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GCC Italy- Climate Change & Sustainability

  • City: Milan and Venice
  • Term: Winter course with field component during Spring.
  • Instruction in: English
  • Taught by a U-M Faculty
  • Majors/Minors this program benefits:  PiTE, Earth, Geography, Oceanography, Sustainability

On-Campus component: EARTH 172/ ENVIRON 111 (4 credits) — Increasingly, millions of human-initiated and natural activities are altering the planet on which we live. Over the past century, through our ever-increasing population and mastery of technology, we have been changing our planet’s environment at a pace unknown in Earth’s natural history. In ‘Climate Change and Sustainability: Environmental Challenges of the 21st Century’ students will study the impacts of modern human society on land, ice, fresh water, ocean, atmosphere, ecosystems, resources, and human well-being. We will also consider practical, local, and everyday considerations relevant to a sustainable human future.

Off-campus component: ENVIRON 245 ( 2 credits)— This 2-credit field course will take place in Italy where students will investigate processes explored in ENVIRON 111 or EARTH 172. Students will study the effects of overfishing, the consequences of sea level changes, the reality of traditional and sustainable agriculture and husbandry, issues related with access to fresh water, habitat degradation and restoration. Time during the program will be divided between Milan, Venice and Florence, allowing a comparison between different cultural and geographical realities. This program will also highlight some of the issues that current and ancient cities and civilizations have faced in the attempt to assert economic and cultural dominance while struggling with climate and environmental changes. The program is taught and led by U-M Instructor Michela Arnaboldi, Lecturer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.