syllabus
The following is a tentative schedule. It will evolve all through the semester; expect things to be moved, added or removed.
schedule
September 3rd
Introduction. We'll get to know each other, flesh out some of the ideas and hopes for the course, sign you up so that you can see and edit various pages on this wiki site, talk quite a bit about different ways a college might measure how sustainable it is (including looking at a few different ways already in existence), go for a walk down to the farm with Clare and Travis, play with some data, be overwhelmed by the Thermal House report, learn to make graphs in Excel, meet some interesting/useful/knowledgeable people and generally get the show on the road.
Preparation. The reading is linked from the resources page (link on the left). Consider: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the survey? What action, if any, should Marlboro take based on the results? What would you do differently if you wanted to assess the sustainability of a college campus? Should Marlboro continue to participate?
September 10th
Up and Running. Two halves to this session. We'll begin by starting our more detailed evaluation of the various existing schemes for assessing environmental sustainability and at around 3pm we'll head down to the farm to put some work in on the greenhouse.
Preparation. Read Chapters 1-4 of Sharing Nature's Interest; check out the College Sustainability Measurement Systems on the resources page; add your own sources to the list (this is not possible until I work out how to change the permissions); wear suitable clothing for working on the greenhouse.
September 17th
Group work. The first hour and a half will be time for you to work on the major project.
Forests and Sustainability at Marlboro College (with guest faculty Jenny Ramstetter). Marlboro College’s forested land represents the majority of the land that the college owns. This forested land should be an important element of sustainability at the college as the forest supplies various ecosystem services and values for the college community and the greater Marlboro area. For this course topic, we will explore ideas about ecosystem services and sustainability as they apply to our forests here. Reading will include background material on ecosystem services, various forest-oriented websites, and portions of Marlboro College’s forest management plan and related materials. We’ll explore the Marlboro woods in a preliminary attempt to catalogue ecosystem services and values that the forest supplies and how they relate to sustainability.
Preparation. Materials:
You should read the first one closely and familiarise yourselves with the other sources. Hard copies of the first two are also on reserve (for the third you'll probably want to follow various links).
September 24th
How Marlboro Works. KP Peterson and Don Capponcelli induct us into the mysteries of Plant Ops.
October 1st
A double bill this week:
Climate Change and Moral Responsibility. William Edelglass joins us to lead a discussion.
Resource Management and the Meaning of Sustainability. with Jim Tober. In Part II of the class session, we will consider two views (and a third view, briefly) of the relationship between resource use and sustainability. 1) The first reading, by Kneese, et. al., introduces the "materials balance" model of the economy, which states that what enters the economy from the environment must either be accumulated in the economy or must come out the other end. This simple and perhaps unsurprising notion actually has rather profound implications for environmental policy. The framework can also be applied to smaller-scale systems such as Marlboro College. We will look at a much simpler diagram than is in the reading. Also, be mindful that this was published in 1970, so data is not current; note early references to the prospects for climate change. 2) The second reading is a 2-page introduction to "The Limits to Growth," a seminal 1972 work using dynamic systems modeling to make projections about future states of the world. We won't say much about this in class, but you should be familiar with the study. 3) The third reading is the transcript of a talk given by economics Nobelist, Robert Solow, in 1991, on the possible meanings of sustainability. There is a little economics jargon here, which is not central to the main ideas, so don't get hung up on it. Do you accept his formulation? What are some alternative views?
Preparation. Reading sent via email.
October 8th
10:10:10. Let's do stuff!
Preparation. Draft of first paper due; 10:10:10 project(s) in place.
October 15th
Food with Adam Franklin-Lyons and William Robb.
Preparation. Sent via email
October 22nd
The Project Begins. We'll begin the central project in earnest. We'll aim to wrap up by 4pm to allow individual conferences about the paper for anyone that wants one.
Preparation. Research different schools that have done similar projects. Final version of first paper due on Tuesday at 4pm.
October 29th
The Eight(?) Mission Statements.
November 5th
The Project Continues.
November 9th
The Bookstore.
November 12th
Data Collection.
November 19th
November 26th
Thanksgiving Break. No class today.
December 3rd
Proposal Presentations.'''
