The environmental studies minor, housed in the Department of Anthropology in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, is an interdisciplinary program for students seeking a broad learning experience in environmental issues. The minor brings students together with faculty and subjects from a range of disciplines and exposes them to issues at the individual, local, state, national, and international levels. The program helps students become better informed citizens and introduces them to environmentally related professional opportunities. Since UAB has an explicit urban mission, students are encouraged to learn about eco-cultural conditions in cities, where 83 percent of U.S. citizens live. Water and air pollution, hazardous waste sites, and shrinking green space and recreational areas are just a few of the environmental problems often associated with the urban setting. Such problems tend especially to affect minority groups and the poor living in inner-city neighborhoods.