Course Catalogue

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This course provides an introduction to sustainability, environmental engineering and impact assessment. It considers how we move towards more sustainable development, particularly in terms of two "at risk" resources: energy and water, and considers how we assess the impact of civil engineering developments on the environment.

2 lectures per week

Mandatory Entry Requirements

None

Recommended Entry Requirements

None

None

None

Assessment

50% Examination

50% Coursework - case study reports and a more significant project

Reassessment

In accordance with the University's Code of Assessment reassessments are normally set for all courses which do not contribute to the honours classifications. For non honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students, and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions are listed below in this box.

The aims of this course are to:

■ provide an introduction to sustainability;

■ explore the opportunities and challenges of achieving more sustainable development, particularly of energy and water resources;

■ develop students' knowledge of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and how to carry out successful assessments;

■ develop communication and team-working skills;

■ enhance problem-solving skills.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ list and explain the UK government's guiding principles for sustainable development;

■ articulate the arguments for and against the continued use of carbon-based energy sources;

■ describe the greenhouse effect and list evidence to support the consensus that anthropogenic pollution has accelerated global warming;

■ calculate the per capita energy that could be produced by wind turbines for a country;

■ calculate the per capita energy that could be produced from waves and by tidal turbines and barrages for a country;

■ calculate the per capita energy that could be produced by solar panels for a country;

■ explain the factors that have conspired to create the looming crisis in water and sanitation;

■ explain how disrupting the local-carbon cycle can pollute water courses;

■ calculate the dissolved oxygen deficit in a river as a result of pollution with organic carbon with a given BOD;

■ explain the nitrogen cycle;

■ list and explain the effects of polluting water with nitrogen in the form of ammonia and nitrate;

■ list and explain the steps in an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Students must attend the degree examination and submit at least 75% by weight of the other components of the course's summative assessment.

Students must attend the timetabled laboratory classes.

Students should attend at least 75% of the timetabled classes of the course.

Note that these are minimum requirements: good students will achieve far higher participation/submission rates. Any student who misses an assessment or a significant number of classes because of illness or other good cause should report this by completing a MyCampus absence report.