http://www.e360.yale.edu/
A Note From the EditorAt Yale Environment 360 this week, science writer Daniel Goleman writes about how Wal-Mart’s new push to develop a sustainability index for its products could signal a breakthrough moment in the effort to make consumers aware of the environmental impacts of what they buy. The move by Wal-Mart, writes Goleman, is potentially the most significant example of an emerging strategy for making life-cycle assessment data for products transparent by labeling them with sound, ecological-impact ratings. Goleman – author of the new book, Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything — points to efforts to develop reliable indexes by Earthster, GoodGuide, and other groups as evidence that what once seemed like “an intriguing idea” is on the verge of becoming a market reality. Read Goleman’s article here.
Also today at Yale Environment 360, author Verlyn Klinkenborg explains why a decade after genetically modified crop were introduced, he still opposes their use. GM crops are now planted on millions of acres throughout the world, he notes, but fundamental questions about them remain — both about safety and their long-term impact on global food security and the environment. Writes Klinkenborg, who is a member of the New York Times editorial board, “Genetically modified crops were introduced with bland assurances of safety based on studies from small test plots, a far different thing from the uncontrolled global experiment we now find ourselves in.” Read the essay by Klinkenborg here.
Check out these and all our features at Yale Environment 360 and add your comments to the discussion. And be sure to keep track of the latest environmental news on our daily e360 Digest.
Roger Cohn, Editor
Friday, September 18, 2009
Earth Day Network newsletter
Earth Day Network Commits to Action at the Clinton Global Initiative At the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) next week, Earth Day Network is unveiling several key environmental initiatives in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The CGI is convened each year by the William J. Clinton Foundation and is a high-level meeting of social, environmental and business leaders from across the globe. The Billion Acts of Green™ campaign commitment offered by Earth Day Network will catalyze environmental actions by individuals, corporations, and governments in honor of Earth Day. In addition:ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability USA, will partner with Earth Day Network to organize and host a Global Day of Conversation on Climate Action on Earth Day 2010. Together we will engage 500 mayors worldwide to convene their constituencies for a focused conversation on the power of local action to curb the impacts of climate change. Earth Day Network is partnering with VANOC, the organizing committee for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, which will broadcast a series of Public Service Announcements in Olympic and Paralympic venues and in countries focusing on the impact of climate change on sport and the earth. This is part of Earth Day Network's Athletes for the Earth campaign, which will connect well known athletes with the climate change issue. Publicis, one of the world's largest advertising companies, will join Earth Day Network in a global campaign to promote the advocacy and service components of A Billion Acts of Green™ and the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day in order to engage and activate as many individuals as possible worldwide. Philips is contributing to A Billion Acts of Green™ by re-lamping 25 under-served American schools. Philips is also encouraging customers, partners and 116,000 employees to join Earth Day Network's Green Generation™ and perform individual acts of green, starting with replacing inefficient lighting. Clean a Beach, Inland Waterway, Lake or Steam Near YouThousands of pounds of trash will be removed from our nation's waterways thanks to the International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19, 2009. Earth Day Network is partnering with the Ocean Conservancy to make this action by thousands of volunteers count toward 400,000 Acts of Green™. Learn more about the 24th Annual International Coastal Cleanup which is the largest volunteer event of its kind on behalf of ocean health.Are you an Extraordinary Environmental Educator? Apply for our Grant!Earth Day Network is looking for teachers who lead by example and make a difference for their students and the environment. If you are working to green a school, implement environmental education, or achieve policy reform, download an application today.Student Climate Change Solutions Contest in Progress - Enter Now!Earth Day Network is holding a back-to-school Student Climate Change Solutions contest for K-4th graders. Winners will be announced by Earth Day Network online and will receive a substantial prize package. Click here for contest guidelines and a corresponding climate change lesson plan themed around the "think green for kids" book, Planet Earth Gets Well. This book is currently available at a discounted rate for teachers, but you must order soon!Earth Day Network Nominee Wins Educator of the Year AwardOne of our Climate Change Educators, Mike Town of Redmond High School in WA, has been awarded the K-12 Educator of the Year award by the North American Association of Environmental Education (NAAEE). Earth Day Network nominated him for this award because of his successful programs, like the Cool School Challenge, and his great work with us. He will be honored at the NAAEE conference in Portland in October.
2009 Earth Day Network 1616 P Street NW, Suite 340 Washington, D.C. 20036 USA +1 202.518.0044
2009 Earth Day Network 1616 P Street NW, Suite 340 Washington, D.C. 20036 USA +1 202.518.0044
Lester Brown's newest version of Plan B
Plan B 4.0 Data Sneak Peak - Designing Cities for Peoplehttp://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/press_room/C68/pb4_ch6_datareleaseLester Brown’s new book, Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, will be released on September 30, 2009. Behind the scenes supporting the book’s text are hundreds of datasets, studies, and reports. Today Earth Policy Institute is offering a sneak peak at some of the data for Chapter 6: Designing Cities for People, on-line at www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/books/pb4/pb4_table_of_contents. What you can glean from these charts and graphs:There are now more than 6.7 billion people living on the planet.For the first time in 2008 the world’s city dwellers outnumbered those in the countryside. The share of urbanites is projected to continue increasing, so that by 2030 some 60 percent of the world’s population will live in cities.
In 1950 the world had only two “mega-cities” with over 10 million inhabitants: Tokyo and New York. These two are still the world’s largest, with 36 million and 19 million people in their respective metropolitan areas. Since 1950, 17 others have joined the “mega-city” list; notably Mexico City, Mumbai (Bombay), São Paulo, Delhi, and Shanghai each are home to more than 15 million people. Dhaka, Bangladesh, had one of the fastest growth spurts, its population ballooning more than 40-fold since 1950. In the 1950s the world produced almost as many cars as it did bicycles—close to 10 million units each. Since then, automobile production has increased 6-fold while bicycle production has grown 12-fold. Vehicle sales in Japan peaked in 1990 at 7.8 million units. Since then sales have fallen almost every year, with 2009 sales projected at 4.9 million units. Support for public transportation and bicycling is high.
In an attempt to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution and to improve overall mobility, London instituted a charge on vehicles entering the city center in early 2003. By 2007, trips into the city by personal automobile dropped 36 percent while those by bus increased 31 percent and those by bicycle increased 66 percent.
These are just some of the information tidbits you can find in the Plan B 4.0 datasets. Stay tuned for more at Earth Policy Institute’s freshly redesigned website, www.earthpolicy.org!
Get all EPI releases through EPI’s RSS feeds. http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/press_room/C87Become a fan of EPI on Facebook.www.facebook.com/pages/Earth-Policy-Institute/17045240901Follow EPI on http://twitter.com/earthpolicy
In 1950 the world had only two “mega-cities” with over 10 million inhabitants: Tokyo and New York. These two are still the world’s largest, with 36 million and 19 million people in their respective metropolitan areas. Since 1950, 17 others have joined the “mega-city” list; notably Mexico City, Mumbai (Bombay), São Paulo, Delhi, and Shanghai each are home to more than 15 million people. Dhaka, Bangladesh, had one of the fastest growth spurts, its population ballooning more than 40-fold since 1950. In the 1950s the world produced almost as many cars as it did bicycles—close to 10 million units each. Since then, automobile production has increased 6-fold while bicycle production has grown 12-fold. Vehicle sales in Japan peaked in 1990 at 7.8 million units. Since then sales have fallen almost every year, with 2009 sales projected at 4.9 million units. Support for public transportation and bicycling is high.
In an attempt to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution and to improve overall mobility, London instituted a charge on vehicles entering the city center in early 2003. By 2007, trips into the city by personal automobile dropped 36 percent while those by bus increased 31 percent and those by bicycle increased 66 percent.
These are just some of the information tidbits you can find in the Plan B 4.0 datasets. Stay tuned for more at Earth Policy Institute’s freshly redesigned website, www.earthpolicy.org!
Get all EPI releases through EPI’s RSS feeds. http://www.earth-policy.org/index.php?/press_room/C87Become a fan of EPI on Facebook.www.facebook.com/pages/Earth-Policy-Institute/17045240901Follow EPI on http://twitter.com/earthpolicy
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Using Carbon Footprint Calculations
As promised, here is some advice from my colleague, Amara Brook, at Santa Clara University about how best to use the carbon footprint calculators that we discussed during the sustainability workshop. Amara has conducted numerous studies where she provides students feedback on their ecological footprints (an idea similar to the carbon footprint) and looks at the effects on subsequent pro-environmental behavior. She has a manuscript based on this research that is under review right now (not attached). If anyone is interested in seeing the MS let me know and I will be happy to send it along once it is "in press."
Amara has the following advice for those of you who are thinking about using the CF calculator in your courses:
"The take home point is that negative footprint feedback (what pretty much everyone in developed countries gets) increases pro-environmental behavior only for people who are already committed to environmental protection (kind of like a hypocrisy manipulation - Aronson et al). For people who are not already committed to environmental protection, it reduces pro-environmental behavior. So, what I would suggest to your colleagues is to either only give the footprint to students who are already committed to environmentalism (e.g. probably any upper level environmental studies class), or build commitment to environmental conservation first." If anyone is interested in how to build committment let me know and I can send you some resources or check out http://cbsm.com/pages/guide/commitment. Hope this helps!
submitted by Jessica Nolan. Amara's contact info:
Amara Brook
Psychology Department
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053(408) 554-4810
Amara has the following advice for those of you who are thinking about using the CF calculator in your courses:
"The take home point is that negative footprint feedback (what pretty much everyone in developed countries gets) increases pro-environmental behavior only for people who are already committed to environmental protection (kind of like a hypocrisy manipulation - Aronson et al). For people who are not already committed to environmental protection, it reduces pro-environmental behavior. So, what I would suggest to your colleagues is to either only give the footprint to students who are already committed to environmentalism (e.g. probably any upper level environmental studies class), or build commitment to environmental conservation first." If anyone is interested in how to build committment let me know and I can send you some resources or check out http://cbsm.com/pages/guide/commitment. Hope this helps!
submitted by Jessica Nolan. Amara's contact info:
Amara Brook
Psychology Department
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053(408) 554-4810
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
More resources
Here are web resources provided by Cynthia Cann:
Reports, Web Sites, Videos, etc.
Anonymous. State of the World. Innovations for a Sustainable Economy. 2008. Worldwatch Institute: Washington, D.C.
“A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society.”
The Bell Program
The Bell Program is a division of the World Resources Institute. The Bell program provides business school professors with the tools to train the next generation of leaders in sustainable business practices. http://bell.wri.org.
Beyond Grey Pinstripes
Beyond Grey Pinstripes highlights the most innovative MBA programs and faculty infusing environmental and social impact management into the business school curriculum. Our report and website are tools for prospective and current business students, administrators, faculty and corporate recruiters to compare MBA curricula and benchmark programs. Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2003: Preparing MBAs for Social and Environmental Stewardship is the fourth in a series of reports on business school performance. This website is an extension of the 2003 report. (From this website you can download the report.) The website provides information on schools on the cutting edge of incorporating environmental and social impact management, as well as courses, extracurricular activities, testimonials, and school profiles for 100 MBA programs. In addition, the site offers resources for change, reports, and articles from academic journals http://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/index.cfm
Business and Sustainable Development: A Global Guide
“This site explains the strategies and tools that companies can draw on to translate an aspiration of sustainability into practical, effective solutions. Case studies from around the world are provided as an example of each measure” http://www.bsdglobal.com/ An interesting article on the SD Journey is found at http://www.bsdglobal.com/sd_journey.asp
Environmental Accounting
Report: An Introduction to Environmental Accounting as a Business Management Tool: Key Concepts and Terms developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The central purpose of this primer is twofold: (1) to orient readers to key concepts often referred to as environmental accounting, and (2) to explain how the terms that refer to environmental accounting are currently being used, so that confusion about the terms does not impede progress in understanding and applying the core concepts. EPA prepared this document to be a starting point for readers who have questions about environmental accounting. The intended audience includes business managers and other professionals who wish to understand environmental accounting. http://www.greenbiz.com/frame/1.cfm?targetsite=http://www.epa.gov/oppt/acctg/casestudy.htm
Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World
“The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World is a project initiated by Corporate Knights Inc., with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc. a leading research firm specializing in analyzing “non traditional” drivers of risk and shareholder value including companies’ performance on social, environmental and strategic governance issues. Innovest was selected as the exclusive research analytic data provider for the Global 100. Launched in 2005, the annual Global 100 is announced each year at the World Economic Forum in Davos” (accessed June 8, 2009 from http://www.global100.org/what.asp).
GreenBiz.com
GreenBiz.com's GreenBuzz is published weekly. It is an e-newsletter that informs the reader of all of the latest information on business and the environment. The Newsletter includes book reviews, headlines on the latest news on business and the environment, cases of what specific businesses are doing in the areas of the environment and sustainability, and resources and tools. It is a free publication. You can access it through http://www.greenbiz.com/.
Earth Policy Institute
The Earth Policy Institute is an independent NGO, founded in 2001 by Lester Brown. The focus is international. "The purpose of the institute is to provide a vision of what an environmentally sustainable economy will look like, a roadmap of how to get from here to there and an ongoing assessment of this effort- where progress is being made and where it is not" http://www.earth-policy.org. The website provides numerous resources, which focus natural resources, biological, agricultural and physical sciences, energy, population, health, gender, education, materials use/consumption, forestry, biodiversity, and climate change.
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI)
"Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Based on the cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes, STOXX Limited and SAM they provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios. Currently 51 DJSI licenses are held by asset managers in 14 countries to manage a variety of financial products including active and passive funds, certificates and segregated accounts. In total, these licensees presently manage 2.8 billion EUR based on the DJSI" http://www.sustainability-indexes.com/.
Medicine that Protects the Environment's Health
One of the primary principles of the medical profession is "First, do no harm." In recent years, doctors, ethicists, patients and environmental advocates have expanded the meaning of that principle. Where it once dictated bedside decision-making, it is now framing discussions about the environmental and health impacts associated with the operation of the modern medical industry.
http://www.duke.edu/sustainability/medical.html
http://www.bigpicture.tv - site of videos by famous people on various aspects of sustainability
http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/ref.html - reference on overpopulation and sustainability - quite a variety of sources
Stakeholder Theory
http://www.istheory.yorku.ca/stakeholdertheory.htm - this site gives a great overview of the sentinel research that has been done in the area
http://www.imese.gr/courses/lifecycleapproach.pdf - this is an Academy of Management Review article about stakeholder theory. It provides a real overview of the research on the subject and comes out with some interesting findings.
Sustainable Packaging
A report on Meeting Sustainability Goals and Environmental Mandates Using Thermoformed Packaging. Available on March 10, 2008 at http://www.packaging2.com/PDF/GPEC_2005_presentation.pdf The report give an amazing review of environmental packaging issues with solutions.
The End of Oil – Video – Parts 1 – 6, YouTube, accessed June 8, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUUoRYD9VBc&feature=related
Video about the history of oil use, the peak of oil production and oil availability and the disastras effects that the use of oil has had on the planet and the people who inhabit the planet.
The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability, European Management Journal (2005) by Salzmann, Ionescu-Somers and Steger. Also see http://www.businesscaseforsustainability.com/IMD's Forum for Corporate Sustainability Management is a leader in one of today's most significant research areas of sustainability management: The Business Case for Sustainability (or BCS).Since September 2002 and in partnership with the conservation organization WWF, it has conducted a project involving more than 350 interviews in 16 countries and analyzed more than 1,000 questionnaires in nine industry sectors to examine manager's perceptions and attitudes towards the economic rationale for corporate sustainability.
For a detailed analysis, see Steger (Ed.) (2006): Inside the Mind of the Stakeholder - The hype behind stakeholder pressure(Palgrave Macmillan).
It is often said that society exerts increasing pressure on companies to improve their social and environmental performance. To cut through this widespread rhetoric and hype, CSM has examined how stakeholders assess and influence corporate sustainability.
The study comprised 265 interviews and 372 questionnaires across nine stakeholder groups.
The Future of Food - - You NEED to Watch This Video !!! http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/The-Future-of-Food-----You-NEED-to-Watch-This-Video-----3131.aspx Disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade and examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system.
US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) http://www.us-cap.org/
“United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) is a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. USCAP has issued a landmark set of principles and recommendations to underscore the urgent need for a policy framework on climate change.
Reports, Web Sites, Videos, etc.
Anonymous. State of the World. Innovations for a Sustainable Economy. 2008. Worldwatch Institute: Washington, D.C.
“A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society.”
The Bell Program
The Bell Program is a division of the World Resources Institute. The Bell program provides business school professors with the tools to train the next generation of leaders in sustainable business practices. http://bell.wri.org.
Beyond Grey Pinstripes
Beyond Grey Pinstripes highlights the most innovative MBA programs and faculty infusing environmental and social impact management into the business school curriculum. Our report and website are tools for prospective and current business students, administrators, faculty and corporate recruiters to compare MBA curricula and benchmark programs. Beyond Grey Pinstripes 2003: Preparing MBAs for Social and Environmental Stewardship is the fourth in a series of reports on business school performance. This website is an extension of the 2003 report. (From this website you can download the report.) The website provides information on schools on the cutting edge of incorporating environmental and social impact management, as well as courses, extracurricular activities, testimonials, and school profiles for 100 MBA programs. In addition, the site offers resources for change, reports, and articles from academic journals http://www.beyondgreypinstripes.org/index.cfm
Business and Sustainable Development: A Global Guide
“This site explains the strategies and tools that companies can draw on to translate an aspiration of sustainability into practical, effective solutions. Case studies from around the world are provided as an example of each measure” http://www.bsdglobal.com/ An interesting article on the SD Journey is found at http://www.bsdglobal.com/sd_journey.asp
Environmental Accounting
Report: An Introduction to Environmental Accounting as a Business Management Tool: Key Concepts and Terms developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The central purpose of this primer is twofold: (1) to orient readers to key concepts often referred to as environmental accounting, and (2) to explain how the terms that refer to environmental accounting are currently being used, so that confusion about the terms does not impede progress in understanding and applying the core concepts. EPA prepared this document to be a starting point for readers who have questions about environmental accounting. The intended audience includes business managers and other professionals who wish to understand environmental accounting. http://www.greenbiz.com/frame/1.cfm?targetsite=http://www.epa.gov/oppt/acctg/casestudy.htm
Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World
“The Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World is a project initiated by Corporate Knights Inc., with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors Inc. a leading research firm specializing in analyzing “non traditional” drivers of risk and shareholder value including companies’ performance on social, environmental and strategic governance issues. Innovest was selected as the exclusive research analytic data provider for the Global 100. Launched in 2005, the annual Global 100 is announced each year at the World Economic Forum in Davos” (accessed June 8, 2009 from http://www.global100.org/what.asp).
GreenBiz.com
GreenBiz.com's GreenBuzz is published weekly. It is an e-newsletter that informs the reader of all of the latest information on business and the environment. The Newsletter includes book reviews, headlines on the latest news on business and the environment, cases of what specific businesses are doing in the areas of the environment and sustainability, and resources and tools. It is a free publication. You can access it through http://www.greenbiz.com/.
Earth Policy Institute
The Earth Policy Institute is an independent NGO, founded in 2001 by Lester Brown. The focus is international. "The purpose of the institute is to provide a vision of what an environmentally sustainable economy will look like, a roadmap of how to get from here to there and an ongoing assessment of this effort- where progress is being made and where it is not" http://www.earth-policy.org. The website provides numerous resources, which focus natural resources, biological, agricultural and physical sciences, energy, population, health, gender, education, materials use/consumption, forestry, biodiversity, and climate change.
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI)
"Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes are the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide. Based on the cooperation of Dow Jones Indexes, STOXX Limited and SAM they provide asset managers with reliable and objective benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios. Currently 51 DJSI licenses are held by asset managers in 14 countries to manage a variety of financial products including active and passive funds, certificates and segregated accounts. In total, these licensees presently manage 2.8 billion EUR based on the DJSI" http://www.sustainability-indexes.com/.
Medicine that Protects the Environment's Health
One of the primary principles of the medical profession is "First, do no harm." In recent years, doctors, ethicists, patients and environmental advocates have expanded the meaning of that principle. Where it once dictated bedside decision-making, it is now framing discussions about the environmental and health impacts associated with the operation of the modern medical industry.
http://www.duke.edu/sustainability/medical.html
http://www.bigpicture.tv - site of videos by famous people on various aspects of sustainability
http://www.ecofuture.org/pop/ref.html - reference on overpopulation and sustainability - quite a variety of sources
Stakeholder Theory
http://www.istheory.yorku.ca/stakeholdertheory.htm - this site gives a great overview of the sentinel research that has been done in the area
http://www.imese.gr/courses/lifecycleapproach.pdf - this is an Academy of Management Review article about stakeholder theory. It provides a real overview of the research on the subject and comes out with some interesting findings.
Sustainable Packaging
A report on Meeting Sustainability Goals and Environmental Mandates Using Thermoformed Packaging. Available on March 10, 2008 at http://www.packaging2.com/PDF/GPEC_2005_presentation.pdf The report give an amazing review of environmental packaging issues with solutions.
The End of Oil – Video – Parts 1 – 6, YouTube, accessed June 8, 2009 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUUoRYD9VBc&feature=related
Video about the history of oil use, the peak of oil production and oil availability and the disastras effects that the use of oil has had on the planet and the people who inhabit the planet.
The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability, European Management Journal (2005) by Salzmann, Ionescu-Somers and Steger. Also see http://www.businesscaseforsustainability.com/IMD's Forum for Corporate Sustainability Management is a leader in one of today's most significant research areas of sustainability management: The Business Case for Sustainability (or BCS).Since September 2002 and in partnership with the conservation organization WWF, it has conducted a project involving more than 350 interviews in 16 countries and analyzed more than 1,000 questionnaires in nine industry sectors to examine manager's perceptions and attitudes towards the economic rationale for corporate sustainability.
For a detailed analysis, see Steger (Ed.) (2006): Inside the Mind of the Stakeholder - The hype behind stakeholder pressure(Palgrave Macmillan).
It is often said that society exerts increasing pressure on companies to improve their social and environmental performance. To cut through this widespread rhetoric and hype, CSM has examined how stakeholders assess and influence corporate sustainability.
The study comprised 265 interviews and 372 questionnaires across nine stakeholder groups.
The Future of Food - - You NEED to Watch This Video !!! http://v.mercola.com/blogs/public_blog/The-Future-of-Food-----You-NEED-to-Watch-This-Video-----3131.aspx Disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade and examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system.
US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) http://www.us-cap.org/
“United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) is a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. USCAP has issued a landmark set of principles and recommendations to underscore the urgent need for a policy framework on climate change.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
On scientific literacy
Jessica Nolanpointed out this campaign in GQ aimed at increasing scientific literacy: http://www.rockstarsofscience.org/rsos_portfolio.pdf
I wonder if we might not try campaigns like this of our own, with specific focus on the science of global warming?
I wonder if we might not try campaigns like this of our own, with specific focus on the science of global warming?
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Useful Links--on climate change data
Here are links to which Mike Cann referred in his workshop presentation on 5/28/09. They are useful when you need data on climage change and its impact.
- Climate change information: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/2008
- GDP growth rates:
CIA World Fact Book
https://cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2003rank.html
- The Sustainable Scale Project
http://www.sustainablescale.org/ConceptualFramework/UnderstandingScale/MeasuringScale/TheIPATEquation.aspx
/MeasuringScale/TheIPATEquation.aspx
- Ecological Overshoot:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/
- BP statistical review of world energy:http://www.bp.com/productlanding.do?categoryId=6929&contentId=7044622
and a useful article reference: “A Plan to Keep Climate In Check” Robert H. Socolow & Stephen W. Pacala,
Scientific American, September, 2006, p 50-57
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Green Computing
Our colleague in computer science, Jack Beidler, has developed a personal website that includes information on buying a green computer, together with a curricular module on green computing for use in the computer literacy courses. His website can be found at: http://www.scranton.edu/beidler
Reading for day 4
GreenBuz: March 31, 2008
Taking Care of Business
What's your footprint?It's a question being asked increasingly of both large and small companies. And it can be tough to answer. There's no standard definition or measurement of "footprint." In some contexts, it refers mainly to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions: a company's "carbon footprint." In others it refers to the full measure of impacts involved with designing products, sourcing materials, manufacturing, distribution, and sales -- and sometimes the use and disposal of products. In either case, figuring out what to count can involve equal parts art and science.Patagonia, the innovative and maverick clothing company, recently launched an interactive website describing in words and pictures the footprint of representative products. It's a fun visual tour of a typical product's path around the world. But it's much more than that, of course. It's also a chance for companies and their customers to assess a given product's biggest impacts, sometimes with surprising results. For example, Patagonia found that transportation represents a much smaller portion of energy use than previously thought.Patagonia isn't alone. Many companies are assessing their footprint, especially for carbon, and a few are disclosing them publicly, as columnist Coral Rose reported last year.It's a promising trend. As companies more fully understand their impacts, they will be better able to find opportunities for reducing emissions and costs, and their customers will be better able to make smart choices, reducing their impacts, too.
-- Joel Makower, Executive Editor
Please read the article below and then go to the Patagonia web site to review the Footprint Chronicles ( http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp )
Patagonia Shares Eco-Footprint of Select Products with Consumers ( http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/03/25/patagonia-shares-eco-footprint-select-products-with-consumers )
By GreenBiz Staff
March 25, 2008
Patagonia unveiled last fall a microsite that examines the footprint of select products as part of a consumer education experiment.The company plans to track the paths of 10 more products this year, sharing what it has found as it looks at each product's environmental footprint from the design studio to its distribution center in Reno, Nevada, according to Fast Company magazine.So far, the Footprint Chronicles has turned up a few surprises, such as the fact that transportation of goods represents a much smaller percentage of total energy use in its supply chain; manufacturing of products accounted for far greater energy consumption."If we had followed environmental chatter and spent all that time shortening our supply chains, it would have had a huge impact on our product quality," Jill Dumain, Patagonia's director of environmental analysis, told the magazine. "To realize that our conservation efforts needed to be focused elsewhere was really freeing."The company also was open about its negative findings. For instance, its Eco Rain Shell jacket is made of recycled polyester components that save energy and produce little waste, yet the shell's water-repellent finish contains perfluorooctanoic acid, which accumulates in the bloodstream and may be toxic.Although the company believes removing the coating would sacrifice performance, one consumer called for its removal after learning about it on the website. Patagonia is trying to remove the chemical from its product lines.
Taking Care of Business
What's your footprint?It's a question being asked increasingly of both large and small companies. And it can be tough to answer. There's no standard definition or measurement of "footprint." In some contexts, it refers mainly to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions: a company's "carbon footprint." In others it refers to the full measure of impacts involved with designing products, sourcing materials, manufacturing, distribution, and sales -- and sometimes the use and disposal of products. In either case, figuring out what to count can involve equal parts art and science.Patagonia, the innovative and maverick clothing company, recently launched an interactive website describing in words and pictures the footprint of representative products. It's a fun visual tour of a typical product's path around the world. But it's much more than that, of course. It's also a chance for companies and their customers to assess a given product's biggest impacts, sometimes with surprising results. For example, Patagonia found that transportation represents a much smaller portion of energy use than previously thought.Patagonia isn't alone. Many companies are assessing their footprint, especially for carbon, and a few are disclosing them publicly, as columnist Coral Rose reported last year.It's a promising trend. As companies more fully understand their impacts, they will be better able to find opportunities for reducing emissions and costs, and their customers will be better able to make smart choices, reducing their impacts, too.
-- Joel Makower, Executive Editor
Please read the article below and then go to the Patagonia web site to review the Footprint Chronicles ( http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp )
Patagonia Shares Eco-Footprint of Select Products with Consumers ( http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2008/03/25/patagonia-shares-eco-footprint-select-products-with-consumers )
By GreenBiz Staff
March 25, 2008
Patagonia unveiled last fall a microsite that examines the footprint of select products as part of a consumer education experiment.The company plans to track the paths of 10 more products this year, sharing what it has found as it looks at each product's environmental footprint from the design studio to its distribution center in Reno, Nevada, according to Fast Company magazine.So far, the Footprint Chronicles has turned up a few surprises, such as the fact that transportation of goods represents a much smaller percentage of total energy use in its supply chain; manufacturing of products accounted for far greater energy consumption."If we had followed environmental chatter and spent all that time shortening our supply chains, it would have had a huge impact on our product quality," Jill Dumain, Patagonia's director of environmental analysis, told the magazine. "To realize that our conservation efforts needed to be focused elsewhere was really freeing."The company also was open about its negative findings. For instance, its Eco Rain Shell jacket is made of recycled polyester components that save energy and produce little waste, yet the shell's water-repellent finish contains perfluorooctanoic acid, which accumulates in the bloodstream and may be toxic.Although the company believes removing the coating would sacrifice performance, one consumer called for its removal after learning about it on the website. Patagonia is trying to remove the chemical from its product lines.
Reading for day 3 social sustainability
What is social sustainability?
Definition and principles of sustainability contain the social
Sustainability has grown out of the environmental movement and in many people’s minds is mostly about the broader aspects of the environment – reducing resource consumption,
reducing automobile dependence, reducing the processes that lead to land degradation.
However, it didn’t take long for people to realize that this agenda could not be achieved without making social considerations a priority. Households and communities consume resources; cities and suburbs become car dependent; regional and local communities prioritize land management. Thus social considerations were drawn into how we understand sustainability, though without a clear understanding of what that could mean. In particular, the link between social justice and sustainability is being heavily debated …
The social sustainability agenda does not mean that every social agenda is part of it.
Sustainability is about social causes that simultaneously produce economic and
environmental benefit. It is about environmental causes that simultaneously produce
economic and social benefit, and it is about economic causes that have social and
environmental benefit. Not everything fits this. Throwing the word “sustainability” onto the end of a pet social cause doesn’t or shouldn’t cut any ice just as it doesn’t when a business tries to add luster to its case by liberally spraying “sustainability” about on its brochures. Sustainability has to be argued and demonstrated, and not just used as a vague context word…
Social disparities do generally have multiple implications that can be related to
sustainability. …disparities [can] lead to unsustainability--particularly with social issues such as housing, health, education, transport. For example, housing affordability, quality and location can lead to poorer people wasting energy and water and traveling far too much when they can least afford it. Generally, for such disparities to be understood in terms of their environmental aspects, it requires the social issue to be analyzed in terms of its geography or place implications. This is not always done yet the issue becomes much richer and more policy relevant when it is.
Social sustainability is about social capital related to place
People cannot live truly without relating to place. Modernism suggests we can float through life as observers and consumers not belonging anywhere. But such is not the worldview of those holding indigenous and traditional beliefs… Sustainability challenges modernism that reduces everything to a global professional function and finds “belonging” and “sense of place” to be nonsense. A “sense of place” and heritage “reaches some deeper hunger for continuity when the future may appear cavernously unpredictable,” says Kim Wikie (quoted recently by Andre Malan when discussing the importance of place). Sustainability challenges globalization (the global modernism agenda) to show that bioregions and communities do matter. [Social sustainability approaches] … show that the social dimension is the missing link of economic planning in regions…It suggests that regional sustainability strategies need to develop new ways of bringing “sense of place” perspectives into regions [in both rural and urban areas]. This will require an understanding of the story of a region – its aboriginal story, its local history and its natural history. This is now called “place narrative” and only by doing this can a place or region create a long term vision for its future and hence shape its development.
Social sustainability is about values and visions shaping the market.
The market has been shaped by community values and visions to prevent slavery, child labor and excessive working hours. …Environmental assessment is another process shaping the market. Sustainability provides us with a coherent checklist for drawing together our core values about economic, social and environmental benefits that we want for our future. It asserts fundamental human rights, but it is wary of fundamentalism. Just as we cannot say “fix the market and we fix everything,” we cannot say “fix the environment and we fix everything” or “fix the community and we fix everything.” We need values that integrate these three.
[…]
Social sustainability gives new substance to transparent participatory processes, to
multiculturalism and to the arts.
The sustainability agenda is a list of really hard issues, long-term complex issues that do not lend themselves to simple engineering or financial solutions. Transparent participatory processes are highlighted by sustainability not only because of the human right to be informed but because without it we won’t solve the problems. … deliberative democracy is required to solve “wicked problems” that logic cannot solve. These issues require innovation based on dialogue from different perspectives. Such innovation comes from welcoming differences and delighting therefore in multiculturalism. It also recognizes the importance of artistic voices that can probe beneath the surface and push us into new awareness.
(adapted by Sharon Meagher from THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE STATE SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY By Professor Peter Newman, Director, Sustainability Policy Unit Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Western Australia, available on the website for The Sigma Project--Sustainability --Integrated Guidelines for Management, the UK Department of Trade and Industry; the unedited text can be found at: http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:P-9Ya0ZUF_YJ:www.projectsigma.com/RnDStreams/RD_soc_research.pdf+social+sustainability&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=19)
Definition and principles of sustainability contain the social
Sustainability has grown out of the environmental movement and in many people’s minds is mostly about the broader aspects of the environment – reducing resource consumption,
reducing automobile dependence, reducing the processes that lead to land degradation.
However, it didn’t take long for people to realize that this agenda could not be achieved without making social considerations a priority. Households and communities consume resources; cities and suburbs become car dependent; regional and local communities prioritize land management. Thus social considerations were drawn into how we understand sustainability, though without a clear understanding of what that could mean. In particular, the link between social justice and sustainability is being heavily debated …
The social sustainability agenda does not mean that every social agenda is part of it.
Sustainability is about social causes that simultaneously produce economic and
environmental benefit. It is about environmental causes that simultaneously produce
economic and social benefit, and it is about economic causes that have social and
environmental benefit. Not everything fits this. Throwing the word “sustainability” onto the end of a pet social cause doesn’t or shouldn’t cut any ice just as it doesn’t when a business tries to add luster to its case by liberally spraying “sustainability” about on its brochures. Sustainability has to be argued and demonstrated, and not just used as a vague context word…
Social disparities do generally have multiple implications that can be related to
sustainability. …disparities [can] lead to unsustainability--particularly with social issues such as housing, health, education, transport. For example, housing affordability, quality and location can lead to poorer people wasting energy and water and traveling far too much when they can least afford it. Generally, for such disparities to be understood in terms of their environmental aspects, it requires the social issue to be analyzed in terms of its geography or place implications. This is not always done yet the issue becomes much richer and more policy relevant when it is.
Social sustainability is about social capital related to place
People cannot live truly without relating to place. Modernism suggests we can float through life as observers and consumers not belonging anywhere. But such is not the worldview of those holding indigenous and traditional beliefs… Sustainability challenges modernism that reduces everything to a global professional function and finds “belonging” and “sense of place” to be nonsense. A “sense of place” and heritage “reaches some deeper hunger for continuity when the future may appear cavernously unpredictable,” says Kim Wikie (quoted recently by Andre Malan when discussing the importance of place). Sustainability challenges globalization (the global modernism agenda) to show that bioregions and communities do matter. [Social sustainability approaches] … show that the social dimension is the missing link of economic planning in regions…It suggests that regional sustainability strategies need to develop new ways of bringing “sense of place” perspectives into regions [in both rural and urban areas]. This will require an understanding of the story of a region – its aboriginal story, its local history and its natural history. This is now called “place narrative” and only by doing this can a place or region create a long term vision for its future and hence shape its development.
Social sustainability is about values and visions shaping the market.
The market has been shaped by community values and visions to prevent slavery, child labor and excessive working hours. …Environmental assessment is another process shaping the market. Sustainability provides us with a coherent checklist for drawing together our core values about economic, social and environmental benefits that we want for our future. It asserts fundamental human rights, but it is wary of fundamentalism. Just as we cannot say “fix the market and we fix everything,” we cannot say “fix the environment and we fix everything” or “fix the community and we fix everything.” We need values that integrate these three.
[…]
Social sustainability gives new substance to transparent participatory processes, to
multiculturalism and to the arts.
The sustainability agenda is a list of really hard issues, long-term complex issues that do not lend themselves to simple engineering or financial solutions. Transparent participatory processes are highlighted by sustainability not only because of the human right to be informed but because without it we won’t solve the problems. … deliberative democracy is required to solve “wicked problems” that logic cannot solve. These issues require innovation based on dialogue from different perspectives. Such innovation comes from welcoming differences and delighting therefore in multiculturalism. It also recognizes the importance of artistic voices that can probe beneath the surface and push us into new awareness.
(adapted by Sharon Meagher from THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE STATE SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY By Professor Peter Newman, Director, Sustainability Policy Unit Department of the Premier and Cabinet, Western Australia, available on the website for The Sigma Project--Sustainability --Integrated Guidelines for Management, the UK Department of Trade and Industry; the unedited text can be found at: http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:P-9Ya0ZUF_YJ:www.projectsigma.com/RnDStreams/RD_soc_research.pdf+social+sustainability&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=19)
Readings for May 2009 workshop
Day 1: What is sustainability?
a) Definitions of sustainability: There are many definitions of “sustainability.” The most commonly used definition is from the UN Brundtland Report. Please read definitions at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/sustainability/more_defns.htm
b) Introduction to sustainability: please read “Introduction to Sustainability” at http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Sustainability/ and then at bottom of this web page click on “An even Better Picture of a Sustainable Community,” or on this direct link: http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Sustainability/ABetterView.html
OPTIONAL RESOURCE:
For further exploration of sustainability definitions: The City of Philadelphia has a website that includes links to many more definitions and considerations of sustainability. If you wish to examine additional definitions, see: http://sustainablephiladelphia.com/html/whatis.html and scroll down to “definitions of sustainability on the web”; there you can trace the origins of many of the definitions.
Day 2: Sustainability and the Environment
As you have seen from yesterday’s reading (Introduction to Sustainability), the environment, society and economics are intertwined. In the second, third, and fourth readings we will focus in turn on each of these areas. Today’s readings primarily focus on the Environment. Human consumption of natural (particularly nonrenewable) resources and the concomitant production of waste (pollution) is a central issue of sustainability and how it relates to the environment.
a) overview of environmental issues: Please read Chapter 1. Entering a New World (pdf), from Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company).
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm
b) ecological footprint: To get an idea of how your lifestyle affects the environment, please calculate your ecological footprint at http://www.myfootprint.org/
OPTIONAL RESOURCES:
--Lester Brown’s 2008 entire book is available at: http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm (entire book) Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company).
--Local environmental scorecard: This is a link to a website that provides an environmental scorecard for local areas by entering your zip code; it’s useful for finding specific facts and figures about Scranton or wherever you live:
http://www.scorecard.org/community/index.tcl?zip_code=18510&set_community_zipcode_cookie_p=t&x=45&y=7%20
Day 3: Social Sustainability and Social Justice
The third readings focus on the issues of society and justice.
a) “What is social sustainability?” (please see the attached article)
b) The Catholic Church on Ecological Degradation: http://faculty.theo.mu.edu/schaefer/ChurchonEcologicalDegradation/CatholicChurchonEnvironmentalDegradation.shtml
OPTIONAL RESOURCE:
on environmental justice: Definition and history of environmental justice: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/basics/ejbackground.html
--for a fuller history of the environmental justice movement, see R.D. Bullard’s article: http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/ejinthe21century.htm
Day 4: Economics and Business
Today’s readings center on economics and business. Please open the two attachments: Reading 4 #1Patagonia_Footprint
Reading 4 #2: To get a sense of where business is today with regard to climate change and overall sustainability, please visit the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) wesite. You will note that many large corporations have joined forces with NGOs (non-government organizations) to solve the climate change problem that the US government is avoiding.
“We are committed to a pathway that will slow, stop and reverse the growth of U.S. emissions while expanding the U.S. economy.”
http://www.us-cap.org/
As you peruse the site, browse through the Summary Overview: A Blueprint for Legislative Action at http://www.us-cap.org/blueprint/overview.asp. The article should give you a good idea of the position that big business is taking with regard to climate action and jump-starting the economy.
OPTIONAL RESOURCE: more on business and the environment: http://www.bsdglobal.com/sd_journey.asp; this webpage contains lots of resources for those wanting to explore more but the assigned reading focuses on the “big picture.” It is particularly helpful in showing how sustainable business requires more than just mere compliance with environmental regulations.
Day 5: Health
The fifth readings focus on health issues related to air pollution and other environmental toxins.
a) “Air Pollution Fatalities New Exceed Traffic Fatalities by 3 to 1” http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update17.htm
b) Children's Environmental Health: http://www.who.int/ceh/en/ and then click on left link "risks" for further information
OPTIONAL RESOURCE:
--on environmental estrogens: http://www.worldandi.com/public/2001/October/ee.html
Day 6: Education
The UN has declared the years 2005-14 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The infusion of sustainability into the curriculum at Scranton is in conjunction with a UN driven worldwide effort to bring attention to the issues of sustainability. The following readings should put our efforts into perspective:
For the UN’s vision of education for sustainable development, please see: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27279&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Then follow links of greatest interest/use to you. Teacher educators might be interested in: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=48712&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Day 7: Curriculum Infusion Models
The seventh readings also focus on Education—Emory University has been involved in infusing sustainability across their curriculum for several years and has developed a terrific website detailing their activities.
a) Please go to Emory University’s sustainability curriculum infusion project (The Piedmont Project) http://www.scienceandsociety.emory.edu/piedmont/index.htm and pay particular attention to the syllabi/course modules [click on the “curriculum” link], especially the ones most relevant to you.
b) In addition, please review the University of Scranton’s Education for Justice: The Case for Sustainability project, on-line at: http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/. If you go to the academic link (http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/done-academics.shtml) you will then find a link to the Workshop on Sustainability (http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/workshop-2005-2006.shtml). This page will provide you with examples of course statements and syllabi of courses at the University where sustainability is infused. These provide a wealth of information on not only content but pedagogy. Please peruse these and feel free to contact faculty if you have any questions. These may even provide the impetus for you to explore interdisciplinary efforts. A year from now we will be asking you for the same information to post on this site.
Day 8: Finding additional resources for your own courses/disciplinary interests
As we hope the small sampling of readings we have done over the past several days shows, the internet provides us with a rich array of resources on sustainability (of course, so do good, old-fashioned books and articles). Please go to: http://www.sustainable.org/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find additional resources and links organized around major sustainability topics. Choose at least one link that you think will be helpful to you in redesigning your course, and come prepared to discuss it on Thursday, May 28-29th.
a) Definitions of sustainability: There are many definitions of “sustainability.” The most commonly used definition is from the UN Brundtland Report. Please read definitions at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/sustainability/more_defns.htm
b) Introduction to sustainability: please read “Introduction to Sustainability” at http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Sustainability/ and then at bottom of this web page click on “An even Better Picture of a Sustainable Community,” or on this direct link: http://www.sustainablemeasures.com/Sustainability/ABetterView.html
OPTIONAL RESOURCE:
For further exploration of sustainability definitions: The City of Philadelphia has a website that includes links to many more definitions and considerations of sustainability. If you wish to examine additional definitions, see: http://sustainablephiladelphia.com/html/whatis.html and scroll down to “definitions of sustainability on the web”; there you can trace the origins of many of the definitions.
Day 2: Sustainability and the Environment
As you have seen from yesterday’s reading (Introduction to Sustainability), the environment, society and economics are intertwined. In the second, third, and fourth readings we will focus in turn on each of these areas. Today’s readings primarily focus on the Environment. Human consumption of natural (particularly nonrenewable) resources and the concomitant production of waste (pollution) is a central issue of sustainability and how it relates to the environment.
a) overview of environmental issues: Please read Chapter 1. Entering a New World (pdf), from Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company).
http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm
b) ecological footprint: To get an idea of how your lifestyle affects the environment, please calculate your ecological footprint at http://www.myfootprint.org/
OPTIONAL RESOURCES:
--Lester Brown’s 2008 entire book is available at: http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm (entire book) Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (W.W. Norton & Company).
--Local environmental scorecard: This is a link to a website that provides an environmental scorecard for local areas by entering your zip code; it’s useful for finding specific facts and figures about Scranton or wherever you live:
http://www.scorecard.org/community/index.tcl?zip_code=18510&set_community_zipcode_cookie_p=t&x=45&y=7%20
Day 3: Social Sustainability and Social Justice
The third readings focus on the issues of society and justice.
a) “What is social sustainability?” (please see the attached article)
b) The Catholic Church on Ecological Degradation: http://faculty.theo.mu.edu/schaefer/ChurchonEcologicalDegradation/CatholicChurchonEnvironmentalDegradation.shtml
OPTIONAL RESOURCE:
on environmental justice: Definition and history of environmental justice: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/basics/ejbackground.html
--for a fuller history of the environmental justice movement, see R.D. Bullard’s article: http://www.ejrc.cau.edu/ejinthe21century.htm
Day 4: Economics and Business
Today’s readings center on economics and business. Please open the two attachments: Reading 4 #1Patagonia_Footprint
Reading 4 #2: To get a sense of where business is today with regard to climate change and overall sustainability, please visit the United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) wesite. You will note that many large corporations have joined forces with NGOs (non-government organizations) to solve the climate change problem that the US government is avoiding.
“We are committed to a pathway that will slow, stop and reverse the growth of U.S. emissions while expanding the U.S. economy.”
http://www.us-cap.org/
As you peruse the site, browse through the Summary Overview: A Blueprint for Legislative Action at http://www.us-cap.org/blueprint/overview.asp. The article should give you a good idea of the position that big business is taking with regard to climate action and jump-starting the economy.
OPTIONAL RESOURCE: more on business and the environment: http://www.bsdglobal.com/sd_journey.asp; this webpage contains lots of resources for those wanting to explore more but the assigned reading focuses on the “big picture.” It is particularly helpful in showing how sustainable business requires more than just mere compliance with environmental regulations.
Day 5: Health
The fifth readings focus on health issues related to air pollution and other environmental toxins.
a) “Air Pollution Fatalities New Exceed Traffic Fatalities by 3 to 1” http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update17.htm
b) Children's Environmental Health: http://www.who.int/ceh/en/ and then click on left link "risks" for further information
OPTIONAL RESOURCE:
--on environmental estrogens: http://www.worldandi.com/public/2001/October/ee.html
Day 6: Education
The UN has declared the years 2005-14 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The infusion of sustainability into the curriculum at Scranton is in conjunction with a UN driven worldwide effort to bring attention to the issues of sustainability. The following readings should put our efforts into perspective:
For the UN’s vision of education for sustainable development, please see: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=27279&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Then follow links of greatest interest/use to you. Teacher educators might be interested in: http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=48712&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Day 7: Curriculum Infusion Models
The seventh readings also focus on Education—Emory University has been involved in infusing sustainability across their curriculum for several years and has developed a terrific website detailing their activities.
a) Please go to Emory University’s sustainability curriculum infusion project (The Piedmont Project) http://www.scienceandsociety.emory.edu/piedmont/index.htm and pay particular attention to the syllabi/course modules [click on the “curriculum” link], especially the ones most relevant to you.
b) In addition, please review the University of Scranton’s Education for Justice: The Case for Sustainability project, on-line at: http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/. If you go to the academic link (http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/done-academics.shtml) you will then find a link to the Workshop on Sustainability (http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/workshop-2005-2006.shtml). This page will provide you with examples of course statements and syllabi of courses at the University where sustainability is infused. These provide a wealth of information on not only content but pedagogy. Please peruse these and feel free to contact faculty if you have any questions. These may even provide the impetus for you to explore interdisciplinary efforts. A year from now we will be asking you for the same information to post on this site.
Day 8: Finding additional resources for your own courses/disciplinary interests
As we hope the small sampling of readings we have done over the past several days shows, the internet provides us with a rich array of resources on sustainability (of course, so do good, old-fashioned books and articles). Please go to: http://www.sustainable.org/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page to find additional resources and links organized around major sustainability topics. Choose at least one link that you think will be helpful to you in redesigning your course, and come prepared to discuss it on Thursday, May 28-29th.
The environment and motivating people
Here is an article suggested by Jessica Nolan that summarizes psychological research that explains the "disconnect" between global warning risks and people's actions. http://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/getArticle.cfm?id=2467
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Denaples Center Wins Award
The Denaples Center was awarded LEED Silver certification--a major step towards our campus's sustainability initiatives. For an article on this award, please see the Times Leader article:
U of S DeNaples Center wins national award: http://www.timesleader.com/news/U_of_S_DeNaples_Center_wins_national_award_05-06-2009.html
U of S DeNaples Center wins national award: http://www.timesleader.com/news/U_of_S_DeNaples_Center_wins_national_award_05-06-2009.html
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Gratefulness and Sustainability
www.gratefulness.org
WORD FOR THE DAY
Tuesday, Feb. 17
In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.
Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist (b. 1937)
WORD FOR THE DAY
Tuesday, Feb. 17
In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.
Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist (b. 1937)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Planning for Earth Day 2009
Earth Day at the University of Scranton will be celebrated on Tuesday, April 21, 2009. Dr. Steve Jones, Associate Provost of Civic Engagement and University Mission, is coordinated an educational fair, and seeks participation from faculty who have infused sustainability into their courses. For additional information, contact Dr. Jones: joness21@scranton.edu
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)