Environmental Science and Public Policy

Faculty of the Committee on Degrees in Environmental Science and Public Policy

Michael B. McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies (Chair (Acting))
James J. McCarthy, Professor of Biological Oceanography (Chair) (on leave 2009-10)
Michael J. Aziz, Gene and Tracy Sykes Professor of Materials and Energy Technologies
John Briscoe, Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Environmental Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of the Practice of Environmental Health (School of Public Health)
William C. Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science Public Policy and Human Development (Kennedy School)
Richard T. T. Forman, Professor of Advanced Environmental Studies in the Field of Landscape Ecology (Design School)
James K. Hammitt, Professor of Economics and Decision Sciences (Public Health)
Colleen M. Hansel, Assistant Professor of Environmental Microbiology
N. Michele Holbrook, Charles Bullard Professor of Forestry
Peter John Huybers, Assistant Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Sheila S. Jasanoff, Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Jonathan Losos, Monique and Philip Lehner Professor for the Study of Latin America and Curator in Herpetology
Paul R. Moorcroft, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Venkatesh Narayanamurti, John A. and Elizabeth S. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Professor of Physics
Anne E. Pringle, Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Forest Lee Reinhardt
Peter P. Rogers, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Engineering (FAS), Professor of City and Regional Planning, Professor of Environmental Engineering (Kennedy School)
Daniel P. Schrag, Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology and Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering
John H. Shaw, Harvard College Professor, Harry C. Dudley Professor of Structural and Economic Geology
Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government (Kennedy School)
Martin L. Weitzman, Professor of Economics
Steven C. Wofsy, Abbott Lawrence Rotch Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Science
Richard J. Zeckhauser (Kennedy School)

The Environmental Science and Public Policy concentration is overseen by a Standing Committee functioning as a Board of Tutors including representatives from several departments of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and from other schools as appropriate to ensure the requisite breadth of the program.

The concentration is designed to provide a multidisciplinary introduction to current problems of the environment. It is founded on the premise that the ability to form rational judgments concerning many of the complex challenges confronting society today involving the environment requires both an understanding of the underlying scientific and technical issues and an appreciation for the relevant economic, political, legal, historical, and ethical dimensions. It offers students an opportunity to specialize in a specific area of either natural or social science relating to the environment. All students have to satisfy a core of requirements in biology, chemistry, earth and planetary sciences, economics, government, and mathematics.

Primarily for Undergraduates

Environmental Science and Public Policy 10. Environmental Policy
Catalog Number: 6383
John Briscoe and Peter P. Rogers
Half course (spring term). M., W., 2:30–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
This course develops the concepts and skills needed to design effective public policy for managing interactions between environmental, social and economic systems. The course is organized around cases of real-world policy analysis, some from the US and some involving developing countries. We will examine the environmental, social and economic substance of the cases, the interests of stakeholders, the policy and political processes, the ways in which trade-offs are perceived and evaluated, and the outcomes and impacts.
Note: Intended for interested students from all concentrations.

Environmental Science and Public Policy 78. Environmental Politics
Catalog Number: 3613
Sheila S. Jasanoff
Half course (fall term). M., W., (F.), at 10. EXAM GROUP: 3
An introduction to the history, organization, goals, and ideals of environmental protection in America. Examines the shift in emphasis from nature protection to pollution control to sustainability over the 20th century and develops critical tools to analyze changing conceptions of nature and the role of science in environmental policy formulation. Of central interest is the relationship between knowledge, uncertainty, and political or legal action. Theoretical approaches are combined with case studies of major episodes and controversies in environmental protection.
Note: Expected to be omitted in 2010–11.

Environmental Science and Public Policy 90. Junior Seminars

Enrollment in these seminars is limited, with preference given to Environmental Science and Public Policy concentrators in their junior year. One junior seminar fulfills the junior seminar requirement for Environmental Science and Public Policy concentrators.

*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90a. Energy, Technology, and the Environment: Seminar
Catalog Number: 2189
Michael B. McElroy
Half course (fall term). M., 1–4. EXAM GROUP: 6, 7, 8
The seminar will provide an account of the technologies that shape our world with a perspective on how they evolved, the benefits that ensued and the environmental challenges that arose as a consequence. Topics include prospects for renewable energy and options to minimize damage from conventional sources of energy. Specific attention is directed to challenges faced by large developing economies emphasizing the need for a cooperative approach to ensure an equable, environmentally sustainable, global future.

*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90c. Ecology and Land-Use Planning
Catalog Number: 3792
Richard T. T. Forman (Design School)
Half course (spring term). T., 2-5:15, including a required one-week field study, and a one-day field study.
Investigation of how local and regional human activities such as housing, agriculture, water supply, and natural resource use can be arranged in the landscape so that environmental processes are not disrupted and ecosystems are maintained for the long term. The focus is on learning and applying spatial and ecological principles to land-use planning with the intention of regional biodiversity conservation, maintenance of water quality, and addressing other environmental issues.

[*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90d. Status of Environmental Justice as a Public Policy Issue]
Catalog Number: 5824
James S. Hoyte
Half course (spring term). W., 3–5.
Examines the influences of race, socioeconomic status, and interest group politics in the formulation and implementation of US federal and state environmental policy. Topics include the civil rights struggle and the environmental justice movement, role of race in environmental policymaking, residential and occupational exposure patterns of environmental pollution, racial diversity in the environmental movement, socioeconomic factors shaping the research agenda for environmental affairs, facilities siting and community impacts, and lead contamination as an environmental justice issue.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Offered jointly with the Kennedy School as IGA-336.

*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90e. Conservation Genetics
Catalog Number: 6879
H. bradley Shaffer
Half course (fall term). W., 2:30–5:30.
Genetics, genomics, and conservation biology have a long and complex history of interaction. This course will examine the ways in which genome-enabled science can be used to guide effective conservation and management of endangered taxa. Using the primary literature and guest lecturers, we will review next-generation sequencing technology, followed by an exploration of how genomics can inform population biology to make more effective management decisions.
Note: Local field trips within New England to be arranged.

[*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90f. Global Change and Human Health]
Catalog Number: 4434
James J. McCarthy and Paul R. Epstein
Half course (spring term). Tu., 1–3:30.
Global consequences of increasing human population and our consumption of natural resources include extensive changes in many natural ecosystems and in the composition of Earth’s atmosphere. In the last decade, geographic ranges of certain well known infectious diseases have expanded and new diseases have become threats to human health. This seminar explores hypothesized linkages between changes in ecosystems, climate, and the epidemiology of certain infectious diseases.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.

*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90j. Environmental Crises and Population Flight
Catalog Number: 9841
Jennifer Leaning (Public Health, Medical School)
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4.
War, disaster, drought, or famine force people to flee their land. The humanitarian consequences of this loss of place and livelihood are filled with complexity, relating to the extent and permanence of environmental destruction wrought by these crises, people’s attachment to their homes and ecosystems, the circumstances of departure, the destinations of refuge, and the possibilities for return. These issues will be examined through case studies and review of literature on forced migration and calamity.

[*Environmental Science and Public Policy 90m. Climate Change Solutions]
Catalog Number: 0545
Daniel P. Schrag
Half course (spring term). W., 2–4.
Reducing the risk of catastrophe from future climate change requires dramatic reductions in global CO2 emissions. This course explores the various strategies the world will employ to do this including increasing energy efficiency, expanding the use of non-fossil energy including renewables and nuclear power, and also carbon capture and storage from stationary sources of fossil fuel use. Students work in teams to develop pathways to clean energy deployment in various regions around the world.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11.

*Environmental Science and Public Policy 91r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 1705
Michael B. McElroy and members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Supervised reading and research on topics not covered by regular courses of instruction. Students must complete a registration form, including permission from their faculty sponsor, with the concentration office before course enrollment. A final paper describing the research/reading completed during the term is due in duplicate to the Head Tutor on the first day of reading period.
Note: Intended for junior and senior concentrators in Environmental Science and Public Policy; open to sophomore concentrators only under exceptional circumstances. Permission of the Head Tutor is required for enrollment. May be counted for concentration only with the special permission of the Head Tutor.

*Environmental Science and Public Policy 99r. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 5666
Michael B. McElroy and members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Senior honors candidates must take at least one term of this course (fall or spring) while writing a thesis. If taken for two terms, only one term can be counted toward meeting concentration requirements.