Introductory description

The requirement to provide food and other land-based products for an expanding global population, while protecting the resources (land, water, air) that underpin its production, has forced governments and policymakers to address the environmental impact of land use. The conflicting need to provide food, fibre and fuel can result in unintended consequences in terms of resource use, greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. These problems, and possible solutions, are best understood by quantifying the environmental impact of production.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

• Examine the environmental burdens of land use (greenhouse gases, pesticides etc). Examine competing land use issues
• Examine and critique the different environmental accounting methods
  o Life cycle assessment (LCA)
  o Footprinting (ecological, water and carbon)
• Appreciate, identify and discuss relevant methodologies
  o Understand how different approaches can be used in different circumstances
  o Methods for using data inventories in LCA and footprinting
  o Construct a life cycle assessment
  o Construct a carbon and water footprint
• The presentation and interpretation of LCA and footprint results
  o Compare results from food, fibre and fuel production systems
  o Make recommendations on suitable approaches
• Special case. For example, Use all the different approaches to examine one crop production system to reveal how the approach may influence the results and interpreatation. Understand how different stakeholder groups use different approaches to promote their own point of view; conventional versus organic production, or the use of advanced breeding technologies.
• Examples will be presented, often as case studies for class discussion. Examples will be topical, but might include evaluation of the case for increasing temperate arable farming for bioenergy crops; the balance of tropical forestry against soy bean farming; discussion of sources of soil pollution and the effects on soil and water quality; the impacts and values of monitoring, regulation and mitigation.
• Examine how the environmental burdens associated with land use can be reduced

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• To understand the context in which environmental accounting operates, i.e. the requirement to reduce resource use and negative environmental impacts.
• To develop, analyse and communicate solutions to limit society’s resource use and environmental burden.
• To appreciate the complexity and trade-offs that exist between societal requirements, resource use, environmental impact and sustainable development.
• To describe, produce and evaluate different forms of environmental accounts.
• To develop the skills to critically interpret the accounts of others.

Indicative reading list

• Wackernagel & Rees. (1996). Our ecological footprint – Reducing human impact on the earth. New Society Publishers, Gabriola, BC, Canada.
• Chambers, Simmons & Wackernagel. (2000). Sharing natures interest – Ecological footprints as an indicator of sustainability. Earthscan, London.
• Hecht. (2005). National environmental accounting: Bridging the gap between ecology and economy. Resources for the Future,
• Hendrickson. (2006). Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Goods and Services: An Input-output Approach. John Hopkins University Press

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

To understand the context in which environmental accounting operates, i.e. the requirement to reduce resource use and negative environmental impacts
To appreciate the complexity and trade-offs that exist between societal requirements, resource use, environmental impact and sustainable development
To describe, produce and evaluate different forms of environmental accounts

Transferable skills

To develop the skills to critically interpret the accounts of others
To develop, analyse and communicate solutions to limit society’s resource use and environmental burden