lab, category PS) and a General Education Distributive Studies – Natural Sciences (category DSNS)
course; and it is an “Environment” course for the College Park Scholars program in Environment,
Technology, and Economy (ETE). As an offering in these four curricula, ENSP 101 engages you in
learning approaches and methods of inquiry that complement any major whether in the natural
sciences, social sciences, or humanities. You will learn critical thinking skills focusing on the
sciences, but also ones related to current environmental issues and transdisciplinary ways of
knowing. You will refine your problem-solving skills using some mathematical approaches and
individual creative writing.
The Concept of Sustainability for Human Societies, Economies, and Their Supporting Natural
Systems
In this course, you will engage in learning about natural living ecosystems, abiotic
resources, and humans as members of natural eco-regions. Through a balance of conservation
and preservation, humans forge modern complex societies that rely on ecosystem services and
natural resources. However, if modern societies significantly alter ecosystems and deplete
natural resources faster than they are replenished, they affect the potential for future human
cultures to meet their basic needs and for ecological systems to maintain their essential material
cycles and energy flows. The concept of sustainability embodies these ideas and has become a
central tenet of environmental science and policy in recent years. In 1987, the World Commission
on Environment and Development published Our Common Future (Oxford University Press), also
known as the Brundtland Report (after its chair, Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of
Norway). Sustainable development is defined in this seminal report in this way:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Many current human activities in the biosphere, including agriculture, forestry, urban
development, energy use, and water management, may affect sustainability and the potential
for future generations to meet their needs. In this course, you will have the opportunity to
incorporate new thinking and learning related to sustainability into your intellectual growth. The
Office of Sustainability at the University of Maryland has initiated Sustainable UMD to infuse the
undergraduate experience with learning and thinking surrounding sustainability at many levels,
from individual courses to program curricula, campus life, regional issues, and global concerns.
Their website is http://www.sustainability.umd.edu/. The International Institute for Sustainable
Development has an excellent website for general information on sustainability at
http://www.iisd.org/sd/. You are encouraged to consult these and other resources during the
semester and after completion of this course.
Learning Outcomes
The following goals of this introductory course in environmental science will be achieved by
engaging you in lectures, small group discussions, readings, papers, and case studies. The
key words in bold font identify themes and topics in the course that will recur across the
various units during the semester.