Syllabus for |
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VMI041 - Environmental and resource analysis for sustainable devel
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| Syllabus adopted 2012-02-20 by Head of Programme (or corresponding) |
| Owner: TKVOV |
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7,5 Credits |
| Grading: TH - Five, Four, Three, Not passed |
| Education cycle: First-cycle |
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Major subject: Civil and Environmental Engineering
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Department: 47 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
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Teaching language: Swedish
Block schedule:
LA
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Credit distribution |
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Examination dates |
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Sp1 |
Sp2 |
Sp3 |
Sp4 |
Summer course |
No Sp |
| 0105 |
Examination |
4,5 c |
Grading: TH |
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4,5 c
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14 Mar 2014 pm V
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24 Apr 2014 pm V, |
20 Aug 2014 am V |
| 0205 |
Project |
3,0 c |
Grading: UG |
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3,0 c
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In programs
TKVOV CIVIL ENGINEERING, Year 1 (compulsory)
Examiner:
Univ lektor
Ulrika Palme
Replaces
VMI040
Environmental technology VTM035
Environmental technology
Course evaluation:
http://document.chalmers.se/doc/a3393dbe-3ab8-4345-8bca-ca6380249541
Theme:
Environment 7,5 hec
Go to Course Homepage
Eligibility:
For single subject courses within Chalmers programmes the same eligibility requirements apply, as to the programme(s) that the course is part of.
Course specific prerequisites
Basic courses from the civil engineering programme in physics and geology or equivalent. Knowledge about technical applications within the civil engineering domain from the first year of the programme or equivalent knowledge from a different technology area is recommended. Some knowledge about literature search in databases and in the international scientific literature will take place through coordination with the XBI030 Information Literacy V.
Aim
The course wants to show how the professional activities of civil engineers influence the environment and natural resource management and how the connections between societal activities and known environmental problems can be described by different cause-effect chains. The concept of "sustainable development" will also be introduced.
Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
- apply earlier, and during the course, acquired knowledge in order to understand and interpret changes perceived as environmental problems. - describe cause-effect chains of some known environmental problems, e.g. eutophication, acidification and global warming both regarding environmental processes and societal causes. - make basic analyses of environmnetal impact using environmnetal systems analysis tools and models such as life cycle thinking, DPSIR and I=PAT, - describe strategies and technical solutions for mitigation of effects from various activities, with a specific focus on the professional field of civil engineers, and express their own opinion of sustainable development and their role in this, in private as well as professionally. Furthermore, after the course the students should be able to - describe, analyse, compare and discuss environmental impact of technical systems, - independently and critically retrieve information and, in the sustainable development context, critically examine texts and express their points of view on complex issues.
Content
The course introduces basic concepts for describing and analyzing environmental problems and gives a brief overview of principles and tools for environmental assessments from the perspective of systems analysis. The relations between environmental impacts, population, affluence and technology underpining the analysis are described. Furthermore is an indicator system (DPSIR), with specific focus on environmental problems, introduced. A general overview of known environmental problems together with Swedish national environmental goals are covered in the course. Fundamental chemical/physical/ecological concepts needed for the environmental assessment of human activites are also covered (fate/transformation of contaminants/pollutants, environmetnal effects in soil/water/air/ecosystems, ecotoxicology etc). The concept of "sustainable development", together with some associated aspects are also introduced.
Organisation
The teaching in the first part of the course is in form of lectures and subsequent group excercises. In the second part a project is performed in which different technical systems are assessed with regrad to environment and sutainable development. The project is performed in group, supervised by teachers from Environmental Systems Analysis, and results in a PowePoint presentation and accompanying manusript.
Literature
"Hållbar utveckling - en introduktion för ingenjörer och andra problemlösare" by Fredrik Gröndahl and Magdalena Svanström, plus a compendium with exercises for the course. Both are sold at Cremona.
Examination
Examination is both as an ordinary individual written exam (4,5 hec, course moment 0105), and as a written group report, an oral group presentation and as an oral opposition (3,0 hec, course moment 0205).