ECTS
ECTS Course Catalogue
Course details
Course code: OŹES10029o15Semester: 2015/2016 summer
Name: Sozology
Major: Renewable Energy and Waste Management
Study Type: first cycle
Course type: compulsory
Study Semester: 4
ECTS points: 2
Hours (Lectures / Tutorials / Other): 15 / 15 / 0
Lecturer: dr Magdalena Dębicka
Language of instruction: Polish
Learning outcomes: Knowledge: A student has an elementary knowledge of the risks to the environment and its protection; knows the relationships between various elements of the environment and human activities. Student knows the basics of the methods of the air, water and soil protection, of the nature conservation and rational management of wastes. A student has an elementary knowledge of Poland’s and the world’s water resources, the water cycle, population needs for water and the causes of its deficit, as well as the protection against pollution. Skills: A student is able to obtain information from literature, databases and other sources, to integrate the information, interpret it, as well as draw conclusions and formulate and justify their own opinions. A student is able to assess the technical solutions and analyze the factors affecting the health of humans and animals, and the condition of the environment
Competences: A student is aware of the responsibility for their own work and for working in a team and being responsible for collaborative tasks. A student is able to determine the priorities leading to an accomplishment of the goals set by themselves or their superiors
Prerequisites: Basics of chemistry
Course content: Sozology – explanation of the term, sozology as a science based on selected sozological concepts. The main problems and issues as viewed by the systematic conception of sozology. Environment as a coherent whole. Functions of the environment and its usage. Natural resources. Relations "man–environment", anthropogenic impact on environment. Anthropopressure in the natural environment. Physical threats to the environment. Biological pollution: sources and implications for human health. Chemical pollution of the environment – the sources of emissions, migration and transformation in the environment and effects on living organisms. Cross-border transmission of the air pollutants. Earth's atmosphere and its dangers: the construction and composition of atmosphere, the most serious problems of the air pollution (smog, acid rain, ozone depletion, the greenhouse effect): causes, mechanisms of formation, reaction. International cooperation in the field of climate protection and the protection of the ozone layer. Water resources (worldwide, in Europe, in Poland). Demand for water. Water deficit and its effects. Water quality assessment – chemical, physical, chemical and biological indicators. Water quality for human consumption and the classification of the surface water quality. The current status of water quality in Poland. The main sources of water pollution. Eutrophication (causes, effects, the process, methods of prevention). The process of self-purification of water. Sewage treatment stages. Sludge and deposits as examples of biological wastewater treatment. Management of the sewage sludge. The use of wastewater and sewage sludge in agriculture – conditions, favorable and unfavorable aspects. Soils, their meaning and pollution. The demand for food, hunger and food overproduction. Forms of degradation and soil degradation. Chemical contamination of the environment and crops. Soil protection and reclamation of degraded areas. Solid wastes and their management. Types of waste. General characteristics of industrial and municipal waste. Methods of disposal of waste. Functioning of the biosphere as a multi-ecosystem structure. Features of the ecosystem: matter and energy flow, trophic structure, competition, the environment and food – interactions between species, a dynamic equilibrium. Interactions between ecosystems. Causes of disturbing the balance dynamic and the role of anthropogenic impact. Biodiversity. Protection of nature. Protected areas: national and landscape parks, nature reserves. The Nature 2000 network. Protection of species of plants and animals. The concept of sustainable development – assumptions, laws and the basic principles and elements of sustainable development.
Recommended literature: Alloway B. J. 1999. Chemiczne podstawy zanieczyszczenia środowiska. PWN, Warszawa. Bieszczad S., Sobota J. (red.), 2000. Zagrożenia, ochrona i kształtowanie środowiska. AR, Wrocław. Dobrzański G., Dobrzańska B., Kiełczowski D., 2008. Ochrona środowiska przyrodniczego. Wyd. Nauk. PWN. Kozłowski S., 2000. Ekorozwój. Wyzwanie XXI wieku. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa. Pullin A. S., 2007. Biologiczne podstawy ochrony przyrody. PWN, Warszawa. Symonides E. 2008. Ochrona przyrody. Wyd. Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, Warszawa.
Assessment methods: The course: Quiz based on lectures and classes (60%). Classes: Attendance and reports from the progress of classes.
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