Environmental Specialty BA

Many students seek to combine the insights of human geography with the strengths of Spatial Information Systems and a deeper grounding in biophysical processes than is offered in the general geography BA program. Through the Environmental Specialty BA, students can choose additional courses in both lower and upper division levels that explore the dynamics of water, forests, soils, the atmosphere and climate change at multiple scales. These insights can be combined with human geographical investigations of the political, economic, and cultural dimensions of human/environment relations to trace how natural resources are identified, valued, extracted, processed, transported and accumulated at sites throughout the world in ways that produce both wealth and poverty, environmental protection and degradation, and create inequities along multiple dimensions. In turn, students explore ways to promote social and environmental justice and sustainable futures. The Environmental Specialty is especially relevant to the human and physical dynamics evident in what is called Supernatural British Columbia.