Environmental Studies

[FourTwentyEight]

<p>How strong is the environmental studies program at swarthmore? Are there any classes within this major that are well regarded?</p>

[interesteddad]

<p>It’s a lot quicker to list the courses or professors at Swarthmore that are not highly regarded. Most of the courses and profs range from pretty good to excellent.</p>

<p>Environmental studies is offered as an interdisciplinary minor at Swarthmore. Professors from Bio, Engineering, Poli Sci, Econ, Religion, English, teach Environmental Studies courses. For example, Mark Wallace of the Religion department has written a book about how the answers to the world’s ecology can be found in religious teachings. </p>

<p>The school as a whole takes environmental issues pretty seriously. From LEEDS certification for the new science center to plant covered roofs on the new dorm building to purchasing a third of the school’s electricty from wind farms.</p>

<p>An Environmental engineering class was assigned the project of calculating the carbon offset cost of alumni weekend. The alumni were then asked to make a donation to raise that dollar amount, which is being used to replace EXIT signs across campus with LED signage.</p>

[FourTwentyEight]

<p>Thanks! Do you know specifically what class that was? also, have you heard any opinions about the course “Human Nature, Technology, and the Environment”?</p>

[interesteddad]

<p>The course that did the carbon offset calculations for alumni weekend was this one:</p>

<p>

ENGR 004B. Swarthmore and the Biosphere
An interdisciplinary seminar-style investigation of the role of Swarthmore College and its community within the biosphere, including an intensive field-based analysis of one major aspect of Swarthmore’s interaction with its environment such as food procurement, waste disposal, or energy use. Student project groups explore the selected topic from various perspectives, and the class proposes and attempts to implement solutions. Faculty from various departments provide background lectures, lead discussions of approaches outlined in the literature, and coordinate project groups. This course is cross-listed in the instructors’ departments and does not count toward distribution requirements.

</p>

<p>It’s one of the Environmental courses taught by the Engineering department for non-Engineering majors. Here’s a page on their calculations for the Alumni Weekend project, including links to the Excel spreadsheets:</p>

<p><a href=“Environmental Studies :: Swarthmore College”>Environmental Studies :: Swarthmore College; </p>

<p>The course you asked about is taught by Prof. Everbach of the Engineering Department and looks like the entry-level Environmental Sciences course. Everbach would probably be a good professor to get in touch with for more detailed information on Environmental Studies at Swarthmore or (if you are prospect) to meet when you do a campus visit.</p>

<p>Here’s his webpage:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.engin.swarthmore.edu/faculty/everbach/[/url]”>http://www.engin.swarthmore.edu/faculty/everbach/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Here’s another page on Environmental issues at Swarthmore in general. It’ll give you some idea of the kinds of things students are involved in.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/x10960.xml[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/x10960.xml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;