General Education Course Sequence in Sustainability. Models 1 & 2

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1 General Education Course Sequence in Sustainability Models 1 & 2 We began with two models of what an introductory curriculum could look like: 1. Topics from the Handbook of Sustainability Literacy 2. Gary B s Fairhaven course Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Sustainability These two are quite similar, in that they discuss a number of topics related to sustainability. The first list turns out to be problematical for a couple of reasons. First, it has no unifying structure, and second, on examination, each topic description doesn t go into much depth. Because Gary s model is actually a course, it has more coherence than the Handbook topic list. But they are quite similar in that neither organizes topics around larger themes or establishes a logical framework for exploring what sustainability is, defines a set of principles by which to assess it, or how and whether to enhance it in any particular circumstance. So, while the list of topics clearly seems to have something to do with the study of sustainable cultures and communities, what seems to be missing is a compelling narrative, some kind of container that can not only help us define the intro courses, but also to develop a vision of an entire curriculum which will essentially deal with the interactions of just about everything with just about everything else. Model 3 A third approach to sustainability is represented by Jared Diamond s recent popular book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. The book is an in-depth exploration of the characteristics that have made the difference between sustainability or failure of societies over time. Diamond identifies four general mechanisms of societal failures, exploring what sustainability is by exploring the ways the necessary conditions are not met: losses of natural resources; ceilings on natural resources; destruction of habitat; unsupportable population growth. Exploration of these topics illuminates a number of overlapping domains that are critical to the survivability of societies: Biodiversity Forestation Soil preservation Sustainable yields of wild foods Safe water supply Climate stability Human population Further, Diamond s previous book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, provided additional insights into ways to frame the study of sustainability. In that book he answers the question, Why are some societies so rich and some so poor? His answer probes deeply into the origins of humankind, its global migrations, and how the relative abundance or scarcity of resources at different locations shaped the human cultures that evolved there.

2 These ideas provide a third model for a sustainability curriculum. The narrative is a compelling one because it talks about concrete systemic failures in history that provide useful models of non-sustainability along with interconnecting links to previous two outlines. Model 4: The possibility thus emerges to build our introductory course sequence that builds an understanding of sustainability by essentially tracing the history of life on Earth within an interactive systems context. Every complex system is a sphere of reference, and sustainability is about interactions within and across these spheres of reference. For a University curriculum, it might be useful to characterize these spheres of reference according to the structure of traditional disciplines, each of which looks at different subsystems of human endeavor. Such an approach could establish sustainability as the study of interdependent systems. Each system can be viewed separately, or could be integrated into larger wholes for the study of particular problem sets. The basic narrative is to begin with the formation of the Earth and its properties, and how these led over time to the structure of the terrestrial and aquatic systems that formed the basis for living systems. It would be followed by the evolution of living systems and their dependence on the resources and conditions available to them over time in particular places or niches. There are important differences between the impacts of humans on the world and those of other living species, and the studies of these differences are an essential element in developing a new view of sustainability. Conveniently, most of the disciplines deal with particular aspects of human beings and their interactions with each other and with the world, even as human actions change the world. These interactions of human behaviors in the context of global systems forms the unfolding backdrop of Sustainability studies, leading to Model 4: Sustainability of Interdependent Systems Narrative Learning themes Earth History: How our planet took form, and how its distance from our particular sun, tilt, rotation, temperature, and large single moon created a laboratory with very specific characteristics favorable for life. Geologic Systems: how geology, chemistry, and plate tectonics shaped (and continue to shape) the planet; Atmospheric/hydrologic Systems: How oceans, rivers, streams, rain, ice, tides, winds, and currents distribute water and heat around the planet, and vary over time Biochemical Systems: Emergence of plant and animal life from the primordial soup: habitat, food supply, competition, predation, defenses, and seasonal cycles; ongoing process of coevolution and extinction; What makes a system a system?-- Context; interdependence; feedback loops; chaos effects; stability, balance, and threshold effects. Nonrenewable resources; distribution of raw materials Resource renewability; Water supply and quality; inter-system effects; Pollution; Global warming; Necessary conditions and resources for living systems; deforestation; habitat destruction; species competition and balance; overpopulation

3 Ecological Systems & Cambrian explosion: life becomes ubiquitous, interdependent, and competitive, tending to fill every available niche; (Principle of Place) Life is always tied to a specific Place and its conditions Ethology/ living social systems: intra- and interspecies behavior under environmental/resource constraints; balancing cooperation & competition in the context of Place; Anthropology/Cultural systems: Primates, early hominids, modern humans: hierarchical competition, territoriality, deception, politics Geography: Sustainability in traditional societies; how resources shaped cultures; how migration, trade, innovation, and war relieved the constraints of Place; emergence of language, culture, agriculture, art; increasing social and cultural complexity; Civilization: written language, post-tribal settlements and institutions, religion, conflicting cultures, technology, colonization; war; overgrazing, deforestation, desertification Social Systems: individual and institutional behavior affecting resource management; scarcity, cultural beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors; dependence, independence, interdependence Biodiversity as wealth; niche definition, instabilities, and interdependence, Evolution Scarcity is always relative to demand and supply of essential resources Food supply, competition, cooperation, predation, value of genetic diversity; Social needs, adaptive behaviors, survival mechanisms Water quality management ; Loss or contamination of fresh water supply; Pollution; Proliferation of alien species; Overhunting, overgrazing, & overfishing, Soil erosion, salinization, infertility, pollution, toxicity Overpopulation; War, Religion, politics; unintended consequences; unstable systems. Economic Systems: Scarcity; ownership and distribution of benefits, costs, and wealth; marginalism and improvement; equity vs. efficiency: values, rules, and will; externalities; common property resources; Sustainability Principles Balance: Subsystems return to equilibrium when perturbed Harmony: Equilibrium in each subsystem promotes equilibrium in other subsystems Stability: Systems interact toward multidimensional equilibrium Interdependence: Perturbation of any subsystem will perturb elements in other subsystems Adaptability: Each subsystem self- adjusts to changing conditions Equitability: Rights and advantages are distributed fairly Renewability: Processes can be replicated at similar cost over time Stewardship: Resources are managed as if rented from future generations Quality of Life: People are driven by material, social, aesthetic, and spiritual needs. Comparative economic systems; Growth of human numbers and impacts per capita Systems thinking; intergenerational equity; quality of life; This model has special characteristics for a curriculum for Sustainability:

4 A broad view of Sustainability that leads students to develop abilities to explore, appreciate, and address the functioning of complex systems and their interactions with each other; A set of themes that will define the values, goals, tools, and philosophy of the study of Sustainability; Link sustainability as a theme across the curriculum Create an engaging narrative that defines sustainability by its relationships and connectivity. Model 5 Second Nature Second Nature is a nonprofit group with a primary focus on sustainability education; their approach, outlined below from the link above, meshes nicely with Model 4 above while providing numerous additional perspectives and possibilities. Critical Sustainability Themes 1. Systems Thinking and Analysis Systems dynamics The Natural Step Framework * Interdependence, holism; one large system of interacting subsystems intra- and inter-systems dynamics structure, patterns and relationships; deep cause/effect relationships; upstream thinking; nonlinear dynamics; positive and negative feedback; system momentum; leverage and tipping points 2. Human Connections to the Physical and Natural World humans are a part of nature humans can live in harmony with nature human inventions and activities that mirror natural systems the effects of the physical (i.e., built environment) and the natural environment on human health the relationship of population, consumption, technology and carrying capacity to the Biosphere 3. Ethics and Values issues of equity, justice, culture and sustainable development different ways of measuring societal well being (e.g., the concepts of qualitative change (development) and quantitative change (growth)) individual and community improvement as important components of economic/social development methods of decision making (e.g., the precautionary principle as well as the principle of scientific certainty) 4. How Natural Systems Function natural laws govern the functioning of the biosphere interdependence and holism (e.g., if part of the system is sick, what is the effect on the whole system?) ecosystems as communities with hierarchies of relationships partnerships, cooperation and competition

5 5. Technological and Economic Relationships to Sustainability technical, scientific and institutional strategies that foster sustainable development energy and natural resource efficiency and conservation shifting from nonrenewable resources (e.g., fossil fuels) to renewable resources prevention and control of pollution and waste design for the environment, industrial ecology and ecologically sustainable design remediation of current environmental problems and preservation of biological Diversity 6. Motivating Environmentally Sustainable Behavior social, legal and governmental frameworks for guiding environmental management and sustainable development the relationships of population, consumption, culture, social equity and the environment micro- and macroeconomic signals (i.e., prices or taxes that affect environmentally sustainable or unsustainable action) how spirituality and cultural beliefs affect environmentally sustainable behavior 7. Pedagogical Strategies for Integrating Sustainability utilization of experiential and service-learning on campus and in the larger community connection of theories that are discussed in class with conditions and situations in the real world, including the hidden curriculum of the campus environment examination of topics from interdisciplinary and systemic perspectives, recognizing the complex interdependence of social, cultural, economic, political, individual and biospheric activity) encouragement of research that supports sustainable economic and technological strategies, promotes energy and resource efficiency and productivity, and mirrors natural systems