Critical examination of contemporary environmental crises requires deep immersion in key fields of environmental science that illuminate how societal processes have transformed the earth system. This course considers the genealogy of environmental problems in the modern world with reference to, among other core issues, the role of global land-use change, fossil energy, and waste production in climate change, biodiversity loss, water and soil contamination, and infectious disease transmission. The course introduces students to the major elements of earth system science and the study of global land-use change, with particular attention to key theoretical paradigms, methodological approaches, and forms of environmental and spatial data. Students will also gain familiarity with key fields of earth systems research such as the carbon cycle, hydrological processes; the physics and chemistry of the oceans and the atmosphere; the histories and geographies of carbon emissions; and planetary boundaries.