Environmental Studies

This course provides an introduction to both weather and climate. Processes underlying the behavior of the atmospheric environment from local to global scales are discussed. The course commences with a discussion of atmospheric concepts in a visual and practical manner. Understanding and application of basic meteorological principles will help to explain environmental phenomena such as clouds and precipitation, tropical storms and global climate change. 

This course reviews the nature and processes of terrestrial environmental changes, focusing on those related to the carbon cycle, and to Earth’s landcover and land use. By covering variability and change in these areas of the Earth system and how they are assessed, both in relation to natural variabilities and anthropogenic influences, the course provides the scientific background necessary to better understand the causes and consequences of environmental changes in isolation and as a whole, whether they be paleo-environmental changes, studies of the contemporary environment, or future projections.

 

This course examines sustainable waste management in the context of a metropolitan city like Hong Kong. The interactions among economic activities, human activities, sustainable development, climate change and waste management problems and solutions will be covered. The waste challenges and waste management hierarchy will be examined covering waste reduction, minimization, recycling, recovery, treatment and disposal. The spatial implications of waste management policies and infrastructure will be analyzed. The role of technology in waste management and treatment will be discussed. The course concludes with a critical look at values, lifestyles, policies and technologies as the key drivers of change for sustainable waste management for long term sustainability of a city like Hong Kong.

This course focuses on the fundamental knowledge for conservation biology by introducing: (1) Biodiversity; (2) Threats to biodiversity, and (3) the approaches to reduce the threats and restore biodiversity. The lectures cover principles and theories of ecology. Given the interdisciplinary framework of conservation biology, lectures cover economics and politics, thereby encouraging students to evaluate ecology findings from different viewpoints. 

This course introduces students to the politics and controversies of environmental issues in France and their inter-connections with food and similar politics at the EU and UN levels. The course explores pressing environmental issues facing the country such as GMO politics, food wastage, air pollution, water pollution, species extinction, environmental justice, trade, climate change, and the impact of chemicals on health. The course assesses the nature of problems encountered, and discusses workable solutions for sustainable development in order to avoid a “tragedy of the commons.”