Course Syllabus

Spring 2026 | ENV-1230-VU01 - Current Environmental Issues

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Fred Kosnitsky
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jen Guarino

General Education Requirements

Natural Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course investigates the science that underpins environmental issues. It also analyzes these issues from a variety of different perspectives, including the legal, ethical, political, sociological, and economic considerations that combine to shape our understanding of environmental issues and their possible solutions.

Essential Objectives

1. Examine the scientific research behind environmental issues.
2. Investigate environmental and natural resource management issues on the regional, national, and global scale as they relate to forestry, mining, wildlife, and recreation.
3. Examine the relationship between the scientific study of environmental issues and the creation and enforcement of environmental policy and regulation.
4. Examine the division of jurisdiction and environmental management responsibility between federal, state, and local government.
5. Discuss current environmental issues from the lens of sociocultural perspectives, ethical influences, and racial disparities.
6. Evaluate the impacts of emerging technologies in addressing environmental issues and assess their potential for promoting sustainable practices.
7. Analyze how politics and economics influence the ways that environmental problems develop and how we respond to environmental issues.
8. Analyze the accuracy with which environmental issues are reported in a variety of sources and discuss why widely different perspectives on the same environmental issues are reported.
9. Discuss the origins of national environmental laws and evaluate the processes that create international treaties (including The Clean Air and Water Acts, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, The Paris Accord, and The Kyoto and Montreal Protocols).
10. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, applying, and evaluating the accuracy of data and information sources, and extrapolating quantitative data.
11. Explain how knowledge created in the natural sciences has contributed to the creation, maintenance and dismantling of social inequalities and discuss the impacts of diversity and inclusion on scientific research and practice.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

*** This is a low cost ($50 or less) textbook or resource class. ***

This course uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Spring 2026 textbook/book details will be available on 2025-12-01. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

ENV-1230-VU01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

For Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

Methods

In this course we will have a variety of in-class methods:

* lectures

* small group discussions

* videos

* debates

* guest speakers

*student presentations

Outside-of-class methods include:

* assigned readings in the textbook and selected outside readings

* assigned videos

* weekly written assignments

* final research paper and presentation

Evaluation Criteria

Students will be evaluated based upon:

* participation in class discussions, debates, and responding to lectures and guest speakers - 10%

* quality of weekly written assignments - 70%

* quality of finalo research paper and presentation - 20%

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Students are expected to be fully present when attending the class. This means being attentive, asking questions, answering questions, and being curious.

Both you and all your classmatres benefit when everyone adds their voices and perspectives.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Assignments are expected to be submitted by the due date unless I give permission to be late. Students must request extra time before an assignment is due.

Late assignments will lose 2% for each day late unless given permission by the instructor

Missing work will get a 0 for that work until it is submitted.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

Apply Now for this semester.