Course: EM1 Environmental Management
The entire course includes all courses listed on this page
Pricing
Entire course series: $450.00
EM1A Development of Environmental Concerns
The previous millennium change on this planet took place under very different conditions from those
found at the end of the 20th century. Events over the last couple of decades of the 20th century have
accelerated a steadily growing concern for the environment.
Fundamental changes, to do with our relationship to the environment, are occurring throughout the world
in order to cope with some serious environmental problems. Even as we struggle with the traditional
environmental problems, new ones continue to emerge.
In moving forward to address current and anticipated environmental problems, it is important for students
to develop a background understanding of the scope and structure of the environment and environmental
resources, basic concepts and principles of environmental management, interactions and linkages between
human activities and the environment, and concepts of sustainable development.
EM1B Understanding Ecological Concepts and Principles
The subject of ecology might not strike members of the business community, workers, and providers of
goods and services as being of immediate relevance to their concerns about the environment, but this
Module assumes that such a view is far from appropriate. It is important for students to have some understanding
of the way in which nature works in order to understand the impacts human activities, such as development
and industrial processes, can have on the environment.
The lack of basic ecological knowledge and understanding means that many people are not very well equipped
to make decisions about activities that have environmental impacts. Most often, they simply don’t understand
what impacts their decisions might have on the environment and what alternatives exist that might have
less severe environmental consequences.
This course is intended to provide students with at least a rudimentary understanding of the way in
which nature works and acquaint them with some basic concepts and principles of ecology that might help
in understanding the nature of environmental problems and what can and can’t be done about them.
EM1C Major Environmental Problems
In moving forward to address current and anticipated environmental problems, it is important for students
to develop an understanding of linkages between human activities and the environment – the cause and
effect relationships - and to have a background context to appreciate where we have reached, at the
dawn of the 21st century, as users and custodians of the environmental goods and services provided by
our planet.
This course provides the student with a background perspective to environmental changes with respect
to social and economic factors, it describes the main drivers of environmental change, and it provides
an overview of the main dangers and opportunities presented by the beginning of the 21st century. An
overview of the current state of the environment is also provided, beginning with some issues that are
of global significance for the environment, and continuing with a synthesis of the prominent sectoral
and regional environmental issues.
As seen in earlier courses, the environmental systems of Earth are interconnected through various linkages
and cycles. As such, pollution of different environmental media is also connected in some way.
Some types of pollution (e.g., air and water pollution) are obvious, leaving a visible imprint on the
environment, while others such as noise can be very subtle in their expression. In this Module, forms
of pollution that are commonly encountered and dealt with - air pollution, noise pollution, and water
pollution - are considered.
We all live in the medium of air and breathe air from a shared global atmospheric commons. Air pollution
anywhere is a potential threat elsewhere, and in some cases everywhere.
Air pollution and water pollution are connected, and both are related to natural events and human activities.
Solving water pollution must be integrated with strategies for solving air pollution. Otherwise we will
continue to shift potential pollutants from one part of the environment to another until threshold levels
of damage are exceeded as more people produce more wastes.
This course is intended to provide basic and relevant information on common types of pollution, and
to answer fundamental questions such as:
- What is pollution?
- What are air, noise, and water pollutants?
- What are the sources of pollution?
- What are the effects of pollution?
- How can we prevent, reduce, and control pollution?.
EM1E Hazards, Fate and Effects of Pollutants
People and the environment are exposed to numerous hazards, of various types, on a continual basis.
Some are natural in origin, but the vast majority is associated with human activities.
Of the various types of hazards, chemical hazards are the most prevalent. Toxic chemicals, including
pesticides and various hazardous wastes, are of particular concern due to the widespread use of chemicals,
and manufacture of synthetic chemicals, since the late 19th century.
The hundreds of thousands of unnatural chemicals are regarded as a potential threat to humanity and
its living environment. Once these chemicals are introduced into the environment, it is important to
be able to evaluate their potential environmental fate, mode of exposure, and potential adverse effects.
This course is intended to provide basic and relevant information on common hazards associated with
different types of pollutants, usage and fate of some chemicals in the environment, the relationship
of physico-chemical properties to fate, persistence of chemicals in the environment and their partitioning
in different media compartment and biota, and toxicological and epidemiological characteristics related
to physico-chemical properties. The student should realize that a comprehensive and systematic study
of the fate of pollutants in the environment requires integration of diverse disciplines including soil
science, chemistry, physics, biology, geology, and hydrogeology.
In this course we will seek to answer fundamental questions such as:
- What types of hazards are people and the environment exposed to?
- What is the nature of toxic chemicals?
- What are the mechanisms of toxicity?
- What are the sources of toxic chemicals?
- What are common pesticides and how can we deal with them?
- What is hazardous waste and how can we deal with it?
- How are pollutants dispersed and are some of the determinants of their environmental fate?
- What are the effects of pollutants?
This course prepares the learner for EM2 by providing an overview of four environmental management processes with application to many business operations: waste (hazardous) management processes, stormwater management, wastewater treatment systems, and air emission controls. The sections include discussion on applicable management (e.g., control, treatment, disposal) technologies in terms of their function, processes, structural components, aspects of systems design, operations, and maintenance, and best management practices.