The course will offer a broad overview of the relationships between environmental factors and health in humans and other living organisms. In particular, the course will focus on how the health and well-being of organisms are affected by the chemistry of the natural environment, that is, the abundance, forms and availability of chemical elements in rocks, soils, natural waters and air. Health impacts of anthropogenic perturbations of natural ecosystems, including those related to ongoing global environmental change, will also be considered. Students will be introduced to concepts and principles from a variety of disciplines – environmental biology, ecology, toxicology, epidemiology, geochemistry, atmospheric chemistry, and bioinorganic chemistry. The course will be illustrated through a selected number of case studies. While the course has no specific prerequisites, students will be expected to have a college-level knowledge of physics, chemistry, biology, statistics and earth/environmental sciences.