Environmental Economics (24 credits)

Program Requirements

This specialization integrates environmental sciences and decision making with the economics of environment and sustainable development. It is designed to prepare students for careers in natural resource management and the analysis of environmental problems and policies.

This specialization is limited to students in the Major Agricultural Economics.

Specialization Adviser: Professor John Henning
Macdonald-Stewart Building, Room 3-038
Telephone: 514-398-7826

Required Courses (9 credits)

• ENVB 305 Population & Community Ecology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Environmental Biology : Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.

  Terms: Winter 2014

  Instructors: Christopher Buddle (Winter)

  • Winter
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 205
• ENVB 437 Assessing Environmental Impact (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Environmental Biology : Theories and procedures of assessing environmental impact. An examination of the environmental impact of existing programs and projects to examine their accuracy in predicting consequences and attenuating undesirable effects.

  Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  • Winter
  • 2 lectures
  • Restrictions: U2 students and above. Not open to students who have taken WILD 437 or NRSC 437.
• ENVB 506 Quantitative Methods: Ecology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Environmental Biology : The process of formulating models of natural systems and confronting them with data, along with the necessary statistical computing skills. Emphasis on hands-on experience with current approaches for building, fitting, and comparing models.

  Terms: Winter 2014

  Instructors: Christopher Solomon (Winter)

  • Winter
  • Prerequisites: AEMA 310 and ENVB 305; or graduate student status; or permission of instructor
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken AEMA 306 or AEMA 406.

Complementary Courses (15 credits)

At least 15 credits chosen from the following list:

• AGRI 310 Internship in Agriculture/Environment (3 credits)

  Offered by: Plant Science (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Agriculture : Internship on working farms or in other appropriate businesses of the agri-food/environment industries.

  Terms: Fall 2013

  Instructors: Caroline B Begg (Fall)

  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken AGRI 201D1/D2.
• BREE 217 Hydrology and Water Resources (3 credits)

  Offered by: Bioresource Engineering (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Bioresource Engineering : Measurements and analysis of components of the water cycle. Precipitation, evaporation, infiltration and groundwater. Analysis of hydrologic data. Hydrograph theory. Hydrologic estimations for design of water control projects; flood control and reservoir routing. Integrated watershed management and water conservation. Water management systems for environmental protection.

  Terms: Winter 2014

  Instructors: Zhiming Qi (Winter)

  • 3 lectures, one 2-hour lab
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken ABEN 217.
• ECON 225 Economics of the Environment (3 credits)

  Offered by: Economics (Faculty of Arts)

  Overview

  Economics (Arts) : A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.

  Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken 154-325 or 154-425
• ECON 326 Ecological Economics (3 credits)

  Offered by: Economics (Faculty of Arts)

  Overview

  Economics (Arts) : Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy.

  Terms: Fall 2013, Winter 2014

  Instructors: Robin Thomas Naylor (Fall) Robin Thomas Naylor (Winter)

  • Prerequisites: ECON 208 and ECON 209 or consent of instructor
• ECON 405 Natural Resource Economics (3 credits)

  Offered by: Economics (Faculty of Arts)

  Overview

  Economics (Arts) : Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature.

  Terms: Winter 2014

  Instructors: Robert D Cairns (Winter)

  • Prerequisite: ECON 230 or ECON 250
• ENVB 301 Meteorology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Environmental Biology : The physical processes underlying weather. Topics include: the atmosphere - its properties (structure and motion), and thermodynamics (stability, heat and moisture); clouds and precipitation; air masses and fronts; mid-latitude weather systems and severe weather.

  Terms: Fall 2013

  Instructors: Ian Brett Strachan (Fall)

  • Fall
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken NRSC 201
• ENVR 203 Knowledge, Ethics and Environment (3 credits)

  Offered by: McGill School of Environment (School of Environment)

  Administered by: Faculty of Science

  Overview

  Environment : Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.

  Terms: Fall 2013, Winter 2014

  Instructors: David Goodin (Fall) Jaye Dana Ellis, Renee Sieber, Iwao Hirose (Winter)

  • Fall - Macdonald Campus; Winter - Downtown
  • Section 001: Downtown Campus
  • Section 051: Macdonald Campus
• MICR 331 Microbial Ecology (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Microbiology (Agric&Envir Sc) : The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles will be discussed. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.

  Terms: Winter 2014

  Instructors: Brian T Driscoll (Winter)

  • Winter
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have successfully completed NRSC 331
• NRSC 333 Pollution and Bioremediation (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Natural Resource Sciences : The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.

  Terms: Fall 2013

  Instructors: Lyle Whyte, William H Hendershot (Fall)

  • Fall
  • 3 lectures
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken WILD 333
• WILD 415 Conservation Law (2 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Resource Development : A study of the various federal, provincial and municipal laws affecting wildlife habitat. Topics include: laws to protect wild birds and animals; the regulation of hunting; legal protection of trees and flowers, sanctuaries, reserves, parks; techniques of acquiring and financing desirable land, property owner rights.

  Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  • Fall
  • 2 lectures
• WILD 421 Wildlife Conservation (3 credits)

  Offered by: Natural Resource Sciences (Agricultural & Environmental Sciences)

  Overview

  Resource Development : Study of current controversial issues focusing on wildlife conservation. Topics include: animal rights, exotic species, ecotourism, urban wildlife, multi-use of national parks, harvesting of wildlife, biological controls, and endangered species.

  Terms: This course is not scheduled for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  Instructors: There are no professors associated with this course for the 2013-2014 academic year.

  • Winter
  • 3 lectures
  • Restriction: Not open to students who have taken NRSC 421.