Overview of the Assignment:
Because sustainability has been a central theme of the course, this essay assignment is intended for you to reflect on the various examples and aspects of the field. Sustainability wears many different hats. As we have said, it involves a lot more than simply “environmental protection” (though that is certainly one aspect of the field). This course has given you perspective on the human and natural worlds, and the field of sustainability tries to bridge the two.
Essay requirements
Format: Use a standard font type and DOUBLE SPACING for your entire essay.
Introduction: (Approximately 200-250 words)
A good introduction is necessary for any paper or essay, and so you should give a clear and compelling explanation of sustainability which is relevant and interesting to the reader. In short, it will be very hard to get a good grade without a good introduction to set up the rest of your essay. In the introduction you should:
• Discuss what sustainability is, and what sets it apart from simply “environmentalism” or “environmental protection”. Explain how it looks at the “big picture”.
• Explain why being sustainable necessitates a long-term approach.
• Be sure NOT to give any specific examples or case studies of sustainability (that will come later in the essay’s body), but you do need to explain the basics of what it involves.
• Do yourself a favor, don’t just regurgitate the lecture notes from when we covered sustainability… that would be boring beyond words.
• Show me you truly understand sustainability beyond its simple definition.
Essay body: (Approximately 600-700 words)
You will need to give THREE different examples of sustainable solutions to problems, which are from the class lectures, text readings or videos. If you choose, ONE of your three examples may be from an outside source (but this is not required to do), such as a website, TV program, book, or your own personal knowledge. IN THIS CASE, JUST BE SURE TO ACCURATELY CITE THE SOURCE DIRECTLY IN THE TEXT OF YOUR ESSAY. (You do not need any kind of bibliography). But remember, this essay is not meant to be a research paper in any way, it is meant to come primarily from what you have already learned in this course. For each example of sustainability, here is what you will need to cover:
• THREE sustainable solutions that have currently been implemented. One or more of these may be that which you believe should or could be implemented – even if it has not actually been implemented anywhere. (This will show your ability to think outside the box, and also to impress me).
• What is each sustainable solution? Explain in detail the problem it addresses and why the solution is necessary. Choose diverse examples that focus on a range of human, social or environmental issues. The more thoughtful and varied your examples are, the better your chance of scoring a high grade.
• What are the all the benefits of each sustainable solution? What makes it “win-win”? This is the real test of how sustainable something is… so don’t hold back!
• What are the drawbacks or obstacles of each sustainable solution? Who or what might be disadvantaged by it, and HOW? Remember that sustainable solutions are not perfect!
• What are some actual or potential ways to address the drawbacks so that the solution is more widely accepted or adopted?
To make it easier, you might want to allot 200-250 words for each of the three sustainability examples – for a total of about 600-700 words for the main essay body.
Conclusion: (Approximately 200 words)
In the conclusion, you do not just want to summarize the introduction and body of the essay. You want to give some unique insight that you have about sustainability in general and/or about the examples in particular. In the conclusion you want to:
• Demonstrate that you understand sustainability (and its challenges) beyond just the 3 examples.
• Leave the reader with something inspiring about sustainability and how it fits into the world.
• Show how sustainability is relevant for all of us, even on an everyday level.
• Explain what the biggest obstacles are to a more sustainable future… either on an individual, community, or global level.
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