This course will explore several current environmental topics with strong components in chemistry. We will put special emphasis on environmental concerns in the hydrosphere, soils, and atmosphere. Topics will include chemistry of natural waters, water pollution and wastewater treatment, toxic heavy metals and their complexation properties in soils, and inorganic and organic pollutants in the atmosphere. We will also examine energy use and its environmental consequences.

This seminar is specifically designed for Division III students and advanced Division II students studying topics in all fields of the natural sciences including modeling, natural resources, systems, etc. Each student will lead a discussion about their Division III project or a chosen independent project (Division II students). They will provide background materials to inform the discussion including primary research articles, excerpts from their Division III projects, etc.

All life requires water to survive. Where do we get our water? Where does it go? Will there always be enough? How can we manage our water resources to ensure there is enough? What policies affect these decisions? This course explores these topics using a systems approach to gain an understanding of how our water resources are intimately tied with the surrounding ecosystem. Topics include the water cycle, hydrologic budgets, urban stormwater management and low impact development.

What is happening with forests around the world? Some are coming back, others are moving up slope, and still others are disappearing. In this course we will look at an international set of case studies on forest transitions (either deforestration or restoration) and degradation. Through a political ecology lens, we will evaluate global imperatives, national policies, and local actions to "save the forest," while we unpack the local economic, social and political structural drivers of forest transition.

This seminar is specifically designed for Division II students preparing for Division III. Students studying all topics in or related to the natural sciences are welcome, especially cell biology and health. Students will work on developing skills such as reading primary literature, presenting ideas, contacting specialists in their field, designing a project, and using peers as resources. Each student will formulate ideas for Division III and will complete three related writing projects: a grant proposal, a literature review, and a Division III contract.

This course is a broad introduction to the theories and practices of sustainable agriculture, organic farming, and agroecology. It includes some experience in the field, combined with study of the underlying science and technology of several key agricultural topics and methods, as well as some more economic/political aspects. We will focus on sustainable and/or organic methods that minimize the use of nonrenewable resources and the associated pros and cons.

Molecular ecology utilizes the spatial and temporal distribution of molecular genetic markers to ask questions about the ecology, evolution, behavior, and conservation of organisms. This science may utilize genetic variation to understand individuals, populations, and species as a whole ("How does habitat fragmentation affect connectedness among populations?" "From where do particular groups originate?").

Molecules that speed up specific chemical processes but remain unchanged are called catalysts. They play key roles wherever chemistry takes place, whether in the cell, the environment, or the manufacturing plant. Some catalysts accelerate reactions by almost 20 orders of magnitude, and many are perfectly selective for a single substrate molecule. Catalysts make life possible, and a handful have changed the way we live. This course will examine the principles of catalysis in chemical and biological systems.

Even if we have answers for the basic questions raised by the problem of sustainability, there are still many approaches to determining a proper course of action. The viewpoints of LCA, the "ecological footprint," and "Natural Capitalism" each provide a standard against which to measure any particular program of change or development. We are presently challenged to make policy judgments of vital importance, to develop technologies and systems that increase sustainability, and to design and present these things in ways that ensure widespread adoption.

The theory of evolution has been a key to the integration of the biological sciences and to the deep understanding of many biological phenomena. In this course we look at the possible contributions of evolutionary theory to understanding some of the key characteristics that define the human species, e.g., high levels of cooperation, language, culture, morality, unique mating behaviors, religion, flexible learning capacities, and so on.