IDS 3010 - H2O: We are Water (3)

When Offered: Fall; Spring
GEN ED: Integrative Learning Experience (Theme: “Sustainability and Global Resources”)
Water is studied in disciplines ranging from art to zoology. The hydrologic cycle functions on a global scale but has local impacts. This interdisciplinary course will look at water policy and how we manage water resources; who gets water, for what purpose; and the impacts of these decisions on the resource. It will discuss the ways we use water, abuse it, revere it, ignore it, and fight over it. In the US, our quality of life is entirely dependent on cheap, plentiful, clean water. We use it in vast quantities to produce power, grow food, and protect our health. Globally, demands for water continue to increase. The class will cover the intersections among our scientific understanding of water flows, our technological developments, and our policy approaches toward this elemental resource, locally and globally.