Sustainability History Project

One assignment for the Spring 2010 quarter asked students to read two peer-reviewed sources of their own choosing that related to their essay topic and/or interviewee.

Below the fold is selection of student observations based on their research, followed by a list of their sources and, finally, the details of the assignment itself.

Student reflections

** A student brings up an interesting dynamic when trying to balance environmental considerations with the goal of providing medical patients the most advanced healthcare possible: “While attention towards developing environmentally sustainable practices increases, the Hippocratic oath requires practitioners in health fields to do whatever is necessary in the best interest of patients.”

** A student found a potential conflict in the goals of environmental sustainability and current forest fire suppression strategies: “’As long as there is a blank check for emergency fire suppression, most fires will be suppressed and wildland fire use will be limited’ [quote from Berry, “Forest Policy Up in Smoke”).”

** Reflecting on the balance between peoples’ aesthetic desires for a natural area and the ecological health of that area, one student observes that “Unless the practice is aesthetically pleasing, the policy falls out of favor with the public, which hurts all three pillars of sustainability.”

** A student uncovered the conflicts that can arise from varying levels of administration of forest areas in the United States: “In the past there has been contention [in Portland’s Bull Run Watershed] because the watershed land is managed by a federal entity, the US Forest Service, while the water supply of Bull Run, which is on federal land, is managed by the City of Portland. The federal government tends towards multiple-uses of the land (i.e. logging, recreation, etc), while the city of Portland tends toward exclusive use (water supply only) (Larsen, 3). This has historically caused tension and acrimony. Larsen underscores the important role that civic engagement played in guiding both agencies toward more successful management of the watershed. ”

Students’ Sources (by theme)

Forestry

“Aesthetic quality and Public Acceptance of Land Management,” Evanston, Ill., U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, North Central Research Station, n.d.

Alison Berry, “Forest Policy Up in Smoke: Fire Suppression in the United States,” Bozeman, Mont.: Property and Environmental Research Center, 2008.

D. E. Hibbs, “Ponderosa Pine of the Willamette Valley, Western Oregon,” Northwest Science 76:1 (2002), 80-84.

Gary Larsen, “Intergovernmental Policy Collaboration Between the city of Portland and Mount Hood National Forest: Bull Run Watershed Analytical Case Study,” The Public Manager, 2006.

James McCarthy. “Neoliberalism and the Politics of Alternatives: Community Forestry in British Columbia and the United States,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 96:1 (2006), 84-104.

“Moving forward on a pragmatic approach to climate change a strategy for implementing sustainable operations: Meeting EO13423 and Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 Goals by 2015 and Employing an Agency-wide Culture of Sustainable Practices by 2020,” U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, July 2008.

Gunde Odgaard. “Lifelong Learning and Sustainable Managed Forests,” seminar paper presented at Forest Operations of Tomorrow conference, Sep. 1999.

C. Whitlock, “Vegetational and Climatic History of the Pacific Northwest during the Last 20,000 Years: Implications for Understanding Present-day Biodiversity,” The Northwest Environmental Journal 8:1 (1992), 5-28.

Health Care

Andrew Jameton and Jessica Pierce. “Environmental and Health: 8. Sustainable health care and emerging ethical responsibilities,” Canadian Medical Association Journal 164:3 (2001), 365-369.

Ann Seror, “Internet Infrastructure and Health care system: A qualitative Comparative Analysis on Network,” Journal of Medical Internet Research 4:3 (Oct–Dec 2002).

Mona C. Shediac-Rizkallah and Lee R. Bone. “Planning for the Sustainability of Community Based Health programs: Conceptual Frameworks and Future Directions for Research, Practice and Policy,” Health and Education Research 13: 1 (1998), 87-108.

David C. Thomas, Rosanne M. Leipzig, Lawrence G. Smith, Kathel Dunn, Gail Sullivan, and Eileen Callahan, “Improving Geriatrics training in internal medicine residency program best practices and sustainable solution,” Annals of Internal Medicine 139: 7 (Oct, 2003), 628-634.

Logistics

International Institute for Sustainable Development, “Business strategies for sustainable development,” 1992.

Paul Novak, “Sustainability Impacts Supply Professionals’ Decisions and Supplier Relationships,” Institute for Supply Management, Inc., Aug. 2008.

Religion, Education, Community

Robert Wuthnow and Wendy Cadge, “Buddhists and Buddhism in the United States: The Scope of Influence,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 43:3 (Sep. 2004), 364-380.

Transportation

Susan Blickstein and Susan Hanson, “Critical mass: forging a politics of sustainable mobility in the information age,” Transportation 28:4 (Nov. 2001), 347-362.

Jennifer Dill and Theresa Carr, “Bicycle Commuting and Facilities in Major U.S. Cities: If You Build Them, Commuters Will Use Them,” Transportation Research Record 1828 (2003), 116-123.

Assignment

Sources:

2 peer-reviewed journal articles based on your interviewee’s profession.

Questions for You:

In response to the sources above, please provide the following:

1) How do these readings relate? (Did one author support or contradict the other? Are both authors dealing with similar issues or not? Do the authors use similar or different approaches in framing their arguments? Etc.)

2) What did you learn from these readings that help clarify economic, ecological, and/or equity aspects of sustainability within your interviewee’s profession?

3) Come to class prepared to outline your research process and recommend these readings to your work group members or others who might find your sources useful for their own work.

4) In response to the sources above and any other sources on the topic that you care to include, please come up with three questions that you have and/or areas of interest that you would like to pursue that relate the readings with the content of the course. These questions will help feed discussion in class.

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