Courses
Some of the courses offered by Northeastern that address issues of environmental sustainability:
Engineering
Environmental Protection and Management (CIV U532)
Examine public and private environmental quality management and
resource protection systems including consideration of regulatory issues, risk
management approaches, local vs. regional impacts, long-term sustainability,
and economic/financial issues. Covers selected current topics and a broad range
of specific environmental issues.
Fundamentals of Energy System Integration (ENSY 5000)
Part
of the College of Engineering's Master of Science degree program in Energy
Systems (MSES), this course presents fundamental issues of successfully
integrating and implementing energy systems. It examines the effects of public
policy, regulations, and financial operations on selecting energy technology
and shows how the successful implementation of energy systems requires both a
technical and an economic solution.
Environmental Issues in Manufacturing and Product Use (ME 5645)
This
course explores environmental and economic aspects of different materials used
in products throughout the product life cycle. It introduces concepts of
industrial ecology, life cycle analysis, and sustainable development. Students
work in teams to analyze case studies of specific products made of metals,
ceramics, polymers, or paper. These case studies compare cost, energy, and
resources used and emissions generated through the mining, refining,
manufacture, use, and disposal stages of the product life cycle.
Sustainable Energy: Materials, Conversion, Storage and Usage (ENGR 5670)
This
interdisciplinary course examines modern energy usage, consequences, and
options to support sustainable energy development from a variety of fundamental
and applied perspectives. Emphasis is placed on physical processes for the
conversion of energy; energy usage from a systems analysis point of view is
also considered. The course is intended for senior- level and/or graduate
students and features topics such as analysis of drivers for energy
conservation and alternative energy source development and usage (solar, wind,
wave, tidal), energy efficiency and energy storage strategies.
Earth and Environmental Science
Environmental Geology (ENV U112)
Covers the causes and effects of problems resulting from human
interaction with the earth and geologic processes. Topics include volcanoes,
earthquakes, river flooding, soil erosion, groundwater pollution, landslides,
and coastal erosion. Emphasizes land-use planning techniques to minimize
environmental problems.
Law, Policy, and Society
Cities, Sustainability, and Climate Change (LPS G312)
Provides an overview of the various aspects of urban
sustainability planning. Examines sustainability as an urban planning approach
with both ecological and social justice goals. Covers sustainable planning and
offers students an opportunity to understand it within the context of smart
growth and the new urbanism. Focuses on the two areas in which cities can
reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions-the built environment
and transportation. From there, the course examines planning efforts to reduce
demand on water and sewer systems and to create employment in renewable energy
and other "clean-tech" occupations. The course ends by placing urban
initiatives in the context of state and national policy. Please enroll for the
planning module associated with this course when you register.
Political Science
Environmental Politics (POL U395)
Examines the policymaking processes, historical and socioeconomic
factors, political forces, governmental institutions, and global trends that
shape environmental policy at national and subnational levels in the United
States. Gives attention to a wide range of environmental policy areas, with
comparisons made between the United States and other nations.
Sociology
Environment and Society (SOC U246)
The purpose of this course is to analyze in both empirical and
theoretical terms the current state of theglobal environment and ecological
politics. Topical areas of theoretical focus include analyses of
- history and nature; the logic of economic growth, capitalist accumulation, and ecological degradation;
- the human/environmental impacts of technology;
- globalization and the export of environmental hazard;
- imperialism and the ecological destruction of the Third World, with a particular emphasis on Central America;
- the role of ecological problems in the current economic and social crisis of the United States
- (and other countries); social and ecological injustice;
- and the crisis of the labor and environmental movements.