E0321 Sustainable development - the biggest challenge today?

Faculty of Science
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 2 credit(s) (plus extra credits for completion). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: k (colloquium), z (credit).
Teacher(s)
RNDr. Mgr. Michal Bittner, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Lenka Suchánková (assistant)
Guaranteed by
prof. Martin Scheringer, Dr. sc. nat.
RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Contact Person: RNDr. Mgr. Michal Bittner, Ph.D.
Supplier department: RECETOX – Faculty of Science
Timetable
Mon 19. 2. to Sun 26. 5. Thu 9:00–10:50 D29/252-RCX1
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to introduce the multidimensional aspects of the impact of human society on the natural environment. Another aim is to present the potentials and limits of possible solutions. Multidimensionality of the environmental issues and possible solutions lies in the social, ethical, philosophical, economic, technic and legal aspects of the relationship between humans and the natural environment. All these multidimensional aspects of sustainable development will be discussed.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
- defend the meaning and importance of the concept of sustainable development in the present world;
- explain how the progression of environmental issues corresponds with apparently unrelated disciplines such as the economy, technology ethics etc.;
- propose possible solutions of contemporary environmental issues on various levels - from personal to international level;
- analyze pros and cons of possible solutions;
- assess contemporary approaches to solving the national and international environmental issues;
- interpret and debate results of up to now successful and unsuccessful solutions to environmental issues.
Syllabus
  • 1) Life in Anthropocene. Planetary boundaries I: Biodiversity loss, Climate change, and Acidification of the oceans.
  • 2) Planetary boundaries concept II: Stratospheric ozone loss; Global nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, Global freshwater consumption, Chemical pollution and Atmospheric aerosols.
  • 3) Social and demographic consequences of the mankind development. Characteristics of the population growth, demographic transition, gender issues, lack/surplus of food, famine as a political tool, diseases, income disparity.
  • 4) History of the concept of sustainable development as a reaction to the developmental issues. Important global (Our Common Future, Rio Declaration, Agenda 21), European (Europe 2020), and national (Czech Republic 2030) documents related to sustainable development concept. UN project Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030).
  • 5) Ecological nature of human beings and resulting impact on the environment. Roots and social manifestations of ecological crisis (migration of people, frustration, violence, etc.).
  • 6) Energy production - environmental, economic and social consequences of various types of energetics.
  • 7) Food production - environmental, economic and social consequences of industrial (conventional), sustainable and organic farming.
  • 8) Environmental ethics - people-environment relation from the perspective of values. Values versus facts. Anthropocentric and biocentric types of ethics. Biocentric ethic (A. Schweitzer), Land ethic (A. Leopold), The Rights of Nature ethic (R. Nash, P. Singer), Deep ecology (A. Naess).
  • 9) The environmental economy as a tool to reach the social prosperity with respect to the environmental boundaries. The tragedy of Commons, fiscal evaluation of the environment, internalization of externalities.
  • 10) Precautionary principle - characterization of its substantial role in the sustainable development and case studies of its non/application and misuse.
  • 11) Dimensions of sustainable development concept. Local Agenda 21 - theory and practical experiences.
  • 12) Sustainable production and consumption. Limits of technological solutions as preferred tools in the way towards the sustainable life.
  • 13) Solutions in the field of personal values. Lifestyles, voluntary simplicity, postmodernism.
  • 14) Field trip to "Eco-village" Hostětín. The date will be set based on the negotiation with students.
Literature
  • ROCKSTRÖM, J., STEFFEN, W. et al. A safe operating space for humanity. Nature, 461(7263), 472–475. 2009. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/461472a
  • HOMER-DIXON, Thomas F. The upside of down : catastrophe, creativity and the renewal of civilisation. London: Souvenir Press, 2007, ix, 429. ISBN 9780285637948. info
  • MEADOWS, Donella H. and Dennis L. MEADOWS. Limits to growth : the 30-year update. Edited by Jørgen Randers. London: Earthscan, 2005, xxii, 338. ISBN 1844071448. info
Teaching methods
Classes are taught in class using MS PowerPoint presentations. Students are often asked about their opinions or their own experience, they can then answer either directly or through online chat in Polleryywhere. Graphic materials, videos or interactive data and trend display tools (Gapminder, Our world in data, etc.) are widely used in teaching.
In teaching, emphasis is mainly on understanding the context. To increase the attentive and active involvement, a substance from the previous week is repeated at the beginning of each hour, in the form of a competitive online quiz in Pollerywhere. In case of interested students, a voluntary discussion online seminar can also be opened for this subject.
Assessment methods
Participation in lectures is voluntary, but it is strongly recommended because of the logical continuity of individual topics. At the beginning of each lecture, the most successful investigators of the competition online quiz can get 2 premium points in the overall assessment. The final examination is a written test with a combination of "Multiple Choice" and "Open Book" issues with a possible profit of 100 points. At least 50 points must be achieved for successful completion of the course.
For successful completion of the course, participation in lectures and knowledge of information from PowerPoint presentations and relevant teacher comments is sufficient. I recommend the literature listed above for extending knowledge to discussed topics.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Teacher's information
Czech speaking students can consider the analogous course E0320 or CORE003 Sustainable Development taught in the fall semester in Czech.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/sci/spring2024/E0321