Starting with the spring semester of 2010, students will have a second option for fulfilling their General Education science requirement for non-science majors. The Department of Life Sciences is adding Environmental Biology (BIO 1320) to its offerings. The class will be taught this spring semester by Dr. Stephen Viscidio, professor of biology.
The Environmental Biology class will cover basic concepts in the context of ecosystems and how humans affect these ecosystems. How do the use of fossil fuels and other pollutants affect organisms of one kind or another? Why are certain organisms endangered? Is our behavior causing environmental changes and, if so, how? Students will learn how to use the scientific method to analyze the validity of environmental messages we see in the media every day.
Environmental Biology will fulfill the General Education science requirement for non-science majors. The class will not have a specific Environmental Science lab, but students who choose to take the class can take the regular biology lab which will now include environmental biology concepts. WSSU offers the class MWF at 9 a.m. for this coming semester.
