Energy and Resources

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

About the Program

Minor

The Energy and Resources Group (ERG) offers an undergraduate minor in the field of energy and resources. The Minor in Energy and Resources offers under­grad­u­ates the oppor­tu­nity to develop basic knowl­edge and skills to help them address the com­plex and inter­de­pen­dent issues asso­ci­ated with the inter­ac­tion of social, eco­nomic, polit­i­cal, tech­ni­cal, and envi­ron­men­tal fac­tors. Though it is designed pri­mar­ily to com­ple­ment majors in the nat­ural sci­ences and engi­neer­ing, stu­dents in any major with the appro­pri­ate pre­req­ui­sites may pur­sue the ERG Minor.

The Energy and Resources Group is respon­si­ble for mon­i­tor­ing the minor pro­gram and will des­ig­nate one fac­ulty mem­ber as the Under­grad­u­ate Advi­ser. It is the Under­grad­u­ate Advi­ser who will be charged with cer­ti­fy­ing com­ple­tion of the minor. All core fac­ulty mem­bers will par­tic­i­pate in advis­ing stu­dents in the minor, just as they do grad­u­ate students.

Declaring the Minor

  1. Com­plete the “Intent to Declare ERG Minor” and turn in at 310 Bar­rows Hall by the end of the fifth week of classes in the semes­ter in which you begin the upper divi­sion ERG Minor coursework.
  2. Sub­mit the “Peti­tion for ERG Minor” within the last two (2) weeks of instruc­tion in the semes­ter you intend to graduate. 

For aca­d­e­mic infor­ma­tion and advis­ing related to the minor con­sult with ERG’s under­grad­u­ate fac­ulty adviser.

Visit Group Website

Minor Requirements

Students who have a strong interest in an area of study outside their major often decide to complete a minor program. These programs have set requirements and are noted officially on the transcript in the memoranda section, but they are not noted on diplomas.

General Guidelines

  1. All courses taken to fulfill the minor requirements below must be taken for graded credit.

  2. A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 is required for courses used to fulfill the minor requirements.

  3. No more than one upper-division course may be used to simultaneously fulfill requirements for a student's major and minor programs.

Requirements

Lower-division (Six courses)
Select one Math sequence from the following:
Calculus
   and Calculus
Analytic Geometry and Calculus
   and Analytic Geometry and Calculus
Select one Physics sequence from the following:
Physics for Scientists and Engineers
   and Physics for Scientists and Engineers
Introductory Physics
   and Introductory Physics
CHEM 1AGeneral Chemistry3-4
or CHEM 4A General Chemistry and Quantitative Analysis
BIOLOGY 1BGeneral Biology Lecture and Laboratory4
or BIOLOGY 11 Course Not Available
Upper-division (Five courses)
ENE,RES C100Energy and Society4
ENE,RES 102Quantitative Aspects of Global Environmental Problems4
Select three upper-division electives, approved by the ERG faculty (see below)
At least one course must be in the social sciences
At least one course must be in the natural sciences or engineering

Electives

The choice of electives should be made with two goals in mind: exploring the range of approaches available to address energy and resource issues and complementing the student's major. The latter can be achieved by adding relevant depth in closely related areas or by exploring methods and approaches that contrast with the tools and knowledge base employed in the major. Students are encouraged to discuss their program with the ERG faculty.

The following courses have been approved, but students should contact the faculty to request approval of alternate courses.

Social Science Electives
ECON/ENVECON C102Natural Resource Economics4
ECON C171/ENVECON C151Economic Development4
ENE,RES 175Water and Development4
ENE,RES C180Ecological Economics in Historical Context3
ENE,RES 273Research Methods in Social Sciences3
ESPM 102DClimate and Energy Policy4
ESPM 155Sociology and Political Ecology of Agro-Food Systems4
ESPM 160ACAmerican Environmental and Cultural History4
ESPM 161Environmental Philosophy and Ethics4
ESPM 168Political Ecology4
ESPM 169International Environmental Politics4
Natural Science and Engineering Electives
CIV ENG 103Introduction to Hydrology3
CIV ENG 107Climate Change Mitigation3
CIV ENG 111Environmental Engineering3
CIV ENG 114Environmental Microbiology3
CIV ENG 115Water Chemistry3
ENE,RES 101Ecology and Society3
EPS 105Course Not Available
EPS 117Geomorphology4
EPS/ESPM C129Biometeorology3
EPS/ESPM C180Air Pollution3
ESPM 111Ecosystem Ecology4
ESPM 112Microbial Ecology3
ESPM 120Soil Characteristics3
ESPM 131Soil Microbial Ecology3
ESPM 140General Entomology4
ESPM 143Course Not Available
INTEGBI 106APhysical and Chemical Environment of the Ocean4
INTEGBI 152Environmental Toxicology4
INTEGBI 153Ecology3
INTEGBI 157LFEcosystems of California4
Other Electives
CY PLAN 119Planning for Sustainability3
ENE,RES 170Environmental Classics3
ENE,RES 190Seminar in Energy, Environment, Development and Security Issues3
ENE,RES 198Directed Group Studies for Advanced Undergraduates1-4
ENE,RES 199Supervised Independent Study and Research1-4
EPS 170ACCrossroads of Earth Resources and Society4
ENV SCI 125Environments of the San Francisco Bay Area3
ESPM 118Agricultural Ecology3
ESPM C130/GEOG C136Terrestrial Hydrology4
L & S 170ACCrossroads of Earth Resources and Society4

Courses

Energy and Resources

ENE,RES 24 Freshman Seminar 1 Unit

The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small-seminar setting. Freshman Seminars are offered in all campus departments, and topics may vary from department to department and semester to semester.

ENE,RES 98 Directed Group Study for Lower Division Students 1 - 4 Units

Lectures and small group discussions focusing on topics of interest that vary from semester to semester.

ENE,RES 99 Supervised Independent Studies for Freshmen and Sophomores 1 - 4 Units

Supervised research on specific topics related to energy and resources.

ENE,RES C100 Energy and Society 4 Units

Energy sources, uses, and impacts: an introduction to the technology, politics, economics, and environmental effects of energy in contemporary society. Energy and well-being; energy in international perspective, origins, and character of energy crisis.

ENE,RES 101 Ecology and Society 3 Units

This course introduces students to the many ways in which our lives are intertwined with the ecosystems around us. Topics will include ecological limits to growth, climate change and other threats to biodiversity, the value of ecosystem goods and services, the ecology of disease, ecotoxicology, the evolution of cooperation in ecosystems, industrial ecology, and the epistemology of ecology. Offered alternate years.

ENE,RES 102 Quantitative Aspects of Global Environmental Problems 4 Units

Human disruption of biogeochemical and hydrological cycles; causes and consequences of climate change and acid deposition; transport and health impacts of pollutants; loss of species; radioactivity in the environment; epidemics.

ENE,RES 170 Environmental Classics 3 Units

Motivation: What is the history and evolution of environmental thinking and writing? How have certain "environmental classics" shaped the way in which we think about nature, society, and development? This course will use a selection of 20th-century books and papers that have had a major impact on academic and wider public thinking about the environment and development to probe these issues. The selection includes works and commentaries related to these works that have influenced environmental politics and policy in the U.S. as well as in the developing world. Through the classics and their critiques, reviews, and commentaries, the class will explore the evolution of thought on these transforming ideas.

ENE,RES 175 Water and Development 4 Units

This course introduces students to water policy in developing countries. It is a course motivated by the fact that over one billion people in developing countries have no access to safe drinking water, three billion do not have sanitation facilities, and many millions of small farmers do not have reliable water supplies to ensure a healthy crop. Readings and discussions will cover: the problems of water access and use in developing countries; the potential for technological, social, and economic solutions to these problems; the role of institutions in access to water and sanitation; and the pitfalls of the assumptions behind some of today's popular "solutions."

ENE,RES C180 Ecological Economics in Historical Context 3 Units

Economists through history have explored economic and environmental interactions, physical limits to growth, what constitutes the good life, and how economic justice can be assured. Yet economists continue to use measures and models that simplify these issues and promote bad outcomes. Ecological economics responds to this tension between the desire for simplicity and the multiple perspectives needed to understand complexity in order to move toward sustainable, fulfilling, just economies.

ENE,RES 190 Seminar in Energy, Environment, Development and Security Issues 3 Units

Critical, cross disciplinary analysis of specific issues or general problems of how people interact with environmental and resource systems. More than one section may be given each semester on different topics depending on faculty and student interest.

ENE,RES 198 Directed Group Studies for Advanced Undergraduates 1 - 4 Units

Group studies of selected topics.

ENE,RES 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Individual conferences.

Faculty

Professors

John Harte, Professor. Climate change, mathematical modeling, global change, theoretical ecology, environmental policy, biodiversity, environmental science, biogeochemistry, energy, field manipulation experiments, study of patterns in nature.
Research Profile

Daniel M. Kammen, Professor. Public policy, nuclear engineering, energy, resources, risk analysis as applied to global warming, methodological studies of forecasting, hazard assessment, renewable energy technologies, environmental resource management.
Research Profile

Associate Professors

Isha Ray, Associate Professor. Energy, resources, politics and economics of water, on-farm water use, common property resource management, transnational river conflicts, access to water for the rural and urban poor developing countries, non-profit sector, sustainable rural development.
Research Profile

Assistant Professors

David Anthoff, Assistant Professor.

Duncan Callaway, Assistant Professor. Modeling and control of aggregated storage devices, power management, and system analysis of energy technologies and their impact.
Research Profile

Adjunct Faculty

Margaret S Torn, Adjunct Faculty.

Contact Information

Energy and Resources Group

310 Barrows Hall

Phone: 510-642-1640

Fax: 510-642-1085

ergdeskb@berkeley.edu

Visit Group Website

Group Chair

Harrison Fraker, MFA (Department of Architecture)

fraker@berkeley.edu

Head Minor Adviser

John Harte, PhD

310 Barrows Hall

jharte@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Academic Adviser

Carina Galicia

260 Mulford Hall

Phone: 510-643-9479

ccgalicia@berkeley.edu

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