In this course, we will apply science to understand some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity: global climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and sustainable agriculture. We will engage in environmental science as an interdisciplinary enterprise connecting concepts from ecology, geology, chemistry, hydrology, soil science, physics, and meteorology. Students will work using the methods of environmental scientists, learning how to investigate, monitor and remediate environmental problems, as well as realizing how science interacts with society. The ethics of different scientific and technological approaches to solving environmental problems will be considered. Field trips and laboratory work are an integral part of accomplishing the goals of the course. Our work will explore themes of environmental justice, critical zone science, and sustainability which will strongly link this class to the other two introductory courses for the Environmental Studies Program. (1) Lecture: 3 hrs/wk; Laboratory: 3 hrs/wk.