On the Brink

Sunday, October 4, 2020

George Washington Carver National Monuments

Today I continue my series on all 129 U.S. National Monuments. This is in follow up to my series that featured open access photos of all of the U.S. National Parks. In the coming years, I will highlight open access images all of the U.S. National Monuments in alphabetical order.

Today's featured monument is George Washington Carver National Monument in Missouri. This is not one of the monuments that was under review for delisting as per executive order by the president. Following the photos is a list of U.S. National Monuments previously featured on this blog.

Click for photo credit.

Previous On the Brink posts on the U.S. National Monuments

Admiralty Island National Monument
African Burial Ground National Monument
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
Agua Fria National Monument
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
Aniakchak National Monument
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Basin and Range National Monument
Bears Ears National Monument
Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument
Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
Booker T. Washington National Monument
Browns Canyon National Monument
Buck Island Reef National Monument
Cabrillo National Monument
California Coastal National Monument
Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Fort Union National Monument
Fossil Butte National Monument
Freedom Riders National Monument

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Energy Companies At Odds Over The Future Of Oil, But Is The Rush To Renewables Performative?

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I have written much in this space and in my books about the shift of major energy companies like BP away from oil to a more diversified portfolio that includes renewable energy. Of course not all energy companies are alike. Some have embraced renewables more than others.

Today, the New York Times published an important piece in their Business section on the growing gulf between European and North American energy companies. European companies like BP have greatly expanded their renewable operations while American companies like Exxon Mobil are sticking with oil and natural gas.

The article points out a growing divide between pragmatists in the oil industry that recognize that climate change is a problem and that for their companies to flourish there is a need to diversity holdings, and traditionalists that continue to advance a dirty energy portfolio even with mounting evidence of systemic planetary problems associated with climate change. There is a growing distaste in the public and major investment groups, including the world's largest investment company, BlackRock, for support for dirty energy and, as the article notes, these companies seem rather out of step with major societal and corporate trends.

It is worth noting that the movement toward renewables is modest at best. Total energy use around the world continues to grow and renewables cannot keep up. Certainly renewables are a part of the growth, but the global use of coal, natural gas, and petroleum increased as well over the last 20 years. Thus, renewable energy production does not match the growing global demand for energy which must be met with traditional dirty sources. We have not had a serious policy in the U.S. and many other parts of the world as to how to significantly reduce overall global energy use to cut combustion of fossil fuels so renewables can be a bigger part of the portfolio. As we see global energy use continue to spike, it is worth questioning whether the modest move globally to renewables is a serious reaction to climate change or if it is a performative band aid. We cannot make a real difference until we cut overall fossil fuel use and that is not happening--even though we see green energy increasing.

Sunday, September 6, 2020

Sustainability Case Studies Chapter 14: Japanese Women and Antinuclear Activism After the Fukushima Accident

The Fukushima Power Plant after the disaster.
Click for photo credit.

This is the 14th post in this blog series, Sustainability Case Studies, that is based on the book The Palgrave Handbook of Sustainability: Case Studies and Practical Solutions edited by Robert Brinkmann (yours truly) and Sandra Garren and published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2018. Each post in the series will comment on the content of the chapter as well as some general take-aways or practical teaching or personal/organizational initiatives that could be gleaned from the chapter. Links to previous posts on the series (including the post that introduced the series) follow after the chapter review.

This chapter, Japanese Women and Antinuclear Activism After the Fukushima Accident, by Professor Heidi Hutner of Stony Brook University, begins with an interesting review of the role of women in anti-nuclear activism since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Women have been leading the anti-nuclear charge for generations and this chapter explores how women continued the activism after Fukushima. One of the drivers of this activism is that women and girls are unequally impacted by nuclear pollution which was highlighted in the Preamble to the 2017 UN Treaty to Prohibit the Use of Nuclear Weapons.

The case study section of the chapter reviews the events associated with the Fukushima disaster and the scope of the pollution problem that resulted when the cores were breached at the nuclear power plant. The levels of radioactivity in the area was shocking and the public was greatly dismayed by the amount of radiation released into the environment. All nuclear reactors in Japan were closed (not all of them are back online) and a new era of anti-nuclear activism, led by women, was born in Japan. Some protests had up to 170,000 protestors who marched to demand a clean up of the region and many Fukushima residents "occupied" areas of government spaces in Tokyo to shed light on the issue. Some of these protests continue to the present day.

The chapter reviews the stories of a number of women activists who helped to drive public knowledge about the disaster and who sought greater government action to mitigate the problems of Fukushima and prevent future radiation pollution events. There are too many fascinating stories to account here. However, it is clear that many women were radicalized by the events of Fukushima and that this is part of a long tradition of women engaged with the ant-nuclear movement in Japan. The chapter also makes a case that Japan's patriarchal government and decision-making systems have driven much of the move to nuclear power in the last 70 years in direct contrast to women who have been pushing for an anti-nuclear future.

Click here for more information about the book.

A 2011 protest in Japan. Click for image credit.

Here are some discussion questions when using this chapter for a unit on activism, nuclear energy, and/or gender and the environment.

1. What was the Fukushima disaster and when did it occur?

2. What were the impacts of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

3. Why are women so engaged with the anti-nuclear movement?

4. After the Fukushima disaster, a number of different types of protests emerged across Japan. Describe them.

5. Who is Mioko Smith and how did she set the stage for the protests that emerged after the Fukushima disaster?

6. How did the disaster impact farmer, Sachiko Sato?

7. What is the "partnership ethic" and why is it important in this case study?

8. What evidence is there that Japan's decision making around nuclear energy is an example of a patriarchal power system?

Previous posts in this series:

Introduction to the Blog Series
Chapter 1: Sustainability Definitions, Historical Context, and Frameworks
Chapter 2. Sustainability and Natural Landscape Stewardship: A US Conservation Case Study
Chapter 3. Policy Design for Sustainability at Multiple Scales: The Case of Transboundary Haze Pollution in Southeast Asia
Chapter 4. Sustainable Water Resources Management: Groundwater Depletion

Chapter 5. Drinking Water Infrastructure Inequality and Environmental Injustice: The Case of Flint Michigan

Chapter 6. Sustainable Renewable Energy: The Case of Burlington, Vermont

Chapter 7. Greenhouse Gas Management: A Case Study of a Typical American City

Chapter 8. Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in China

Chapter 9. Waste Management Outlook for the Middle East

Chapter 10. Sustainability of Vicuña Conservation in Bolivia

Chapter 11. Marine Protected Areas in Canada
Chapter 12. Urban Social Sustainability: The Case Study of Nottingham, UK

Chapter 13. Small Land Holdings in Karnataka, India

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Major Sustainability Center at Northern Illinois University Taking Shape

In late 2018, Northern Illinois University (NIU) announced the formation of a new center aimed at community-based sustainability. The Center, called The Northern Illinois Center for Community Sustainability (NICCS) has worked to shape its future through a number of conversations with a variety of interested parties on the NIU campus. Recently, the university posted an update about the center here that many of my readers will find of interest.

The Center is still working out the details about its organization and focus. However, many of the faculty associated with the center have a deep understanding of the field of sustainability and it is clear that the future of the organization is bright. As the article points out, two biology faculty associated with the center have received substantial federal grants and many faculty are engaged with projects that bridge much of the work being done in departments and colleges with work supported by the Center.

The Center will be housed in a new campus building that is currently in the planning stages. What is exciting about this project is that it has the opportunity to advance a regional and global approach to sustainability that also has a local context for the unique environment of Northern Illinois--one of the centers of the modern industrial agricultural system that also includes the vast Chicago megalopolis.

Sunday, August 30, 2020

We're Not Pivoting -- We're In Rolling Motion

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All over the country universities are experiencing tough times. We are in the midst of a global pandemic, many campuses are experiencing budget crises, and the next few months may prove to be one of the most challenging political periods in our history. If we had only one of these problems, we would be in what many would call unprecedented times.

In moments like this, I think it is worth considering our past. When my university, Northern Illinois University (NIU), graduated its first class of 16 students in 1900, I don’t think anyone back then could have imagined what we would be facing in 2020.

Or could they?

About this time, American society was recovering from the Civil War, coming to terms with the Massacre at Wounded Knee, and dealing with great technological advances in transportation with the advent of the automobile and airplanes. Americans were coming out of the depression of the 1890s that left many destitute due to the lack of a governmental safety net. Books like The War of the Worlds and The Picture of Dorian Gray were published that reflected a certain amount of social angst.

If we fast forward to the 1910's, we continue to see challenges. NIU saw significant enrollment declines due to World War I and classes were suspended on campus during October of 1918 due to the influenza epidemic of the era. NIU President Cook, writing during this time, said, “When we shall begin again is a matter for the future to decide. There is nothing that seems of consequence right now but the war and the epidemic.”

During 1918, whole families died from the flu. Around the world, the war and the pandemic were not the only issues. This was the year when the Russian royal family was assassinated within the sweeping events of the Russian Revolution, and a few short months before Zapata was killed near the culmination of the complex Mexican Revolution. These were very difficult times.

I could go through a range of changes and challenges that NIU and other universities faced since 1918: The Great Depression, World War II, The Vietnam War, civil unrest in the 1960’s. During each of these moments, universities evolved and changed with the times.

I have no doubt that American universities will continue to be vibrant institutions on into the future. However, as history shows us, universities rose to the challenges they faced. As we look toward the next decade, we have to ask ourselves how universities will change with our times.

I joke with my colleagues that the word of the year is "pivot". It seems like we pivoted to online course delivery back in the spring semester and around the country we are pivoting to a blended delivery system this semester with the expectation that we should be able to pivot to whatever the situation demands in the future. Over the last few weeks, I have added the word pivot to my administrative bingo sheet along with words and phrases like biggest bang for the buck, paradigm shift, leverage, put a pin in it, and my favorite, it is what it is.

But the term pivot implies that you are basically just circling a central point. Pivoting means that the basic conditions don’t change as you circle that central point.

In our current era, the term pivot isn’t really accurate. We are actually going through rolling motion. We are rotating around a central point which is itself going through motion. What matters in this rolling motion is that there needs to be intention of direction. Certainly we have outside forces like COVID and our national economy influencing our direction. However, we give up our own power of intention if we are only reactive to the changes impacting our direction.

We have the opportunity in higher education to make decisions over the next few years to direct us in a path of our choosing. Certainly we will have to deal with the momentum of our times—the issues of budget, COVID, and others. But we have choices in this unusual situation.

As we start to think what the fall of 2021 looks like when we start to emerge from a post COVID world (hopefully), we should do so with intentionality. At all levels of higher education, we need to think about what we want to be and how we want to get there. We need to put our own spin on things so that we don’t pivot in a single spot. We need to design our own forward motion.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

George Washington Birthplace National Monument

Today's featured monument is George Washington Birthplace National Monument in Virginia. This is not one of the monuments that was under review for delisting as per executive order by the president. Following the photos is a list of U.S. National Monuments previously featured on this blog.

Click for photo credit.

Fort Union National Monument
Fossil Butte National Monument
Freedom Riders National Monument

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Five End of Summer Books for the Beach Bag from University Presses

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While many of us have spent a chunk of the quarantine writing, the folks at the beloved university presses around the county have been busy working with authors, copy editing, and publishing scholarship from the greatest minds in our land. I have selected five new books from the presses that my readers may find interesting. If you know of some other great new offerings, post them in the comments.

1. Swamp Souths: Literary and Cultural Ecologies edited by Kristen L. Squint, Eric Gary Anderson, Taylor Hagood, and Anthony Wilson and publishes by LSU Press. When I was growing up in Wisconsin, I was deeply intrigued by the southern swamps as depicted in film and literature. After living in the south for two decades and spending considerable time in these swamps, I remain intrigued. They are a landscape apart in the reckoning of the American imagination. These places represent an otherness and exoticism that deserves this volume that makes a case for greater recognition in American cultural identity.

2. Wildly Successful Farming: Sustainability and the NewAgricultural Land Ethic written by Brian DeVore and published by the University Presses of Wisconsin. Do you want to understand how we are transforming agriculture to be more sustainable? Look no further than this book that highlights via case studies how farmers are using sustainable innovation to repair our land and create a more sustainable world.

3. Building a Better Nest: Living Lightly at Home and in the World by Evelyn Searle Hess and published by Oregon State University Press. As we strive to live greener lives we are often confronted by the unsustainable nature of our living space. This book questions many assumptions about modern life and documents a quest for living more sustainably in the world via intentional living off the grid and in touch with nature.

4. The Greenway Imperative: Connecting Communities and Landscapes for a Sustainable Future by Charles A. Flink and published by the University Press of Florida. As we continue to look toward innovation in sustainable urban design, greenways will gain greater prominence as we reject cars for bikes and walking. This book is the definitive source for everything you need to know about greenways and why they will be more important as we strive for a more sustainable world.

5. Environmental Justice in a Moment of Danger by Julie Sze and published by the University of California Press. We are in a moment in society's history with great cultural and social disparities. This book highlights growing activism around key environmental justice issues like the Dakota Access Pipeline. The book notes these are dangerous times for the environment and for the environmental justice movement.

Sunday, June 21, 2020

Great Lakes at Historic Levels

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The Chicago Tribune published an interesting article today by Patrick M. O'Connell about record high levels in Lake Michigan and the other Great Lakes. It is worth a read here. As the piece points out, the shoreline in Chicago is seeing some significant inundation that is impacting access and threatening boater safety. The high levels are the result of global climate change associated with increased runoff associated with increased precipitation and warmer winters.

O'Connell notes that the Great Lakes have seen significant fluctuations in recent years and experienced record low levels just five years ago. The wild fluctuations are not normal and reflect the predictions of extreme conditions that many climate scientists have predicted as highlighted in recent reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Friday, June 19, 2020

Zora Neale Hurston Quiz Revisited

On this Juneteenth celebration, I wanted to revisit my Zora Neale Neale Hurston Quiz that I published back in April of 2015. I have long celebrated her writing as some of the most important 20th century environmental literature written in the English language. She has a distinct way of bringing elements of nature into her fiction and non-fiction that was relatively uncommon during her time.

The find the answers to the quiz, you can visit the original post here.

the original post follows.

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Zora Neale Hurston is one of what I call the Trifecta of early to mid- 20th century Florida women writers who had an impact on how we think about the environment. I've written about this trifecta here.

Hurston is perhaps one of the most interesting writers of the 20th century to call Florida home. She had a huge influence on 20th century writing and certainly on how we think about the environment in Florida.

1. Hurston is most famous for this book that depicts life in the Everglades for African American farmers. Name the book.

2. Weather is one of the most symbolic elements in the book referenced above. In what way does weather have a deus ex machina moment in the book?

3. Hurston wrote the above referenced book while living in this country. Name the country.

4. The book depicted a distinct human and environmental realism that was unique at the time. It was also very different from the tradition of this group (with a familiar New York name) with which Hurston is often associated. Name the group.

5. While a noted novelist and short story writer, Hurston earned a degree in this field from Barnard College. Name the field.

6. In 1935, Hurston published this book that focuses on folklore from Florida. In it she reveals dozens of stories that have been passed down through generations--many of which bring in environmental or sustainability themes. Name the book.

7. Hurston often used black dialect that was common in the south at the time. This was criticized by many for what reason?

8. One of the things that I find refreshing about Hurston's work is that it shows people in relationship to their environment in very realistic ways. She also uses an abundance of environmental references. For example, Hurston speaks about her experiences as a black women in an interesting essay in which she uses environmental metaphors such as "For instance at Barnard. "Beside the waters of the Hudson" I feel my race. Among the thousand white persons, I am a dark rock surged upon, and overswept, but through it all, I remain myself. When covered by the waters, I am; and the ebb but reveals me again." Name the essay.

9. Although largely associated with Florida and New York, Hurston was actually born in this state and lived there until she moved to Florida when she was three years old. Name the state.

10. From the 1950's and until her death in 1960, Hurston lived in relative obscurity. She was buried in an unmarked grave in Fort Pierce, Florida. However a famous author revived interest in Hurston in 1974 when she wrote an essay for Ms. magazine titled "In Search of Zora Neale Hurston". She also dedicated a grave marker to her near her burial site. Name the author.

Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Seeking Chapter Authors for the Global Handbook of Sustainability

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I am in the midst of a new project that seeks to bring together great minds in helping to better define and describe the growing field of sustainability. The book, called The Palgrave Global Handbook of Sustainability, is a different type of publication. The volume will have dozens of articles on a range of topics within the interdisciplinary framework of sustainability. If you are in the sustainability field, I want you to be part of it.

The articles will not be peer-reviewed, but instead will be published online after I complete a review and after they go through a copy editing process with Palgrave Macmillan. I suspect that once I get a draft of a chapter, I can turn it around within a week or two. The volume will exist online and edits can be made to your article(s) up until the completion of the entire volume (which I suspect will take a year or two). Once it is done, the entire volume will be printed. You can check out my introductory chapter to the book here. The volume should prove to be one of the largest and most important sources of sustainability information every published.

If you are interested in being part of the project, take a look at the list below of main chapters. The ones that are highlighted have been taken. The others are up for grabs. You can also suggest a new chapter topic. I will update this list in future posts as the project progresses. Drop me an email at rbrinkmann@niu.edu if you are interested in joining a great group of authors in the production of this important volume.

Part 1. Introduction

Chapter 1. Defining Sustainability by Robert Brinkmann

Chapter 2. Organization of the Knowledge of Sustainability

Part 2. Environmental Sustainability

Chapter 3. Defining Environmental Sustainability and Major Earth Cycles (could be 2 chapters)

Part 2a. Energy

Chapter 4. Global Energy Use

Chapter 5. Oil and Natural Gas and Sustainability

Chapter 6. Coal and Sustainability

Chapter 7. Nuclear Power and Sustainability

Chapter 8. Solar Energy

Chapter 9. Wind Energy

Chapter 10. Hydroelectric Power

Chapter 11. Geothermal Energy

Chapter 12. Other Green Energy Sources: Wave, Tide, Current, etc.

Chapter 13. Energy Conservation

Part 2b. Climate Change

Chapter 14. The Science of Climate Change

Chapter 15. The Evidence for Climate Change on our Planet

Chapter 16. Greenhouse Gases and their Distribution and Production

Chapter 17. Climate Change Challenges in Coastal Environments

Chapter 18. Climate Change Challenges in the Arctic

Chapter 19. The Evidence for Climate Change for Terrestrial Mammals, Forthcoming by Melissa Grigione, Pace University

Chapter 20. Greenhouse Gas Management

Part 2c. Water

Chapter 21. Global Water Use

Chapter 22. Water Resources: Aquifers, Reservoirs, Lakes, and Rivers

Chapter 23. Desalination

Chapter 24. Water Management

Chapter 25. Innovations in Water Management: Agriculture

Chapter 26. Innovations in Water Management: Industrial and Energy Applications

Chapter 27. Innovations in Water Management: Urban and Suburban Uses

Part 2d. Natural Resource Management

Chapter 28. The State of the World’s Natural Resources

Chapter 29. Forests

Chapter 30. Wetlands

Chapter 31. Oceans

Chapter 32. Prairies, Mountains, and Other Ecosystems

Chapter 33. Endangered Species and Extinction

Chapter 34. Parks and Public Lands

Chapter 35. Ecosystems Services

Chapter 36. Urban and Suburban Ecosystems

Chapter 37. Mining and Minerals

Chapter 38. Agriculture and Sustainability

Chapter 39. Organic Food

Chapter 40. Local Food, Slow Food, and the Small Farm Movement

Chapter 41. Fish and Fisheries

Chapter 42. Fish and Shellfish Farming

Part 2e. Waste and Pollution

Chapter 43. Defining Waste and Pollution

Chapter 44. Sewage and Sewage Treatment

Chapter 45. Municipal Waste (Garbage) and Its Management

Chapter 46. Industrial Waste and Its Management

Chapter 47. Medical Waste and Its Management

Chapter 48. Human Remains and the Sustainability of Death

Chapter 49. Plastics

Chapter 50. Radioactive Waste

Chapter 51. Air Pollution, Wilma Subra, Subra Company

Chapter 52. Water Pollution

Chapter 53. Heavy Metal Pollution

Chapter 54. Nutrient Pollution

Part 3. Sustainability and Equity

Chapter 55. Defining the Social Equity Issues in Sustainability, Forthcoming by Deborah Gallagher, Duke University

Part 3a. Sustainability in the Developing World

Chapter 56. The State of Sustainability in the Developing World

Chapter 57. Human Rights

Chapter 58. The Global South and Sustainability: Issues and Constraints

Chapter 59. Small Island Developing States and Sustainability

Chapter 60. Sustainability in Africa

Chapter 61. Sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean

Chapter 62. Sustainability in Asia

Chapter 63. Health and Sustainability in the Developing World

Part 3b. Environmental Justice and Racism

Chapter 64. Background on Environmental Justice and Racism

Chapter 65. Social Equity

Chapter 66. Indigenous Peoples and Sustainability

Chapter 67. Gender and Sustainability

Chapter 68. Environmental Racism in North America

Chapter 69. Environmental Justice in Europe

Chapter 70. Environmental Justice in Asia

Chapter 71. Environmental Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean

Chapter 72. Stakeholder Engagement Forthcoming by Dr. Christian Wells, University of South Florida

Part 3c. Education and Sustainability

Chapter 73. Environmental Education

Chapter 74. Children and Sustainability

Chapter 75. Informal Education and Sustainability

Chapter 76. K-8 Sustainability Education

Chapter 77. High School and Sustainability

Chapter 78. Higher Education for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Concept, Roots, and Characteristis Forthcoming by Dr. Randa El Bedawy, The American University in Cairo

Chapter 79. Sustainability at Universities and Colleges

Part 3d. International Benchmarking and National Sustainability Planning

Chapter 80. The Sustainable Development Goals

Chapter 81. International Organization for Standards ISO 26000

Chapter 82. Human Development Index

Chapter 83. National Plan 1

Chapter 84. National Plan 2

Chapter 85. National Plan 3

Part 3e. Urban and Regional Planning and Sustainability

Chapter 86. Background on Urban and Regional Planning, Forthcoming by Dr. Constance Carr, Université du Luxembourg

Chapter 87. Urban Approaches to Sustainability. Forthcoming by Dr. Michelle Beiler, Bucknell University

Chapter 88. Urban Approaches to Sustainability: Transportation and Walkability, Forthcoming by Adriane Hoff, Sustainability & Beautification Committee of Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council

Chapter 89. Urban Approaches to Sustainability: Food

Chapter 90. Urban Approaches to Sustainability: Zoning

Chapter 91. Urban Approaches to Sustainability: Equity, Forthcoming by Dr. Jenni Cauvain, Nottingham Trent University

Chapter 92. Resiliency

Chapter 93: Green Building

Chapter 94: Green Infrastructure

Chapter 95: Regional Planning

Chapter 96: Tiny House Movement, Co-Housing, and Land Trusts, Forthcoming by Dr. Elizabeth Strom, University of South Florida

Chapter 97. Individual Carbon and Environmental Footprints

Chapter 98. Minimalism

Chapter 99. Intentional Communities

Part 4. Economics and Sustainability

Chapter 100. Introduction to Economics and Sustainability

Part 4a. Business and Sustainability

Chapter 101. Sustainable Business Management

Chapter 102. The Circular Economy, Forthcoming by Dr. David Gibbs, University of Hull

Chapter 103. Supply Chain Management and Procurement

Chapter 104. Benchmarking for Businesses

Chapter 105. Green Fashion

Chapter 106. Green Investing and Financial Services

Chapter 107. Green Information and Communications

Chapter 108. Just in Time Production and Efficiency

Chapter 109. Green Logistics and Transportation

Chapter 110. Greenwashing

Chapter 111. Business Ethics

Part 4b. Economic Development and Sustainability

Chapter 112. Background on Economic Development Forthcoming by Aaron Deslatte, Indiana University

Chapter 113. Economic Development to Protect Natural Assets

Chapter 114. Economic Development and Equity

Chapter 115. Green Entrepreneurship

Chapter 116. Green Technology Transfer

Chapter 117. Green Economic Incentives

Chapter 118. Microcredit

Part 4c. Regulations

Chapter 119. Introduction to Environmental Regulations

Chapter 120. Environmental Law

Chapter 121. The EPA and Its Regulations, Forthcoming by Dr. Adrienne Katner, Louisiana State University

Chapter 122. Environmental Regulations in the European Union

Chapter 123. Environmental Regulation in Asia

Chapter 124. Environmental Regulation in the Global South

Chapter 125. Protecting Water and Wetlands

Chapter 126. Protecting Plants and Animals

Chapter 127. Protecting Air

Chapter 128. Protecting People

Part 4c. Travel, Tourism, and Recreation and Sustainability

Chapter 129. Ecotourism

Chapter 130. Green Conventions and Events

Chapter 131. Green Restaurants

Chapter 132. Green Hotels

Chapter 133. Cruise Ships and Sustainability

Chapter 134. Green Athletics and Sporting Events

Chapter 135. Green Media

Part 4d. Consumerism

Chapter 136. Global Consumption Patterns

Chapter 137. Advertising for Consumption

Chapter 138. Impacts of Consumption

Chapter 139. Hoarding

Chapter 140. Economic Disparities

Chapter 141. Critical Discourses on Sustainability

Part 4e. Tools in Sustainability

Chapter 142. Cost Benefit Analysis

Chapter 143. Mapping, GIS, and Remote Sensing Forthcoming by Dr. Christopher Badurek, SUNY Cortland

Chapter 144. Benchmarking

Chapter 145. Community Engagement

Part 5 Historical Considerations

Part 5a. Human History and Sustainability

Chapter 146. History of the Environmental Movement

Chapter 147. Prehistoric Human Development and Sustainability

Chapter 148. The Archaeology of Sustainability, Forthcoming by Dr. Lynne Goldstein, Michigan State University

Chapter 149. Sustainability in the Bronze Age

Chapter 150. Sustainability and the Industrial Revolution

Part 5b. Great Figures of the Sustainability Field (note this list will expand and these chapters will be short bios)

Chapter 151. Carl Sauer

Chapter 152. H.D. Thoreau

Chapter 153. Aldo Leopold Forthcoming by Dr. Christopher Badurek, SUNY Cortland

Chapter 154. Rachel Carson

Chapter 155. Zora Neale Hurston

Chapter 156. Marjorie Stoneman Douglas

Chapter 157. Gro Brundtland

Chapter 158. Michael Mann

Chapter 159. Al Gore

Chapter 160. Octavia Butler, Forthcoming by Dr. Lisa-Marie Pierre, Bronx
Community College
Chapter 161. Bill McKibben

Part 6. Organizations (again, this list will expand, but the text will be short in most cases)

Part 6a. International Organizations

Chapter 162. The United Nations

Chapter 163. The World Health Organizations

Chapter 164. Greenpeace

Chapter 165. Natural Resource Defense Council

Chapter 166. The Nature Conservancy

Chapter 167. World Wildlife Fund

Chapter 168. Slow Food International

Part 6b. National, Regional, or Local Organizations

Chapter 169. U.S Council of Mayors

Chapter 170. US Green Building Coalition and Passivhaus

Chapter 171. 100 Resilient Cities

Chapter 172. African Sustainable Energy Association

Past and Future Talks and Events

Past and Future Talks and Events

June 15, 2020, 7p.m., Panelist at a Community Seminar on Climate Change. Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York.

April 21, 2020. 7p.m., Science Night Live, Hofstra University. "Five Ways to Save the Planet in a Time of Environmental Change"

November 1, 2019. Keynote speaker for the Louisville Sustainability Council Summit.

December 1, 2019. Keynote speaker for the New York State Marine Education Association.

December 11, San Fransico, American Geophysical Union. "Blogging as if Our Future Depends on It: Engaging Society on Sustainability Via Blogging on On the Brink"

Bob Brinkmann is available for speaking engagements on the topics of sustainability, climate change, caves and sinkholes, and environmental writing. He is also available to conduct writing workshops focused on writing productivity, publishing, blogging, and/or book-length projects. Please contact him directly at robertbrinkmann@rocketmail for details.