REM 100 (Global Change) Course Outline
Term:
Instructor:
Fall 2010
John Irwin
Course Objective
This course provides students with an overview of global environmental change and its causes, from a
social science perspective, historically and throughout the contemporary era. The course is organized into four
sections. The first introduces the basics of ecological systems, environmental history and thinking, including the
area of environmental ethics and philosophy. Second, we explore the notion of environmental change, including a
review of several models of environmental change and conflicting positions on where we are headed. The third
section addresses the emerging concept of Sustainable Development and looks at strategies to get us there. The
fourth section of the course includes a selection of case studies and applications that are presented, drawing on
videos, slides and, perhaps, guest speakers to make things more interesting.
Course Format and Evaluation
REM 100 is a mixed lecture/tutorial course with two hours of weekly lecture and a one-hour tutorial. The
lectures make use of videos, and other techniques as supplements. The course grade will be determined as
follows:
1.
Tutorials (10%) - Students attend a one-hour tutorial each week where they discuss the readings and
lectures. Students receive a grade for attendance and class participation out of 10%.
2.
Assignments (30%) – Two assignments are given worth 15% each, for a total of 30% of your final mark.
The assignments will be given out in tutorial and handed in tutorial.
3.
Term Project (30%) - The paper should be 2,000 words minimum and 2,500 words maximum and properly
referenced. It will be graded on the basis of content, argument, organization, and style and will be worth
30% of the final grade.
4.
Exam (30%) – Students write a final exam worth 30% of their final mark. The exam integrates the more
theoretical material of the course with the applications that were presented.
Required Text and Readings
The readings for the course are contained in a required text: Global Issues: An Introduction, John L. Seitz,
Blackwell (Third Edition) ISBN: 978-1-4051-5497-0 and are supplemented with various online readings.
Grading and Help
Late assignments are normally penalized 1 grade step per day (e.g. A+ becomes A). Deferred grades are
only given under extreme and exceptional circumstances, such as illness or death in the family and a doctor's note
is required. A heavy workload is not sufficient justification. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and is surprisingly
easy to detect. Sylvia Roberts, our library liaison person, has prepared a web page with useful references and tips
for the assignments and term paper. Go to: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/researchhelp/subjectguides/rem/rem.htm,
and then select "Help with Course Assignments’'. Or go to the main library page, hit ‘Library Research Help’,
then ‘Guides to Library Research’, choose REM and then ‘Help with Course Assignments’.
Topics, Readings and Assignments
Week
Topic
Readings
(Seitz)
1
Introduction to Global Change
2
Background: Environmental Change
Ch 1 (3-36)
3
Background: Environmental Thinking
Ch 6
(pp206-216)
4
Background: Ecological Effects of
War
Ch 6
(pp217-226)
5
Models of Environmental Change
Ch 2 (pp37-77)
6
The Sustainable Development
Revolution
7
Application:
Implementing Sustainable
Development
Application: International agreements,
climate change & acid rain
8
Ch 5 (pp156-205)
Ch 7 (pp230-244)
Online
Readings
Tutorials
&
Assigned Work
UNEP et al.,
The Living Planet
Report
Gossling et al.
Assignment 1 handed out
Gerges
Costanza et al
Mebratu
Assignment 1 due
Term paper handed out
Boland &
Humhammer
Library Session
Ch 4 (pp115-155)
IPCC
Ch 3 (pp78-114)
Badgley, C. and
Perfecto
Assignment 2 handed out
Term Paper due
November 12th
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Application:
Agriculture & land degradation
10
Application:
Freshwater & wetlands
Beaumont
11
Application:
Urban systems & waste management
Baud et al.
12
Application:
Marine systems
Folke et al.
13
Review class
2
Assignment 2 due
November 26th
Here are the ejournal online readings. To access them simply go through SFU’s library portal (SFU
Burnaby) and search for the journal title first (in bold and italics), then search for the author, or volume
inside the ejournal site.
Week 1: Chapter 1 of the UNEP's One Planet Many People, which can be found at:
http://grid.cr.usgs.gov/OnePlanetManyPeople/AtlasDownload/UNEP_Atlas/Atlas_Chapter1_Screen.
pdf
Week 2: The WWF, and UNEP Living Planet Report (pp 2-27) found at:
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_report.pdf
• Also look at the index page:
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/publications/living_planet_report/index.cfm
Week 3: Gossling, S., Hansson, C.B., Horstmeier, O., and Saggel, S. (2002) 'Ecological footprint
analysis as a tool to assess tourism sustainability' in Ecological Economics 43, pp. 199-211.
Week 4: Makram A. Gerges (1993) On the impacts of the 1991 Gulf War on the environment of the
region: General Observations, Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 27, Pages 305-314.
Week 5: Costanza, R. et. al., (1998) The value of ecosystem services: putting the issues in perspective,
Ecological Economics 25, pp. 67-72.
Week 6: Mebratu, D., (1998) ‘Sustainability and sustainable development: Historical and conceptual
review’ Environmental Impact Assessment Review 18, pp.493-520.
Week 7: Bolund, P. and Hunhammar, S., (1999) ‘Ecosystem services in urban areas’ Ecological
Economics 29, pp. 293-301.
Week 8: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)(2007): Summary for Policymakers.
In: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working
Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Found at:
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg2/ar4-wg2-spm.pdf
Week 9: Badgley, C. and Perfecto, I. (2007) ‘Organic agriculture and the global food supply’
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems Volume 22, Issue 02, pp. 86-108.
Week 10: Beaumont, (1983) ‘Water resource management in the USA: a case study of large dams’,
Applied Geography 3, pp. 259-275.
Week 11: Baud, Isa et al. (2001) ‘Quality of life and alliances in solid waste management:
Contributions to urban sustainable development’ Cities Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 3-12.
Week 12: Folke et al, (2002) ‘Development and government policies of the shrimp farming industry in
3
Thailand in relation to mangrove ecosystems’, Ecological Economics 40, pp. 441-455.
4