The Colorado Internet Center for Environmental
Problem Solving
University Environmental Course Listings
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- Western Public Lands Management
- This seminar is designed as a mixture of lectures by the professors, and seminar presentation and discussion by the students. Our goal
early on is to give students out best insights and experiences in analyzing public lands management issues, drawing on our different expertise: Riebsame: general history and geography of public lands, the roles of environmentalism and environmental perception in management of BLM
grazing lands and National Parks; Lester: public administration/governance theory, outer continental shelf oil, and coal and mineral lands. The class is focused on what could be called the "governance problem" how do we manage public lands in an era of interest group pluralism,
regulatory and agency change, and conceptual and scientific transformation? To make such questions concrete, we focus on three specific issue/problems: (1) Managing Rocky Mountain National Park; (2) California OCS leasing; and (3) BLM rangeland policy reform.
- Western Public Lands Management
- This seminar is designed as a mixture of lectures by the professors, and seminar presentation and discussion by the students. Our goal
early on is to give students out best insights and experiences in analyzing public lands management issues, drawing on our different expertise: Riebsame: general history and geography of public lands, the roles of environmentalism and environmental perception in management of BLM
grazing lands and National Parks; Lester: public administration/governance theory, outer continental shelf oil, and coal and mineral lands. The class is focused on what could be called the "governance problem" how do we manage public lands in an era of interest group pluralism,
regulatory and agency change, and conceptual and scientific transformation? To make such questions concrete, we focus on three specific issue/problems: (1) Managing Rocky Mountain National Park; (2) California OCS leasing; and (3) BLM rangeland policy reform.
- Environmental Impact Analysis
- This seminar in Environmental Impact Analysis is designed to serve the needs of persons interested in the physical, technological and
human impacts of the built environment as they affect the natural environment. Analyzes willcover housing, transportation, institutional and other kinds of proposed development at the local, state and national scale. The course has three major areas of emphasis: 1) the theory, history and
methodology of impact assessment; 2) the contextual and substantive areas, i.e., resources which undergo human intervention such as forests, wetlands, open space, aquatic and atmospheric systems and, of course, the impact of technology and technological developments on individuals,
neighborhoods and communities; and 3) the development or impact reports from empirical situations with the internal review and eventually the public testimony in verbal or written form.
- Environmental Systems 1 - Climate and Vegetation
- Introduces the atmospheric environment of the Earth: elements and controls of climate and their implications for
hydrology, vegetation, and soils. Emphasizes distribution of physical features across the Earth's surface and interactions between humans and their environment, especially those leading to global change on the decade to century time scale. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum:
natural science.
- Environmental Systems 2 - Landforms and Soils.
- Introduces two essential aspects of the natural environment: landforms and soils. Emphasizes the genesis, distribution,
and utility of surface features in a variety of learning situations, including lectures, labs, and field trips. Approved for arts and science core curriculum: natural science.
- World Regional Geography
- An intellectual journey around the globe, stopping at major regions to study the people, their environments, and how they interact. Topics
include the political/economic tensions in changing Europe, conflicts in Brazilian rainforests, transitions facing African peoples, and rapid changes in China.
- Human Geographies
- Examines social, political, economic, and cultural processes creating the geographical worlds in which we live, and how these spatial relationships
shape our everyday lives. Studies urban growth, geopolitics, agricultural development and change, economic growth and decline, population dynamics, and migration exploring both how these processes work at global scale as well as shape geographies of particular places.
- Mountain Geography
- Surveys mountain environments and their human use with illustrations from temperate and tropical mountain areas.
- Biogeography
- Survey and analysis of plant and animal distribution on a world scale from ecological and historical perspectives. Emphasizes human impact on vegetation.
- Natural Hazards
- Impact of extreme geophysical events on human society. Emphasizes adaptations to extreme events and ways of reducing vulnerability and damage.
- Conservation Practice and Resource Management
- Inventory, policy, and management of natural resources. Emphasizes practical approaches to the conservation and
management of soil, land, water, and air resources.
- Conservation Thought
- Historical survey of human consumption of earthly material; environmental and global considerations of population growth, cultural attitude, and
technological development; diverse goals and philosophy of conservation movements in time and place.
- Economic Geography
- Several theories of location of economic activity are presented: general theory of land use, agricultural location theory, plant location theory,
central place theory, location of systems of cities, and geographical organization of industries. Aggregate geographical structure of regions studied as the geography of three major markets: labor, product, and capital, including the banking system. Economic growth of regions and
policies designed to influence regional growth and welfare.
- Geography of International Development
- Compares and contrasts global characteristics and processes of development, emphasizing the developing countries of the
world. Theories of development, specific development topics, and case studies are integrated to explore the problems of development.
- Remote Sensing of the Environment
- Covers acquisition and interpretation of environmental data by remote sensing. Theory and sensors are discussed, as are manual and
microwave portions of the spectrum are stressed.
- Mountain Geomorphology
- Field course emphasizing study of landforms produced by weathering and soils, mass movement, and erosional processes under all climatic
and altitudinal conditions.
- Forest Geography: Principles and Dynamics
- Surveys principles of forest geography and ecology. Both individual tree responses to environmental factors and species
interactions within communities are included. Emphasizes forest dynamics and their relation to management problems.
- Methods of Soil Analysis
- Methods of soil sampling and laboratory analysis are applied toward an understanding of the relationships between soils, the environment, and
landscape impacts. Field trips explore field observation and sampling techniques. Laboratory analyzes determine soil physical and chemical properties.
- Seminar: Conservation Trends
- Provides environmental studies or geography majors with an undergraduate format for interdisciplinary discussion and research into
current and future directions of conservation. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: critical thinking.
- Water Resources and Water Management of Western United States
- Interpretation and analysis of hydroclimatic data, surface, and groundwater. Water use is critically
evaluated emphasizing problems associated with geographic maldistribution, appropriations, irrigation, industry, pollution, and regional development.
- Agrosystems
- The class takes a system approach to the study of farming and pastoral activities. The objective is to give students a foundation in modern agricultural
systems research, and to provide experience in the design and implementation of field-based research. The focus will be on the Western U. S., with an attempt made to pose the same questions that might be asked of, say, a Javanese rice of Sahel grazing system, in the context of farms and
ranches in the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain regions.
- Political Geography
- Systematic study of relations between geography and politics, especially as background for better understanding of international affairs. Includes
topics such as frontiers and boundaries, power analysis, geopolitics, international political economy, and strategic concepts.
- Public Land Law
- Deals with the legal status and management of federal lands. Explores federal law, policy, and agency practice affecting the use of mineral, timber,
range, water, wildlife, and wilderness resources on public lands.
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(303)492-2154; E-Mail: crc@colorado.eduCopyright 1997 by Conflict Research Consortium