Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What counts as Field Experience?
Answer: Internships, independent research, environmentally oriented trips, summer courses abroad, SURE program
Question: How do I get the Field Experience to count for the major?
Answer: Complete the Field Experience Form and return to the Director of the Environmental Science Program. You are strongly encouraged to have your idea approved before beginning your experience.
Question: What can I do with an Environmental Science Degree?
Answer: Lots of things! Check out the Internships and Jobs page and Contact Successful Students. Also, ask the Director of the Environmental Science Program to add you to the listserve so that you receive current job announcements.
Question: What elective should I choose for my track and how can I get it approved?
Answer: Look at offerings in other tracks or find special topics courses that are about environmental topics. If in doubt, be sure to check with your advisor and the Director of the ES Program to be sure that it will count toward your requirements.
Question: What track is right for me?
Answer: It depends on your interests. Talk with your advisor, other students, or faculty teaching in the program to learn more about track-specific opportunities.
Question: What are some good environmental books to read?
Answer:
Intelligent Courage
Fraidenburg, Michael E. 2007. Intelligent Courage: Natural Resource Careers that Make a Difference. Krieger Publishing.
ECO Guide to Careers
Environmental Careers Organization.
2004. The ECO Guide to Careers that Make a Difference. Island Press.
World Changing
Steffen, Alex (editor). 2007. World Changing: A User's Guide to the 21st Century. Abrams, New York. Contains much useful information about a wide array of environmental topics.
Waste and Want
Strasser, Susan. 1999. Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash. Owl Books, New York. An interesting analysis of what gets thrown away and what that says about our culture.
Nature's Economy
Worster, Donald. 1994. Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas. Cambridge University Press, New York.
What it claims...a history of the development of ecological ideas.
Nature's Services
Daily, Gretchen. 1997. Nature's Services: Societal Dependence on Natural Ecosystems. Island Press, Washington DC.
Illustrates the importance of nature for meeting many of the basic human needs. An attempt to make conservation appealing to different groups
Economy of Nature
Daily, Gretchen and Katherine Ellison. 2002. The New Economy of Nature: A Quest to Make Conservation Profitable. Island Press, Washington.
A really wonderful and inspirational book that highlights success stories in conservation.
Silent Spring
Carson, Rachel. 1962. Silent Spring. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
A classic. Marks the beginning of the environmental era.
Ecology, Economics, Ethics
Bormann, F. Herbert and Stephen R. Kellert (eds). 1991. Ecology, Economics, and Ethics: The Broken Circle. Yale University Press, New Haven.
A series of essays that link 3 traditionally separate disciplines to address environmental concerns.
Confessions of an Eco-Warrior
Foreman, Dave. 1991. Confessions of an Eco-Warrior. Crown Trade Paperbacks, New York.
Foreman is a cofounder of Earth First!, a radical environmental group. An inspiring and at times entertaining plea for the environment by a controversial environmental activist.
The Dust Bowl
Worster, Donald. 1979. Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s. Oxford University Press, New York.
This really great book examines the causes and consequences of the 1930s dust storms resulting from severe drought and severe agricultural practices.