Postgraduate Course: Human dimensions of environmental change and sustainability (PGGE11130)
Course Outline
| School | School of Geosciences |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Postgraduate Courses (School of GeoSciences) |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The course will provide an introduction to a range of important environmental change issues from a human and societal perspective. This will provide the necessary background to understanding the policies, politics, governance and ethics, and the human decision processes that underpin environmental change. The course will adopt a thematic approach covering issues such as climate change, ecosystem services, food, coastal and marine environments.
The themes will provide the context for an exploration of the sustainability issues that surround different challenges for society. Case studies will be used as much as possible. Analysis will include international policy agreements and organisations (eg the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); regional policy such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP); and examples of policy and practice at national and local levels.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: 60 |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Lecture | Human dimensions of environmental change and sustainability | 1-11 | | | | | 09:00 - 13:00 |
| First Class |
Week 1, Friday, 09:00 - 13:00, Zone: Central. Faculty Room North (G.01), David Hume Tower, George Square |
| Additional information |
The course will be founded on a series of lectures/seminars given by experts in each environmental change issue drawn from across the School of Geosciences and the University of Edinburgh, along with selected external experts. Students will gain insights and knowledge from reviewing literature, working together in small discussion groups and communicate their findings to others through poster presentations.
Student discussion from readings. These sessions will be facilitated by a small team of students. The aim is to draw out the main issues from the assigned reading and to highlight points of contention and uncertainties in the conclusions. The facilitators will need to identify a limited number of key questions that will form the basis of the discussion that they will lead.
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours:Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Human dimensions of environmental change and sustainability | 2:00 | | |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
- insight into real world environmental change issues.
- ability to critically appraise the arguments surrounding such issues and be able to communicate to others the reasons for and against a particular course of action in response to different environmental problems.
- ability to use library and other desk-based sources of information in understanding these issues and in supporting their arguments. |
Assessment Information
Critical Summaries (max 500 words each) (5 x 6%)
Group Poster Presentation (30%)
Exam (40%) |
Special Arrangements
This course is often over-subscribed. Students for whom it is a core course will have first priority. A waiting list arrangement will be set up for other students with those in the School of GeoSciences and School of Engineering given priority over other students. Please notify the course secretary (caroline.keir@ed.ac.uk) during induction week if you wish to take this course.
Students will not be permitted to audit (sit-in) on this course. |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
- Introduction
Course overview & process, Sustainability Principles
Readings & facilitated discussion process
- Ecosystem Services
Overview and Case Study
- Climate Change: Impacts & Communication
The science of climate change, the IPCC process and climate impact assessment
Communicating Environmental Change
- Climate Change: Mitigation
International and local climate policy
Carbon Trading
- Food Security
Food Security: Overview and Case Study
- Social change
Approaches to social change for sustainability
Community led social change
- Perspectives on Water
Water scarcity
Impacts of extreme rainfall
- Coastal & Marine
Coastal & marine environments - Overview and Case Study
- Ethics & Course Synthesis
The ethics of climate change
Course synthesis
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| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Middleton, N. (2003). The Global Casino: An Introduction to Environmental Issues. 3rd Edition, Arnold, London. ISBN: 0340809493.
IPCC (2007). IPCC Summary for Policy makers, Cambridge University Press. (www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr_spm.pdf)
Roberts & Thumin (2006). A Rough Guide to Personal Carbon Trading. Centre for Sustainable Energy, DEFRA (Nov 06).
Scrase, I. & Ockwell, D. (2009). 'Energy Issues: Framing and Policy Change', ch.3 in I Scrase & G MacKerron (eds.), Energy for the Future: A New Agenda, Palgrave, Basingstoke.
Galloway, J.N., Townsend, A.R., Erisman, J.W., Bekunda, M., Cai, Z., Freney, J.R., Martinelli, L.A., Seitzinger, S.P. Sutton, M.A. (2008). Transformation of the Nitrogen Cycle: Recent Trends, Questions, and Potential Solutions. Science, 320, 889-892
Reay, D.S., Dentener, F., Smith, P., Grace, J. and Feely, R.A. (2008). Global nitrogen deposition and carbon sinks. Nature Geoscience, in press
O&©Meara, M. (1999). Exploring a New Vision for Cities. In: State of the world 1999 - a Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society. Chapter 8, pp. 133-150. Norton & Company, New York.
Palumbi, S.R., et. al. (2008). Ecosystems in Action: Lessons from Marine Ecology about Recovery, Resistance and Reversibility. Bioscience 58, 1
Jackson, J.B.C., et. Al. (2001). Historical over-fishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems. Science, 293, 27 July 2001.
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | PGGE11130 Environment, climate change, sustainability, politics, ethics, society |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mr Osbert Lancaster
Tel:
Email: osbert.lancaster@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Natasa Honeybone
Tel: (0131 6)50 9975
Email: natasa.honeybone@ed.ac.uk |
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