Lower-Division

Provides introductory material for potential ESCI majors to help them decide if the major is right for them. Course is also a general-interest class for non-majors to learn about environmental science. This class introduces the Earth as a system, one that has component parts that can be examined in isolation as well as emergent behavior when those parts are connected. The stability of the Earth system is examined, as well as the influence that humans have on that stability, by discussing "hot topics" in the field and highlighting faculty research on campus. The lecture class can also be accompanied with an optional 1-credit lab class, ESCI 20L, Introduction to Environmental Science: Santa Cruz Water from Well to Wastewater Treatment.

This field/lab class includes field trips to the award-winning wastewater treatment plant at Neary Lagoon including a tour of the in-house testing facility and engineering works as well as a tour of the Graham Hill Drinking water production facility. The remainder of the lab time is spent examining data and making measurements on water samples to gain an appreciation of some of the most commonly studied parameters in water quality (e.g., dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, nutrients, salinity, pH and alkalinity) by sampling at some representative natural waters around Santa Cruz including the Public Wharf, Neary Lagoon and the San Lorenzo River.

Introduction to biology and ecology for environmental sciences, focusing on the role of biological organisms within the Earth system. Topics span molecular/organismal interactions, such as photosynthesis and respiration, to global biogeochemical cycles including the role of microbes, net community production, and contaminant distributions.