Environmental Challenges

Most FutureLearn courses run multiple times. Every run of a course has a set start date but you can join it and work through it after it starts. Find out more The course is suitable for anyone with a general interest in nature and environmental decision-making; no previous knowledge or experience is required. If you are working in environmental management, or wish to learn more about it, this course is designed to support you as a professional. By completing all aspects of the course you will have achieved 14 hours of CPD time. You can use the hashtag #FLenvimpact to talk about this course on social media.

Topics Covered

Understand the concept of causal relationships and how climate can determine vegetation type.
Appreciate the difference between the climax concept of vegetation succession and the individualistic concept.
Recognise that biodiversity is not distributed evenly over the Earth, but is clustered into centres of diversity.
Understand that many individual interactions can lead to apparently chaotic fluctuations.
Gain an awareness of the 1/f power function and how it can be used to transform apparently random fluctuations into a straight line.
Introduction to the classic Nicholson’s blow fly experiment that demonstrates density-dependent population dynamics.
Understand that climate-driven events in human history, such as those of the Greenland Vikings and Mexican Mayans, were significantly influenced by social factors.
Recognise that there are established physical relationships in nature such as allometric scaling.
Gain an awareness of relationships between wealth and human social structures including the Pareto wealth distribution and environmental Kuznets curve, and the problems associated with their validity.
Understand the difference between ecocentric and anthropocentric positions.
Appreciate the arguments for legal rights for non-human species.
Gain an awareness of the practical aspects of converting natural complexity into decision making in natural resource management.

Reviews summary

Foundational environmental overview

According to learners, this course offers a clear and engaging introduction to environmental challenges, making complex topics easy to grasp. It provides a broad and foundational understanding of human impact on the natural environment, covering topics from ecological concepts to socio-economic factors. Students praised the well-organized content and accessible instructors. While ideal for those new to environmental studies or lifelong learners, some experienced professionals found the course lacked the desired depth for advanced practical applications.

Lectures and materials are well-produced and thought-provoking.

"The instructors presented the material in an accessible and thought-provoking manner."

"The presentations were engaging and kept my attention."

"I enjoyed the way it tied historical events to environmental changes. The multimedia elements were well-produced..."

Offers a wide-ranging introduction to key environmental issues.

"A solid foundational course. The breadth of topics covered is impressive..."

"It provides a great foundation without being overwhelming."

"This course covers a broad range of topics, giving a good general understanding."

Explanations are clear, making complex concepts easy to grasp.

"This course was absolutely fantastic! ... the way the concepts were explained made everything easy to grasp."

"The lectures were clear, and the readings were informative. It broadened my perspective significantly."

"An excellent course that demystifies complex environmental topics. It's very accessible..."

May be too superficial for experienced professionals.

"As someone working in the field, it felt more like a refresher of basic concepts rather than an advanced learning opportunity."

"I found it lacked the academic rigor I was expecting... too superficial at times."

"For someone looking for in-depth scientific or practical solutions, this might be disappointing."

Career center

Learners who complete Environmental Challenges: Human Impact in the Natural Environment will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers: