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  • MOOC 
    Why Move Towards Cleaner Power

    Why Move Towards Cleaner Power

    This course looks at how increasing greenhouse gases are warming the climate and what it means to decarbonise - reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of - the power sector. It will also provide a range of arguments in favour of decarbonisation, including consideration of ease of access to a secure and affordable energy supply and improvements to health and the environment. This course gathers together information about these different motivating factors for building a lower carbon power sector in one place, and includes a careful consideration of the importance of the political context. This course will challenge you to critically analyse your own political context. We would welcome advisors to senior decision makers in government, civil society activists and others interested in understanding and promoting renewable electricity to take this course. This course will help you develop a better understanding of the different dimensions of a move towards a cleaner power sector and develop more nuanced and detailed arguments.

    Subjects:
    Environmental Engineering and Environmental Policy and Planning
    Keywords:
    Renewable energy sources Energy policy Greenhouse gases -- Prevention Climatic changes
    Resource Type:
    MOOC
     
  • Courseware 
    Sustainable Urban Development

    Sustainable Urban Development

    Did you know that cities take up less than 3% of the earth’s land surface, but more than 50% of the world’s population live in them? And, cities generate more than 70% of the global emissions? Large cities and their hinterlands (jointly called metropolitan regions) greatly contribute to global urbanization and sustainability challenges, yet are also key to resolving these same challenges. If you are interested in the challenges of the 21st century metropolitan regions and how these can be solved from within the city and by its inhabitants, then this Sustainable Urban Development course is for you! There are no simple solutions to these grand challenges! Rather the challenges cities face today require a holistic, systemic and transdisciplinary approach that spans different fields of expertise and disciplines such as urban planning, urban design, urban engineering, systems analysis, policy making, social sciences and entrepreneurship. This MOOC is all about this integration of different fields of knowledge within the metropolitan context. The course is set up in a unique matrix format that lets you pursue your line of interest along a specific metropolitan challenge or a specific theme. Because we are all part of the challenges as well as the solutions, we encourage you to participate actively! You will have the opportunity to explore the living conditions in your own city and compare your living environment with that of the global community. You will discover possible solutions for your city’s challenges and what it takes to implement these solutions. Your participation will also contribute to wider research into metropolitan regions as complex systems. We invite you to take the first steps in understanding the principles that will be essential to transform metropolitan regions into just, prosperous and sustainable places to live in!

    Subjects:
    Environmental Engineering, Building Services Engineering, and Building and Real Estate
    Keywords:
    Sustainable urban development City planning
    Resource Type:
    Courseware
     
  • Courseware 
    Introduction to Water and Climate

    Introduction to Water and Climate

    Water is essential for life on earth and of crucial importance for society. Also within our climate water plays a major role. The natural cycle of ocean to atmosphere, by precipitation back to earth and by rivers and aquifers to the oceans has a decisive impact on regional and global climate patterns. This course will cover six main topics: 1. Global water cycle. In this module you will learn to explain the different processes of the global water cycle. 2. Water systems. In this module you will learn to describe the flows of water and sand in different riverine, coastal and ocean systems. 3. Water and climate change. In this module you will learn to identify mechanisms of climate change and you will learn to explain the interplay of climate change, sea level, clouds, rainfall and future weather. 4. Interventions. In this module you will learn to explain why, when and which engineering interventions are needed in rivers, coast and urban environment. 5. Water resource management. In this module you will learn to explain why water for food and water for cities are the main challenges in water management and what the possibilities and limitations of reservoirs and groundwater are to improve water availability. 6. Challenges. In this module you will learn to explain the challenges in better understanding and adapting to the impact of climate change on water for the coming 50 years.

    Subjects:
    Environmental Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering
    Keywords:
    Hydrologic cycle Water-supply -- Effect of global warming on Water-supply -- Management
    Resource Type:
    Courseware
     
  • Courseware 
    The Atmosphere, the Ocean, and Environmental Change

    The Atmosphere, the Ocean, and Environmental Change

    This course explores the physical processes that control Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and climate. Quantitative methods for constructing mass and energy budgets. Topics include clouds, rain, severe storms, regional climate, the ozone layer, air pollution, ocean currents and productivity, the seasons, El Niño, the history of Earth’s climate, global warming, energy, and water resources.

    Subjects:
    Environmental Engineering
    Keywords:
    Atmospheric physics Meteorology
    Resource Type:
    Courseware
     
  • Courseware 
    Global Warming Science

    Global Warming Science

    This course provides students with a scientific foundation of anthropogenic climate change and an introduction to climate models. It focuses on fundamental physical processes that shape climate (e.g. solar variability, orbital mechanics, greenhouse gases, atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and volcanic and soil aerosols) and on evidence for past and present climate change. During the course they discuss material consequences of climate change, including sea level change, variations in precipitation, vegetation, storminess, and the incidence of disease. This course also examines the science behind mitigation and adaptation proposals.

    Subjects:
    Environmental Engineering
    Keywords:
    Global temperature changes Climatic changes Global warming
    Resource Type:
    Courseware
     
  • Courseware 
    ESD.10 Introduction to Technology and Policy

    ESD.10 Introduction to Technology and Policy

    This course explores perspectives in the policy process - agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership.

    Subjects:
    Management
    Keywords:
    Policy sciences -- Economic aspects Political planning -- Economic aspects
    Resource Type:
    Courseware
     
    OER
  • Courseware 
    ESS 23: Air Pollution and Global Environments

    ESS 23: Air Pollution and Global Environments

    We will discuss sciences and societal consequences of air pollution problems such as 1. Photochemical smog 2. Atmospheric particle pollution 3. Indoor pollution 4. Acid rain 5. And human triggered climate change.Essential concepts of chemistry, physics, meteorology and mathematics will be introduced. The consequences of air pollution will be discussed in historical and international perspectives. The main educational goal is raising critical thinking skills for the students to develop their own opinions future environmental issues

    Subjects:
    Environmental Engineering
    Keywords:
    Air -- Pollution
    Resource Type:
    Courseware
     
  • Courseware 
    ESS 21: On Thin Ice - Climate Change and the Cryosphere

    ESS 21: On Thin Ice - Climate Change and the Cryosphere

    In recent decades we have observed a significant reduction of the cryosphere due to anthropogenic climate change. The observed and predicted changes in the extent and amount of snow and ice will have major impacts on climate, ecosystems and human populations both at a local and global scale. This course will introduce students to the science behind climate change as well as the physical and chemical processes that govern components of the cryosphere, including snow, permafrost, sea ice, glaciers and ice sheets. Particular emphasis will be placed on the important role that each component plays in the larger climate system and potential feedbacks. We will also examine some of the social, economic and political impacts that the melting cryosphere will have on countries around the Arctic and also worldwide, such as access to new petroleum reserves, infrastructure damage due to melting permafrost, sea level rise and decreases in freshwater availability.

    Subjects:
    Environmental Sciences
    Keywords:
    Cryosphere Climatic changes
    Resource Type:
    Courseware