Water Sustainability in the Western U.S.


Colorado Water Center Courses at CSU
GES120 | Water Sustainability in the Western U.S.

The Colorado Water Center and the School of Global and Environmental Sustainability are pleased to offer GES120 as a regular course each fall semester. This offering provides a multi-disciplinary overview of the issues surrounding the biggest challenges to the sustainability of life in the West. Students from all disciplines are welcome. The only prerequisite is an interest in learning about this critical resource that has defined this part of the world and will shape its future.

Topics Include:

  • The role that water plays in supporting human populations, agriculture, and wildlife
  • The history of water development in the West
  • The processes that govern water allocation
  • How infrastructure allows water to be moved and used
  • Challenges to the sustainability of water resources
  • Population growth, climate change, and other impacts on water quality

Course Instructor:
John Tracy | Director
Colorado Water Center
John.Tracy@colostate.edu

Course Description:
Water and the sustainability of its use in the West. Historical perspectives on the development of water resources in the West. Exploration of the issues involved in meeting the needs for water by people, agriculture and wildlife. Impacts of important human and natural influences on the use and sustainability of water supplies in the West.

Credit Hours: 3
Schedule: Fall Only
Location: On Campus
CRN: 72070

View all of the Global Environmental Sustainability (GES) courses in the Course Catalog.

“Water, water, water...there is no shortage of water in the desert but exactly the right amount, a perfect ratio of water to rock, water to sand, insuring that wide free open, generous spacing among plants and animals, homes and towns and cities, which makes the arid West so different from any other part of the nation.” - Edward Abbey River