EnvS 428 - Pollution Prevention

Sustainability in Society, in Business, on Campus, and at Home

Syllabus
 
Dr. Maxine Dakins        
Office: TAB311, Idaho Falls, ID        
Phone: 208-282-7957
Office Hours: Drop by or by appointment        
Email: medakins@if.uidaho.edu

Course Description:

This course will cover the basic concepts of pollution prevention in the context of an overall theme of sustainability. The first half of the course will explore the idea of sustainability from the highest societal level, through the lenses of business and education, and finally at the most basic personal level.

We will start with an introduction to the definitions of sustainability and pollution prevention. This discussion will include an introduction to pollution prevention in the areas of solid and hazardous waste, water, air, energy, odor, noise and light. We will then explore what sustainability and pollution prevention mean at the broader societal level using examples from the United States and from countries worldwide.

Sustainability in business will be our next topic. This will include a discussion of the International Environmental Standards, ISO 14000. ISO 14000 specifies requirements for environmental management systems that fully integrate pollution prevention concepts and total quality management into the activities of a business or industry.

We will then discuss sustainability and pollution prevention strategies for higher education since that is the context in which the course lives. Finally, we will discuss pollution prevention and sustainability in our lives and homes.

The second half of the course will focus on a series of case studies involving pollution prevention and sustainability in society, business, education and at home.

The course will involve two examinations: a midterm and a final. Students will also complete a major research project culminating in a paper and Powerpoint presentation.

Expectations:

Students in the course will be expected to:

1. Watch and listen to the learning modules associated with each week's topic.
    
2. Actively participate in the threaded discussion each week.
    
3. Complete all assignments on time and submit by the due dates. 
    

4. Carry out an independent research project on a topic related to sustainability and/or pollution prevention and prepare a paper and a presentation.

Course Goals:

By the end of the course, the students should

1. Have an understanding of the basic principles of sustainability and how they are applied in a variety of settings
    
2. Have an understanding of the basics of pollution prevention and how they are applied in a variety of settings
    
3. Have been exposed to many different examples of sustainability and pollution prevention in practice

In addition, student's skills should have been further developed in

1. How to actively participate in a web based learning environment
    
2. How to carry out research at a distance
    
3. How to write a research paper
    
4. How to give a professional presentation

Books:

Edwards, Andres R. 2005. The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. New Society Publishers, BC, Canada.

and either Hawken, Orr, or Pollan (or more than one if you are ambitious):

Hawken, Paul. 1993. The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. Harper Collins.

Orr, David W. 2004. Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect. Island Press, 10th Anniversary Edition.

Pollan, Michael. 2007. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Publishers.

I would suggest Hawken if private business is primarily of interest to you, Orr if the process and product of education are more of interest to you, and Pollan if sustainable food systems are of interest. All of these are available from online book sites such as Amazon.com and are often available, very economically, as used editions.

Other readings may be assigned during the semester.

Research Paper/Case Study:

Each student will do an independent research project related to sustainability and/or pollution prevention, write a research paper, and prepare a presentation. The topic for the paper will be how a government, private business, educational institution, or private individual carried out a project involving sustainability and/or pollution prevention.  Presentations should be prepared using Powerpoint so that they can be easily posted to the course website. The oral portion of the presentation can be included using Powerpoint's Notes feature or can be recorded for playback over the Internet (similar to the course lectures).

A standard research paper format should be used.  This includes sections with descriptive headings, proper referencing of material, a literature cited section, and a discussion and/or conclusions section giving your analysis of what was learned from the project.  The research projects will be graded on Research, Analysis, and Style.  Research involves how much information was obtained on the topic and how it was used.  Research materials will almost certainly include web pages but may also include books, journal articles, magazine articles, and so forth as appropriate.  Material consulted should include the company being examined but also industry groups, competitors, technology providers, etc.  Analysis involves how well you were able to synthesize the information you obtained and communicate it to your target audience, subsequent EnvS 428 classes.  Style involves how well the case study is written and includes organization, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and so forth.

Evaluation: