Course Description:
        Our environmental circumstances pose problems of value and choice for each of us and challenge us to reconsider the way we act individually and collectively in an ever changing ecosystem.  Whether we like it or not there is no escaping the fact that ethical values are embedded in the premises and assumptions of all decisions we make concerning land and resource use.
        Responsible land management has come to include concern for land as habitat -- not just for humankind alone  -- but for other communities of species that inhabit it as well.  In addition, we have come to understand that land management needs to reflect an understanding of the land in its ecological context, including its local and larger significance in the hydrological cycle, the carbon cycle, public health, etc.
        This course invites students to reflect upon the problems confronting those who have to make decisions about land management and resource use.  It highlights different approaches to environmental ethics and examines the underlying assumptions of the scientific, managerial, economic, aesthetic, religious, judicial and public policy discourse on the environment.
 

The course requires students to:

• fill in the Course's Student Information Form  (providing background information -- name, address, e-mail, etc.), available by clicking the appropriate link in the Week 1 Resources and Assignments page. This forms needs to be submitted only once in the first week of term. If however, there is a change in your e-mail address, your Harvard ID or any other information in the form, please fill out the form an additional time and submit the information. you change your e-mail address or Harvard ID or any other in
• attend lectures andr study class lecture notes made available in most cases via the Internet. 
• complete "in-class," "take-home" or "online" short assignments that will be presented occasionally throughout the term;
• complete Assigned Reading -- and suggested readings, where appropriate. Regularly consult, study and absorb the material listed under Weekly Assignments (ie. Week 1, Week 2, etc.) where appropriate. Class and online discussions will often assume you know about and are familiar with this material.

       [N.B. Beyond the works listed below, additional Assigned Reading and handouts may be distributed in class or via the World Wide Web from time to time during the semester. These materials form an integral part of the couse, and they are to be read and reflected upon as well as those readings listed below.];

• complete and submit a Prospectus with an Annotated Bibliography for their Term Research Paper. The deadline for submitting the prospectus is 28 October in class.  Suggestions  on the  prepartion of the research paper and corresponding class presentation are outlined in the web document:  Guidelines for ENVR-E-120 Prospectus Term Paper and Class Presentation.

prepare and deliver a class presentation covering the issues and perspectives on environmental ethics reflected in the term paper.

complete and submit a Term Research Paper with supporting Annotated Bibliography on a selected topic concerning environmental ethics and land management. . To receive a grade in the course, all papers must be received in "hardcopy," printed format on or before January 6, 2004.  Submission in electronic form of this paper will not be accepted as valid.

        N.B. It is recognized that students from different levels of educational experience may well be taking this course, ranging from undergraduates through graduate and professional school students. All students taking the course will be expected to fulfill the requirements enumerated above, but the assessment of their work will take into account their respective levels of educational experience. The subject for the term research paper should be discussed with the course instructor.
 

Course Grading and Late Submission of Written Work:
        Grading for the course will be derived from 4 total elements:

• in-class and/or online participation in discussions and completion of ongoing Weekly Assignments (Week 1, Week 2, etc.)  (approximately 15%);
• on-time submission by October 28, 2003 of the research Prospectus with Annotated Bibliography (approximately 15 %);
• completion of the oral presentation by the end of January 6, 2004 (approximately 20%).
• on-time submission of the term research paper by January 6, 2004.  (N.B. all papers must be received in "hardcopy," printed format on or before January 6, 2004.  Submission in electronic form of this paper will not be accepted as valid. )
   

N.B. Late submission of the course written work (specifically the Prospectus with Annotated Bibliography and the final research paper) will normally result in a loss of one third of a grade per day (not per class, but per 24 hour delay).  Thus, for example, a student who might normally receive a B+ for the written exercise should expect to receive a B if the paper is one day late.  Similarly a student who might normally receive an A for the submitted paper can expect to receive a B+ if it is received two days late.

Month/Day	Tuesday
September	16 (1)
	23 (2)
	30 (3)
October	7 (4)
	14 (5)
	21 (6)
	28 (7)
November	4 (8)
	[ Veteran's Day - No Class]
	18 (9)
	25 (10)
December	2 (11)
	9 (12)
	16(13)
January 2004	6 (14)
	13 (15)
	20 (16)

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1. Introduction to Course
2. Basic Concepts of Ecology
3. Elements of Ethical Reasoning - An Anthropologist's Approach
4. Selected Writers on Environmental Ethics
5. Our Historical Context: Colonialism, Imperialism and Sprawl
6. Public Lands: Mining, Timber & Grazing Lands
7. Private Lands: Agriculture - Prospectus & Annotated Bibliography is due by end of class
8. Land Management and the Emerging Water Crisis
9. Land Management and Waste: Toxic & Nuclear Waste
10. Land Management and the Global Commons: Air, Oceans, Forests
11. Land Management and Public Health
12. Principles of Ecosystem Management and Global Sustainability
13. Final Lecture Session:  Environmental Ethics  - Where can we go from here?
14. Class Presentations
15. Class Presentations - NB All Papers Must Be Submitted by the end of this session
16. Class Presentations

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Assigned Reading for the Course are drawn from: