This class is one of my favorite at UCLA.

Every week we had amazing guest lecturers who shared with us their recent projects and their views of leadership. After the guest lectures the professors gave thier lectures and the class was dismissed.

Throughout the quarter, we worked in groups on a research project to be presented at the end. While it was challenging to compromise about ideas during the research project, it allowed me to test out the leadership ideals we talked about in class. As a result of the group work, I better understand both my strengths and weaknesses in being a leader.

I recommend this class to those who think they are incapable of public speaking or leading a group. This class is an excellent opportunity to challenge yourself a bit and see if you really can lead a group or give a presentation to be proud of. In such a supportive environment, you may find that you have some of those seemingly unattainable leadership qualities. Remember: there are many different types of leaders with diverse qualities that make them effective.

Mark Gold was the president of Heal the Bay so he is very passionate and knowledgeable about water policy issues. I didn't feel as if I was being forced to memorize information, but rather taught about relevant water issues that I may work on in the future. At times, his slides did not contain enough information, prompting me to look some facts up on my own. A few more quizzes may have been helpful to cement some of the information. Overall, I learned quite alot about where California water comes from, the current drought and water shortage issues, new sources of water, water policy, water rights, water commissions and agencies...This class was a great introduction into the world of water; something I knew very little about before hand.

Without policy decisions to implement environmental protection, all of the scientific facts and research in the world would be useless. For this reason, I highly recommend Env 166, especially to environmental science students like myself, who need much more knowledge about policy and government.

This is an amazing class, but do not expect it to be an easy A. It is difficult to score perfectly on any of the assignments, and there is no curve. Participation in both section and lecture is required, as well as a field trip, but the points don't really help toward your grade. However, there is an opportunity for extra credit that could serve as a grade boost.

Regardless of grading, I would recommend this class to anyone looking to gain real-world insight to current environmental issues as well as potential career paths. There is a guest lecture every week from prestigious environmental professionals in addition to the expertise of Dr. Gold. It is an excellent class for seniors interested in entering an environmental field.