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.