Spring 2018 - GEOG 322W D100
World Resources (4)
Class Number: 12684
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 3 – Apr 10, 2018: Tue, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
Burnaby -
Exam Times + Location:
Apr 12, 2018
Thu, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Alex Clapp
aclapp@sfu.ca
1 778 782-8827
Office: TASC2 8804
Office Hours: Thursdays 11:30-12:30
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Prerequisites:
At least 30 units including GEOG 221.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
An analysis of the use and development of natural resources from a geographic, economic and institutional perspective. Students with credit for GEOG 322 may not take this course for further credit. Writing.
COURSE DETAILS:
Geography 322 examines the development, extraction, depletion, and substitution of natural resources. Resources become in turns useful, abundant, scarce and sometimes obsolete. Whether a resource and ecosystem can support industries, jobs and communities depends on the interaction of technology, markets and institutions with the biophysical environment.
The first section of the course reviews fundamental debates over resource scarcity and substitution, and introduces the analytical tools of ecological economics as a framework for examining the political and economic processes and institutions that govern resource use and management. The second section traces those processes in seven resource sectors, investigating their effects on resource supply and ecosystem structure. The concluding section examines ecosystem services as resources, and assesses the prospects for achieving sustainability in human use of environmental resources.
Case studies are drawn from both developed and developing worlds. Written assignments allow students to investigate a specific resource of their own choosing, analyzing the trajectory and sustainability of the industry based on that resource in its global ecological and economic contexts. Geography 322 is a writing-intensive (W) course.
1. January 9 Introduction
2. January 16 Resource Industries
3. January 23 Resource Regimes
4. January 30 Scarcity and Abundance
5. February 6 Fossil Fuels market report due
(February 13 Reading week: no class)
6. February 20 Minerals
7. February 27 Agriculture institutional profile due
8. March 6 Fisheries
9. March 13 Forests
10. March 20 Biological Diversity final market report due
11. March 27 Ecosystem Services
12. April 3 Carbon Storage proposal due
13. April 10 Conclusion and Review
Note: There will be no tutorials in the first week of class.
Grading
- tutorial attendance, participation and presentations 10%
- market report and revision 25%
- institutional profile 15%
- proposal 20%
- final exam 30%
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Required readings will be journal articles available online through the SFU Library.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS