You will find a form in the content section, which you should print out and used to record this information for each resource, to assist you in your studies. Because everyone living in industrialized society is involved in the use of mineral and energy resources, the relationships between individuals and the pros and cons of resource are emphasized.įor each of the mineral resources covered in the class, we will consider the use of the resource in modern society, the mode of formation of the mineral deposits, important deposits of that resource, the most important countries producing that resource, environmental and economic issues associated with the resource, and mining technologies used to extract the resource. There are positive and negative aspects to the extraction and use of every resource, and a central emphasis of the course is to consider the uses of each resource together with the associated political, economic and environmental issues, rather than treating each of those topics separately. All of these scenarios play out in diverse ways in different countries with differing legal systems and cultural norms. The impacts of resource extraction and use create political and scientific challenges as solutions to environmental problems are sought and political efforts are waged to implement those solutions. Their global distribution creates political and economic challenges including the formation of cartels, the support of oppressive regimes by resource companies, and the prosecution of wars which have changed the course of history on the largest scales. The geology of the resources creates technical and engineering challenges in their extraction, processing and refining. Understanding the use of earth resources and their impacts on society and the environment also requires an understanding of their interdisciplinary dimensions. Ownership, exploitation and scarcity of resources create tensions among nations, between the interests of corporations and individuals, and between the interests of development and conservation. The use and impacts of earth resources are intrinsically global in scope and involve complex interrelationships among nations, government agencies, corporations, individuals and the local and global environment. Discussion of each resource will include an overview of how the resources form geologically, what each resource is used for, which nations are the major resource holders and producers and which nations are most dependent on imports. Nevertheless, the demand and markets for these resources are global, and conflict over resources has often shaped the course of human events and will continue to do so. Mineral and nonrenewable energy resources have been produced by geologic processes acting over much of Earth’s history-consequently, they are erratically distributed over the Earth, and many resources are concentrated heavily in a small number of countries. During class discussion, they will be expected not just to summarise, but also critically evaluate the essential reading and attempt to uncover all possible shades of an argument.GEO 3510 Earth Resources is a Global Learning Foundations course and fulfills the Physical Sciences requirement for the University Core Curriculum when taken with the accompanying lab (GEO 3510L). Students are requested to familiarize themselves with the introductory reading before the lecture and follow up with the specified essential and suggested readings. Each sub-unit has a background reading that offers a basic introduction to the topic.
The course has four units which are further divided into sub-units. We hope that this course will be a learning experience to nudge students to think creatively and critically. Although the course content is largely theoretical, we will refer to historical and contemporary developments as illustrative examples. It will also introduce them to key interdisciplinary conversations between IR and other disciplines such as history, philosophy and sociology. This foundation course on International Relations (IR) theory will familiarise students with some of the major debates within the discipline.