Environmental Science for Citizens

Carnegie Institute of Technology
Aimee Curtright
Fall 2006

This course is a science elective for first- and second-year students. Fundamental scientific concepts will be taught through relevance to environmental problems. Topics will include: energy use and climate change, food and agriculture, and health and toxicology. These issues will be assessed in terms of risk, sustainability, and the precautionary principle. Scientific theory vs. “fact,” and cause and effect in complex scientific systems, will be examined in the context of public perception, the media, and the policy process. Emphasis will be placed on how and where citizens as individuals can obtain reliable scientific information related to environmental issues. Also, connections will be drawn between individual choices and environmental impacts.