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Environmental Sciences (GE-108): Course outline (GE-108)

Course description

The aims of this course are to develop human resource equipped with knowledge of modern challenges of environment. The students will be trained to mitigate the impacts of climate change or adapt necessary measures and they are imparted knowledge about an attitude to 30 contribute to development of sustainable lifestyle in the society and develop a green economy.

Course objectives

The main objectives of the course are to:

  • Enable students to learn how to analyze and assess environmental problems its interrelationships with other systems of the society
  • Equip student with the knowledge and skill necessary for pollution abatement, environmental conservation, management of natural resources and making path to sustainable development
  • Impart skills to carry out projects on various cross-cutting aspects of environmental issues

Course contents

Unit I: Basic Principles

  •  
  • Convergence of ecology with economic and sociology to evolve as environmental science,
  • nature, and history
  • scope and the contribution to society

Unit II: Environmental aspects

  • Physic-chemical
  • Biological
  • Socio-economic
  • Socio-cultural
  • Moral and ethical
  • Philosophical thinking.

Unit III: Environmental problems

  • Local
  • Regional
  • Global

Unit IV: Environmental challenges

  • Sustainability of resources for development
  • Efficiency of energy and water resources
  • Current and future trends in growth
  • Resultant environmental pollution
  • Poverty and resource depletion
  • Development in industry, agriculture and urbanization

Unit V: Environmental Toxicology

  • General effects of pollutants
  • Concept of dose and response, dose-response
  • Curve, threshold effects, tolerance, acute and chronic effects and risk assessment

Unit VI: Environmental Economics

  • Agriculture, aquaculture, the future of agriculture energy sources and
  • Consumption, fossil fuels, and the environment, alternative energy sources, solar energy, biofuels
  • Geothermal energy and nuclear energy

Unit VII: Ecological Restoration, Landscapes:

  • Forests, parks and wilderness, environmental health, pollution:
  • Nuclear radiation, thermal pollution, particulates, asbestos, radiation
  • Noise pollution eutrophication acid mine
  • Drainage, wildlife, fisheries, and endangered species.

Textbooks

Teaching-learning strategies

Teaching will be done through lecture method with a combination of tasks/projects and presentations.

Assessment and Examinations

 Assessment will be done as per university/department policy.