EHSC 4080/6080 Environmental Air Quality
Spring Semester 2004, TR 2:00 Ð 3:15 pm
Miller Plant Sciences, Room 3203
Professor:
Luke P. Naeher, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Health Science
150 Environmental Health Science Building
voice: 706-542-4104;
fax: 706-542-7472;
email: lnaeher@uga.edu
Overview:
In this course students will learn the fundamentals of air pollution. Areas of emphasis include the elements of air pollution, the effects of air pollution, measurement and monitoring of air pollution, and the meteorology and modeling of air pollution. A series of articles representing opposing views on controversial aspects of environmental issues related to air pollution will be read and discussed in class. Class participation in these discussions is expected and required. Case studies will be presented in class to reinforce the tools learned in lecture and the texts.
Office hours: Tuesday/Thursday 3:15-4pm in 150 EHS building
Web CT: Outlines of lectures and relevant course material will be posted on Web CT no later than the Friday before the week the material is to be used for. These materials will not be handed out in class.
Textbook/readings:
- Air Quality, 4th Edition; Thad Godish, CRC Press 2003
ISBN: 156670586X, can be purchased at www.crcpress.com - Taking Sides, Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues, 10th Edition
Thomas A. Easton and Theodore D. Goldfarb, McGraw-Hill Dushkin 2003
ISBN: 0-07-293317-8, can be purchased at www.dushkin.com - Other lecture-specific readings will be provided or put on Web CT.
Course requirements and grading:
- Exam 1 1/5 of grade
- Exam 2 1/5 of grade
- Exam 3 1/5 of grade
- Problem sets 1/5 of grade
- There will be a problem set due on each Tuesday (except 2/17, 3/30, and 4/27) of the semester on the material from the previous week. For Jan 13, the problem set assignment is to find an article in a major newspaper or magazine that relates to air pollution and present a 1-pg summary and response to the article. There are a total of 12 problem sets Ð all of which are due at the start of class on the day they are due Ð any assignments handed in after the start of class will be accepted but will receive no more than half credit. The single lowest problem set grade will be dropped.
- Taking Sides 1-pg in-class discussion and papers 1/5 of grade
- There will be a 1-pg summary/response paper due each week of the semester except the weeks including Jan 8 and Apr 27. These summary/response papers are based on the readings assigned in Easton and Goldfarb as outlined in the attached schedule. There are a total of 14 summary/response papers Ð all of which are due at the start of class on the day they are due (see attached schedule) Ð any assignments handed in after the start of class will be accepted but will receive no more than half credit. The single lowest summary/response paper grade will be dropped.
- Class participation is expected in the discussion time that we will commit in class to these readings. 25% of your grade in this section will be based on class participation in these discussions.
Spring 2004 Schedule
| Date | Topic | Assignment due | Reading |
| 6-Jan Tue | no class | ||
| 8-Jan Thu | Introduction to class | ||
| 13-Jan Tue | Why do we care about air pollution? | Problem set 1 | Easton/Goldfarb (19) |
| Is sustainable development compatible with human welfare? | Summary/response 1 | ||
| 15-Jan Thu | The atmosphere | Godish | |
| 20-Jan Tue | Atmospheric pollution and pollutants | Problem set 2 | Godish |
| 22-Jan Thu | Atmospheric pollution and pollutants (continued) Do environmentalists overstate their case? |
Summary/response 2 | Easton/Goldfarb (6) |
| 27-Jan Tue | Atmospheric dispersion, transport and deposition | Problem set 3 | Godish |
| 29-Jan Thu | Atmospheric dispersion, transport and deposition (continued) Are environmental regulations too restrictive? |
Summary/response 3 | Easton/Goldfarb (3) |
| 3-Feb Tue | Atmospheric effects | Problem set 4 | Godish |
| 5-Feb Thu | Atmospheric effects (continued) Is the precautionary principle a sound basis for international policy? |
Summary/response 4 | Easton/Goldfarb (5) |
| 10-Feb Tue | Atmospheric effects (continued) | Problem set 5 | Easton/Goldfarb (12) |
| Do human activities threaten to change the global climate? | Summary/response 5 | ||
| 12-Feb Thu | Exam 1 | ||
| 17-Feb Tue | Health effects | Godish | |
| 19-Feb Thu | Health effects (continued) Is the EPA's decision to tighten air quality standards for ozone and particulates justified? |
Summary/response 6 | Easton/Goldfarb (11) |
| 24-Feb Tue | Welfare effects | Problem set 6 | Godish |
| 26-Feb Thu | Welfare effects (continued) Should a price be put on the goods and services provided by the world's ecosystems? |
Summary/response 7 | Easton/Goldfarb (1) |
| 2-Mar Tue | Air quality and emissions assessments | Problem set 7 | Godish |
| 4-Mar Thu | Air quality and emissions assessments (continued) Should the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened to oil drilling? |
Summary/response 8 | Easton/Goldfarb (7) |
| 9-Mar Tue | Spring Break | ||
| 11-Mar Thu | Spring Break | ||
| 16-Mar Tue | Regulation and public policy | Problem set 8 | Godish |
| 18-Mar Thu | Regulation and public policy (continued) Will pollution rights trading effectively control environmental problems? |
Summary/response 9 | Easton/Goldfarb (17) |
| 23-Mar Tue | Air pollution control under the Clean Air Act | Problem set 9 | Godish |
| Will voluntary action by industry reduce the need for future environmental regulation? | Summary/response 10 | Easton/Goldfarb (18) | |
| 25-Mar Thu | Exam 2 | ||
| 30-Mar Tue | Control of motor vehicle emissions | Godish | |
| 1-Apr Thu | Peru traffic-related air pollution case study handouts Should environmental policy attempt to cure environmental racism? |
Summary/response 11 | Easton/Goldfarb (4) |
| 6-Apr Tue | Control of emissions from stationary sources | Problem set 10 | Godish |
| 8-Apr Thu | Clear Skies legislation handouts Hazardous waste: should the "polluter pays" provision of superfund be weakened? |
Summary/response 12 | Easton/Goldfarb (13) |
| 13-Apr Tue | Indoor air quality | Problem set 11 | Godish |
| 15-Apr Thu | Guatemala wood burning stove case study handouts Is limiting population growth a key factor in protecting the global environment? |
Summary/response 13 | Easton/Goldfarb (16) |
| 20-Apr Tue | Community and occupational exposures from forest fires | Problem set 12 | |
| 22-Apr Thu | Southeastern forest prescribed burn case study handouts Is biodiversity overprotected? |
Summary/response 14 | Easton/Goldfarb (2) |
| 27-Apr Tue | Exam 3 | ||
| 29-Apr Thu | no class | ||