Environmental Studies

This course introduces students to taxonomy and systematics, i.e., the science of grouping biodiversity into species, describing the species, and classifying this diversity into higher-level taxa that reflect evolutionary history. The course has two main goals: (1) It introduces the main concepts and goals of taxonomy and systematics. (2) It teaches the qualitative and quantitative techniques that are used to describe/identify species and higher-level taxa based on the analysis of morphological and DNA sequence evidence. The course equips environmental as well as other biologists with an understanding of taxonomic/systematic units and the tools needed for evaluating and quantifying diversity in samples of plant and animal specimens.

Sustainable development is the red thread throughout this course. The course builds on the principle of sustainable development and analyzes how it is reflected in main international treaties on the protection of the environment. Central questions on legal methodology, legal sources, and environmental principles are addressed. The course introduces more specific areas in international environmental law, such as those addressing the conservation of biological diversity, protection of the marine environment, reduction of plastic pollution, and addressing climate change. In addition, overarching topics include the relationship between environmental protection and human rights, and international trade and investment law.

This course provides an understanding of the principles of sustainable development and, in particular, an introduction to the role of science and technology in contributing to key sustainable development challenges. Students explore the origins of the concept of sustainable development and the core ideas that underpin it. The course also examines the ways in which sustainable development is interpreted by different interest groups, along with the assumptions made, and the contradictions that arise. These ideas are illustrated through a series of contemporary case studies, which highlight efforts to address sustainable development challenges from the local to international, and examine the role of science and technology within these contexts. 

This course offers a study of urban planning and land use planning. It discusses instruments of intervention in land use policy and land management, as well as the main lines of land use planning and urban development in Catalonia and Spain.
 

This course is to introduce Chinese and international students to the general knowledge of renewable energy (RE), including global energy needs; RE sources and potential; processes for RE generation, usage, storage and transportation; local applicability; and current frontiers of developments, to then guide students to more specialized areas of technical, environmental or policy-based aspects, with special focus on system integration and sustainable development. The general knowledge includes basic concepts in energy and energy systems, types of energy and their supply and demand, and major categories of RE sources and potential. The course will then move on to bioenergy, introducing various categories such as energy crops, agricultural and industrial waste, municipal waste, and algae as RE feedstock, and outline the related thermal, physical, chemical and biological processes. The material will then be examined through integrated lenses such as i) process optimization, ii) integration into existing energy and economy network, and iii) balanced sustainable development objectives.

This course examines historical biogeography of plants; plant adaptations and vegetation dynamics; world biome types; plants and society; and human impacts on vegetation.

This course examines trees and their environment. A basic understanding of environmental and climatic effects on trees will underpin methods of species selection, growing and maintaining trees and site specific management.

This version of the Sustainable Development course includes an Independent Study Project (ISP) done under the direction of the instructor. The minimum reading is between 20 and 25 articles from established academic periodicals/magazines. The ISP is 10-12 pages and counts for 1/3 of the overall grade for the course. This course studies future-defining themes such as Food, Water, Energy, Engineering, and Health both from an academic and real-life perspective. While learning about contemporary efforts and policies to address climate change, inequality, and globalization, the course also explores what these phenomena really entail and how they can be addressed through thinking and actions. The course discusses the thoughts of our greatest philosophers as well as site visits, interviews with leading policymakers, entrepreneurs, and scientists, and an exploration of real life. Understanding the essence of entrepreneurship in the realm of globally interconnected markets, production, and supply chains is a continuous thread throughout the course. Seeking to understand human behavior through the lens of consumption and lifestyles, key elements of positive psychology are studied. 

This course examines the question: what is sustainable development? Other topics include: key concepts linking the economy, society, and environment; social and biophysical limits to growth; pro-growth versus post-growth perspectives on sustainable development. It also discusses current topics in sustainable development and case studies.

This course focus on advanced spatial analysis using GIS/Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing. It provides an understanding of the relevant theories and methodologies necessary to select appropriate strategies within the broad context of urban and regional geography. The course discusses the theoretical background and tries out the practical implementation in a number of practical exercises. Topics include GIS and Geoinformatics for urban applications, high resolution remote sensing, spatial analysis, spatial optimization, spatial statistics, and general knowledge of Geodata.