Lecture Syllabus

 

Class Schedule

 

Terms

 

Lecture Notes

 

The Louisiana Environment

 

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Class Time:  Mon. - Fri., 9:00 to 10:30, in Norman Mayer 106.

Instructor:  Dr. Bruce E. Fleury
                    Stern 4030, (862) x8290, or leave a message at x5191 (EBIO Office, in Boggs 400)
                    email to: bfleury@.tulane.edu
                    home page: http://www.tulane.edu/~bfleury/

Office Hours: Mon. - Fri., after class (10:30-11:00), or by appointment.

Textbook: Raven and Berg, Environment. Wiley, latest edition, Mann, Michael E., Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming, DK.

Course Philosophy and Goals

Change is an integral part of natural systems. The constant cycling of energy and materials through ecosystems maintains a delicate natural balance. Human impacts on ecosystems, however, have affected natural cycles in many unexpected ways. By changing both the magnitude and timing of energy and materials cycling through global systems, by reinforcing some processes and restricting others, we are slowly but steadily changing the face of the planet we share. Some of these changes are desirable, but most are not.

Somewhere in the course of human evolution, we have lost touch with the Earth. Most of us neither understand or appreciate the true complexity of our environment, nor the many ways in which we have disturbed it. This class will attempt to acquaint you with the natural processes that keep our planet alive, and the many ways in which we have upset those processes. This class will also help make you an environmentally literate citizen, who can speak (and vote) with authority on environmental issues. You will learn the language and conceptual structure of basic ecology and environmental science. This knowledge will allow you to develop informed opinions on a wide range of environmental issues.

Readings:  Textbook and other reading assignments are listed below. The text should reinforce the lecture material, and fill in the cracks between lecture topics. Additional outside readings (book excerpts and journal articles) appear in italics. These outside readings are available on BlackBoard.

Exams:  Exams will be based on materials covered in lecture and in your outside readings. Exams will not include topics in the textbook that are not specifically covered in class. The general format of the exams will be about 50/50 short-answer essays and objective questions (definitions or fill-ins).

Lectures:  The full text of all lecture presentations is available through the link to the "lecture notes" above. The full PowerPoint presentation files are not available to students, but the online lecture notes contain the full text of every slide. The lecture notes and term list, though an essential resource for exam review, are no substitute for regular attendance. Lecture presentations include extensive multimedia material, more detailed explanations of critical concepts, and lots of helpful hints on what you need to know for the exams.

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Course Topics

Date	Topic	Readings
May
28	No class (out of town for commencement)
29	Intro, The Balance of Nature	Ch. 1-3, Vitousek #1, Ch. 5, Calhoun
30	Earth Systems, Feedback Loops, and Gaia	Ch. 4, 6
31	Cycles of Nutrients and Materials	Ch. 6
June
3	Energy Flow and Ecosystem Structure	Ch. 4
4	Equilibrium, Feedback, and Disturbance - Community Processes	Ch. 5, Reice
5	Origin and History of Life on Earth	Ch. 16
6	Biodiversity and Extinction	Ch. 16 (p. 365+)
7	Lecture Exam #1
10	Conservation I
11	Conservation II - Ecosystems as Islands
12	Introduction to Population Ecology	Ch. 8-9
13	Human Population
14	Soil – Fertility and Degradation	Ch. 14
17	Agriculture, Food, and Water	Ch. 13, 17, 18
18	Lecture Exam #2
19	Global Change - Fossil Fuels and their Global Impact	Ch. 20
20	Global Change - Alternate Sources of Energy	Ch. 10
21	Global Climate Change I	Ch. 11, 12
24	Global Climate Change II	Ch. 20, Vitousek #2,
25	Global Climate Change III - IV	Taylor, Fischetti, Penland
26	Talking Trash	Ch. 23, Rathje
27	Louisiana - Environmental Racism; Sustainable Lifestyles	Bullard, Ch. 24
28	Lecture Exam #3

Go Here  for a list of links to general environmental sources on the internet.

Go Here  for information on local ecosystems and local environmental problems.

Go Here to access the Environet web site, provided by the text publisher and keyed to the chapters in your text.
 

• Introduction to Global Change


• Attitudes Toward Nature
 
• The Balance of Nature
 
• Earth Systems, Feedback Loops, and Gaia
 
• Cycles of Nutrients and Materials
 
• Energy Flow and Ecosystem Structure
 
• Equilibrium, Feedback, and Disturbance - Community Processes
 
• History of Life
 
• Biodiversity and Extinction
 
• Conservation I - Ecosystems as Islands
 
• Conservation II - Ecosystems as Islands
 
• Introduction to Population Ecology
 
• Human Population
 
• Soil – Fertility and Degradation
 
• Agriculture, Food, and Water
 
• Global Change - Fossil Fuels and their Global Impact
 
• Global Change - Alternate Sources of Energy
 

• Global  Climate Change
 

• Global Climate Change II
 

• Global Climate Change III
 

• Global Climate Change IV
 

• Global Atmospheric Change
 
• Global Change in Aquatic Systems
 
• Talking Trash
 
• Louisiana - Polluters Paradise; Environmental Racism
 
• Sustainable Life Styles

Go Here  for a list of links to general environmental sources on the internet.

Go Here  for information on local ecosystems and local environmental problems.

Go Here to access the textbook student web site, provided by the text publisher and keyed to the chapters in your text.
 

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