Green Living: Sustainability

• Presentations
• Documents
• Activities
• Assessments
• Resources

Presentations

• Introduction to Sustainability ( Adobe Breeze, https://www.asu.edu/courses/asu101/breeze/sustainability_intro/index.htm)
  • Text transcript ( .doc, 64KB)
• "What is Sustainability" ( .ppt, 7.39MB | .pdf, 339KB)

Documents

• Be the first to submit an idea, activity or resource in this area. (ASURITE sign-in required)

Activities

• Sample Discussion Questions ( .doc, 27KB)
• "Calculating your Ecological Footprint" ( .ppt, 3.07MB)

Assessments

• Quiz ( .doc, 39KB)
  • Answer Key ( .doc, 70KB)

Resources

Sustainability Challenges:

• Degradation of Habitats and Loss of Biodiversity
  • Biodiversity Experts Call for "One Clear Voice" to Advise Policymakers - National Geographic - With an increasing number of species threatened with extinction, a coalition of scientists is calling for the world's experts to convene an authoritative panel on diversity loss.
  • Warming blamed for Costa Rica Frog Die-Offs - Scientific American - Global warming is the top suspect for the disappearance of 17 amphibian species from Costa Rican jungles, scientists said on Tuesday, warning monkey and reptile populations were also plummeting.
  • Arizona Birds' Balancing Act - Urban Sprawl, not Drought Hinders Population - The Arizona Republic, 02/19/2005 - Although some birds thrive in the Phoenix Urban environment, many species will continue to suffer as they fly in the face of urbanization.
    
    To view articles in the Arizona Republic online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "Access World News"
    5. In the search box, type or paste in: Arizona's Birds' Balancing Act - Urban Sprawl
    6. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
  • Is Border Security Bad for Nature? - Time - In Arizona and other border states, there is a rising concern over what illegal immigration and the U.S. response to it may do to the area's fragile ecosystems.
  • Attack of the Alien Invaders - National Geographic magazine - All over the world, animals and plants that evolved somewhere else are turning up where they're not wanted.
  • Guardian of Earth's treasure trove of trees - The Christian Science Monitor - For 50 years, Britain's Peter Ashton has been studying – and trying to preserve – a wealth of diversity in Asia's tropical forests.
  • What's happening to the bees? - The Christian Science Monitor - Suddenly, the bees farmers and growers rely on are vanishing. Researchers are scrambling to find out why.
  • Global Warming Imperils Species - Wired - Global warming will lead to the extinction of one quarter of all species of plants and animals on Earth by 2050 unless greenhouse-gas emissions are drastically reduced, researchers have found in a study of six regions of the Earth.
  • A Big Win for Polar Bears - Time - In a move that is delighting environmentalists, the Department of Interior is announcing a new proposal to designate the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
  • VIDEO: Water: State of the Earth (6 minutes) - National Geographic - Carbon Dioxide in the air is negatively impacting the oceans and hitting sealife hard.
  • VIDEO: Wildlife: State of the Earth (10 minutes) - National Geographic
• Exhaustion of Natural Resources
  • Humans Could Use Two Earths - MSNBC - Humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets' worth of natural resources.
  • The Global Fish Crisis: Still Waters - National Geographic - The world's oceans are a shadow of what they once were. With a few notable exceptions, such as well-managed fisheries in Alaska, Iceland, and New Zealand, the number of fish swimming the seas is a fraction of what it was a century ago.
  • End of Cheap Oil - National Geographic - You wouldn't know it from the hulking SUVs and traffic-clogged freeways of the United States, but we're in the twilight of plentiful oil.
  • The Long Emergency - Rolling Stone - What's going to happen as we start running out of cheap gas to guzzle?
• Inequality in Wealth and Power
  • Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated? - Scientific American - Market economics and globalization are lifting the bulk of humanity out of extreme poverty, but special measures are needed to help the poorest of the poor.
  • Are We Rich if We Don't Feed the Poor? - The Christian Science Monitor - The unseen contrast is sharp. Every workday morning, some of the nation's richest corporate executives and Wall Street financiers ride in trains or cars through poorer parts of New York to their Manhattan offices.
  • Sharing the Wealth (Why We Should Share the Wealth) - Time - What is the power of one when that one happens to be a John D. Rockefeller or a Bill Gates?
  • The Great Wealth Transfer - Rolling Stone - It's the biggest untold economic story of our time: more of the nation's bounty held in fewer and fewer hands. And Bush's tax cuts are only making the problem worse.
  • Link Between Race, Hazardous-Waste Sites Still Strong - The Arizona Republic, 05/09/2007 - Twenty years after a landmark study showed that people of color were more likely to live near hazardous-waste sites than any other demographic, a follow-up report has found that the disparity is even greater across the U.S. today.
    
    To view articles in the Arizona Republic online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "Access World News"
    5. In the search box, type or paste in: Link Between Race, Hazardous-Waste Sites Still Strong
    6. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
• Population Growth
  • World Population Hits 6.5 Billion - MSNBC - Rapid growth occurring where it can be least afforded, researchers say.
  • Fuse on the 'Population Bomb' has been Relit - The Christian Science Monitor - While the developed world deals with a 'birth dearth,' populations are exploding in developing nations. What the first world should do to help.
  • Overpopulation - National Geographic - In 8000 B.C., only 5 million people were alive and overuse of the world’s natural resources was hardly an issue. Now some 6 billion mouths must be fed and bodies clothed and housed.
  • 300 Million Americans will Take Great Environmental Toll, Report Warns - National Geographic - But regardless of whether this prediction proves to be right, someone in the coming days will tip the U.S. population to 300 million people, a demographic milestone with heavy environmental fallout.
  • World Faces Population Explosion in Poor Countries - The Guardian - The world is heading for wildly uneven population swings in the next 45 years, with many rich countries "downsizing" during a period in which almost all developing nations will grow at breakneck speed, according to a comprehensive report by leading US demographers released yesterday.
  • VIDEO: Population: State of the World (4 minutes) - National Geographic - In 2006, the human population pushed past 6.5 billion. Every minute, 153 people are born, leading to deadly consequences.
• Globalization
  • The Rise of Globalization, a Story of Human Desires - New York Times, 05/30/07 - Rather than a synonym for late capitalism, globalization is an expression of human desires that date back to the dawn of time, when the first humans left their African homeland and set out in search of a better life.
    
    To view articles in the New York Times online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "LexisNexis Academic"
    5. On the first pull-down menu, select U.S. News
    6. On the second pull-down menu, select "Northeast Regional Sources"
    7. In the search box, type or paste in: The Rise of Globalization, a Story of Human Desires
    8. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
  • A Wal-Mart on Every Block? - Forbes - Is the future of Beijing and Shanghai going to include a Wal-Mart on every block?
  • Waistlines Keep Expanding Around the Globe - Forbes - No matter how you tip the scales, Americans are getting wider every year. What's worse is that many nations are following suit.
  • Anti-Fast Food in France - Time - The growth of the lunchtime crowds at this and others' "anti-fast food" eateries is due in part to change in mindsets toward healthier diets and lifestyles.
  • The Income Gap - U.S. News and World Report - Is globalization to blame? Only in part.
• Urbanization
  • World First: In 2008, Most People Will Live in Cities - The Christian Science Monitor - For the first time in human history, the world's population is about to become mostly urban.
  • Depopulation of Rural Areas Creates Urban Nightmares - MSNBC - As migration continues, the question becomes how to revive the countryside.
  • Dirtiest Cities Just Get Dirtier - Forbes - The dirty cities are where air pollution, water pollution, ground pollution and open landfill problems are out of control.
  • Lack of Toilets Harming Health of Billions, UN Report Says - National Geographic - A lack of toilets is severely jeopardizing the health of 2.6 billion people in the developing world who are forced to discard their excrement in bags, buckets, fields, and ditches, according to a new study.
  • Cotton Industry in Arizona Frayed by Urban Growth - The Arizona Republic, 012/25/2006 - One of the historic five C's of Arizona's economy is shrinking. Cotton was one of the state's economic backbones, along with cattle, copper, climate and citrus. But cotton fields are dwindling as urban sprawl overtakes more farmland.
    
    To view articles in the Arizona Republic online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "Access World News"
    5. In the search box, type or paste in: Cotton Industry in Arizona Frayed by Urban Growth
    6. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
  • The Issue: This is Opportunity Knocking - Got an Idea for Arizona? - The Arizona Republic, 11/19/2006 - Help wanted: Rapidly expanding state seeks people with innovative proposals. Must have long-term perspective and commitment to brighter future.
    
    To view articles in the Arizona Republic online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "Access World News"
    5. In the search box, type or paste in: The Issue: This is Opportunity Knocking
    6. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
• Food and Water
  • Where China's Rivers Run Dry - Newsweek - In China, the most dramatic national transformation in human history is being threatened by a lack of water.
  • The Challenge of Sustainable Water - Scientific American - Water supplies around the world are already severely stressed. Population growth and global warming will only worsen those problems.
  • Report: Legislature Leaves Rivers Dry - The Arizona Republic, 05/16/2007 - Arizona's rivers will win no new protections at the Legislature this year, despite continued threats from drought, climate change and laws that promise water for growth without safeguards for natural resources.
    
    To view articles in the Arizona Republic online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "Access World News"
    5. In the search box, type or paste in: Report: Legislature Leaves Rivers Dry
    6. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
  • World Freshwater Crisis Looms, Activist Says - National Geographic - Water, blue gold, the essence of life. Though debate continues over who owns, or should own, water, few dispute that the abundance of fresh water resources on Earth is decreasing.
  • Ancient "Megadroughts" Struck U.S. West, Could Happen Again, Study Suggests - National Geographic - Much of the western U.S. may be headed into a prolonged dry spell—a "perfect drought," scientists say, that could persist for generations.
  • The Farmer Goes to Sea - Popular Science - With the world’s wild fish stocks plummeting, experts say that something must be done to ensure our seafood supply. Are offshore fish farms the solution.
  • It Takes More than Veggies to Make a Kitchen Green - The New York Times, 03/07/2007 - Many restaurant owners are on a quest to find ways to handle the garbage and mess of a professional kitchen while reducing the effects on the environment.
    
    To view articles in the New York Times online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "LexisNexis Academic"
    5. On the first pull-down menu, select U.S. News
    6. On the second pull-down menu, select "Northeast Regional Sources"
    7. In the search box, type or paste in: It Takes More Than Veggies to Make a Kitchen Green
    8. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
• Climate Change
  • What Is Global Warming? - National Geographic - We call the result global warming, but it is causing a set of changes to the Earth's climate, or long-term weather patterns, that varies from place to place.
  • What Now? (What Now For Our Feverish Planet?) -Time - Climate change is caused by a lot of things, and it will take a lot of people to fix it. There's a role for big thinkers, power players, those with deep pockets--and the rest of us.
  • Forging a Consensus - Newsweek - The mammoth U. N. report on climate change—the work of 3,700 scientists the world over—is out. Their conclusion: We made this mess.
  • Why Asia Is Ignoring Global Warming -Time - While the technological path to climate-change action is clear, the politics are getting even more complicated. As economic growth shifts to the developing world — especially in Asia — so will future carbon emissions.
  • On the front lines of climate change -Time - Adapting to a warmer planet. The world's most vulnerable coastal communities are taking action now for a future of rising oceans and more severe floods.
  • 51 Things We Can Do to Save the Environment -Time - Can one person slow global warming? Actually, yes. You—along with scientists, businesses and governments—can create paths to cut carbon emissions. Here is our guide to some of the planet's best ideas.
  • Arizona, West Tackle Greenhouse Gases -The Arizona Republic, 02/27/2007 - Droughts. Wildfires. Water Shortages. Scientists warn that these could be the effects of climate change. In the absence of federal law, five western governors are taking matters into their own hands.
    
    To view articles in the Arizona Republic online:
    1. Go to the ASU library's electronic journal page: http://www.asu.edu/lib/find/journals/
    2. Type in the box under "title begins with"
    3. Click "Find"
    4. Click on the link to "Access World News"
    5. In the search box, type or paste in: Arizona, West Tackle Greenhouse Gases
    6. Click "Search" - the article should be retrieved
  • Arizona Climate Action Initiative - Arizona Climate Change Advisory Group's objectives are to create a baseline inventory and forecast of greenhouse gas emissions in Arizona, and also to produce an action plan with recommendations for reducing those emissions.
  • CLIMAS: Water Assessment for the Southwest - CLIMAS was established to assess the impacts of climate variability and longer-term climate change on human and natural systems in the Southwest.
  • VIDEO: Climate Change: State of the Earth (6 minutes) -National Geographic
  • VIDEO: Air: State of the Earth (5 minutes) -National Geographic