Environmental Sustainability in Practice module (EV41006)

A critical look into what sustainability does mean, could mean, and should mean. You will also look at how it is applied in environmental management today

Credits

Module code

EV41006

Sustainability refers to resource management practices that avoid compromising future generation's interests. Public bodies, companies and individuals are all concerned with sustainability. There are however obstacles to achieving it.

You will explore the challenges and opportunities regarding sustainability. This will allow you to prepare for an environmental career.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

develop critical thinking abilities in relation to the sustainable use of water resources. You will focus particularly on hydro power development
develop a knowledge of hydro power development, balancing generation interests with environmental protection
allow the contested nature of sustainability to be appreciated
prepare for a career in the environment and resource management sectors. This means you will adopt a critical approach to understanding major areas of applied environmental activity. You will also learn how research can help.

By the end of this module you will be able to:

understand key concepts of catchment definition and characterisation
understand physical principles behind the generation of hydro energy
assess the water resource of a catchment for the purposes of an abstraction licence application
appreciate wider aspects of water resources development. This will include conflicting interests such as nature conservation
understand the need for integrity in determining resource potential. This will be linked to ethical issues relating to false assessments, investor and the environmental implications (allocation of risks)
know about the main models of hydro development:
- run of river
- storage
- flow diversions
- public
- commercial
- community ownership models
derive a catchment/estimate the flow at a given point of a stream
give a good estimate of possible energy production from a scheme
evaluate the economic viability of a scheme and recommend the best set-up
assess the significance of uncertain estimates of catchment characteristics. These include characteristics such as area, rainfall, and evaporation
find and make use of relevant environmental regulations