|
 Academic Year: | 2016/7 |
| Owning Department/School: | Programmes in Natural Sciences |
| Credits: | 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 120 |
| Level: | Honours (FHEQ level 6) |
| Period: |
|
| Assessment Summary: | CW 20%, EX 70%, PR 10% |
| Assessment Detail: |
|
| Supplementary Assessment: |
|
| Requisites: |
Before taking this module you are advised to take XX20001 OR take XX10085 |
| Description:
| Aims: To explore a wide range of examples of global physical sustainability, with special emphasis on climate change, and to examine implications for national and international policy, and personal lifestyles. Learning Outcomes: After taking this Unit students should be able to demonstrate that they: * Are aware of all principal classes of apparently unsustainable trends; * Understand the basic dynamics of the biophysical forces underlying such trends; * Can calculate expected requirements for carbon intensity, given assumptions on population and economic growth; * Can quantitatively evaluate a variety of energy supply systems in terms of security, reliability and carbon emissions; * Appreciate the contribution of food and land-use systems to both emissions and abatement of greenhouse gases; * Can critically assess a range of scenarios for human development over the next 100 years; * Understand the reciprocal nature of mass decarbonisation measures and choices at the consumer level; * Are acquainted with the literature of physical sustainability, and can offer reasoned critiques of various schools of thought. Skills: Written communication (T/F/A), Numeracy and computation (T/F/A), Data acquisition, handling and analysis (T/F/A), Information technology (T/F/A), Information handling and retrieval (T/F/A), Group working (T/F), Working independently (T/F). Content: Students will be given one non-assessed essay to encourage familiarity with the field, and one major assessed essay on a key topic. Two practical sessions will entail the use of spreadsheets and simple calculator systems to explore constraints on international policy options and to model theoretical households at different income levels. Students will be asked to submit annotated spreadsheets with their results, reflecting both group and individual work. |
| Programme availability: |
XX30191 is Optional on the following programmes:Programmes in Natural Sciences
|
Notes:
|