Environmental Analysis Methods I

The course objective is to introduce and familiarize the students with the analytical approaches and methods of environmental analysis and assessment used to support decision‑making and the development of policies and regulations at local, regional, national, and global scales.  Beginning with the introduction of the “environment” as a complex system, an overview of the linkages among the various approaches for environmental analysis and assessment, and the discussion of climate change science as a complex system within the science-policy context, the course will then provide an introduction to pathway analysis of contaminant releases to the environment, and finally to lifecycle analysis as a method to assess energy, material inputs and environmental releases, and their impacts associated with all stages of a product/process’s life.