Environmental Studies

This course introduces the study of the human population and the spatial dimensions of environmental change. It examines how people interact with the environment and the core forces which shape these interactions, including population, culture, technology, and geography.

This course reviews how different disciplines are brought to bear on the study of environmental issues. Some of the topics considered in this survey include the role of environmental philosophy and activism, interactions between science and environmental politics, environmental or ecological economics, and sustainable development.

This course investigates the ways in which Indigenous scientific knowledge and ways of knowing and Western scientific knowledge and ways of knowing complement one another. It discusses Indigenous research methodologies and considerations. Students also learn from Mi'kmaq and/or Wolastoqiyik Elder(s).

This course investigates the role that various religions play in human interaction with the environment and explores how religions are responding or not responding to environmental problems. It examines various religious perspectives on nature and examines critically scholarship which applies religious perspectives to issues in environmental ethics. It also considers the religious basis of contemporary environmental thinkers and movements and examines the worldview assumptions and values that underlie so-called secular approaches to environmental issues.

This course presents the application of economic analysis in the study of environmental problems. It examines when and why markets often fail to allocate sufficient resources to environmental conservation, and critically assess different policy instruments available to correct for the fundamental "market failure". Using the analytical methods, it examines the following types of policies: measures to control air and water pollution, the disposal of hazardous wastes, the protection of endangered species, and the control of cross border pollution, including the Canadian "Green Plan".

This course examines land use patterns as well as the environmental, social, economic and political structures of Canadian rural areas and small towns. It uses an integrated approach to resolving rural and small town development issues.

This course explores international environmental problems and their solutions. It examines climate change, biodiversity, conservation, international marine pollution, and the relationship between trade and environment, among other topics, giving particular consideration to the roles of science, civil society, and international governance.