Sustainable School Initiative

Part I: Understanding Sustainability (50 points)

Resources: Chapter 25, web site articles, guest speaker, local restaurants

1. What is The Natural Step's definition of sustainability? For information on The Natural Step see www.naturalstep.org. What are the Four Systems Conditions? What is meant by triple bottom line and cradle to cradle?

2. In what ways are a city, a school, a business and a home similar in terms of the need for sustainable practices? In what ways are they different?

3. Describe how Curitiba, Brazil has been designed to be a more ecologically sustainable city.

4. What is urban sprawl? List the major harmful effects of urban sprawl in terms of land and biodiversity, human health and aesthetics, water, energy, air, climate, and economic effects.

5. What are the environmental benefits of urbanization?

6. Describe the major resource and environmental problems of urban areas relating to (a) sustainability, (b) resource use, (c) biodiversity preservation, (d) land use, (e) tree cover, (f) food production, (g) microclimate (urban heat islands), (h) water supply and flooding, (i) pollution and human health, (j) noise, (k) excessive light, and (k) poverty and social problems. What are the major urban problems of Mexico City?

7. Describe how an excellent mass transit system in the United States between the 1920s and 1940s was destroyed.

8. What is zoning, and what are its advantages and disadvantages?

9. What is smart growth? List tools cities can use to promote smart growth in terms of limits and regulations, zoning, planning, protecting land from development, taxes, tax breaks, and revitalizing and planning cities and towns.

10. Describe how the state of Oregon has used smart growth to help prevent urban sprawl.

11. List ways to preserve open space. Evaluate how Corvallis has preserved open space.

12. Describe the major characteristics of a green city. What characteristics make Corvallis a green city (see green city/city council goals documents on APES main page)?

13. Describe the goals of the Corvallis Eco-Municipality Coalition (see www.sustainablecorvallis.org)

14. In what ways is CVHS not sustainable?

15. What are some green aspects of CVHS?

16. What are some things that could be done to make CVHS more sustainable/green?

17. In what ways is your home not sustainable?

18. What are the green aspects of your home?

19. What are some things that could be done to make your home more sustainable/green?

20. Bomb’s Away, Wildfire and Nearly Normal’s are all local participants in The Natural Step program.  Choose one of these restaurants and identify three practices that qualify them for the Natural Step (you will probably need to visit the restaurant in order to answer this question). Now pick a restaurant in town that is not part of the Natural Step, and describe the differences you see in their practices.