Syllabus Home Page

This course examines the relationships between business, social and economic development and the environment. How emerging technologies of biomass, hydrogen, wind, solar, photovoltaics, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and tidal power are reshaping energy utilization and management for businesses and the communities in which they operate. An exploration of Natural Capitalism that enables organizations to increase profitability and efficiency, while becoming more environmentally and socially responsible; Cradle-to-Cradle Design for waste free consumption; and emerging global sustainability guidelines, with practical applications to present/future careers in sustainable business.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
     a. To identify emerging energy technologies and their relationship to new business creation based on a life cycle assessment.
     b. Understand how changing environmental conditions are moving the world to a sustainable economy based on re-use,
          recycling, and renewability.
     c. To identify and evaluate emerging careers in a world economy of sustainable businesses.
     d. Apply techniques to enhance creative problem solving

Outcome # 4. Access, evaluate, and apply information from a variety of sources and a variety of contexts.

      Education, and distance learning in particular, assumes a high level of trust between the instructor and students. I expect honesty from all my students. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated and could mean a failing grade. All students are expected to do their own work, except where group activities specifically require collaborative efforts.
      If any situation interferes with your efforts to carry out the requirements of this course, please let the instructor know as soon as you are aware of these circumstances. You are expected to communicate with other class members and the instructor in a professional and respectful manner. I trust that all work submitted will be the product of your own efforts and if you are referencing outside sources, you will cite all appropriate sources in your work.
      All written assignments will be graded for use of college level English so be certain to run spelling, grammar and style checks on all papers. For those students needing assistance with writing please contact The Loft, upstairs in the campus library.

Attention! A completed bio with your photo is necessary before financial aid is notified.

* Create an Angel home page by entering your student id number in the user name and password boxes. Then log on. You can always change your password later by going to the personal preferences page. Bookmark this site for easy access later.
    Post your biographical data into your Angel user profile so that it displays on the class roster page.  This is done by clicking on the "head shaped" Preferences Icon on the left side of your Angel home page. Then click on Personal Information to enter your bio into the box labeled, About Me. Your email address and photo go into other boxes on the same page.
    To add your photo, scroll down to the box called Photo URL. Click on Add Photo and it will open a window that lets you browse on your computer. Browse for a photo, click on open to save it, then upload it. If it is the photo you want, click on Use Photo. Then hit close and be sure to click on SAVE at the bottom of the page.
    To add your photo, scroll down the page to the box called Photo URL with a tab called Add Photo. Click on Add Photo and it will open a window to your computer where you have a photo stored. Find that photo, click on Add Photo and then be sure to click on SAVE at the bottom of the page.
    It's a good idea only share your telephone number with the other students you choose to be on your team. Select student/members for all the boxes labeled , Viewable By. Be sure to click save at the bottom of the page.
    Discuss your career goals and any personal interests or hobbies that may interest other students to team with you. Please write information and post a photo suitable for a college classroom. If you do not have a recent photo of yourself to post, just take a favorite print photo to campus and have it scanned for your page. (There are free scanners in the student computer labs on campus)

* If you are comfortable with Instant Messaging you may want to include that information in your biography.

* Review the biographies/photos of the other students on the class roster and contact the persons you would like to work with to say hello. It's expected that you will use the first weeks of the quarter establishing good working relationships with at least one or two other students during this time of no assignments. There will be little time for this bonding later on when the assignments are due.

* You may use Angel Chat, or any other Instant Messaging system for your group work, send regular email, or simply pick up the telephone to speak with your fellow students. To video CAM in groups, you may want to explore this software http://oovoo.com

* PRINT A HARD COPY of this syllabus for later reference, just in case the servers are down when you have a question about assignments. It's also helpful to save the class website to your favorites list by copying this link http://facweb.northseattle.edu/bradenco/bus186jb and pasting it into your browser so you can go directly to the website outside of Angel.

The "Great Transitions Initiative" Look at the left side of the screen. You may view the information as a .pdf essay, a slide show, or a half hour streaming video from a fairly dry academic speaker, Dr. Paul Raskin. This gives you a broad perspective on what has happened in human history and some interesting ideas about where humans may be headed. It's a good foundation for understanding the more practical applications of your textbook and the real life research and exercises for this class. http://www.gtinitiative.org

Chapter 3 Sustainable Living
Chapter 4 Changing Our Energy Habits for a Healthier Future

PAPER 1
Write about any topic of interest to you from chapters 1-4 by visiting the chapter websites listed in Appendix B, or by searching the Internet. (i.e. For wind mills as a source of power - visit American Wind at http://www.renewablechoice.com) or for how former President Bush made his Texas house energy self-sufficient by searching on the Internet at http://www.off-grid.net/index.php?p=680 ).

     Chapter 5  Saving Energy at Home
     Chapter 6  Saving Water at Home
     Chapter 7  Reusing, Reducing, and Recycling Waste

PAPER 2
Describe how you already, or plan to, save energy in your home or daily life. Discuss how, when, and where you re-use, reduce or recycle anything. Or how you behave in such a way that promotes energy conservation. Use the websites in Appendix B for ideas about what is in the market place. (i.e. You decide to buy and install a composting toilet - visit the Clivus Multrum website http://www.clivus.com)
Examples of good papers

     Chapter 8  Green Driving
     Chapter 9 Hybrids and Other Green Options
     Chapter 10 Transportation Beyond Home Base

TEAM    Here's a fun animated cartoon telling how we got where we are.   The Story of Stuff
                - Discuss your reaction to the ideas presented by Annie Leonard. Do you agree or
                    disagree with them?
                -   Contact one other (or more) students for team effort

      Chapter 13 Chemicals in Cosmetics and Body Care Products
      Chapter 14 Chemicals in Cleaning Products
      Chapter 15 Creating a Green Home Interior

PAPER 3
Using the websites related to Chapters 11-15, research an environmentally friendly product of interest to you. How might you use it or do you use it now?

          Chapter 16 Green Buildings LEED the Way

TEAM    The end of cheap oil and then what? The Long Emergency and Streaming video presentation at the UW Bookstore by the author of the book entitled the Long Emergency
                - Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this authors vision of the future
                - Contact one other (or more) students for team effort.

PAPER 4
Using the websites related to Chapters 16-17 in Appendix B, or the Internet, find information about a Green or LEED certified building. What standards, features, or qualities enabled it to receive this certification? What does the building look like? Where is it located? Who uses it?

OR

You may visit any building or home in the local area which is a LEED structure. Try to find one which is actually powered by an alternative source of energy like solar. Describe the structure. Would you enjoy living in it? A good source of information on local houses is on http://www.solarwashington.org . You may have to call the organization to get the addresses of specific buildings in the Seattle area.

INTERVIEW PAPER
Locate one person who holds a job in any kind of sustainable business that interests you. Interview them in person, by phone or through email/IM. Ask them these questions. Discuss what you learned from them and how it relates to where you are in your life today. Write from 2-3 single spaced pages.

Chapter 19 Going Green in Our Communities
Chapter 20 Teaching Our Children Principles of Green Living

TEAM How To Become $ Secure
- Answer all questions and contact one other (or more) students for team effort.

Write a 1-2 page paper for each of the 5 different paper assignments listed on your syllabus. Discuss the topic of your choice in any way that makes sense to a reader. You may describe a company, a mfg process, a builder, or particular structure. Or you may have chosen to write about a person who is making important contributions to the field of sustainable living. Explain your feelings and thoughts then email them to the Instructor in a regular email.

TEAM ANALYSIS (60 points total---20 points per case) 1-2 Single spaced pages per case.
Scores are not routinely sent out, only upon request by student. Spelling and Grammar will not be checked on this activity, since you are grading yourself.

     Select 1 or more classmates to work with as a team (3 is ideal), via discussion chat / email / phone contact. If for any reason a student chooses to turn in answers without team interaction, then the automatic score is 10 out of the possible 20 points per activity. A person may be a member of only one team per case analysis activity, with no overlapping teams. All members must claim each other as a part of the same team. You do not have to stay with the same team all quarter..
      Students should individually answer all questions accompanying each of the three textbook cases listed on the syllabus, then SHARE their answers with other team members to see if there are points of agreement.
     Any COMMONLY AGREED UPON answers are compiled into a SINGLE PAPER. All members of the same team submit an IDENTICAL copy of this paper to me by email This will verify all have actually worked together. (However, if any student has opinions which differ from those of their fellow team members they may include them as an addition on their own paper.) All papers will be emailed to me by the due dates stated in the syllabus.
     These papers should show EVIDENCE of group sharing and an exchange of information. Each student is expected to make an honest contribution to the effort of arriving at mutually agreeable answers to each of the questions. Do not be overly concerned if you can't all agree. Students will be expected to read the material and put in sufficient "thought time" to make meaningful Critical Thinking contributions to their group discussions.
    The idea behind this exercise is that you have a continuing exchange of information, about business topics, with your team mates throughout the quarter which would be similar to exchanges in an on campus class. Please do not wait until the last minute to make contacts.
     Each student paper should contain a self rating of their own efforts AND a rating of fellow team members. Each student assigns themselves and the others a score from 0 to 20 points. Students should list those points after their own name and the names of fellow group members at the top of their page of commonly agreed upon answers. Points roughly correspond to   20 = A     16 = B     12 = C     8 = D     0 = No preparation.
     The average of a students self rating and that of his fellow group members will be each students grade for the activity. (For example: John Smith submits a Rating of 19 for himself. His 2 fellow group members rate him a 15 and 11. The total is 45 points and his average is 15. This is John's score for the activity.)

Be sure to use College Level grammar, sentence structure, and spelling. (Running it through a spelling and grammar checker wouldn't hurt !) Your papers will be evaluated for these qualities.
Think about what you've learned from doing the different assignments for this class. Discuss how and where you might fit into a specific job/career in the sustainable business world. (i.e. Windmill mechanic. organic farmer, or solar panel installer, etc.) Do you need to make any of the changes discussed in the article about Remaking A Living? If so, what changes and how might you go about making them?

Self Evaluation Paper	100	288-300 4.0
4 Papers	80	273-287 3.5-3.9
Interview	40	243-272 2.5-3.4
4 Team Papers	80	213-242 1.5-2.4
	300	189-212 0.7-1.4

*Tips for writing good papers. Give yourself plenty of time! Write your paper, then let it sit overnight. You will be amazed at the errors you catch the next day. Read it aloud to yourself, your ears will catch mistakes that your eyes do not. Or read it aloud to a friend, or better yet, an enemy! If they say, HUH?, what do you mean by that, they have done you a favor. Your paper should be self explanatory to anyone reading it or listening to you read it. By doing any one of these things, or all of them, you will produce your best work.

*All written assignments need to use college level English so be certain to run spelling, grammar and style checks on all papers. For those needing assistance with their grammar, please contact The Loft, upstairs in the campus library

* All assignments are due on dates specified in the syllabus. Late assignments will be penalized, unless student has contacted instructor for an extension.

* Any grading system is subject to human error, so please contact me if there are questions.

* Final grades are assigned according to published grading standards for the course