Download Curriculum Crap for EST 643

Integrated Curriculum Unit
Interdisciplinary Approach to Achieving Environmental Sustainability at Oakland
University and Creating Stewards of the Environment
Linda Schweitzer, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Dept. of Chemistry and Environmental
Science Program, Oakland University 48309
Two Proposed Courses in Sustainability in the Environmental Science Program:
1. Beekeeping Course (ENV 400-level). A 4 credit course offered in Spring 08
Title: Introduction to Apiculture and Sustainability
2. Internship option in the Environmental Science Program – see separate file, “ENV
470 Internship Beekeeping”
Note: a major emphasis will be placed on safety in all endeavors
According to Drake and Burns (2004) in, “Meeting Standards Through Integrated
Curriculum”, a backward design using a Know/Be/Do framework can be used to achieve
an end in mind, which in this case is environmental sustainability.
Environmental Sustainability is the bridge for Course #1
Know: facts, concepts and enduring understandings will be assessed by exams, written
assignments and specified performance criteria
Be: attitudes, beliefs and actions are demonstrated by a paradigm shift to produce
students who are good stewards of the environment
Do: the student will have hands-on experience as a beekeeper
The curriculum for this course was developed to meet the standards of the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) for Applied Science Programs.
Specifically, the program outcomes and assessment must demonstrate the following:
(a) an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and applied sciences
(b) an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data
(c) an ability to formulate or design a system, process, or program to meet desired
needs
(d) an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
(e) an ability to identify and solve applied science problems
(f) an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
(g) an ability to communicate effectively
(h) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of solutions in a global and
societal context
(i) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
(j) a knowledge of contemporary issues
(k) an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern scientific and technical tools
necessary for professional practice.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Peak Oil and Resource Depletion
Disclaimer: The following theories, beliefs and notions are consistent with the OU
College of Arts and Sciences 2007-2008 Theme of Revolution, and are thus subject to
debate and further study.
Definition: Peak Oil - a term that describes the maximum rate of world-wide petroleum
production and the time when roughly half of the world’s oil resources are used up, after
which there is a growing gap between world-wide supply and demand
One of the most recognizable mantras of the environmental movement is, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – in that order”. Most people have heard the mantra, but do not understand
its implications. Since everything we have or make comes from natural resources (i.e.,
raw materials), our economy is directly linked to the availability of natural resources.
Any resource that is non-renewable (e.g., fossil fuels) or is used faster than it can be
renewed (e.g., withdrawing water from an aquifer faster than it can be recharged), is
unsustainable. Societies that deplete essential resources cannot thrive or maintain their
population indefinitely unless alternative resources can be found to substitute for the ones
that are in depletion. Another term closely related to resource utilization and depletion is
“ecological footprint”. A high energy and consumerist lifestyle is described as having a
large ecological footprint. The result is a loss in biodiversity, ecosystem damage, and an
increasing species extinction rate.
Presently, the US does not grow enough vegetables and fruit for every citizen to eat
according to the food pyramid; we get most of our calories from government subsidized
crops of corn, wheat, and soy in the form of processed foods and animal feed. These
large scale mono-culture crops require fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides made from
fossil fuels which are nonrenewable. The human population explosion was a result of
“The Green Revolution”, which is a misnomer, because it is highly dependent on fossil
fuels and is unsustainable. Food production has been decreasing per capita worldwide for
the past 20 years and the planet has virtually no more arable land or fresh water to spare
(Pimentel and Wilson 2006). Fertilizer production has decreased by 17% since 1989 due
to high prices and shortages of fossil fuels in developing countries. Soil erosion poses
another risk to the viability of agricultural land. It takes about 500 years for one inch of
topsoil to reform under agricultural conditions (Pimentel and Wilson 2006). The only
real input of energy into the planet is in the form of light from the sun. About 50% of the
solar energy being captured by photosynthesis is currently being utilized by humans.
Fossil fuels represent ancient sunlight that was captured by photosynthesis and stored in
the earth. The energy being utilized each year in the form of fossil fuels exceeds the
annual solar energy captured on earth. Thus, we are in deficit spending of the Earth’s
energy reserves. With the limitations in energy, water, fertile soil, and petroleum based
chemicals, conversion of agriculture from food to biofuels will also add to food
insecurity, locally and globally (i.e., exports). The only logical conclusion is that, short
of a miracle, the human population will crash from overshoot.
We are sorely behind in developing renewable sources of energy that could make any
meaningful substitution for declining petroleum reserves, such that it is questionable
whether civilization itself is sustainable. The Olduvai Theory (Duncan 2000, 2006) states
that modern civilization is unsustainable because the economy is linked to energy in the
form of fossil fuels - hence the term, “petrodollar”. The Theory states that as we move
past Peak Oil, the value of the US dollar and other currencies linked to the petrodollar
will collapse in response to the widening gap between supply and demand of oil. Peak
oil, along with the bursting of the housing bubble and hemorrhaging of the middle class
may ultimately collapse the financial markets; not enough energy will be available and
not enough capital will be raised to maintain our modern infrastructure. World wide
blackouts, according to the Olduvai Theory, will commence by 2012. The term Olduvai
refers to the Olduvai Gorge in Africa, where Homo sapiens were believed to first emerge
after evolving from our unclothed primitive hominid ancestors. Thus, a return to Olduvai
marks the end of our industrial civilization. The energy returned on energy invested for
renewables, including wind, solar, and biofuels, are much lower than that of light sweet
crude oil that has supported our economy over the past half a century. According to a
GAO report (GAO 2007), the US is, “woefully prepared for an oil shortage”. In addition
to the risk of economic collapse, the continued dependency on fossil fuels exacerbates
climate change and related problems. Thus, a paradigm shift is needed to embrace the
inevitable decline in energy per capita and scarcities in raw materials and consumer
goods.
A true environmentalist lives by the principles of the 3R mantra. A cultural paradigm
shift is needed to prevent the worst predictions (i.e., mass extinction, economic collapse,
human population crash) that could result from rapid depletion of vital natural resources.
Also, different skills than are currently being promoted may be needed to adapt to a
changing economy. These skills may be a combination of old world skills and the use of
modern (computer) technology. Economies will revert from global to local, and lowenergy modes of agriculture will have to be scaled up in order to accommodate the loss of
large scale agriculture to biofuels (albeit questionably unsustainable) and the rising cost
of food. The expectation of a massive Second Great Depression is the driving force of
the modern permaculture movement. Bee pollination of crops will be critical for the
success of (anticipated) agricultural expansion across the suburban and urban landscapes.
Skepticism, resistance, and denial are expected due to anthropocentric arrogance, historic
amnesia, and societal addictive patterns (i.e., addiction to wealth, consumerism, oil,
technology, etc.). New Orleans and Minneapolis are metaphors for the Olduvai Theory.
Our society is dependent upon property and income taxes, grid-based energy and water,
petroleum and the automobile and corporate agribusinesses that supply the majority of
our food. The move to corporate-free local economies, energy and water independence
that are “off-the-grid”, and freedom from government and corporate dependencies would
threaten our current economic pyramid scheme, which is premised on unlimited growth.
The mere fear of collapse may become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Promoters of the permaculture movement and personal energy independence are
considered subversives to the government and may be subject to persecution.
Economists scream heresy to the notion of peak oil, and the government seems paralyzed
in terms of making any significant changes in time to save us from the conclusion of the
Olduvai Theory.
References
Drake, S., & Burns, R. (2004). Meeting standards through integrated curriculum.
Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Caron, D.M. Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping. 2005. Edited by Lawrence J. Connor.
Second Edition, Third Printing. Wicwas Press, Connecticut, USA. ISBN 1-87805098
Duncan, R.C. (2000). The Olduvai Theory: Sliding Toward a Post-Industrial Stone Age.
Institute on Energy and Man. Available at: www.dieoff.org.
Duncan, R.C. (2006). The Olduvai Theory – Energy, Population and Industrial Civilization.
The Social Contract. Winter 2007.
GAO (2007). United States Government Accountability Office Report to Congressional
Requesters. Crude Oil Uncertainty about future oil makes it important to develop a strategy
for addressing a peak and decline in oil production. GAO-07-283. February 2007.
Pimentel, D. and Wilson, A. (2006). World Population, Agriculture, and Malnutrition.
In, “Environment 06/07”. McGraw Hill Annual Editions, 25th Edition. John L. Allen,
editor. McGraw Hill Contemporary Learning Series, Dubuque, IA.