We describe the curricular development of and teaching experience for
a 100-level Liberal Arts mathematics course centering on Quantitative
Literacy via environmental topics. The course was taught largely with
activities, group explorations and short readings (including newspaper
articles) rather than a textbook, and touched on some of the major
environmental challenges of our day, such as climate destabilization,
climate feedbacks, Hubbert peak for oil and other resources, and
exponential growth on a finite planet. Curricular materials will be
shared which allow authentic quantitative explorations of these issues
by students in a General Education course.

Related questions for discussion which arise include: how can relevant
real-world examples be used to both motivate the study of, and also to
deepen student understanding of, mathematical ideas? How can relevant
mathematical ideas be included in a General Education course at a
level which is accessible while still providing students with
powerful lenses and tools through which the complex issues in the
world around them can be understood throughout their lives as
participating citizens?