This course introduces the academic approach of Sustainability and explores how today’s human societies can endure in the face of global change, ecosystem degradation and resource limitations. The course focuses on key knowledge areas of sustainability theory and practice, including population, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics and policy, ethics, and cultural history.
Introduction to Sustainability
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8
(2,594 reviews)
24 hours to complete
3 weeks at 8 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace
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Assessments
25 assignments
Taught in English
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There are 8 modules in this course
In this module, you will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and the learning environment. The orientation also helps you obtain the technical skills required for the course. In the introduction, we will examine some of the central ideas that underpin the Earth as a system, and their consequences for environmental sustainability.
What's included
5 videos5 readings3 assignments1 plugin
In this module, we will see how human populations have evolved over time and get a sense of where the next century of change will take us.
What's included
5 videos1 reading4 assignments
In this module, we will see that the Earth faces many environmental pressures that result from human exploitation of natural resources. We will also look at the issue of climate change.
What's included
8 videos1 reading4 assignments1 peer review
In this module, we will look at energy use. We will also consider what the trend of energy use means for the planet, and how we might transition to a more sustainable pattern of use.
What's included
8 videos1 reading4 assignments
In this module, we will explore the connection between water and food, and see what will be required to feed the planet over the course of the century.
What's included
6 videos1 reading3 assignments
In this module, we will examine some of the common tools used by policy-makers, and some of the forces that shape (or misshape) policy.
What's included
9 videos1 reading3 assignments1 peer review
In this module, we will examine what tools are available to measure sustainability. Finally, I will make some predictions on global sustainability for the 21st century, based on the models we have spoken about in this course and the trends that have been observed in the early part of this century.
What's included
7 videos1 reading3 assignments1 peer review
Welcome to the end of the course! This module has a final, comprehensive quiz that covers all of the topics that we’ve seen in the previous seven modules. You’ll want to be familiar with the goals and objectives, key phrases, concepts, and guiding questions from the earlier modules to do well on this final quiz.
What's included
1 reading1 assignment1 plugin
Instructor
Instructor ratings
4.8 (663 ratings)
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Environmental Science and Sustainability
University of Virginia Darden School Foundation
University of Copenhagen
Universiteit Leiden
The University of Edinburgh
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