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Sustainability Freshman Inquiry

Explore the concepts of sustainability and systems science to gain a deeper understanding of complex and interrelated issues. Delve into the dynamics, feedbacks, and surprises of complex systems to better address sustainability challenges.

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Sustainability Freshman Inquiry

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  1. Sustainability Freshman Inquiry Jan. 13, 2010 Jeff Fletcher

  2. Logistics • Service experiences • MLK service day a great opportunity to get involved and get extra credit (Register Here) • Meet 8am for transportation to Concordia. • Ideas and/or preferences for class service project (Recyclemania?) • Attending outside events for Extra Credit • See EcoWiki events calendar • Community Outreach of Our United Villages: Strengthening the Social Vitality of Communities • Friday at 1pm at the School of Social Work 6th Floor Academic and Student Recreation Center, Room 660. (Flyer) • 1 on 1 meetings; be sure you know your time • I’m use to clutter so don’t worry • Can meet in 3rd floor lobby if you prefer not to meet in your room • Read Kolbert Chapters 3 & 4 (Quiz on Wednesday?) • Reading for Monday after next (MLK holiday): Kolbert Chapters 5, 6, & 7 (p. 93-149) • Mentor Session Today • Strategies for doing Carbon Footprint Assignment • How to do citations • Can we put up Sustainability Autobiography “maps”?

  3. Follow-Up Kolbert Ch. 1&2 • Lag between Scientific understanding and public understanding (p. 10) • Permafrost lets more plants grow—isn’t that a good thing to fight CO2 increases? (p. 22) • Expedition to get stuck in the ice (p. 24) • Climate Models (p. 33) • NetLogo model of Climate Change • Greenhouse gas effect natural (essential) (p. 38)

  4. Plan • Discuss Systems and Systems Science • Identify Key Systems Ideas • Use examples from Earth Systems • Focus today on natural physical systems rather than social systems • Other systems ideas are more relevant to social systems (later this term)

  5. Justification • Sustainability involves complex and interrelated issues • e.g., Climate change involves multiple complex systems (both natural and social) • e.g., Population control involves multiple complex systems (both natural and social) • So what do we know about systems that might give us a framework for more effectively addressing Sustainability?

  6. What is a System? • Consider an ecosystem and economic system: what is similar? Why are they both called systems? • Why might it be useful to focus on their similar “system-ness” rather than on their uniqueness?

  7. Systems • Comprised of: • Elements • Ecosystem and Economic system examples? • Interactions or relations • Ecosystem and Economic system examples? • A common relation between systems is hierarchical • subsystems, supra-systems • Consider some earth systems • Other ideas • order vs. disorder, order is constraint on relations • relations describe structure vs. total disorder (entropy) • system and environment • boundaries define systems

  8. What is Systems Science? • Consider flocking birds, schooling fish, a group of friends walking together • ornithologist, ichthyologist, sociologist • Mario Bunge “Stuff-free science” • How is knowledge normally grouped at a University? • System Science not as abstract as math and philosophy • But more abstract (general) than individual disciplines • Systems Science emphasizes theories that cut across disciplines • Game Theory, Evolution Theory, Information Theory, Network Theory, Chaos Theory, Complexity Theory, etc • Interested in addressing real-world, complicated problems, from a multidisciplinary perspective

  9. Key Ideas About Systems • What makes a system? • Elements and Relations • order vs. disorder • system vs. environment • Systems States and Dynamics • Equilibria, Stability • Positive and Negative Feedbacks • Non-linear dynamics • Chaos Theory, Catastrophe Theory • Emergence • Structure • Open vs. Closed • Matter, Energy, Information

  10. Systems can be in different states • For instance, temperature or composition of atmospheric system • How systems change states over time is called dynamics • Equilibria • Stable vs. Unstable • Static vs. Dynamic • Positive and Negative Feedbacks (aphids) • Exponential growth example of + feedback • Homeostasis example of - feedback

  11. Complex Systems Yield Surprises • Most models of systems are linear • Change in state predicted to be proportional to change in inputs • Most real and complex systems are non-linear • Systems with feedback are often unpredictable • Small causes can have big effects • Butterfly effect from Chaos theory • Catastrophe theory: state is not reversible by reversing cause • Current financial crisis is great example • Emergence • To be continued next week …

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