Pratt Sustainability Studies students canoe the Gowanus Canal.

Pratt Institute students may now register for Spring 2014 courses, and several relating to the Sustainability Studies minor are available.  These include courses offered by Interior Design, Math and Sciences, and three courses offered by Social Science and Cultural Studies.  Each of these 3-credit courses offered by SSCS may count as a Social Science or Philosophy elective, each count toward the Sustainability Studies minor, and there are no prerequisites for any of them. One of the most important environmental issues is the unsustainable use of fossil fuels.  It is worth assessing how we came to do so, and the range of options (including design and behavioral changes) we have to alter our present use of energy.  SUST 401-01 Power, Pollution, and Profit examines the types of energy (fossil fuels, renewables, nuclear) used in modern society.  Here's a quick summary:

SUST 401-01 Power, Pollution, and Profit Modern society relies on burning fossil fuel for energy, with serious economic, public health, and environmental consequences. Learn the history of how we came to rely on unsustainable energy sources and ways in which our future use of energy may be made mode sustainable. Spring 2014: Tuesdays, 2-4:50pm.  Taught by Carl Zimring.  3 credit hours

We are once again offering PHIL 356-01 Environmental Ethics.  The seminar examines the traditional ethical approaches humans have taken to the environment and considers alternate, more sustainable approaches.  Here's a quick summary:

PHIL 356-01 Environmental Ethics If you can be ethical in relation to others, why can't be ethical in our relations with the environment? This course assesses the capability of traditional ethical paradigms (and their alternatives) to address current environmental issues, including global climate change, food ethics, sustainable consumption practices, and the intrinsic value of non-human nature. Spring 2014: Mondays, 5-7:50pm.  Taught by Eric Godoy.  3 credit hours.

In addition to those  seminars, Carl Zimring leads a team of Pratt Institute faculty teaching the fourth offering of SUST 201-01 The Sustainable Core.  This course is designed as our introduction to sustainability, is a requirement for the Sustainability Studies minor, and is an excellent way to get familiar with the many ways sustainability is practiced at Pratt.

SUST 201-01 The Sustainable Core This course provides an overview of sustainability by exploring definitions, controversies, trends, and case-studies in various systems and locales (urban/rural, local/national/global). Investigation of critical elements of sustainability, including environmental history and urban ecology, sustainable development and landscape transformations, recycling/waste management, ecosystem restoration, and environmental justice. Spring 2014: Mondays, 2-4:50pm.  Taught by Carl Zimring with participation by several Pratt Institute faculty.  3 credit hours.

Each of these courses may count as a Social Science or Philosophy elective, each counts for credit in the Sustainability Studies minor, and there are no prerequisites for any of them. If you are a Pratt student and have any questions about these courses, please feel free to contact Professor Zimring at czimring@pratt.edu.