Successful completion of this course will provide the following learning outcomes:

A basic understanding of the physical processes that operate in the earth/ocean/atmosphere system and how these affect society via human interactions

An awareness of the dynamic nature of the earth's physical systems across a range of time scales, especially in the context of recent human impacts.

An understanding of the scientific methods that have been used to collect and analyze data on the nature of earth systems 

A greater understanding of the importance of science in the everyday functioning of our planet and its crucial role in policy decision-making, including protection and management of sensitive environmental systems.

An appreciation for the landforms and landscapes that make up our world, how they formed, how they are likely to change as a result of human impacts, and how we as humans are affected by them and how we can degrade them.

An understanding that the earth’s landscapes are complex, being the products of processes that have varied with changing climate, human impact, and world geography.

An appreciation and understanding of natural environmental hazards presented to people by catastrophic as well as gradual land forming processes, such as floods, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, sea-level rise, and water use.

A realization that the world has not always been as it is today and that it will change in the future and people must be prepared for change and adaptation to new environmental conditions

This course meets the following General Education Abilities, by accomplishing the specific learning objectives listed below:

Environmental awareness is satisfied by emphasis on interactions between human activity and the environment at local, regional, or global scales.

Computer Literacy is addressed through course administration, student-faculty electronic interaction, and homework assignments.
 
Critical Thinking is central to the learning objectives of this class, and includes the following elements, which are accomplished through lecture, classroom discussion, and inquiry-based learning efforts:

       Consider and engage opposing points of view  
       Support a consistent purpose and point of view  
       Assimilate, analyze, and present a body of information  
       Analyze arguments  

Moral Reasoning (Ethics) is an important element of this course, as it links an understanding of physical environments with human health and social welfare, as developed through lectures, classroom discussion, and inquiry-based learning activities.

Recognize the community and the greater common good in addition to individual needs and goals  
Judge and understand ethical behavior in social applications  
Apply societal ethics to scientific inquiry

1.  Introduction to Landform Analysis:  Geomorphology
	Applied geomorphology and environmental risk, management, and environmental policies
2.  Earth's Structure, Profile, and Geologic Time
	Techniques used for measuring Earth's structure and geologic time
	Human use of deep Earth resources (e.g., geothermal energy)
3.  Rocks and Minerals
	Classification of rocks and minerals
	Human use of rocks and minerals and the environmental consequences (e.g., mine-waste)
	Hazardous rocks (e.g., cancerous radon gas in homes)
4.  Plate Tectonics, Mountain Building, and Earthquakes
	Processes of plate tectonics and the evidence
	Earthquake and tsunami hazard, risk assessment, warning systems, and human adaptions
5.  Volcanism
	Volcanic processes, materials, and types of volcanoes
	Volcanic hazards, risk assessment, warning systems, and human adaptions
6.  Weathering and Soils
	Weathering and soil-forming processes
	Weathering landscapes
	Soil types and spatial patterns around the world
		Human use and abuse of soil and environmental hazards of soil
7.  Climate Change and Influence on Landforms
	Glacial/interglacial cycles throughout the Quaternary Period
		Paleoclimate and relict landforms
		Human adaption to, and forcing of, climate change
		Human modifications of the landscape that influence climate change
8.  Hydrology
	Surface water quantity, quality, and environmental monitoring and regulations
	Floods, flood risk, and changes in flooding caused by human land use and climate change
	Groundwater, aquifers, and human use, abuse, and pollution of groundwater resources
9.  Gravitational Mass Movements and Hillslopes
	Processes and types of mass movements
	Landslides and debris flows, the risk posed to humans, and management strategies and policies
10.  Rivers, Streams, and the fluvial system
	Processes and types of fluvial landforms
	Human use, modifications, and management (i.e., canalization, dams, drainage systems)
11.  Glaciers and Glacial Landforms
	Continental glaciation processes and landforms
	Alpine glaciation processes and landforms
	Anthropogenic climate change and worldwide melting of glaciers
12.  Permafrost and Periglacial Landscapes	
	Processes and landforms in periglacial landscapes
	Melting permafrost and its positive feedback to anthropogenic warming from greenhouse gases
13.  Wind, Sand Dunes, and Loess
	Eolian processes and landforms
	"Desertification" and human creation of arid landscapes
	Economic and aesthetic value of dunes (sand resource and habitat for endangered species)
14.  Coastlines
	Tectonically active vs. passive coastlines
	Coastal processes and landforms
	Human use, modification, destruction, and pollution of coastal zones
15.  Humans and the Myth of "Pristine" Landscapes