Understanding our proper relationship to nature and how, as a part of it, we must take care of it depends on having fundamental knowledge of how natural systems work. This course is an introduction to three components of what we need to know in order to respond critically to the current unprecedented assaults on those systems that threaten the continuation of life on earth. Evolution explains the diversity of the natural world; ecology tells us about how it all fits together, and genetics provides the ultimate key to how life perpetuates itself. In learning about these three areas students will be better equipped to see how we can effectively protect, preserve, and defend our natural heritage, which is under threat from toxic chemical pollution, habitat destruction, and genetic manipulation. Documentary films and Internet sites will supplement a reader.

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