Sustainability Activities

These activities have been submitted by faculty from a range of disciplines. The activities use a wide array of pedagogic approaches to address various aspects of sustainability, science and societal issues.


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Analyzing Water Neutrality of U. of Utah Campus
Steven Burian, University of Utah
Water Neutrality Case Study Activity

Action to Enhance Sustainability
Bill Stigliani, University of Northern Iowa
This assignment is a 10-hour, out-of-class project where each student designs and carries out an action plan to enhance sustainability. Students select from a large suite of alternative actions, most of which can be quantified for reductions in CO2 and energy consumption, as well as in dollar savings.

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Analysis of trends in global oil reserves, production, and consumption
Scott Cummings, Kenyon College
An exercise to analyze trends in global oil reserves, production, and consumption.

How Much Oil Leaked from Deepwater Horizon?
Stephen Boss, University of Arkansas Main Campus
Students develop an estimate of the total quantity of petroleum discharged from the Deepwater Horizon from 20 April to 15 July 2010 using only two known facts, the diameter of the riser and the flow rate of the oil/gas mixture emanating from the riser.

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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A mock legislative debate to enhance and integrate student understanding of climate change science, policy, economics and ethics
Mari Lee, Colorado College
This activity utilizes publicly available, proposed national legislation to provide a platform for student inquiry into the intersection of climate science, environmental economics and sustainable public policy.

Students' Evaluation of Competing Alternative Energy Options for a Sustainability Assessment
Hitesh Soneji, City College of San Francisco
A group exercise in trying to understand the many attributes that contribute to an overall assessment of sustainability for alternative energy projects.

Exploring sustainability through water cycle connections
Tim Lutz, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
During this module students use multiple experiences (reading, video, the outdoors, a survey of their water footprints, writing, and lots of discussion) to examine how life today, in comparison to pre-industrial times, makes our connections to water virtually invisible. Students use the class's water footprint results to find out how agricultural and industrial water uses link us to people distant in both place and time. They weigh the consequences of these invisible connections in creating the lost sense of dependence and responsibility that typifies unsustainability. Students study the variability of water footprints within our class to help identify more sustainable personal choices. They consider the activity of a local watershed association to educate and involve people in improving the quality of local streams as a model of how community action can accomplish what individuals cannot.

Offshore wind or offshore oil?
Noah Snyder, Boston College
An introductory environmental science project tasking students with comparing offshore oil and wind power development.

Using concept mapping to experientially introduce systems thinking
Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota
This activity uses concept mapping as a tool for students to experience the complexity that is inherent in many sustainability-related issues.

Financial Incentives of Open Access Resource Overuse
Chris McIntosh, University of Minnesota-Duluth
In this activiy when property rights are absent participants have financial incentive to take what they can get immediatly as opposed to waiting until the resource is more valuable. Adding strong property rights provides the proper finanacial incentives for students to wait to extract the resource when it is most valuable.

Game Assignment for Environmental Economics
Nelson Altamirano, National University
Game Assigment for Environmental Economics and Sustainability

How Can Models Be Used To Study Climate Change?
Ben Fackler-Adams, Skagit Valley College
Students utilize ice core data to develop a simple climate model, test it and then analyze, through reading IPCC materials, what other variables might need to be included in a model that more accurately predicts climate response to forcings. They are then asked to reflect on the use of models in scientific inquiry and on climate skeptics view of climate models.

Seminar on Sustainability in Europe: What are the Limits of Possibility?
Mary Ann Cunningham, Vassar College
This field trip presents a model of an experiential exploration of sustainability systems and the limits of possible transfer of ideas from Europe to the US. In addition to experiential learning, our aim was to have in-depth, ongoing conversations in which to examine our assumptions and observations.

Service-Learning to explore Sustainability
Tracy Lai, Seattle Community College-Central Campus
Service-Learning is a means of exploring sustainability and connecting experiential learning with academic study of the topic.

'Reporting' on the World Water Forum to understand media coverage and gaps
Abigail Schade, Davidson College
'Reporting' in-class on the tri-ennial World Water Forum.

Determining Carbon Storage in Garcelon Bog
Holly Ewing, Bates College
This is a three-week lab sequence aimed at determining the approximate amount of carbon stored in a local bog and teaching skills for solving complex problems through collaborative work.

On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Collection This activity is part of the On the Cutting Edge Exemplary Teaching Activities collection.
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Environmentally Sustainable Mining
Stephen Kissin, Lakehead University
A field trip that illustrates a contrast between environmentally sustainable mining activity and a case of a lack of environmental planning in mining operation and closure.

Article Review
Lisa Harrington, Kansas State University
Students are given a choice of sources from which to choose an article relevant to the course (Sustainability Science) for review, including connection to other course content. Integration of article content with other course materials is an important component.

Stabilization Wedges Game
David Kobilka, Central Lakes College-Brainerd
Learning about complexities carbon stabilization firsthand with the Princeton University Carbon Mitigation Initiave's Sabilization Wedges Game

Introduction to Global Climate Change Through Classroom Discussion
Becca Edwards, Southwestern University
A classroom discussion about global climate change designed for a general undergraduate classroom. Discussion is facilitated by a 10-15 minute brainstorming session or gallery walk.