High School for Environmental Studies

Shirley H. Matthews, Principal

EFB 120/ GEFB 120

THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN CULTURE
ENERGY, ADAPTATION AND THE EXPLOITATION OF
RESOURCES

LECTURE SCHEDULE:

TOPIC READINGS

INTRODUCTION: OPTIMISTS
AND PESSIMISTS
The Basic Human Situation Today
Key Themes in Environmental Science
Thinking Critically about the
Environment
ENERGETICS OF NATURAL
SYSTEMS
Systems of Change
The Global Heat Engine
Biomes: The Distribution of Life
Evolution and Bioenergetics;
Exploitation of Resources, Biological
Diversity
Ecosystem Structure and Function
Reader: Mott Foundation-Exec. Sum.
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 1
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 2
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 3
Reader: Peet – The Systems Approach
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 23 (p. 493-507)
Botkin and Keller - Chapter 8
Reader: Hall et al. 1992 – Energy and Living
Systems
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 5
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 7
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 6

Ecological Concepts: Food Chains & Botkin and Keller - Chapter 9

Carrying Capacity

Energy Return on Investment (EROI) TBD

and Ecological Footprint

HUMAN EVOLUTION:
GENETIC AND CULTURAL
Hunting & Gathering; Herding
Guns, Germs and Steel: Prologue, Chapter
9
Reader: Lee. 1966 !King Bushman
Subsistence: An Input-Output Analysis
EXPANSION OF CULTURES
First Agriculture
Trade, Piracy, Kleptocracy
New World
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Exponential Population Growth
Evolution and Economic Concepts
Fuel Resources and Energy Choices
Alternative Energy and EROI
Nuclear Power and EROI
LAND USE CHANGE
Limits to Growth
The Environment of Cities
CONSEQUENCES OF
INDUSTRIALIZATION
Fisheries
Eutrophication
Environmental Health and Pollution
The Changing Atmosphere
Acid Deposition
Ozone Depletion
Agriculture and Erosion
MANAGEMENT
Ecological Restoration
Guns, Germs and Steel: Chapters 4-6
Guns, Germs and Steel: Chapter 14
Reader: Zinn. 1980. A People’s History of
the U.S.
Reader: Crosby. 1986. Ecological
Imperialism
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 4
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 11
Reader: Hall. 1994. The environmental
consequences of having a baby in the United
States
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 28
Reader: Hardin. 1968. The Tragedy of the
Commons
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 17
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 18
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 19
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 20
Reader: Meadows. 1992. Executive
Summary
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 29
Reader: Callenbach. The Fate of Our Cities
is the Fate of the Earth
Reader: Lugo. 1991. Cities in the
sustainable development of tropical
landscapes
Reader: Newman. City Life and City Death
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 14
Reader: Mitchell and Cleveland (Fishing
Boats); Tragedy of the Commons
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 21
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 22
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 15
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 25
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 23 (p. 508-519)
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 24
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 26
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 12
Reader: Pimentel and Kounang. 1998.
Ecology of Soil Erosion in Ecosystems
Botkin and Keller – Chapter 10
Forests, Parks and Landscapes Botkin and Keller – Chapter 13
Environmental Engineering Botkin and Keller – Chapter 30
Modeling Development in the Tropics Reader: Hall (ed.) 1999. Quantifying
Sustainable Development