Module Overview: Sustainability

Overview

In this module, you are introduced to the concept of sustainability and the three main elements (Society, Environment, Economics) that need to be considered when deciding if something is sustainable. You will investigate the relationship between overpopulation and resource depletion and begin to practice the habits of systems thinking and as you connect global issues with sustainability and how your own actions and choices make a difference on a global scale. 

Learner Outcomes

Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:

  • Evaluate information scientifically in the context of your own life.
  • Identify and evaluate instances where population growth and humans' use of resources impacts the natural environment.
  • Use the concept of sustainability to critique global and local environmental issues, and identify the steps that can be taken to improve environmental conditions and actively participate in solutions to environmental problems.
  • Employ strategies to build and retain vocabulary.
  • Identify how authors organize text both written and oral and use vocabulary for specific purposes and audiences, and apply these strategies to their own academic writing and speaking.     
  • Utilize the writing process to write academic essays.
  • Improve sentence clarity and structure by addressing errors in the context of your writing.  
  • CCRs Reading Anchor(s) Level E:1,2,4,7,9
  • CCRs Writing Anchor(s) Level E: 2,4,5,6
  • CCRs Speaking/Listening Anchor(s) Level E: 3,4,6
  • CCRs Language Anchor(s)Level E: 3,4,6

Why Sustainability is Important

Sustainability is a crucial framework for understanding environmental and social issues. For students to become the problem solvers of the future, they must examine issues and ideas through the lens of sustainability. Sustainability is a key concept in systems thinking, which is a key perspective in the sciences.