Academic Courses

ESM 201Ecology of Managed Ecosystems  [4 units]  Tyler
Principles of individual ecology, population ecology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology. Emphasis on applications (conservation, resource management, ecological effects of pollution and habitat fragmentation, etc.).

Waiver Policy
Prerequisites: None

ESM 202Environmental Biogeochemistry  [4 units]  Holden & Keller
Biogeochemical processes as applied to the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land, and inland waters, and applications to environmental issues such as eutrophication, toxic pollution, carbon sequestration, and acidification

Waiver Policy
Prerequisites: Introductory Chemistry. ESM 203 is strongly recommended.

ESM 203 - Earth System Science  [4 units]  Dozier & Dunne
Interactions among the atmosphere, oceans, and land and models of Earth’s climate and hydrology. Application of knowledge about the Earth System in environmental management and policy.

Waiver Policy
Prerequisites: Geography 3 or equivalent
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ESM 204Economics of Environmental Management  [4 units] Kolstad
Environmental regulation (incentives, command, and control), asymmetric information (cost revelation and auditing), regulatory incidence, dynamics and discounting, exhaustible and renewable resources, valuation, environmental macroeconomics, trade and the environment, and comparative regulatory analysis.

Waiver Policy
Prerequisites: ESM 251 or equivalent.
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ESM 206AStatistics & Data Analysis for Environmental Science & Management  [2 units] Tague
Develop skills and conceptual framework to effectively use data to solve practical problems. Topics include descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, experimental design, exploratory data analysis, probability and uncertainty, time series analysis, and spatial stats. Emphasis of case studies from environmental problems.

Prerequisites: Math 3ABC or equivalent.
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ESM 206B - Statistics & Data Analysis for Environmental Science & Management  [2 units] Tague
Develop skills and conceptual framework to effectively use data to solve practical problems. Topics include descriptive statistics, hypothesis testing, experimental design, exploratory data analysis, probability and uncertainty, time series analysis, and spatial stats. Emphasis of case studies from environmental problems.

Prerequisites: Math 3ABC or equivalent.
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ESM 207 - Environmental Law and Policy  [4 units]  Salzman
Basic elements of the legal system as it specifically relates to environmental issues. Study of the different stages and different institutions involved in environmental policy making.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 210 - Business and the Environment  [4 units]  Potoski
Introduces students to business objectives and structure and discusses new business models and tools that incorporate principles of environmental management and corporate performance. It highlights corporate strategies that deliver value to shareholders while responding to environmental concerns.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 211 - Applied Population Ecology  [4 units]  Kendall
Examination of the application of population ecology to conservation of rare species and management of harvested populations. Topics include populations regulation, population viability analysis, fisheries management, metapopulation dynamics, and populations monitoring.

Prerequisites: ESM 201
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ESM 212 - Biological Community Survey & Analysis  [4 units]  Davis
Design and execution of field sampling campaigns to characterize, map, and inventory plant and animal communities. Includes review of basic sampling theory, measurements for terrestrial vegetation, vertebrate and invertebrate survey methods, multivariate analysis of community data, vegetation and species habitat mapping and modeling.

Prerequisites: ESM 201
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 214 - Bioremediation  [4 units]   Holden
Concepts and approaches to correct and alleviate the effects of environmental pollution using biological processes. Biochemical, ecological, and physicochemical aspects of remediation and mitigation. Assessing and monitoring applicability/efficacy of biological treatment. Natural and engineered methods for adversely affected biological resources.

Prerequisites: (None)
Normally offered every other year. 
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ESM 215 - Landscape Ecology  [4 units] Moret
Relationships between spatial patterns in landscape structure (physical, biological, and cultural) and ecological processes. Role of ecosystem pattern in mass and energy transfers, disturbance regimes, species’ persistence, applications of remote sensing, and GIS for landscape characterization and modeling.

Prerequisites: ESM 201
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 219 - Microbial Processes in the Environment  [4 units]  Holden
Microbes are the most abundant organisms on earth and are responsible for most biogeochemical cycling. Who and where are they, what do they do, and how? This course provides an integrated understanding applicable to managing the environment and natural resources.

Prerequisites: ESM 202 or equivalent
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 222 - Fate and Transport of Pollutants in the Environment  [4 units]  Keller
Transport and biogeochemical transformation of pollutants in the environment. Review of pollutant properties and media characteristics that affect transport, accumulation, and degradation of pollutants. Basic tools for managing pollutants in the environment, including prevention, detection, and remediation.

Prerequisites: ESM 202
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ESM 223 - Management of Soil and Groundwater Quality  [4 units]  Brown
Focuses on protection and remediation of contaminated aquifers. Covers the determination of groundwater quality objectives based on risk assessment, approaches for protecting or remediating aquifers and contaminated soils, and cost evaluation of management strategies.

Prerequisites: ESM 202, 203 {Strongly recommended: ESM 222 and groundwater hydrology.}
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ESM 223L - Laboratory in Management of Soil and Groundwater Quality  [1 unit]  Keller
A hands-on approach to learning how to sample and treat contaminated soil and groundwater. The series of lab modules covers field sampling, analysis, unit treatment processes and a remediation design project. Students are presented with state-of-the-art technologies for dealing with contamination.

Prerequisites: ESM 222 and ESM 223 or concurrent enrollment in ESM 223
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ESM 224Sustainable Watershed Quality Management  [4 units]  Keller
Integrates Environmental Science & Management to address sustainable watershed management. Learn the elements of a watershed management plan and become familiar with the development process that takes into consideration various issues and concerns and provides concrete actions to address them.

Prerequisites: ESM 202 & 203. Strongly recommended: ESM 222 and 234 or 235.
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ESM 225 - Water Policy  [4 units]  Wilkinson
Explores key water policy issues in the context of science, technology, and the practical management of water systems. If focuses on the nexus of science, economics, law, and social and political factors play in the policy process.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 229 - Science, Economics, & Policy of Climate Change  [4 units]  Kolstad & Tague
Natural and social science of climate change. Human causes, expected impacts and how systems might adapt. Greenhouse gas generation, possible mitigation strategies and policy actions, assessments of current and projected future change and strategies for ameliorating impacts. Use of an integrated assessment model.

Prerequisites: ESM 204
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ESM 230 - Strategic Planning for Non-Profit Ventures   [4 units]  Chan
This course is about strategic planning issues unique to non-profits. Provides an entrepreneurial perspective for charitable organizations, non-government organizations, social ventures and not-for-profit organizations. Topics include stakeholder analysis, the mission statement, strategic objectives and goals, board development, fiscal management and fundraising.

Prerequisites:(None)
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ESM 231 - New Venture Business Plan Development   [4 units]  Chan
How to develop a new venture business plan and prepare and "investor" presentation for start-up funding. Designed for 2nd year Eco-E students who do not want to participate in an Eco-E Option Business Plan Project but would like to develop a business plan.

Prerequisites:(None)
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ESM 232 - Environmental Modeling  [4 units]  Gerber
Introduction to the development, evaluation, interpretation, and presentation of models as applied to environmental problems. Course will consist of theory and many practical examples building and interpreting models using computers. No previous computer experience required.

Prerequisites: Math 3ABC or equivalent
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 233  - River Restoration  [2 units]  Dunne
Review of hydrologic, geomorphic, and engineering principles used in restoration of rivers, floodplains, and riparian zones for safety, land management, and ecosystem improvement. The course involves lectures and the analysis and reporting of general principles and case studies.

Prerequisites: ESM 203
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ESM 234  - River Systems  [4 units]  Dunne
Hydrologic and geomorphic basis of environmental management problems concerning large river systems. Analysis of the processes of flooding, sedimentation, and morphological change in channels, floodplains, deltas, and alluvial fans. Effects of climate, land use and engineering.

Prerequisites: ESM 203
Normally offered every other year. 
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ESM 235  - Watershed Analysis  [4 units]  Dunne
Hydrologic and geomorphic basis of environmental management problems concerning land surfaces and channels in small drainage basins, including the effects of land use and engineering. Emphasis placed in the use of theory and field methods.

Prerequisites: ESM 203
Normally offered every other year
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ESM 236 - The Mountain Snowpack  [3 units]  Dozier
Intensive field, laboratory, and classroom study of physical processes in the mountain snowpack. Snow accumulation and ablation, metamorphism, physical and chemical properties, and remote sensing. Role of snow in watershed hydrology, water resources, and recreation.

Prerequisites: ESM 203, intermediate skiing ability and consent of instructor.
Normally offered every other year over spring break. 
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ESM 237  - Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation  [4 units]  Tague
Global climate change may dramatically alter water resources and the ecosystems that depend upon them. This course will provide an overview of research on current and projected future hydro-ecological impacts of a changing climate at local to global scales.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 238  - Climate Change Agreements and Politics  [4 units]  Clemencon
International climate agreements: historic origins, institutional architecture, and political forces. The role of regional and sub-national initiatives. Examines the topic using a combined international relations approach to international regime formation and a comparative politics approach.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 240  - Climate Change Biology  [2 units]  Hannah
Biological changes in response to climate, their causes, emerging conservation responses and policy implications.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 241 - Environmental Politics and Policy  [2 units]  Anderson
The politics of environmental policymaking from agenda formation to the stages of implementation, assessment, and reforms. Emphasis on national and state level policymaking in the U.S. coupled with a consideration of interactions across levels of social organization and comparisons across socio-political systems.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 242 - Natural Resource Economics and Policy  [4 units]  Costello
Economic principles and policy issues in the use of exhaustible and renewable resources including fossil fuels, water, minerals, fisheries, forests, and biodiversity. Management of resource markets on a regional or international scale.

Prerequisites: ESM 204
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ESM 243 - Environmental Policy Analysis  [4 units]  Anderson
Developing and analyzing environmental policies involves balancing social, political, and economic considerations. Course covers this process, including problem identification, formation of alternative policy response, and methods of analyzing and selecting the most appropriate policy response, and effective communications of results to clients/policymakers.

Prerequisites: ESM 204 & ESM 241
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ESM 244 - Advanced Data Analysis  [4 units] Kendall
Learn to use specialized data analysis techniques commonly employed in ESM. Topics include: environmental monitoring, incorporating methods for censored data and for time series; spatial data interpolation and prediction; and multi-criteria decision analysis.

Prerequisites: ESM 206A&B or equivalent
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ESM 245 - Cost-Benefit Analysis and Non-market Valuation  [4 units] Libecap 
Economic theory of environmental policy, with special emphasis on the role of cost-benefit analysis. Techniques for estimating economic values for nonmarket environmental resources. Case studies involving ecosystem protection, pollution control, and other topics to illustrate the necesarry analytical tools.

Prerequisites: ESM 204
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ESM 248 - Environmental Institutions  [4 units]  Potoski
Comparative study of management systems or regimes addressing natural resources and environmental concerns and operating at scales ranging from local to global. Topics include characterization of individual regimes and factors affecting the formation, evolution, and effectiveness of these institutional arrangements.

Prerequisites: (None)
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 251 - Introduction to Environmental Policy Analysis  [2 units]  Costello
Design and evaluation of public policies for addressing environmental problems. Theory of environmental policy that arises from the study of markets, market failure, and economic efficiency as well as the broader scope of analysis that accounts for distributional concerns, sustainability, impact analysis, cost effectiveness, and multi-criteria analysis.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 254 - Coastal Marine Ecosystem Processes  [4 units]  Lenihan
Examination of physical, chemical and geological processes in coastal ecosystems, including estuaries, that are influenced by human activities. Focus centers on dynamical processes that control biological communities and resources, and the relationship of the science to marine resource management and policy.

Prerequisites: ESM 201 & 203; 202 (may be concurrent)
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ESM 256A - Introduction to Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation  [2 units]  Chan
Introduction to entrepreneurship for students interested in launching a new product or service that offers an environmental and/or social benefit. Provides an entrepreneurial perspective and overview of the venture creation process. Emphasis on idea generation, opportunity recognition and initial concept development.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 256B -  New Venture Opportunity Analysis   [4 units]  Chan
Development of the analytical and conceptual skills required to assess the feasibility of a new venture opportunity. Topics include industry analysis, concept development, market definition, customer discovery, elements of a business model and competitive analysis.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 257 - Coastal Marine Policy & Management   [4 units] Shuman
Conceptual approaches and analytical tools used in marine ecosystem management, marine biodiversity protection, and integrative watershed planning. Review of relevant international, federal and state marine policies and programs.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 260  - Applied Marine Ecology  [4 units]  Lenihan
The application of ecological principles and methods to environmental problems in marine ecosystems. Emphasis is placed on design and execution of field sampling and experiments to assess biological impacts of anthropogenic disturbances and restoration activities. Concepts illustrated with case studies

Prerequisites: ESM 201  
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ESM 261 - Management of Scientific Data  [4 units]  Frew
Theory, techniques, and tools for managing heterogeneous scientific information, database architectures, and data models. Metadata standards and data characterization. Design and use of relational databases. Aspects of the science data life cycle: collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, and presentation.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 263  - Geographic Information Systems  [4 units]  Frew
Advanced introduction to GIS theory and technology, emphasizing spatial analysis and cartographic presentation. Typical algorithms and data structures. Role of GIS in environmental information management. Integration of GIS with other analytical tools.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 264  - Web Mapping/Publishing   [2 units]  Frew
Tools and techniques for publishing, accessing, and manipulating environmental information on the World Wide Web, including: web services; scientific and geographic markup languages; virtual globes; distributed geographic information systems; open-source tools; geographic mashups.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 266  - Remote Sensing of the Environment  [4 units]  Dozier
Advanced introduction to remote sensing theory, technology, and applications in Environmental Science & Management. Survey of principles and analytical methods throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. Integration of remote sensing with other tools.

Prerequisites: ESM 203
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 267  - Advanced Data Analysis for Environmental Science and Management  [4 units]  Kendall
Specialized data analysis techniques commonly employed in environmental science and management. Topics include: environmental monitoring, incorporating methods for censored data and for time series; spatial data interpolation and prediction; and multi-criteria decision analysis

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 269 - Survey Design and Environmental Public Opinion  [2 units]  Anderson
Issues of survey design, including sampling, questionnaire design, data collection and data processing. Students will design and field an original survey, analyze the survey data and report the results.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 270 - Conservation Planning & Priority Setting  [4 units]  Gerber
Analytical approaches that can be used to direct energy and resources toward conservation that yields the greatest return on investment. Case studies of how government agencies, international multilateral institutions and non-governmental agencies identify where to invest their conservation efforts.

Prerequisites: ESM 201
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ESM 271  - Carbon Footprints & Carbon Accounting   [2 units]  Suh
Using the BSI’s PAS 2050, the WRI’s GHG Protocols, and the ISO14067, basic skills and knowledge necessary to establish corporate carbon accounts and to calculate carbon footprints will be covered.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 272 - Energy and Resource Productivity  [4 units]  Suh
Options for improving energy and resources productivity are evaluated from technology, economics, and policy point of view. Energy, housing, transportation and agro-food sectors will be elaborated, and energy-resource nexus will be discussed. 4 units

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 273 - Life Cycle Assessment  [4 units]  Geyer & Suh
Advanced introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) tools and practice. Students will conduct an LCA according to ISO 14040/44 (2006) using professional LCA software. Goal and scope definition, parametric life cycle inventory modeling, impact assessment, sensitivity analysis, reporting.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 275  - Principles and Practice of Environmental Planning  [4 units] Jacobson
Principles, concepts, and techniques of environmental planning at the state, regional, and local government levels, with emphasis on emerging trends in addressing environmental problems. Green plans, sustainable communities, coastal planning, agricultural land preservation, smart development, new urbanism, and mitigation monitoring.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 276 - Ethical Decision-Making for the Environment  [2 units]  Harris
Ethical and legal issues surrounding environmental decision-making by individuals and in organizations. Environmental challenges facing public, non-profit and for-profit organizations. Analysis of behavior according to ethical standards; examination of opportunities for corporate social responsibility and initiatives; application of ethical frameworks to decision-making.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 279 - Financial Management and Environmental Accounting  [4 units] Cerf
Corporate financial management and reporting and environmental accounting. Function of stock markets, discounted cash flows, investment appraisal and decisions, valuation of bonds and stocks, the capital structure decision, the accounting model, management and control of enterprises, financial reporting and financial statement analysis.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 280 - Organizations and Environmental Leadership  [4 units]  Gainet
Individuals play an important role in leading organizations toward environmental sustainability. Participants learn about their own behaviors which can effectively influence the environmental decision-making of groups, organizations, and society. Course explores both theory and practice.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 281 - Corporate Environmental Management  [4 units] Potoski
Prepares students to use creatively conceptual tools and management strategies to improve the environmental performance of firms. Corporate, societal, and political barriers to implementing these innovative strategies will be analyzed and methods for overcoming these constraints discussed.

Prerequisites: ESM 210
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ESM 282 - Industrial Ecology  [4 units] Kuczenski 
Introduction to the study of material and energy flows in industrial and consumer activities and their effects on the environment. Explores the concept of industrial ecosystems and teaches tools like life cycle assesment and material flow analysis.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 283 - Environmental Negotiation  [4 units]  Jostes
Strategic negotiations take place daily. Their successful outcome depends on the competence of the negotiators. Using environmental case studies and negotiation exercises, course participants will gain a hands-on understanding of the negotiation process and how they can influence it.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 285 - Environmental Markets  [4 units]  Libecap
Environmental and resource problems are due to incomplete property rights. Defining rights and using environmental markets can be an alternative to regulation.  Emphasis on when this might be the case and analysis of markets in fisheries, water, land use, and emissions.

Prerequisites: ESM 251 recommended
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ESM 288 - Energy, Technology and the Environment  [4 units]  Kuczenski
Covers the main physical principles of energy conversion and the environmental impacts related to it. Also explores the balance between resource availability and demand, and the relationship between energy use and technology.

Prerequisites: (None)
Normally offered every other year.
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ESM 293  - Advanced Special Topics in Climate and Energy  [1-4 units]
Advanced topics in climate and energy.

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ESM 293-1SAdvanced Special Topics: [2 units] Revkin
In this course, students will examine the impact of the Web on climate science, discourse, attitudes and policies. They will study how online tools, including media and social networks, have been used to share and shape ideas that can foster energy innovation and boost community resilience. Guest bloggers and other communication innovators who are leading the discussion about climate issues on the Web will work with students via Skype. Students will learn how Twitter and similar tools can serve as a two-way pipeline for information about climate as well as a means of building collaborative research projects spanning the planet. By the end of the week, students will have an understanding of the current discourse among scientists, policymakers, and the public on climate issues. Students also will develop basic familiarity with online communication tools that could help foster productive global communication on climate science and energy choices.

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 294 - Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Law  [1-4 units]
Advanced, special topics in environmental law. May be repeated for credit with changes in content.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 294-1SAdvanced Special Topics:Natural Resources Law and Policy [2 units] Salzman
This course examines the laws of how we use nature - from forests, fisheries and water to biodiversity and parks. We pay special attention to the historical and political origins of our competing ideas of why nature matters and what we should do with it, from economically productive use to outdoor recreation to preserving the natural world for its own sake. We also consider the complicated interplay of science and law.

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 296 - Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Management  [1-4 units]
Advanced, special topics in environmental management. May be repeated for credit with changes in content.

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ESM 296-1SAdvanced Special Topics: An Introdution to the Study of Management and Conservation of Coastal Social-Ecological Systems [2 units] Gelcich
This course will look into management and conservation of coastal resources through an integrated social-ecological system perspective. This perspective sees people as part of and not apart from ecosystems. In the current era of human-dominated ecosystems and a biosphere shaped by human actions from local to global scales, such a perspective is rapidly gaining ground worldwide in science, is given a strong priority among funding organizations, and is in demand in the science-policy-practice interface. This interdisciplinary course will not be constrained by a certain paradigm, but open-minded, aimed at identifying critical frontiers for improved management of coastal social-ecological systems. The course will be based on taught lectures, in which the professor will draw from his own interdisciplinary experience with coastal social-ecological systems. Students will have assignments aimed at developing basic knowledge of the human dimensions of linked social-ecological coastal systems. Assignments should introduce students to interdisciplinary analysis and synthesis which could eventually be useful to be applied in the “real world” through collaborative processes.

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 296-2SAdvanced Special Topics: Project Management [1 unit] Whan
Introduce the emerging Bren environmental professional to the concepts, techniques, terminology and practical knowledge of project management. Provide students with a framework for conducting their own group projects using project management principles. Acquaint students with the process groups and knowledge areas comprising PMI's Project Management Body of Knowledge. Provide Bren students with a "first day" working ability for applying their environmental science knowledge as functional project managers within their successor organizations.

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 296-3SAdvanced Special Topics: Accounting and Financial Management for Environmental Professionals [2 units] Cerf
A student that completes this course will be able to navigate the following topics that are useful to environmental professionals. Course topics include financial statements, financial statement analysis, the time value of money, stock options, pollution permits, valuation of assets including stock and bonds, corporate governance, project valuation and decision, product pricing and cost allocation and master budgets.

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 296-4SAdvanced Special Topics: Conservation Management in Practice [2 units] O'Connell
This short course uses case studies, discussion and lecture to examine the practice and realities of conservation management. Students will gain insight into the challenges faced in implementing conservation management and how to accomplish tangible results, and will leave with resources and ideas to help them pursue their goals. Different potential career paths will be discussed, with an emphasis on non-profit organizations and their activities. This course is designed for students considering a career in conservation who may not have extensive “real world” experience, or for those re-examining their career focus. Includes advance reading of two books – Forces for Good (required) and The Eco-pragmatist Manifesto (suggested).

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 297 - Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Policy  [1-4 units] 
Advanced, special topics in environmental policy. May be repeated for credit with changes in content.

ESM 297-1S - Advanced Special Topics: Environmental Institutions and Policy Innovation [2 units]  Prakash
This course will examine governance mechanisms to manage contemporary and emerging environmental challenges. While governmental regulations or public law remains the main vehicle for environmental governance across the globe, in the last two decades, a host of new institutional mechanisms have emerged. These include market-based mechanisms, information-based policies, voluntary programs, and collaborative governance. We will examine why and how these institutions emerge, how they function, and how might we assess their policy efficacy. In addition, we will examine global environmental regimes and how they might embed traditional and new institutional mechanisms.

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ESM 298 - Advanced Special Topics: Eco-E Lab  [2 units]  Chan
Advanced, special topics in eco-entrepreneurship. May be repeated for credit with changes in content.

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ESM 299  - Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Science  [1 - 4 units]
Advanced, special topics in environmental science. May be repeated for credit with changes in content.

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ESM 401A  - Masters Group Project  [4 units]
1st quarter of a year-long group study of an environmental problem. Includes in-class training sessions to develop skills necessary to efficiently and effectively conduct the study.

Prerequisites: (None)
(Group Project)
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ESM 401B - Masters Group Project  [4 units]
2nd quarter of a year-long group study of an environmental problem.

Prerequisites: (None)
(Group Project)
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ESM 401C - Masters Group Project  [4 units]
Final quarter of a year-long group study of an environmental problem. Requires completion of a final report, policy brief, poster, and defense, and public presentation.

Prerequisites: (None)
(Group Project)
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ESM 402A  - Masters Eco-E Project: New Venture Formation  [4 units] Chan
This course teaches students how to pursue opportunities for new ventures and transform them into real enterprises, focusing on development of viable business models.

Prerequisites: (None)
(Eco-E Project)
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ESM 402B - Masters Eco-E Project  [4 units]
2nd quarter of a year-long team project to develop a new environmental venture.

Prerequisites: (None)
(Eco-E Project)
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ESM 402C - Masters Eco-E Project  [4 units]
3rd and final quarter of a year-long team project to develop a new environmental venture. Requires completion of a final report, marketing communication materials and public presentation.

Prerequisites: (None)
(Eco-E Project)
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ESM 410 - Internship Practicum  [1 unit]
Students complete a summer internship, prepare a short paper, and present internship experiences to the Bren School community through an informal presentation.

Prerequisites: Completion of a summer internship.
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ESM 430 - Workshops in Environmental Science & Management  [0.5 - 1 unit]
Workshops to develop professional skills for careers in Environmental Science & Management.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 430-1S - CEQA/NEPA Workshop [1 unit] Willis
The objective of the workshop is to provide you with a basic understanding of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). These are two regulatory frameworks that govern the practice of environmental impact assessment, the most important tool used by environmental planners to identify and evaluate the potential environmental consequences of proposed policies or activities. NEPA applies to the federal government, while CEQA applies to state and local agencies within California. The intent is to provide you with a sound basic understanding of these two important regulatory frameworks, so focus will not be on the details of these processes; rather, the workshop will provide background on the history and objectives of the environmental review process in the U.S., and a broad overview of the NEPA and CEQA processes, focusing on their similarities and key differences.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 430-2S - The Quiet (R)Evolution in Environmental Management: Ecosystem Services, Systems Thinking, and the Next Wave in Public and Private Sector Environmental Performance [2 units] Waage
This two-day workshop provides a brief overview of the emergence of ecosystem services concepts, current scientific thinking on the topic and their relationship to biodiversity concepts. The workshop will describe key emerging decision-making aids and current examples of integrating ecosystem services concepts into public sector decision-making as well as corporate environmental management processes, based on ongoing research conducted by the instructor in her capacity as lead in Business for Social Responsibility’s (BSR's) Ecosystem Services Working Group (www.bsr.org/en/our-work/working-groups/ecosystem-services-tools-markets). This workshop will also include a series of interactive sessions, to provide students with 'hands on' decision-making experiences. Workshop participants will gain a strong grounding in the rationale for this current shift in thinking and its implications for environmental decision-making processes in public and private sector settings.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 436 - Legal Issues in Environmental Problem Solving  [0.5 - 1 unit]
May be repeated for credit with changes in content. Workshops to expose students to a range of technical and business writing.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 437 - Writing Skills for Environmental Professionals  [0.5 - 2 units] Kayfetz
In this course, we move beyond the formulas you have been taught, either in high school, or during your undergraduate/graduate education, and approach writing backward. We start from the conclusion -- your communication goal, what you want the reader to walk away with -- and figure out how to set up your papers to get there. To improve your writing, we will study strong examples from the field, identify what makes good writing "good," and apply these findings to your work.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 440 - Advanced Environmental Communication  [2 units] Beattie
This course will focus on strategic communication about environmental issues with the ultimate goal of optimizing communication to target audiences, such as the general public, policymakers, business leaders, NGOs, and funders. Effective communication about environmental issues is not just about getting the message right, it involves understanding the intended audience, and their real values and attitudes. Effective communication also involves multiple strategies that may be designed strategically to augment one another, or may, if poorly designed, contradict one another with disastrous consequences. Additionally, effective communication requires an understanding of how reason and emotion work, and the complex relationship between the two. This short course will employ cutting-edge interdisciplinary research to demonstrate how we can move towards more effective and strategic communication about environmental issues.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595A-Z  - Group Studies: MESM/PhD  [1 - 4 units]
Seminars in selected fields of Environmental Science & Management. Open to master and PhD students. May be repeated for credit with changes in content.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595J  - MESM/PhD Seminar: Nanomaterials in the Environment  [2 units] Keller
This course provides an overview of environmental, societal, and regulatory issues related to synthesis, use, and disposal of nanomaterials. Topics include industrial flame synthesis of nanomaterials, nanoparticle dispersion and colloidal chemistry, environmental fate and transport of nanomaterials, the nano-bio interface and mechanistic nanotoxicology, predictive toxicological profiling, the nanomaterial ecosystems interface, effects of nanoparticles on marine organisms, in vivo and inhalation toxicity, societal implications of nanotechnology, and nanotechnology regulation. Students complete readings and view recorded lectures on each topic. Satisfactory mastery of course materials is evaluated through online quizzes and a final oral examination.

Prerequisites: (None)

ESM 595AA-ZZ  - Group Studies: PhD Level  [1 - 4 units]
Seminars in selected fields of Environmental Science & Management. Open only to PhD students. May be repeated for credit with changes in topic.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595AA PhD Seminar: Seminar in Hydrology and Geomorphology   [2 units]  Dunne

Prerequisites: (None)  
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ESM 595CC - PhD Seminar: Aquaculture  [2 units]  Lenihan

Prerequisites: (None)  
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ESM 595EE - PhD Seminar: Managing Spatial Marine Resources  [2 units] Costello and Wilson
This PhD seminar will introduce students to the science of spatial marine resource management. Our focus will be on developing, interpreting, and analyzing models to answer applied resource management questions. Examples of topics that will be covered include: marine reserve design, spatial fisheries management, data-poor stock assessment using spatial gradients, fishermen behavior, and tradeoff analysis of spatial policies. Weekly readings will be accompanied by class discussion, lectures, and guest speakers. Students will develop and present a research proposal in the final two weeks of class.

Prerequisites: (None)  
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ESM 595GG - PhD Seminar: Ecological Sustainability  [2 units]  Davis

Prerequisites: (None)  
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ESM 595II - PhD Seminar: Science, Policy, and the Environment   [2 units]  Young

Prerequisites: (None)  
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ESM 595JJ - PhD Seminar: Environmental Microbiology  [2 units]  Holden

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595PB Interdisciplinary Problem Based PhD Seminar: Natural Science and Policy of Fire: New Research Horizons  [2 units] Anderson & Tague
Wildfire is an increasingly important issue, as population in the Western states grows, climate changes, and managers struggle to manage fire risk. This class will produce a review paper that identifies strategic areas for collaborative research about the management and science of fire. The class aims to both explore the topical area and to introduce graduate students to multi-author interdisciplinary proposal-writing through literature review and synthesis, writing, exploration of the boundaries of knowledge, and collaborative work to edit a joint document suitable for publication.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595SB - Interdisciplinary Skills Based PhD Seminar  [2 units] Melack & Kendall
Spring 2012 Seminar of ESM 595SB will have four components: (1) discussion of papers that deal with interdisciplinarity; (2) presentations and discussions with faculty who have lead interdisciplinary investigations; (3) review of funding opportunities; (4) development of a brief interdisciplinary proposal

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595SSFaculty Research Speaker Series PhD Seminar  [2 units]  Kendall
Students will learn about research conducted by Bren faculty and will be exposed to diverse perspectives about the process of conducting research and, specifically, interdisciplinary research. Students will attend research seminars given by four faculty members, read manuscripts or published papers on this research, and have discussions with the faculty members about their approaches to research.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 595TTPhD Seminar: Biodiversity in Forest and Ocean Ecosystems  [2 units]  Lester
Explores dimensions (genetic, functional, and taxonomic) of biodiversity. Students will participate in group research projects to synthesize and analyze large datasets to create fundamental advances in biodiversity science. Analyses will examine environmental or anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity patterns and/or the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function, resilience, or ecosystem services. Two student groups will focus on (1) tropical forest and (2) global marine fisheries or aquaculture. This seminar will be linked with comparable graduate seminars at universities around the U.S. as a distributed study of biodiversity.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 596Directed Readings and Research  [1 - 12 units]  Staff
Independent study under the supervision of a Bren School faculty member (a faculty member from another department cannot supervise an ESM 596 course). Registration requires an ESM 596 Petition approved and signed by the supervising faculty member and the Assistant Dean before the start of the quarter. No petitions will be accepted after the 3rd week of the quarter. The ESM 596 Petition can be found on the Bren School website under Services. Registration in ESM 596 requires an “instructor code” that can be found on the Bren School website under Course Schedule or on GOLD. ESM 596 may be taken for a letter grade or S/U (as agreed upon by the instructor and the student). ESM 596 is a variable unit course; MESM students may apply a maximum of 4 units of ESM 596 towards their MESM degree requirements.

Prerequisites: (None)
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ESM 597 - Individual Study for Ph.D. Examinations  [1 - 12 units]  Staff
Instructor should be students major professor or chair of the doctoral committee. Instructor approval required to finalize enrollment.

Prerequisites: Instructor approval required to finalize enrollment.
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ESM 599 - Ph.D. Dissertation Research and Preparation  [1 - 12 units]  Staff
Instructor should be students major professor or chair of the doctoral committee. Instructor approval required to finalize enrollment.

Prerequisites: (None)
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