Course Catalogue

EESC BC1001 Environmental Science I. 4.5 points.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Students must also sign up for the corresponding lab course, EESC BC1011 to receive credit. Note BC1001 is not required for an environmental policy major.

This class examines the basic principles of environmental science using current local and global environmental news as case studies.  Issues covered are climate change, invasive species, water resources, sustainability, etc.  A major goal is for students to understand the science behind environmental issues.  Readings from the scientific literature, various newspaper articles, magazines and an online textbook are carefully coordinated with the topics. Because of our location, the lab curriculum features studies of the Hudson River and its forested shorelines.  The lab is closely paired with the lecture and features hands-on and inquiry-based lab and field studies of statistics, data presentation, writing in the format of a scientific paper, data collection (on land and on the Hudson River), water chemistry, microbiology, microscopic and macroscopic life in the river, birds and plants in Riverside Park, biodiversity on a green roof, local geology, topographical maps, compass use, and museum studies.  Students must also register for one of the eight lab sections EESCX1011.  Students must take both lecture and lab. 

EESC BC1011 Environmental Science I Lab. 0 points.

Corequisites: EESC BC1001

Students enrolled in EESC BC1001 must enroll in this required lab course. Students cannot enroll in this course unless also enrolled in BC1001.

EESC BC1007 Earth and Environmental Science in Today's World. 3.00 points.

In responding to the environmental issues we face today, it is critical to recognize the science behind them. This course will teach students the basic concepts in earth science/geology essential to understanding the mechanisms of our current climate crisis. These foundational concepts are crucial for any student who is interested in not only the natural sciences, but for those who wish to pursue careers related to environmental justice, sustainability, and other social science fields. Students will explore how and where natural resources form, as well as how we are rapidly depleting these reserves. Students will also learn about natural disasters and how these affect certain communities more than others. Students will gain an understanding of the formation of rocks and minerals and their economic significance. Students will be able to use the cumulative knowledge they gained during the first weeks of class to have a better understanding of the global climate issues we face and to use this information to conduct presentations on an environmental topic of their choice. The format of the course will be as follows: Primarily lecture, followed by class discussions, group activities and at least one lab component

EESC UN2100 EARTH'S ENVIRO SYST: CLIM SYST. 4.50 points.

Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Origin and development of the atmosphere and oceans, formation of winds, storms and ocean currents, reasons for changes through geologic time. Recent influence of human activity: the ozone hole, global warming, water pollution. Laboratory exploration of topics through demonstrations, experimentation, computer data analysis, and modeling. Students majoring in Earth and Environmental Sciences should plan to take EESC W2100 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with Senior Seminar

EESC UN2200 EARTH'S ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS: THE SOLID EARTH. 4.50 points.

CC/GS: Partial Fulfillment of Science Requirement
Priority given to Columbia and Barnard earth science, environmental science, and environmental biology majors should enrollment limits be necessary.

Prerequisites: high school algebra and chemistry. Recommended preparation: high school physics.
Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics; and one semester of college science. Exploration of how the solid Earth works, today and in the past, focusing on Earth in the Solar system, continents and oceans, the Earth's history, mountain systems on land and sea, minerals and rocks, weathering and erosion, glaciers and ice sheets, the hydrological cycle and rivers, geochronology, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, energy resources. Laboratory exploration of topics through examination of rock samples, experimentation, computer data analysis, field exercises, and modeling. Columbia and Barnard majors should plan to take W2200 before their senior year to avoid conflicts with the Senior Seminar

EESC UN2300 EARTH'S ENVIRO SYST: LIFE SYST. 4.50 points.

CC/GS: Partial Fulfillment of Science Requirement
Priority given to Columbia and Barnard earth science, environmental science, and environmental biology majors should enrollment limits be reinstated.

Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics.
Prerequisites: high school algebra. Recommended preparation: high school chemistry and physics. Role of life in biogeochemical cycles, relationship of biodiversity and evolution to the physical Earth, vulnerability of ecosystems to environmental change; causes and effects of extinctions through geologic time (dinosaurs and mammoths) and today. Exploration of topics through laboratories, data analysis, and modeling. REQUIRED LAB: EESC UN2310. Students will be expected to choose a lab section during the first week of class from the options listed in the Directory of Classes. Co-meets with EEEB 2002

EESC BC3001 CONSERVATION AND PRESERVATION. 3.00 points.

Conservation and preservation is an interdisciplinary study of earth materials, their transformation into art objects and architectural structures, and the philosophy and analytical techniques required to prepare conservation and preservation strategies for these objects and structures. The course is Beyond Barnard being hands-on and field trip oriented with a focus on the Metropolitan Museum of Art and local geology and infrastructure

EESC BC3012 BROWNFIELDS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: One college level science course or permission of the instructor. Anyone who has taken EESC BC1002 Introduction to Environmental Science cannot take this course. Brownfields considers interconnections between groundwater contamination, toxics, human health, government, economics, and law using the award-winning interactive learning simulation Brownfield Action, Through a semester-long, laboratory exploration of a simulated brownfield, students engage in an environmental site assessment and development of a plan for remediation and revitalization

EESC BC3013 SHORELINES AND STREAMS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Four required field trips that take a substantial portion of the day.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Four required field trips that take a substantial portion of the day. An interdisciplinary study of shoreline processes, the larger ecosystems of which they are a part, and the geologic events and human impacts that have brought them through time to their current state. A problem-oriented, field-methods course, providing hands-on experience with tools and observational methods in a variety of outdoor environments. Involves sampling and measurement techniques for rocks and minerals, fossils, water, soil, flora, and fauna, as well as field and laboratory work, data interpretation and analysis, and the creation of a sample collection. Emphasis on the writing process through the reading of Rachel Carsons The Edge of the Sea, a daylong field trip to Montauk Point, and the writing of a term essay on the natural history and origin of a grain of garnet found at the top of the dune at Napeague Bay

EESC BC3014 Field Methods in Environmental Science. 3 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Five required field trips that take a substantial portion of the day.

Problem-oriented, hands-on approach emphasizing the tools, techniques, and observational skills necessary for the understanding of forest ecology and deer management. Field and laboratory work as well as data analysis and interpretation. Field Methods utilizes the outdoor resources of the Hudson River Valley, especially the forest environment at Black Rock Forest, a 4,000-acre preserve near Cornwall, N.Y.

EESC BC3016 ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURMENTS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Required field trip on first Friday of the semester.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited. Required field trip on first Friday of the semester. Hands-on approach to learning environmental methods. Students take a one-day cruise on the Hudson River to collect environmental samples. These samples are then analyzed throughout the semester to characterize the Hudson River estuary. Standard and advanced techniques to analyze water and sediment samples for nutrients and contaminants are taught

EESC BC3017 ENVIRONMENTAL DATA ANALYSIS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: One year of college science or EESC V2100 or permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites: One year of college science or EESC V2100 or permission of the instructor. Acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of environmental data, assessment of spatial and temporal variability. Focus on water quality issues and storm surges. Uses existing and student-generated data sets. Basic principles of statistics and GIS, uses standard software packages including EXCEL and ArcGIS. Includes a half-day field trip on a Saturday or Sunday. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning (QUA)

EESC BC3019 Energy Resources. 3 points.

Energy Resources utilizes the physical plant of Barnard and Columbia to involve students in a semester long real-life policy study that explores the interconnections between energy resources and sustainable energy efficiency. Students work collaboratively as a team and interface with college faculty, administration, staff and student organizations to produce and disseminate a professional level policy report describing existing usage of energy, analyzing where change is needed.

EESC BC3023 The Hudson: The Estuary, The River, and Our Environment. 3 points.

An interdisciplinary study of the relationship between ecosystem function and sustainable human habitation for one of the great rivers of the world. Topics include: geological origins, the watershed, basic hydrology, and estuarine dynamics; habitats and plants, energy flow, and nutrient dynamics; the invertebrates; fishes, fisheries, and other animals; water quality, water supply, and sewage treatment; sediment dynamics and PCBs; colonization and revolution; industrialization and transformation of the landscape; the Storm King controversy, conservation and environmentalism

EESC BC3025 HYDROLOGY. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: EESC V2100, physics, or permission of instructor. Includes a weekend field trip. Alternate years. Hands-on study and discussion of the basic physical principles of the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff, and subsurface flow), as well as environmentally relevant applications based on case studies. Special focus on the New York City area, the arid Southwest, and the developing world. Coverage of contemporary global water resources issues, including pollution control, sustainable development, and climate change. General Education Requirement: Quantitative and Deductive Reasoning (QUA)

EESC BC3026 BIRD,PLANT ＆LAND-USE DYNAMICS. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 12 students. Permission of the instructor required.
Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. One year of college-level science. Primarily for Environmental Majors, Concentrators and Minors. This class looks at the response of wildlife (birds and plants) to climate change and land-use issues from the end of the last glaciation to the present. Case study topics are: (1) land-use and climate change over time: a paleoenvironmental perspective, (2) environmental transformations: impact of invasive plants and birds and pathogens on local environments and (3) migration of Neotropical songbirds between their wintering and breeding grounds: land-use, crisis and conservation. We visit wildlife refuges along a rural-suburban-urban gradient in order to observe and measure the role refuges play in conservation. Format: lecture, student presentations, short labs, data collection/analysis and field trips (some on a weekend day in April in place of the week day meeting)

EESC BC3027 Urban Ecosystems. 3.00 points.

Urban Ecosystems will cover scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand complex systems and the natural and social-ecological relationships at work in cities. You will learn the basics of ecological process and patterns of ecosystems especially applied in cities, understand how humans interact with and impact ecological processes and patterns in cities, and explore approaches for dealing with current and future urban challenges. Format: Lecture, discussion, small group work, field trips

EESC BC3028 Volcanoes and the Environment. 3.00 points.

This course seeks to impart students with knowledge of volcanic eruptions on Earth and the effects on the environment as a whole. The course will focus on the physical mechanisms responsible for eruptions, the effects eruptions have on humans and other living organisms, as well as the environment. The course will investigate how eruptions have contributed to global climate change. The course will also look at the positive effects volcanoes have had on Earth, such as providing nutrient rich soils for growing crops and providing renewable geothermal energy--a cleaner energy resource. Format: lecture, field trip, data collection and analysis, student presentations

EESC BC3032 Agricultural and Urban Land Use: Human-Environment Interactions. 4 points.

BC: Fulfillment of General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL).
Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: One year of college science or permission of instructor. Alternate years.

Human transformation of the terrestrial environment since Paleolithic times. Biophysical processes involved in human-environment interactions. Guidelines for sustainable agricultural and urban development using present and past examples of environmental use and abuse. General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL).

EESC BC3033 Waste Management. 3 points.

Alternate years.

Project-oriented study of waste management issues and policy. Cradle-to-grave analysis of product and waste streams. Analysis of municipal solid waste, landfills, incineration, recycling, sewage waste and sewage treatment.

EESC BC3040 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW. 3.00 points.

Process-oriented introduction to the law and its use in environmental policy and decision-making. Origins and structure of the U.S. legal system. Emphasis on litigation process and specific cases that elucidate the common law and toxic torts, environmental administrative law, and environmental regulation through application and testing of statutory law in the courts. Emphasis also on the development of legal literacy, research skills, and writing

EESC BC3043 WATER, SANITATION ＆ HEALTH. 3.00 points.

Course description: This course focuses on understanding water, sanitation and health from the global south to high income countries and how the necessities of water and sanitation can interact to affect people’s lives. Specifically, what are the options for providing cleaner water and improved sanitation in order to reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases, geogenic contaminants, and anthropogenic contaminants and how do these vary across the globe. The class will begin by examining the urban and rural water cycles, how water moves through the environment and then how individuals obtain drinking water. The emphasis will be on water quality and what impacts water quality. The second section will focus on understanding types of sanitation, how they work, and how they can be improved. Approximately half the population in the global south is without improved sanitation and infrastructure throughout high income countries needs updating and replacing. The third section will examine all types of water contaminants including: anthropogenic, geogenic, and microbial. This will include an introduction to public health and epidemiological studies and how different contaminants can impact health. The final portion of the class will integrate the three areas to understand how they interact and how interventions can improve health outcomes. We will use case studies from the US, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America

EESC BC3045 Responding to Climate Change. 3 points.

Prerequisites: One of the following courses that introduces the structure and functioning of the climate system and processes underlying climate change: EESC V1002, Climate and Society: Case Studies; EESC V2100 Earth's Environmental Systems: Climate; EESC W2330, Science of Sustainable Development; or EAEE E1100, A Better Plant by Design.

Analysis of climate change adaptations, responses, and mitigation options.  Consideration of impacts of projected climate changes including global water, food and health complemented by regional case studies.  Scientific, technologic, economic, political, and behavioral aspects of potential solutions.

EESC BC3050 BIG DATA WITH PYTHON. 3.00 points.

Big Data is changing how we interact with and understand the environment. Yet analyzing Big Data requires new tools and methods. Students will learn to use Python programming to analyze and visualize large environmental and earths systems data sets in ways that Excel is not equipped to do. This will include both time series and spatial analyses with programming occurring interactively during class and assignments designed to strengthen methods and results. Students will learn to write code in Python, plot, map, sub-select, clean, organize, and perform statistical analyses on large global scale data sets, using the data in analysis, and take any data set no matter how large or complicated

EESC BC3200 Ecotoxicology. 3 points.

Not offered during 2023-2024 academic year.

Prerequisites: CHEM BC1601, BIOL BC2002, or permission of instructor. Alternate years.

The study of anthropogenic contaminants within our natural environment and their subsequent effects on biological organisms. Effects to be examined: the molecular scale (biochemical pathways of metabolism and detoxification), the organismal scale (target organs, behavioral effects), and the ecosystem scale (species viability). Lectures and hands-on activities are used to teach the material.

EESC BC3300 WORKSHOP SUSTAINABLE DEVEL. 4.00 points.

Students address real-world issues in sustainable development by working in groups for an external client agency. Instruction in communication, collaboration, and management; meetings with and presentations to clients and academic community. Projects vary from year to year. Readings in the course are project-specific and are identified by the student research teams

EESC BC3800 ENVIR SCIENCE SENIOR SEMINAR. 3.00 points.

Enrollment limited to senior majors (juniors with the instructor's permission). Provides credit for the senior thesis. The Senior Research Seminar can be taken Spring/Fall or Fall/Spring sequence.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports

EESC BC3801 ENVIR SCIENCE SENIOR SEM II. 3.00 points.

Guided, independent, in-depth research culminating in the senior thesis in the spring. Includes discussion about scientific presentations and posters, data analysis, library research methods and scientific writing. Students review work in progress and share results through oral reports. Weekly seminar to review work in progress and share results through oral and written reports. Prerequisite to EESC W3901

EESC BC3021 FORESTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. 3.00 points.

Prerequisites: Enrollment limited to 16 students. One year of college-level science. Primarily for Environmental Majors, Concentrators and Minors. Lecture, laboratory and field study of regional forest types from upland to coast and from urban to rural, forest ecosystem services, impacts of land-use and climate change on forests, reconstruction of past forests, forest pests, forest fires and forest conservation (corridors). Field trip sites for data collection may include: maritime, pine barrens, eastern deciduous and NYC urban forests. Format: lecture, student presentations, short labs, data collection/analysis and field trips (some on a weekend day in April in place of the week day meeting)