evaluation of land use planning alternatives, assessment of private and
public development proposals, and marketing of development proposals. By analyzing and
discussing various examples of those applications, the course will help develop an
appreciation of the strengths and limitations of various impact assessment approaches in
specific applications.