Outline

A roadmap for our past, our present, and our sustainable future

The Principles of Sustainability course is organized into eight Chapters, each Chapter having an Introduction and several Parts. Chapter One-The Origins of Sustainability is a brief background of some of the key people and events in human history, up to the present, that have been important in our current understanding and valuation of sustainability. Chapter Two – Standards of Sustainability forwards some of the practical definitions of major concepts and major areas of activity in sustainability as it is applied to a variety of fields. Chapter Three – A Culture of Waste is a detailed examining of the human waste stream, how we can best manage it, and how it can impact environmental quality and public health.

Chapter Four – The Built Environment is an exploration of the structural dynamic of human society including our urban areas, our communities, our transportation, and our impacted environments. In Chapter Five – Industrial Sustainability, we explore how business and industry are adapting or can adapt their processes to enhance sustainability. Chapter Six – Energy Sustainability describes key concepts to enable students to have a broader understanding of energy resources of our past, our present, and our future, as well as their relative impacts on the planet. Chapter Seven – Sustainable Solutions for Water Resources explores global water resources, sanitations, and the public and environmental impacts of water pollution. In Chapter Eight - Measuring Sustainability, we describe the metrics used in assessing actions targeted to enhance sustainability.