Not sure if it's the lighting in the lecture hall, but I dozed off more than I should have. However, he posts all of his lectures on Gauchospace, so if you miss lectures, it's not too bad. However, he does have pop quizzes/short writing exercises.

Attend lecture for essay pop quizzes. The readings are fairly easy but some can be a bit too long. Lecture is entertaining. Pay attention to the sample quiz and final question in the powerpoint... they show up on the tests.

Best professor i have ever had. He is inspiring and enthusiastic, I actually loved attending his lectures. Plus one of the best things about his class is how everything is presented in an unbiased manner. I wish everyone could experience his class, it is knowledge that everyone should have.

He is super knowledgeable and charismatic. Articulates himself very well. His class is very organized. Only thing- be prepared for pop quizzes in lectures. Missed one and was unprepared for two, and it had a big impact on my grade. Also, we didn't have to purchase a textbook, which was awesome.

Had Alagona for environmental studies 1, would recommend. Average work load for class, 2 readings a week and a weekly assignment (usually around 2 pages). His lectures are interesting for the most part and he puts all of his ppts online (although there's pop quizzes so you still have to attend)

He made lectures very interesting and clear. Listen in lectures and you'll be fine.

Alagona is my favorite teacher at UCSB so far. Took ES1 my fall quarter freshman year and inspired me to change majors to ES. Easy class, all material from tests comes from the slides and reading. Reading is interesting and subject matter is cool. Lectures were fantastic and engaging. Would take the class again.

Favorite teacher so far at UCSB. He is extremely passionate and discusses environmental problems in an unbiased manner. Tests and final have a writing portion in section that sucks, but if you do the reading beforehand its not too bad.

Lecture slides are very organized with highlighted and underlined important themes but he doesn't drown the slides with a ton of words; so listen to what he's saying. His humor and passion for ES is very motivating and makes you wanna go to every lecture. Exams are not at all difficult, just attend lecture, know your material and you'll pass.

I skipped a lot of lectures and still did alright because he posts powerpoints online. Would have been an easy A had I gone to class more. Overall, he's an inspirational presenter and provides a lot of tips to doing well in the course. He's a cool guy!

Peter is awesome, I would definetly reccomend him as a professor. Show up to lecture bc you will have pop quizes on the readings and beware of the MCQ's on the Midterms as they were fairly difficult, also be prepared ahead of time on the final and you should be good.

I skipped class pretty frequently and I'm getting a decent grade, like a BB+. Section is mandatory to turn in assignments. I had to take this for my major, but I wouldn't recommend it as an easy GE. It's tedious work. Not particularly difficult though. Alagona is very cool. 5 pop quizzes, but I just left after taking them

My new favorite professor at UCSB. He's a great lecturer and very organized. Lectures are all posted online. Textbook is a free PDF on gauchospace. The grading is super straightforward; two midterms each worth 15% and the final is worth 30%. The rest is made up of easy homework assignments and VERY easy one-question pop quizzes. Take this class!!

Peter's the best. Lots of reading (!!!provided on gauchospace!!!) but only tested with a weekly open-ended question to answer in the first couple minutes of lecture. Easy short-answer papers due in section, very discussion-based, perfect for starting out the enviro major. Really wants his students to thrive!

He's a great professor. Good, clear lectures. PPTs avail. on GS. Prepare your readings before lecture. 3 essay assigns, 2 quiz, & a final. He gives two-sentence pop quizzes each week to see if you did the reading. He's really into his subject, which I'm not, but he has me really engaged. I'd def take him again. Don't let the work deter you!

Alagona is amazing. Best class I've taken so far at UCSB. He's an engaging and interesting lecturer. Seems to really care about students. Reading for the class is interesting and not too much. I really recommend this class, It's awe-inspiring!

One of the best profs at UCSB, really tries to engage students and get them to think critically. Excellent lecturer and has great slides (posts to gauchospace before class). I always look forward to attending his classes, which is more than I can say about most other classes. Be warned though, there is a LOT of reading for all his classes.

Attendance was pretty mandatory, as Peter would give short writing assignments randomly during the class, and as the lecture material was not really covered in the reader. The final was in a blue book but wasn't too hard, and Peter's just an all-around cool dude!!!! The material wasn't too interesting personally but class itself proved interesting!

ES 1 with Alagona was a great class! Really well organized, clear, and simple with some effort. Do the readings and study for quizzes and you will be fine. Also go see Alagona in office hours because he's really easy to talk to.

Super cool guy, class is not hard whatsoever if you do the weekly reading and go to lecture, or just read through the slides he puts online. 3 multiple choice quizzes are the midterms, there is an easy assignment due once a week, and the final is very easy.

You'll never find a professor more interested in his students. His class was engaging, and the lecture material easy to comprehend. I recommend this class to any and everyone. Quizzes were relatively easy if you studied the lecture notes, and the final was simple. Great class, great professor

He's a very helpful teacher. He made the class interesting with his sense of humor and relatable way of teaching the class - always starting off with an anecdote.

lots of reading, but necessary - you can scan, but know the general idea, they will help you a lot with the final, which is all writing, compared to the midterms which were all multiple choice and not too hard. his notes are simple, so listen to what he says and elaborate.

He is awesome! He keeps things interesting by telling short stories at the beginning of each class and is extremely thorough in the material. He cut down the reader to be much shorter this year, so the reading isn't that bad if you stay on top of it. 3 quizzes and the final make up a majority of your grade, and they are not that bad/fairly graded.