1 / 12

Sustainability Freshman Inquiry

Sustainability Freshman Inquiry. Nov. 2, 2010 Jeff Fletcher. Logistics. New Reading due Nov. 2 Sell the rain : How the privatization of water caused riots in Cochabamba, Bolivia Connie Watson, CBC Radio (Feb. 4, 2003)

joyceburke
Download Presentation

Sustainability Freshman Inquiry

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Sustainability Freshman Inquiry Nov. 2, 2010 Jeff Fletcher

  2. Logistics New Reading due Nov. 2 Sell the rain: How the privatization of water caused riots in Cochabamba, Bolivia Connie Watson, CBC Radio (Feb. 4, 2003) Water Revolt (Timeline): Cochabamba, Bolivia, Frontline, Public Broadcasting System (PBS) (June 2002) Who Will Bring Water to the Bolivian Poor? New York Times (Dec. 15, 2005) (optional): What's in Your Water Bottle? Frontline, Public Broadcasting System (PBS) (June 2002) (optional): Letter From Bolivia: Leasing the Rain, The New Yorker William Finnegan (April 8, 2002) No exams or class meetings during finals week Final reflection paper due, but can be submitted online Students host series of events for PSU Sustainability Education Week Nov. 6-12 http://ecowiki.pdx.edu/news/view/students-host-series-events-psu-sustainability-education-week Group project topics Sustainability on campus, around Portland

  3. Early Term Feedback: Main Themes • Helpful: • Group and class discussions, Omnivore’s Dilemma, mentor labs, field trips, hands-on activities, quizzes • Challenges: • Seating arrangement, chatter, cliques • Not covering material in more depth, clearer expectations (what to take notes on), more students involved in discussions, wording on test • PowerPoint slides plus/minus • My explanations plus/minus

  4. Suggested Remedies • Change seating arrangements • Sit on outside facing front • Sit by someone new, more random groups • Don’t tolerate side conversations, texting • Michelia and Zak will assist • Seating charts if necessary • Asked to leave class (absence for day) • Need to talk to me before returning • You: Ask questions • Note taking, key points, • Me: clearer expectations • Recap main points, more study guide review, more discussion and hands-on

  5. Midterm • Mean: 40.9 / 50 = 81.8% • Median: 42.5 / 50 = 85%

  6. Food Inc. • Veil between us and food (e.g. labeling) • A Farm vs. A Factory • Who works on each? • Consolidation of Farms and food businesses • Chicken Counsel Spokesman: • “A lot of food, little land, affordable prices: some one explain what’s wrong with that.” • Social Change • Revolving Door (Lobbyists and Gov. Officials) • Who controls crops (Farmers vs. Agribusinesses) • Hidden Costs • Hemorrhagic E. Coli (157:147) • Working Conditions • Environmental Costs • Health Costs (antibiotics)

  7. Social Engineering Leverage Points • Policy: Legislation, regulation, standards & guidance. • Economic or Financial Stimulus: Subsidies, creating markets, pricing, grants and loans, investments. • Technology: Encouraging inventions, adoption of new technology, implementation on a wide scale.

  8. Social Engineering in AgricultureA mini - exercise Write down one of each of the following: • Examples of Agriculture Policies • Examples of Technologies in Agriculture • Examples of Financing in Agriculture

  9. Social Engineering in Agriculture • Examples of agriculture policies • Industrial agriculture (Butz) • USDA definitions & certifications of organic foods • Examples of technologies • Plant 1 acre in 18 min (King Corn) • GM crops • GPS/Satellite auto-steering (fertilizer, fuel costs) • Soil, nutrient sensors • Feedlots, antibiotics • Examples of Financing • Public funds make the difference for a corn farmer • Private/ventures in biotech, • agribusiness (Cargill, ADM, Unilever)

  10. Discussion Questions Do we have effective social engineering targeted to increase production and consumption of Organic food? Should we? Do we have social engineering targeted to increase production and consumption of Local foods? Should we? What about water & energy needs? What about land use? Who will do the work of local farming?

  11. Omnivore’s Dilemma • Ch 10: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Pasture • Ch 11: The Animals: Practicing Complexity • Ch 12: Slaughter: In a Glass Abattoir • Reconciling Livestock and the Environment

  12. Debate (next class) • Local Food? • Eating Meat? • No-Till Chemical Farming? • Can we give up Nitrogen Fertilizers? • GMOs + Organic?

More Related