UB: Global Environmental Issues

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2014:

Admission into the D-GLOBISS Diploma in Global Issues.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This module examines the conflict between increasing use of natural resources, growing environmental degradation and population increase. It considers the difficulty in distinguishing human impacts from natural environmental changes, and examines a number of specific environmental issues relating to `the Water Crisis’, `Environmental Hazards’, `The Human Impact’, `The Urban Environment’ and `The Atmosphere’. The module provides the background to studying environmental problems by exploring the historical context and the significance of the global population increase. A series of units then examine themes including water, hazards and environmental change. A second set of units examines the human impacts on the environment in more detail, considering the effects on high latitudes, the urban environment and explores global perspectives on environmental degradation in relationship to the atmosphere.

By the end of the module the students should be able to:

• Understand the social and economic forces driving global environmental change;
• Have a basic understanding of selected environmental hazards;
• Recognise the nature of short-term and long-term human impacts on the environment;
• Be familiar with the distinctive problems associated with the urban environment;
• Assess the literature to reach objective judgements on the significance of selected global environmental issues

1 x 2000 word exercise 33%, 1 x 3000 word written research essay (67%)

A list of texts and readings will be provided at the start of the course.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Transcripts are sent from the international partner university approximately six weeks after the completion date of the course, therefore students are advised not to take this subject in the final semester of their undergraduate program if they wish to graduate in the December ceremonies.

Due to the varied grading schemes used by partners teaching into the U21 Diploma in Global Issues grades will be scaled according to the University of Melbourne standards using the grading scale online at http://www.mobility.unimelb.edu.au/outbound/u21/gip

Please note this subject has non-standard teaching and census dates.

Teaching dates: 13th Janurary 2014 to 25th April 2014
Census date: 14th February 2014