Resources of the Earth
Summer 2009		 Back to Selby's Homepage

Oil!
The world today consumes ~83,607,000
barrels of oil each day (DoE)

Oil Rigs
Most studies predict world oil
supplies will begin to decline before 2040.
(U.S. GAOpen Pit MineO)

 

Our society is built using resources of the Earth: oil, natural gas, water, metals, soil, and many others. This course covers how the major Earth resources formed, were harnessed, and are processed and used in the world today. We will emphasize the environmental, health, and social issues arising from our use of Earth resources, especially oil products, water resources, metals, and alternative energy.

Logistics
L19 EPSc 216A
Section 41
3 Credits

Summer 2009 Session #4 (July 13th - August 13th)
MTWThF 3:00 - 4:45 PM
Location: EPSc 102
Instructor: Selby Cull
Email: selby@levee.wustl.edu
Office: EPSc 275
Office Phone: 314-935-8594

Course Goals
By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Recognize the major issues arising from our use of Earth's resources
  2. Develop informed opinions on these issues
  3. Suuport those opinions with documented facts and scientific concepts
  4. Evaluate competing strategies for solving these issues
  5. Communicate their opinions and argument to their peers

Reading: Class handouts. (No textbook)

Additional online readings here.

Topics Covered

  1. Energy
    1. Energy in Human History: Observing Patterns in Our Energy Use - and Shortages
    2. Oil: The Formation, Drilling, and Processing of Petroleum
    3. Oil: Global Usage and Demand
    4. Oil: Social, Economic, Political, and Environmental Issues
    5. Natural Gas, Coal, and "Clean" Coal
    6. Alternative Energy
  2. Water Resources
    1. Water Supply: The Global Hydrologic Cycle
    2. Water Managment and Conservation
    3. Global Water Usage Patterns
    4. Water Resource Issues: Floods, Droughts, Dams, and Pollution
    5. Water Politics: Allocation Law and Water Quality
  3. Metal and Chemical Resources
    1. Formation and Distribution of Metals
    2. Mining: Techniques
    3. Mining: Environmental and Health Issues
    4. Chemical Cycles: Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Sulfur, etc.
    5. Chemical Usage: Patterns and Issues
  4. Soil and Plant Resources
    1. Soil: Formation and Soil Qualities
    2. Soil: Global Usage Patterns
    3. Soil: Erosion, Exhaustion, and Pollution
    4. Plant Resources: Timber and Non-Timber Forest Products
    5. Ecosystem Management and Forest Conservation
    6. Forest Resources: Global Usage Patterns
    7. Issues Arising from Deforestation