Ecology and Equity in Africa and North America

Mike Coughenour, Gillian Bowser

Description:This seminar course will examine linkages between environmental equity and ecosystem processes in Africa and North America. Environmental equity is concerned with the disproportionate distribution of environmental problems among subpopulations at local through global scales. Inequity arises when some subpopulations such as the poor or minorities are disproportionately exposed and vulnerable to environmental changes arising from global warming, pollution, and overuse of natural resources due to population growth. The poor in many parts of Africa and North America are closely tied to the land and natural resources for their livelihoods, so inequitable access to opportunities for generating wealth from natural resources can be both a cause and a consequence of poverty. This seminar course will interweave these issues through discussion and comparative analyses of impoverished peoples and the ecosystems they are a part of within a rural Africa and North America. It will also explore differences and similarities among subpopulations, such as minorities vs. majorities, and the poor vs. the affluent, in access to knowledge and participation in the ecological sciences.

Section: 6
Credits: 2
Restrictions: Graduate students
First Meeting: 1/21/2009
Meeting Times: Wednesdays, 3:00 - 5:00
Classroom: NESB B215 Francis Clark Seminar Room
Cross Listed: NR 592, CRN 13145
Enrollment Limit: 15
Background: Ecology, Sociology, or similar
Course Text: Assigned readings from scientific literature
Instructor Contact Info:
      Mike Coughenour 000-000-0000
      Gillian Bowser 970-491-7274