Environmental Protection and Sustainability

Do you want to understand more about the environmental problems we currently face? Do you want to learn ways we can reduce the negative effects of these problems, and keep our environment more sustainable? If so, this course is for you.

In this multi-disciplinary course, we will discuss major challenges facing environmental protection efforts. In doing so, we'll bring together various aspects from three themes: Biological, Physical, and Human.

The Biological theme focuses on the importance of biodiversity and the actions we can take to conserve basic ecosystem functions. For example: reintroducing locally extinct key species and protecting agroecosystems.

Clean air and water resources, as elements of the Physical theme, are crucial to maintaining biodiversity and our basic life-support systems. We will explore methods for minimizing air and water pollution and their negative impacts.

The Human theme investigates how human development can be sustainable under the current pressures at local, regional, and global scales. Examples include water reuse, green building, and environmentally friendly technologies.

The course is designed and presented by six scientists, each of whom specializes in a different environmental aspect. The course uses video presentations, movies, exercises, assignments, and many additional sources to provide information and enrichment.

No previous knowledge on environmental issues is needed. Join us for a diverse and unique course and become a protector of the environment.

Week 1: General Introduction and Biodiversity
Biodiversity and ecosystem functionality, biodiversity and ecosystem stability, species richness and its determinants, ecosystem services

Week 2: Conservation Biology and Reintroduction
Threats to biodiversity, extinctions, conservation strategies, conservation genetics, animal reintroduction

Week 3: Open Spaces and Agroecology
Contribution of open spaces to biodiversity, wildlife friendly farming and land sharing, scale-oriented processes, movement and survival

Week 4: Air Quality and Pollution
Dynamics of particles, air pollution and health-related problems, coagulation and filtration systems, atmospheric aerosols

Week 5: Water Quality and Reuse
Physical properties and hydrologic cycle, water quality and its major components, water use, and grey water

Week 6: Green Building
Relevance for environmental protection, building materials and their environmental impact, green building and energy saving, buildings as part of the city

Week 7: Urban Sustainability
Environmental problems at the city level, the city as an ecosystem, sustainability potential, urban metabolism, urban footprint

Week 8: Global Sustainability
From empty to full world, human well-being, socio-environmental interactions, behavior of individuals and societies, policy and planning