Geology and Sustainability
Mary Savina, Carleton College
I think most geologists would say that sustainability is at the root of our discipline, though we certainly didn't invent the word or define the concept. Geology considers the earth as an open system of gases, liquids and solids, distributed from the outer limits of the atmosphere to the earth's center. We know that within this system are many interacting subsystems that involve the transfer of energy and materials from one area – and state – to another. Resources – minerals, fuels, water, soils and others – all exist within the earth system that geologists study. Geologists study how these resources are created, how they are altered, and how they move from place to place. Just tracing the routes of water on the globe, for instance, involves the atmosphere, the earth's land surface (sometimes called "the critical zone"), the oceans, the ice caps, and the crust and mantle of the solid earth. Humans alter many of the transfer processes and at the same time they alter the amounts of resources in storage. It may be true, as the physicists say, that matter can neither be created or destroyed, but matter can certainly be changed from an un-usable state to a usable one (think mining and smelting) or from a usable state to an un-usable one (think gasoline and carbon dioxide).

Putting Sustainability into Action at FAMU
Bakari McClendon, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
Bakari McClendon, Sustainability Institute, Florida A&M University Downloadable version of this essay Putting Sustainability Into Action at FAMU (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 139.5MB Oct24 17)

The Psychology of Sustainability and Lessons from a Tiny Island
Debbie Sturm, James Madison University
Debbie Sturm, James Madison University In March of this year I attended a conference in Edinburgh, Scotland centered around sustainability assessment within universities. It was a tiny conference, with just about ...

Why Sustainability Education Needs Pedagogies of Reflection and Contemplation
Marie Eaton, Western Washington University; Kate Davies, Antioch University McGregor; Sarah Williams, The Evergreen State College; Jean MacGregor, The Evergreen State College
This essay sets out a rationale and framework for pedagogies of reflective and contemplative practice and makes an argument for why they are critically important to sustainability education.

Teaching sustainability through project based learning
James Stone, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
James Stone, Civil and Environmental Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology My approach to teaching sustainability revolves around an interdisciplinary sustainable design senior/graduate level ...

Teaching Sustainability Through History
Derek Larson, Saint Johns University
Derek Larson, Environmental Studies, The College of St. Benedict/St. John's University Our environmental studies department was created 20 years ago with the specific intention of interdisciplinarity in its ...

A Tour of the Earth Sustainability Liberal Education Program: An experiment in integrative learning
Barbara Bekken, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ
Barbara M. Bekken, Geosciences, Virginia Tech What is the Earth Sustainability program in liberal education? The Earth Sustainability (ES) program is an integrative and STEM-saturated experiment in liberal ...

Making Sustainability Visible
Thomas Beery, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Thomas Beery, Center for Environmental Education, University of Minnesota-Duluth Sustainability is about people and the choices they make, ultimately it is a question of human behavior. A deliberate effort to ...

Sustainability at Coppin State University
Mintesinot Jiru, Coppin State University
Mintesinot Jiru, , Coppin State University In March 2008, Coppin's president signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), a coalition of over 660 colleges and ...

Using process-focused assessments for teaching sustainability
Meghann Jarchow, University of South Dakota
Meghann Jarchow, Interdepartmental - sustainability, University of South Dakota Thinking about how we assess students is as important as the methods that we use to convey the course content. I think that most ...