| Dr. Stephen Marvel Office: Ulmer Room 317 Phone: 570-484-2524 e-mail: smarvel@lhup.edu Home Page: http://www.lhup.edu/smarvel Office Hours: M 9-11 W 9-11 Th 8-9 Class Hours: M-W 8-9; MWF 10-11; W 2-4; T 10-12; Th 2-4 |
GENERAL OVERVIEW What do you see in this picture? Is this just a colorful picture of plants and animals or is there some deeper meaning lurking within it? Do you see highly evolved organisms made up of cells integrated into organ systems? Do you see a producer, and a consumer, a predator, and its prey, is this a picture of a food web? Do you see a species whose population is in a genetic bottleneck living in an ecosystem filled with tremendous species diversity? Do you see an endangered plant or an endangered animal living in an endangered ecosystem? Do you see a source of medicinal plants or animals, is there a cure for cancer or AIDS here? Is there a source of food, clothing, minerals, gem stones in this picture and if so, what are the consequences of man acquiring these resources? I ask you again, what do you see in this picture?
The study of environmental science provides answers to questions
such as those posed above, but interestingly, answering such questions usually leads to
more questions. It is important to remember that one must have answers in order to ask
questions! The courses that you take in this department either from me or from others will
provide you with a background to answer as well as ask questions that are important not
only for your future but perhaps for the future of life on this planet. By the way, I'd be
interested to hear from you concerning the questions posed above; send me an e-mail.
One of my goals is to help prepare you to become a responsible citizen, at least from a
biological and environmental perspective. I want this course to affect
your WORLD VIEW. I hope to accomplish this task by providing you with a biological
and environmental
background that can serve as a foundation on which you can make future decisions. Many may
take this statement to mean preserving natural resources, recycling and "saving the
environment" but this goal has a far more reaching implications. Biology plays many
important roles in our daily lives. Having a basic understanding of food webs and the
structure of communities will allow you to evaluate the ramifications of destroying
tropical forests, oil spills, toxic waste and converting prime farm land into malls and
housing developments. Understanding population growth and age structure will help you make
decisions about famine, disease, government policies concerning Medicare, Medicaid, and
Social Security. Biologists are looking for cures to diseases such as AIDS, cancer and
Alzheimer's; all of which affect each of our lives at some level. Understanding the
scientific method will help you to understand how scientists think, why it takes so long
for the USDA to approve new drugs, why animals are used in research - and why animal
research must be controlled. Many diseases are heritable, and understanding
how such afflictions are passed on from one generation to
the next is important in the control of the disease. Having a basic understanding of
genetics also will allow you to evaluate the consequences and implications of genetic
engineering, cloning of humans, the genetic bases of disease, and DNA finger printing.
Biologists also are concerned with many ethical questions concerning their disciplines
(e.g. genetic engineering, the cloning of human beings, birth control) and
understanding these concerns will allow you to make informed decisions concerning these
controversies.
One other thing while I have your attention. Computers play an ever increasing role in our lives and especially in the biological sciences. It is important that you become proficient in many aspects of computer use not just word processing. Much of this proficiency will come as you continue your education but it is important to start now. I hope that this class will add to your computer literacy. There is a wealth of information available on the internet and you will be required to complete assignments using the NET.
In an effort to save paper and other resources I have put most of the
"handouts" that you will need for this course in this web site. Feel free to
download whatever you want. If you want hard copy just use the print command in the tool
bar.
Stephen C. Marvel, Department Biological Sciences, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA 17745 smarvel@.lhup.edu Office Phone: 507-484-2524
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