Environmental Sustainability

Professor Mick Womersley

Can global civilization become ecologically sustainable?

You must have heard about climate change? About the Òenergy crisis?Ó Have you heard about the Òfood crisis?Ó About hunger and poverty in developing nations? About population increase, which will lead to a planet of 9-10 billion humans by 2050? About the relative decline of America as a manufacturing power, and the vast increase in manufacturing in other countries, particularly China, which is leading to a concurrent increase in food and consumer good consumption in that country?

Everything human seems to be growing, but we only seem to have one planet we can live on. How, given the current strain on the planetÕs resources, can we continue to provide clean water to, feed, clothe, and house nearly 10 billion people? Including you and any children you may have one day? And their children?

In other words, how can human systems become sustainable? And how can we ensure sustainable society enjoys the religious, social, political, and economic freedoms found in western countries today?

IsnÕt this a big problem? The sort of problem most educated people will have to wrestle with in their time, as matters get worse? This introductory course is designed to give you the information you need to become a literate participant in the greatest action debate of our times. ItÕs also designed to help you learn to think about humans, human problems and human systems. In particular, we expect that you learn to think about complex and interactive systems, like the human sociopolitical system, the agro-ecological system, or the climate system. This is really a class in applied ecology, and Òsystems thinkingÓ is the basis of ecological science.

Course Outline

Following an introduction based on the Socratic questions above, the course is divided into four modules. Our course schedule will be flexible. When the class appears to ÒgetÓ the major concepts in a module, I will provide an exam to evaluate your learning. The one exception is the comprehensive final examination scheduled for the last week of the semester.

• The first module examines the question: What are humans anyway? ThereÕs not much point learning about human ecological systems if you donÕt have at least a working ecological definition of a human. To find out how humans fit into life on earth, we will investigate where they came from, what they are, biologically speaking, what they do ecologically as animals and organisms, and how they developed complex societies.

• The second module examines more closely the question: What is ecology? In addition to reviewing the basic concepts, theories and laws of the science of ecology, we will relate them to questions of human ecological adaptation. Together, we will begin to explore the significance of unintended consequences resulting from human adaptations to changing ecological conditions.

• The third module provides opportunities to use the intellectual tools you learned in the first parts of the course to examine two of the most important and current human ecological case studies: the scarcity of fossil fuel energy and its alternatives, and related global anthropogenic climate change. Together, these problems are creating a third, a global food crisis, which we will also examine.

• The final weeks of the class focus on two topics. The first is computer assisted quantitative ecological modeling. Using the case studies of the previous module, I will demonstrate this technique in class. You will demonstrate your learning by applying the technique to a case study of your own. The second topic is the important ecological case of contemporary China (ÒAs China goes, so goes the World.Ó) For better or worse, China is shaping up to be the key nation in global ecological issues: the emerging biggest consumer and climate polluter, but also the biggest supplier and user of renewable energy equipment. You will be asked to think about the future, for yourselves as Americans, for the Chinese, and for the rest of the world.

The final exam essay question appears at the head of this document. Students who can effectively use the intellectual tools learned in this course will be able to provide the more credible, persuasive, and useful answers.

Books and other resources

These are the written and other materials that all students must read for this course, and on which the tests are partly based:

1) Gerald G. Martin: Human Ecology: Basic Concepts for Sustainable Development. Available in the bookstore.

2) The course documents available on the internet at this site: http://www.unity.edu/facultypages/womersleyVarious library reserve materials announced from time to time, as well as handouts and photocopied materials passed out by the instructor each week (save all these for pretest review).

3) An international newspaper, radio news broadcast, or a TV news program. (There are many choices. You could choose any, it doesnÕt matter, as long as regional and international environmental news are covered on a daily basis). The Quimby Library has a good selection of newspapers. I recommend the BBC, available on the short wave, the Internet, or at 5am and 3pm each morning on Maine Public Radio from Waterville, 91.3 FM. If something big happens in the world to do with sustainability, and I talk about it in class or lab, it is Òfair gameÓ for examinations, whether you were in class that day or not.

Procedures and Grading

Consultation with Instructor: My office is easily located on the second floor of Activities, in the small corridor to the left of the main one. My email address is easy to remember (mwomersley@unity.edu). I am very easy to find just before or after class in the classroom. I growl occasionally, but do not bite. If you are worried about anything at all, please come see me. One-on-one office consultations in particular can be an important part of your academic life. To avoid them is to miss out on part of the service you are paying for at Unity College.

Attendance and Participation: As an active learning class, your regular attendance is expected.  A portion of your final grade will be based on the quality of your participation in class activities, as well as for other special efforts in aid of collaborative learning.

Academic Dishonesty: includes plagiarism, cheating, and other actions in violation of the Unity College Honor Code (see Student Handbook for details). Students found to be intentionally engaging in academic dishonesty in this course will receive an ÒFÓ (no credit) for the particular assignment, and no higher than a ÒDÓ for the course grade, assuming the first attempt to cheat is the last. These consequences will only be entered permanently in your grade record after you have an opportunity to consult with me about the specific dishonest act.

Final Grading: A final course grade of ÒAÓ requires 90+ points; ÒBÓ requires 80+ points; ÒCÓ requires 70+ points; and ÒDÓ requires 60+ points. Points will be accumulated as follows:

3 Exams (2 exams plus final):	80 Points
Ecological modeling problem:	10 points
Participation/collaboration:	10 points
Total	100 points