About Sustainability Minor

The Sustainability Studies minor is intended to offer critical, trans-disciplinary perspectives into local and global issues of sustainability. While "sustainability" has been defined in numerous ways, the Sustainability Studies minor outlines sustainability this way: "Sustainability stands at the nexus of human behavior and non-human resources in order to study and plan how humans can ensure future generations quality of life while maintaining quality of life today." The Sustainability Studies minor will look to discover and examine humanity's philosophies and practices, past and present, as they relate to the natural and social world, and consider what new or alternative philosophies and practices might be capable of providing a sustainable, balanced, and ethical future for the planet and its inhabitants.

Sustainability Minor Requirements

The minor will consist of eighteen credits. Six of those credits will be earned in two required courses:

SUS 201: Topics in Sustainabilty (or SUS 202, depending upon semester)

SUS 450: Advanced Seminar in Sustainability Studies

The twelve remaining credits may be taken in any courses cross-listed with Sustainability Studies (noted in COIN by an SUS designation), but which are not also used to fulfill a major requirement; of those twelve credits, six must be in courses at the 300-level or higher.

Sustainability Minor - Fall 2008

SUS 201: TOPICS IN SUSTAINABILITY: COASTAL ZONES
3 credits
M/W/F 1:00-1:50
Open to all. No prereqs.

Coastlines have long held special significance for human imagination: chances are, they have captured your imagination. Coastlines are where land meets sea, where solid footing gives way to mysterious depth, where familiar home gives way to dreams of lands far away. Apart from humanity's romantic and symbolic relationships with coasts, coastal zones are unique ecological areas, whose interlocking systems provide functions vital for maintaining nature's balance, a balance essential to human industry, comfort, and pleasure.

This Sustainability Studies course will examine some of those interlocking systems and attempt to present the fragile complexity of coastal zones and coastal zone systems. By presenting five perspectives from five different professors, each delivered in a discrete module, this course will offer a uniquely multi-disciplined perspective on coastal zones.

The course will begin with an overview of basic concepts needed for understanding sustainability, and how one might apply sustainable thinking, generally. From there, the course will move to examine the ecology of two coastal habitats where land meets sea, coastal sand dunes and salt marshes, and study the intricate and vital behaviors of these ecosystems. In the third module, we will move off-shore slightly, and learn of innovative strategies among coordinated government, business, and civic groups to use shellfish as natural filters for reducing ecologically devastating nitrogen pollution. In the fourth module, we will examine coastlines as unique climate systems, learning (through in-class demonstrations) how air and water move and circulate, and how those movements affect the distribution of nutrients along coastal zones. Finally, we will conclude with a module that recasts the earlier modules through the lens of public policy, and how we convert the of science into regulatory coastal zone management.

The faculty for this course, in order of appearance, will be:

Jerry Blitefield, English
Tara Rajaniemi, Biology
Dr. Timothy Walker, History
Ric Golen, Management and Marketing
Amit Tandon, Physics/SMAST
Chad McGuire, Political Science

For more info, contact Jerry Blitefield at jblitefield@umassd.edu, or, call 508 910 6601.

Sustainability Online Certificate Program

Environmental Policy (PSC 235)

Environmental Policy will explore the decision making process that underlies most of our current environmental laws and regulations in the U.S. Students will learn about the process of environmental decision-making from an “incentive-based” approach and alternatives analysis. Topics such as air, water, hazardous substances, climate change, and environmental justice will be discussed. Students will interpret a current proposal to use charge systems to implement environmental policies. The course is meant as an introductory theme into environmental policy. There is no course pre-requisite.

Sustainable Living (IST 444)

Learn to live more lightly on the planet. An introduction to global challenges and practical solutions related to energy, food, land use, water and air, waste, housing, and community health. This class will help students make personal and professional decisions supporting the three interconnected objectives of sustainability; economic vitality, environmental integrity, and social equity.

Principles in Sustainability

This course is a foundation course for the Online Certificate in Sustainability The purpose of the course is to provide students with a survey overview of current themes surrounding sustainability. Students will be exposed to basic ideas of sustainability from the scientific, economic, social, and philosophical contexts. Completion of the course will provide students with the necessary foundation to further their sustainability studies. There is no course pre-requisite.

Environmental Law (PSC 347)

Environmental Law explores the foundation of legal principles that apply to U.S. environmental laws. Students will learn the basic premises of environmental law, and then apply these premises to current environmental issues. The goal is to expose students to a broad understanding of the scientific and socio-economic elements that go into environmental regulations. Current environmental issues, such as climate change, will be discussed. The course is meant as an introduction into environmental law. There is no course pre-requisite.

Fall Online Courses

Fall online courses include Principles of Sustainability, Environmental Policy, Marine Law and Policy, Environmental Measures and Models and the Environmental Impacts of Globalization. For more information, please contact Jerry Blitefield at jblitefield@umassd.edu, or, call 508 910 6601.

 Last Updated On: 5/8/08