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Humans, through population growth and anthropogenic changes to natural ecosystems, are endangering the sustainability of their own habitat. Current human activities have the earth on a pathway of unsustainable biological and economic outcomes. The deleterious outcomes which arise from these activities include climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and depletion of natural resources. This course provides an opportunity to learn about these harmful global issues impacting on present generations and the reasons for the continuation and exacerbation of these problems in market based economies.

This course investigates major phenomena threatening planet earth's environment and consequently the progress of industrialisation and the standard of living in both rich and poor countries alike which have arisen through natural resource exploitation. Topics include phenomena such as: climate change, pollution, loss of biological diversity, and depletion of natural resources.

In the first third of the course, human population growth and the demand for and utilisation of resources will be explored as fundamental underlying causes of current issues in sustainability. The basic science behind issues will be introduced and explained.

In the last two thirds of the course, the discussion will turn an investigation of the reasons for the outcomes observed. A public policy approach will be used to investigate how we got to this position and how these challenges can be overcome to correct/change the unsustainable pathways the global environment and economy is heading. This will particularly include examining the market-based economic concepts which explain, in part, why this situation has come about and why it continues on an unsustainable path.