VAST 203 Sustainability of Built Systems
Undergraduate course
Files marked with a lock are password-protected. Students: use the username and password given in class.
Course Related Links
Environment - Energy - Degradation
- Moving Beyond GPD (Qunatifying natural captial towards ecosystem accounting and decision making)link
- UN climate change action is a major goal for Secreary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2013 link and pdf
- National Climate Assessment Details Stronger Evidence of Global Warming & Its Impacts Link and PDF
- Nations Agree on Legally Binding Mercury Rules Link and PDF
- CFL light bulbs - Mercury Youtube link: link
- A decision on the XL pipeline could define Obama's green agenda: link and PDF
- World Economic Forum: Climate Change Curbing Efforts Could Cost $700 Billion A Year: link and PDF
- Refusal over Arctic drilling ban: link and PDF
- $20 trillion shale oil find surrounding Coober Pedy 'can fuel Australia': link and
PDF
Shale gas and Fracking - EPA's Study of Hyd. Fracturing Potential Impact on Drinking Water, EPA
- Shale Gas in PA, watch the intro movie.
- Shale Gas Insight 2013, Conference in Philadelphia (September 25-26).
- Shale gas in US, Wiki
- Natural Gas from Shale, Chevron.
- Shale gas and fracking, The Guardian
- Shale Gas, Center for Energy Economics and Policy.
- Shale Gas, movie
- Shale Gas, movie PA, Bradford County
- Shale Gas, Cornell Lecture.
Oil Sands - Oil Sands, Canada, movie
Methane Hydrates (methane ice, fire ice) - Japan extracts gas from methane hydrate in world first
- Undersea fuel of future
- USGS Gas Hydrates Lab
- Lecture, Miriam Kastner
Economy and Growth
- Moving Beyond GPD (Qunatifying natural captial towards ecosystem accounting and decision making)link
- Governments urged to prepare for worst (global risk 2013) Link and PDF
- Global Risk 2013 report, SUMMARY Link
- Global Risk 2013 report, FULL REPORT Link and PDF
- Global Agenda Outlook 2013: Link and PDF
- EU Carbon price emissions trading system hits all-time low: Link and PDF
Social & Human (Health and Women other)
- Sustainable Health Systems - Visions, Strategies, Critical Uncertainties and Scenarios, 2013 Report: Link and PDF
- Global Economic Recession causing poverty, deaths for females than males: Report Link and PDF
- Quadruple helix' DNA seen in human cells: Link and PDF
- HIV Prevention: Nobel Laureate David Baltimore Talks VIP, New Developments (VIDEO) : Link and PDF
Materials and Technology
- Savings needed to meet future demand for resources: Link and PDF
- Greenland rare earths: No special favours for EU: Link and PDF
- Is graphene really a wonder-material? Link and PDF
- Graphene: Patent surge reveals global race: Link and PDF
Sustainability
- Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System Link
Sustainability News Sites: - Sustainability Newsletter
- Environmental News Network
- NPR-Environment
Sustainability Podcasts: - Sense & Sustainability
- Ceres Sustainability Podcast on iTunes.
Student Suggestions
- 1-hour documentary (McDonough W., & Braungart, M.) vision for biodegradable products: Link, by Sarah Hardy
- McDonough TED Tatlk Link, by Sarah Hardy
- McDonough might not be the visionary: Link, by Sarah Hardy
- Billboard designed to make drinking water from humid air in Lima, Peru: Link, by Sarah Hardy
- Role of desertification in releasing Carbon as fast as burning fossil fuels Link, by Sarah Hardy
- Texas is turning treated wastewater into drinking water: Link, by Sarah Hardy
- NYC is going to ban styrofoam! Link, by Sarah Hardy
- Are current sustainable fishing efforst useless? Link, by Sarah Hardy