IPE 1013 Consumption and the
Environment
A Course on Consumption and the
Environment as an Entry Point to Practicing
Sustainability
The Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environment (IPE)
program at the University of Oklahoma
Background
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Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environment Program initiated in 1993
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Deborah W. Dalton appointed Professor and Director of IPE Program 2004
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Asked to develop major by Dean of College of Arts and Sciences
Major currently under Planned Program option
First students in major Fall 2005
IPE 1013 Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the Environment
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Developed by 4 OU faculty from 4 Departments (Botany /Microbiology, Philosophy, History of Science,
Political Science)
Campus politics prevented naming the program Environmental Studies
Funded by NEH/NSF/FIPSE Grant
5 course minor
IPE 1013 developed as the Introductory course with General Education Social Science credit
Course first offered 1994
1994-2003 course taught by three faculty from different departments
Topic varied according to interests of faculty
Course content changed to Consumption and the Environment Fall 2004
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Team taught by Dalton and adjunct faculty member Theresa Coffman –Rodriguez
Taught live each fall semester
Online course developed and taught by Coffman-Rodriguez starting in Spring 2006
Live course offered every fall, current seat limit 90 (564)
Online course offered every spring, seat limit 30 (143)
Course Goals
In this course, you will be introduced to various aspects of consumption and its
impacts on the environment, as well as some basic information on environmental
processes and problems that will have to be addressed during your lifetimes. While
this course is focused on consumption and the environment in the United States
and North America, it is not possible to separate the local, regional and global with
respect to either consumption or the environment. The intentions of this course
are:
• To introduce you to patterns and levels of consumption in North American
mainstream society;
• To introduce you to the environmental impacts of these consumption patterns
and levels;
• To help you understand more about your own patterns of consumption;
• To enable you to make informed decisions about your own consumption in
order to reduce environmental impacts, if you so choose.
https://learn.ou.edu/index.asp
Fall 2011 Live Version
Unit I
Newman The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to the Good Life
Reading quiz must be completed online by 11:30 PM Thursday Sept. 15
Week 1 August 23 & 25 Introduction and Overview
Week 2 Aug 30 & Sept 1
Assessing the Impacts of Consumption
Week 3 September 6 & 8 Consumption and Waste
GROUP DISCUSSION on personal consumption and footprints
Week 4 September 13 & 15 Consumption and Toxics
Unit II
Sorensen Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet AND Ryan & Durning Stuff: The Secret
Life of Everyday Things
Reading quiz for both must be completed online by 11:30 PM Thursday Sept. 29
Week 5 September 20 & 22 Consumption and Population
Week 6 September 27 & 29 Consumption and Resources
Unit III
Leonard The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff …
Reading quiz must be completed online by 11:30 PM Thursday Oct. 20
Week 7 October 4 & 6 Food and Agriculture
Mid-Term Exam due in drop box by 11:30 PM Thursday Oct. 6
Week 8 October 11 & 13 Food and Agriculture
GROUP DISCUSSION on eating patterns and habits
Week 9 October 18 & 20 Thermodynamics and Energy
Unit IV Bittle and Johnson Who Turned Out the Lights?
Reading quiz must be completed online by 11:30 PM Thursday Nov. 10
Week 10 October 25 &27 Heating, Cooling and Electricity
Week 11 November 1 & 3 Peak Oil
Week 12 November 8 & 10 Transportation and Sprawl
GROUP DISCUSSION on personal transportation habits
Unit V Hertsgaard Hot: Living Though the Next 50 Years
Reading quiz must be completed online by 11:30 PM Thursday Dec. 1
Week 13 November 15 & 17 Science of Climate Change
Week 14 November 22 & 24 Thanksgiving Week No Class
Week 15 November 29 & December 1 Consequences of Climate Change
Week 16 December 6 & 8 Stories and End of Course
Final Exam is due in drop box Monday, December 12, 11:30 PM
Spring 2011 Online Version
SCHEDULE BY UNIT
Specific reading and review assignments will be posted under Unit Assignments.
Unit I: Intro, Consumption and Energy
Weeks 1 and 2 --The Way we live and its Impacts
Week 3 --Concepts of Energy and Fossil Fuels
Unit 2: Food and Agriculture
You will need to rent Food, Inc. and watch this before the end of Week 5. I do not mind if
you watch it together, but each student must write their own review.
Weeks 4-9
Spring Break will be during Week 8.
Unit 3: Peak Energy, Transportation, Urban Sprawl, and Global Warming
note: this is a short turn around due to spring break - you might want to do some of this work
before the break.
Week 10 - 14
Unit 4: The Future and What You Can Do
Week 15 --Meeting the Food, Water and Energy Needs of Seven Billion People
Week 16 --What You Can Do
FINALS WEEK - Final Due, Monday May 9, 11:30 p.m.
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Spring 2011 Online Texts
Ryan & Durning
Stuff: The Secret Life of Everyday Things
John C. Ryan
Seven Wonders - Everyday Things for a Healthier…
Annie Leonard
The Story of Stuff
Ann Vileisis
Kitchen Literacy
Craven, Greg
What's the Worst that Could Happen? A Rational...
Bittle and Johnson Who Turned Out the Lights? Your Guide to the Energy
Crisis
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Fall 2011 Live Texts
Newman
Sorensen
Ryan and Durning
Leonard
Bittle and Johnson
Hertsgaard, Mark
The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life
Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet…
Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things…
The Story of Stuff…
Who Turned Out the Lights?
Hot: Living Though the Next 50 Years
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Spring 2011 Online Version
Assignment
Reading Summaries
Discussion Board Participation
Film Review
Final Exam
% of Course Grade
35%
25%
15%
25%
Fall 2011 Live Version
Assignment
% of Course Grade
Daily Class Cards
20%
Reading Quizzes
20%
In-Class Group Discussions
10%
Homework Exercises
10%
Take Home Mid-Term
20%
Take Home Final Exam:
20%
The final exam will be comprehensive and will be take-home format to be turned in to the
D2L drop box. The last class will serve as a review session.
2004 Texts
Milbrath
Brower and Leon.
Ryan and Durning
Ryan
Learning to Think Environmentally While There is Still Time.
Consumer’s Guide to Effective Environmental Choices.
Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things.
Seven Wonders: Everyday Things for a Healthier Planet.
2005 Texts
Brower and Leon.
Brown
Ryan and Durning.
Ryan
The Consumer’s Guide…
Plan B: Rescuing a Planet under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble.
Stuff…
Seven Wonders…
2006 Texts
Pollan, Michael.
Ryan and Durning.
Brown
Gore
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals.
Stuff…
Plan B 2.0…
An Inconvenient Truth…
2007 Texts
Ryan and Durning.
Stuff…
Brower and Leon.
The Consumer’s Guide…
Lappe and Terry.
Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen.
Heinberg.
Powerdown: Options and Actions for a Post-Carbon World.
Alvord.
Divorce Your Car! Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile.
McDonough and Braungart. Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
2008 Texts
Ryan and Durning.
Stuff…
Ryan
Seven Wonders…
Pollan
Omnivore’s Dilemma…
Heinberg
The Party’s Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies.
Alvord
Divorce Your Car…
Time, Inc.
Global Warming: The Causes, The Perils, The Solutions.
McDonough and Braungart Cradle to Cradle…
2009 Texts
Ryan and Durning
Ryan
Goodall
Loux
Balish
Shiva
Brower and Leon
Stuff…
Seven Wonders…
Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating
Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple…
How to Live Well Without Owning a Car…
Soil Not Oil: Environmental Justice in an Age of Climate Crisis
The Consumer's Guide…
2010 Texts
Sorensen
Leonard
Loux
Goodall
Balish
Heinberg
Craven
Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet
The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff
Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple…
Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eatin
How to Live Well Without Owning a Car…
The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of
What's the Worst That Could Happen?
2011 Texts
Newman
Sorensen
Ryan and Durning
Leonard
Bittle and Johnson
Hertsgaard, Mark
The Newman’s Own Organics Guide to a Good Life
Seven Wonders…
Stuff…
The Story of Stuff…
Who Turned Out the Lights?
Hot: Living Though the Next 50 Years