Course Overview

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College Eight has launched out a great new core course to create green thinkers and entrepreneurs. The three quarter sequence are taught by senior tenured professors from the Social Science, Physical and Biological Science, and Engineering Divisions of UCSC. The goal of the core course sequence is to provide students with a solid scientific and policy foundation for environmental citizenship, and to investigate solutions. Students who take all three courses will receive a College Eight Certificate in Environmental Citizenship, useful on any resume, and will satisfy a great many GE requirements. Students who complete all three courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 and above will receive Honors in the Core Course.

As part of this sequence, College Eight has reserved two sections of Writing 2 that pair with 81B and C. This is important because due the the budget situation, UCSC not been able to accommodate everyone in Wr 2, so you will be competing for seats with all the students who did not get in in previous years. Taking Wr 2 with 81 B or C guarantees you a seat as well as other advantages (See below).

Fall Quarter: The Big Picture

CLEI 81A (The Environment and Us), taught by Ronnie Lipshutz, Provost of College Eight (Department of Environmental Studies); and

CLEI 80 A or B (Environment and Society), taught by College Eight and UCSC Writing Program Faculty. This course gives a broad overview of the history of the environmental movement, as well as the challenges we face now and into the future, with a particular focus on environmental justice.

Note: BOTH Fall courses are mandatory for all freshmen. Winter and Spring courses are electives (and can be taken in any order in frosh or sophomore years), but all are designed to work synergistically together, and satisfy a number of General Education requirements.

Winter Quarter: The Science

CLEI 81B/EART 81B (L. Fox & P. Chuang, Winter) “Fundamentals of Environmental Science.” Addresses major issues in physical and biological environmental sciences and provides tools to critically evaluate, debate, and make informed choices regarding one's own impact on the environment. Topics include: climate change, water resources, air pollution, evolution, ecology (from populations to ecosystems), and conservation. Quantitative problem solving is an integral part of this course.

CLEI 81B, Fundamentals of Environmental Science, taught by Laurel Fox, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Patrick Chuang, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. This 5-credit class will satisfy the MF, IN and the Q GE requirements. 42424 CLEI 81B - 01 FundamentalsEnvSci MWF 03:30PM-04:40PM Merrill Acad 102.

42107 WRIT-2-12: Creating Green TTh 10:00A-11:45A Hum & Soc Sci 350 Instructor: McKercher,P.M. This class is designed to work in tandem with College 8 81B above, but all College 8 students are eligible (others if space permits). Contact instructor to enroll. Description: Despite scary environmental headlines and trendlines, people are energized by the opportunity to rethink and redesign everything. In this section, we will generate creative green solutions, especially using social entrepreneur approaches. In the process, we will investigate and make sense out of a variety of complex and often scientific environmental issues, debates, and discussions, making persuasive arguments about them through understanding rhetorical principles. Students will engage in understanding and communicating concepts in environmental science, social justice and/or engineering, including communicating in different media for a variety of audiences and purposes.

Spring Quarter: The Solutions

CLEI 81C, Designing a Sustainable Future (formerly Technological Innovation and Environmental Challenges), taught by Ken Pedrotti, Professor and Chair of Electrical Engineering and John Vesecky, Professor of Electrical Engineering. This course explores the critical issues of energy (fossil fuels, bio-fuels, nuclear), and investigates solutions in terms of finding greater efficency in clean water, transportation, lean manufacturing and everyday life Satisfies T2 Natural Science GE requirement.

NOTE: If at all possible, students in 81B or 81C should sign up for Wr 2 sections that are linked to those classes. Restricted to College Eight students who are concurrently enrolled in CLEI 81C Others admitted as space allows; contact instructor for permission code).

Writing 2 One section of Writing 2 is specially designed to work in tandem with CLEI 81B. This course will draw on the readings and lectures from CLEI 81B. Note, CLEI 81B is not a co-requisite for these Writing 2 classes, but will be given priority enrollment.

This section of Writing 2 is designed for those taking the College 8 Core CLEI 81C, Designing the Future , which will explore climate and energy. In this section, we will investigate how to find and make sense out of a variety of different kinds of readings related to environmental issues and make persuasive arguments about them through understanding rhetorical principles. Students will engage in understanding and communicating concepts in environmental science, including communicating in different media for a variety of audiences and purposes. We'll write three substantial essays, as well as a final research project. Ideally, the final project will be a collaborative group project, a creative green entrepreneur solution to an environmental problem.

Note: 1. Admission to the Winter Quarter and the Spring Quarter Core Courses will be open to about half of the incoming class, as well as current College Eight Sophomores, who can take them for General Education Credit. Interested students are strongly advised to enroll as soon as the portal opens in order to be assured of a place.

2. The Winter and Spring courses need not be taken in sequence. Students are welcome to take one of them in their freshmen year and the other in their Sophomore year.

3. Students who take all three courses will receive a College Eight Certificate in Environmental Citizenship.

4. Students who complete all three courses with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 and above will receive Honors in the Core Course.

5. Students who complete the entire core sequence will receive the following general education course credits: T2 Natural Science, MF, T3 Social Science, C1 and/or C2, IN, and Q (and possible another Environmental Science requirement). Students who take either one or two of the three quarters will receive GE credit appropriate to the courses they have passed. For more information, please contact any of the College Academic Advisers.