Exploring German and American Modes of Pedagogical and Institutional Sustainability: Forging a Way Into the Future Lindon N
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Claremont Colleges Scholarship @ Claremont Pitzer Senior Theses Pitzer Student Scholarship 2012 Exploring German and American Modes of Pedagogical and Institutional Sustainability: Forging a Way into the Future Lindon N. Pronto Pitzer College Recommended Citation Pronto, Lindon N., "Exploring German and American Modes of Pedagogical and Institutional Sustainability: Forging a Way into the Future" (2012). Pitzer Senior Theses. Paper 21. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/21 This Open Access Senior Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Pitzer Student Scholarship at Scholarship @ Claremont. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pitzer Senior Theses by an authorized administrator of Scholarship @ Claremont. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Exploring German and American modes of Pedagogical and Institutional Sustainability: Forging a Way into the Future A Thesis Presented by Lindon N. Pronto To the Environmental Analysis Department and the Community Engagement Center of Pitzer College, and to the German Department of Pomona College In partial fulfillment of The Degree of Bachelor of Arts A Combined Senior Thesis in German and Environmental Analysis Friday April 27, 2012 Table of Contents Glossary of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….6 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7 Chapter One Green Roots in Germany 1.1 The Precautionary Principle and Germany’s Historical Relationship to the Environment…………………………………………………………………………………………..10 1.2 Chernobyl………………………………………………………………………………………………..….17 1.3 Rise of the German Green Party………………………………………………………………….19 1.4 Bridging Sentiment and Policy over the Past Decade…………………………………..21 Chapter Two From Energy to Education 2.1 Renewable Energy Sources in Germany………………………………………………………26 2.2 Study and Research on Sustainability in Germany……………………………………….38 Chapter Three Sustainable Development: from a Concept to Classrooms and Communities…………….41 Chapter Four Germany’s Environmental Education Approaches: Examples from Freiburg and Berlin…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….51 4.1 Albert-Ludwig University Freiburg ………………………………………………………………52 4.2 Free University Berlin………………………………………………………………………………….59 Chapter Five American Models for Sustainability in Higher Education ……………………………………………65 5.1 Curricular Reform……………………………………………………………………………………….66 5.2 Modes of Student Engagement..…………………………………………………………………73 5.3 Technical Aspects of Carbon Neutrality.………………………………………………………77 Chapter Six Pitzer College: A Case Study for Institutional Sustainability and Environmental Sustainability…..………………………………………………………………………………………………………….87 2 6.1 Stated Principles, Commitments, and Current Data..………………………………….89 6.2 Past Achievements……………………………………………………………………………………..95 6.3 Programs, Courses and Assets.……………………………………………………………………98 6.4 Current and Budgeted Initiatives………………………………………………………………101 6.5 Cap Recommendations and Future Outlook..……………………………………………103 6.6 Strengthening the CAP………………………………………………………………………………106 Chapter Seven Forging a Way into the Future: General Applications in the Liberal Arts Setting………111 7.1 Mission and Design Philosophy: Potentials and Pitfalls……………………………..112 7.2 Curriculum and Pedagogy…………………………………………………………………………120 7.3 Student Engagement…………………………………………………………………………………124 7.4 Funding Carbon Neutrality………………………………………………………………………..126 Closing Thoughts……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………129 Works Cited…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..132 Appendix A……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………139 Appendix B…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….142 Appendix C…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….143 Appendix D……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………150 3 Glossary of Abbreviations (alphabetical) (5C) Shorthand for the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges (ACUPCC) American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACEA) European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ASU) Arizona State University (BFS) Bernard Field Station (CAP) Climate Action Plan (COA) College of the Atlantic (CUC) Claremont University Consortium (all seven colleges) (EA) Environmental Analysis (EC) European Commission (EC) European Community (EE) Environmental Education (EIS) Environmental Impact Study (ESD) Education for Sustainable Development (EU) European Union (FBFS) Friends of the Bernard Field Station (FCRE) Firestone Center for Restoration and Ecology (FDP) Free Democratic Party (FDR) Federal Republic of Germany (GBP) Green Bike Program (GDR) Democratic Republic of Germany (GHG) Green House Gas (GMO) Genetically Modified Organism 4 (KGI) Keck Graduate University (LCP) Large Combustion Plant (LEED) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEP) Leadership in Environmental Education Partnership (NAU) Northern Arizona University (OCC) Oakland Community College (PP) Precautionary Principle (WHO)World Health Organization (PZ) Pitzer College (SAUCE) Schools at University for Climate and Energy (SBFS) Students for the Bernard Field Station (SD) Sustainable Development (SPD) Social Democratic Party (WWC) Warren Wilson College 5 Acknowledgements Many people have helped me with the research, compilation, and editing of this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to offer my deepest respect and gratitude to my adviser and friend, Prof. Hans Rindisbacher. Without his undying support and attention, this thesis would not have been possible. I am grateful to David Zachary for the many hours that he spent with me, editing my work and helping me to improve my writing skills. I would like to thank my adviser Prof. Brinda Sarathy for her support and feedback, and Tessa Hicks for inspiration and sharing with me her community vision. I thank Mike Wolfsen and his team of interns, my friends, for their inclusiveness and for welcoming my input in Pitzer’s Climate Action Plan. I am grateful for those members of the Pitzer College community who have supported me and advocated on the behalf of my proposal. I also gratefully acknowledge Pitzer’s Dean of Faculty’s Office and the Community Engagement Center for providing me with financial assistance for my travel and research abroad. My research in Germany would not have been possible without the flexibility and willingness of those who agreed to meet me on such short notice. At the Albert-Ludwigs Universität in Freiburg, I want to thank Stefan Adler, Esther Muschelknautz, and Sadhbh Bourke for their time and assistance. I also extend my gratitude toward Dr. Gerhard de Haan and Karola Braun-Wanke at the Freie Universität in Berlin, for giving me their time and extensive resources. I extend my gratitude to all others who have inspired and supported me in one way or another along this journey, and I apologize for not having named all of you. Finally, I wish to thank my parents for their love and support and my ‘Omi’ for making sure my German doesn’t get too rusty. 6 Introduction This thesis has been a long and ever-transforming process as well as a personal journey. It is a broad and encompassing work, with a unique approach and formula. Thanks to an upbringing that has strongly connected me to nature, my relationship to the natural environment transcends the material or physical realm, and grants me personal clarity in my passion and purpose for the world. My personal motto is: without our environment we cease to exist. It is my strong belief then that the key to preserving or restoring our reverence and respect for the environment rests on the moral and ethical quality of the education we provide our youth. Growing up in both Germany and the United States, has given me perspective of differences between German and American environmental ethics and their underlying social and political influences. In this thesis I wanted to further explore these cultural and political differences and their bearing on the quality and content of education, particularly higher education that integrates issues of sustainability and environmental concerns into their pedagogy. The ultimate intention of my work and research is not to create a strong thesis argument in the traditional sense that it must be proven and fortified throughout. On the contrary, I wish this paper to be seen as a collection of progressive ideas and models, combined with my own experiences and views on these topics, and also inspiring others within academia as they approach the very real issue of global climatic change. I decline to pack my work into one statement, as over the past months I have consistently failed to describe my project to others in a singular way. But, were I to give a “thesis” statement, I might say that there exists, well within our reach, the potential for transforming our education systems to mirror the universal and critical need of harmonizing human activities with the natural world. Educating 7 for sustainable development is the key to any further advancement of human existence; some (educational) institutions are well on their way toward establishing this balance, while others still lag far behind. Beginning with the socio-political foundation of the German environmental ethic, this thesis moves to explore more systems and policy-orientated approaches by the German government in addressing the critical global issue of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Germany’s social and political commitments to the environment have allowed it to entertain the prospect of becoming