First Year: Courses

Each cohort is enrolled in a set curriculum. First year classes below are for either the environmental policy (EP) degree or the climate science and policy (CSP) degree. Both EP and CSP students choose one of three electives, which are offered as short-courses in January. Scroll all the way down to see 2012 J-term options.

 First year courses

Science of Natural and Built Environments (EP)

This yearlong course explores environmental issues and debates, with emphasis on sustainability, systems analysis, and mass and energy transfer. Students examine the role of uncertainty and learn to interpret scientific research critically, then discuss translation of scientific knowledge into workable policies under conditions of incomplete information. Topics range from broad themes, such as biogeochemical cycling, toxicology and risk assessments, and life-cycle analysis, to detailed examinations of carbon cycling and sequestration, species- and genetic-level loss of biodiversity, and the role of simulation models in policy formulation. Students are expected to be familiar with basic chemical concepts and equations.

 

Environmental Law and Policy I and II (EP)

These courses bring out the dynamic and complex relationship among various factors-legal, political, cultural, and ethical-that influence the environmental policy-making process. The courses introduce students to the core concepts of environmental law, policy making, and environmental policy cycles that include defining the environmental problem, setting the environmental agenda, and presenting and implementing policy solutions. The making of environmental law and policy is shaped by the interplay of politics, interest groups, elected leaders, appointed judges, public opinion, and governmental institutions. Students examine responses to environmental changes that rely on legal and regulatory instruments, the courts, public hearings, and voluntary agreements. They also take into account the nature of state-federal relationships in developing and applying the law, as well as the role of technology, tension between private and public interests, and equity considerations. The courses explore international environmental regime development, conflict resolution, and transboundary citizen networks that influence global environmental decision making.

 

Environmental Economics and Natural Resource Economics (EP and CSP)

These courses cover the concepts and tools used by economists for environmental policy making; discussion focuses on issues such as air pollution, climate change, water quality, fisheries management, land use, and biodiversity loss. The goal is to understand how economists view environmental issues and solutions. These courses demonstrate why the market fails 
in the case of environmental issues and which economic instruments can correct market failures. All explorations are carried out rigorously, using well-established scientific and statistical tools.

 

Statistics and Econometrics (EP and CSP)

A solid understanding of the concepts in this course enables Bard CEP graduates to be intelligent and discerning consumers and analysts of the quantitative information they may come across in their careers. Before students arrive in August, they should have a firm grasp of descriptive statistics (such as mean, mode, median, range, standard deviation, and variance), and the rules of probability and probability distributions. The course builds upon these concepts to examine hypothesis testing, which allows credible conclusions to be drawn from given data. Other topics include research design, sampling, correlation, and regression analysis.  

 

Geographic Information Systems (EP and CSP)

Students explore the various spatial analysis methods used by scientists, planners, and public policy makers to improve the understanding and management of our world. Students learn the fundamentals of modeling, data analysis, mapping, and conducting an environmental impact assessment using geospatial technologies. Practical exercises relate to themes studied throughout the year.

 

National Climate Seminar (CSP, optional for EP)

This twice-monthly colloquium engages top national and international climate scientists, political leaders, policy analysts, and decision makers in conversation about climate policy issues. The seminar, conducted via conference call, encompasses a national audience. Background reading is required. Students lead question-and-answer sessions with seminar speakers.

 

Climate Science (CSP)

This course begins with studies of Earth’s climate system and how it works across a range of scales of time and space. These include investigations of the circulations of the ocean and atmosphere and their dynamic interactions (e.g., ENSO, monsoons, NAO); of the carbon and other biogeochemical cycles; of radiation balance, the greenhouse effect, and other factors that force climate to change; and of feedbacks in the climate system. Students will further explore past climates and how they give us insight into our present predicament, 20th —21st century climate change and its effects, how climate may change in the future, and how to understand the risks imposed by this change.

 

Climate, Agriculture, and Ecosystems (CSP)

This course covers fundamental processes in ecosystems and agriculture, then investigates the interactions between these systems and climate, emphasizing the two-way relationship between climate and food, fiber and fuel production. The course emphasizes greenhouse gas emissions and the possible roles of ecosystems and agriculture in mitigating climate change via greenhouse gas uptake and surface albedo modifications. Students end the yearlong course with a firm understanding of both the theoretical foundations of agro-ecosystem-climate interactions and the applied policy context of carbon markets, offsets, and adaptation measures. Class lectures are complemented by field trips to experimental forests and farms.

 

Climate Law and Policy (CSP)

This course focuses on the legal, political, cultural, and ethical dimensions of the climate policy-making process. It provides an overview of basic concepts of environmental law, politics, and policy making, for a detailed analysis of U.S. and international climate law and policy. Students evaluate climate change responses that include incentive-based regulatory approaches (cap-and-trade and cap-and-dividend systems with offsets; carbon taxes), command and control approaches, direct promotion of clean technology through regulation and subsidy, and voluntary agreements. Students examine critical issues of monitoring and enforcement, climate equity, and climate federalism, as well as the relationships among local, state, federal, and international policy.

 

Climate Change Solutions (CSP)

This is an integrative, case-study course, focused on technology assessment and policy that carefully examines several promising technology solutions. Which technologies have the potential to become core climate solutions? What kind of policy can drive widespread adoption of these solutions? The goal is to understand the underlying science and engineering challenges, then evaluate the social and economic barriers that each proposed solution faces. Students design policy recommendations suitable for each technology. Examples may include solar technologies, carbon capture and sequestration, wind, energy efficiency of built environments, new vehicle technologies and mass transit solutions. 


 J-term electives

Short Courses will run January 17, 2012 - January 27, 2012. Courses are designed for CEP graduate students, but are open to the public.*


Terra Preta to Commercial Product: Can we scale up Biochar?

Biochar is solid material obtained from the carbonisation of biomass. Biochar is found in soils around the world as a result of vegetation fires and historic soil management practices. Recently, it has been touted as an environmental “miracle cure”. Biochar can be used to increase crop productivity, sequester carbon, reduce the toxicity of soil contaminants, increase food security and cropland diversity and retain nutrients. So if it is this amazing wonder-carbon, why isn’t biochar being used everywhere? In this class we examine the problem of scaling up environmental solutions by focusing on the use of biochar as a soil amendment (i.e. for crop production and food security). In order to answer this question we will directly explore the properties of biochar, engage with experts studying the science, economic, and political realities of biochar soil amendments as well as talk with people “on the ground” to find out why people are or are not using it and why. From this wealth of information we will determine the pros and cons of biochar implementation and determine if it is a scalable environmental solution.

Professor: Becca Brown.

Private Land Conservation: A Primer and Climate Change Consequences

Several Bard CEP graduates direct or work at Land Trusts in the Hudson Valley and beyond. How do land trust’s work, how effective are these organizations in preserving ecosystem services, and how will their initiatives be affected by climate change? This short course will be broken into sections; the first five days will provide an intensive look at Land Trust’s: history, structure, legal mandates, funding, strategies, purchase and easement agreements, monitoring and enforcement, community engagement. Students will emerge with a thorough understanding of the role of land trusts in land conservation. The balance of the course will consider how climate change is, or should be, impacting the mission of land trusts. As organizations managing land contracts for conservation purposes in perpetuity, what will 5 or 10 degrees of warming mean for their properties? Is it possible to build climate adaptation mechanisms into contracts that are signed today?

Professor: Judy Anderson.  Judy is a consultant and trainer who works with land trust across the Northeast, on climate change issues, internal system and board/governance development, leadership development, fundraising strategies, communication and outreach, cooperative visioning and program implementation, and land protection and stewardship details and transactions. She helps organizations develop programs to connect people and communities with the land, including “conservation closer to home”.


Slow Water for Sustainable Development: Oaxaca

Bard CEP has a longstanding partnership with the Institute for Nature and Society (INSO) in Oaxaca. Rather than understand the regional water crisis as arising from scarcity, INSO characterizes the region’s challenge as one of too much “fast water”—now both arriving and disappearing rapidly during the rainy season-- and not enough “slow water”, water that in the past was trapped by healthy ecosystems, and retained for use throughout the year. As a result of the degradation of mountain forests, cropland and pasture, and of urban sprawl, rainy season precipitation has become fast water, washing away topsoil, flooding roads, failing to replenish groundwater, and flowing quickly out of the region. This course will explore the general challenge of water management in a developing country context: course content will include an overview of Mexican history and environmental politics; a look at the hydrology and water quantity/quality issues, and a focus on solutions advocated by INSO and others.

Professor: Victor Tafur

*Payment to Bard (due by December 10th) will be $800.