Greening the Academy through E-learning
January 28, 2014
Sarah Speight writes: Nottingham’s first foray into the world of MOOCs, ‘Sustainability, Society and You’ foregrounds three elements of the university’s teaching and learning strategy. The first is Sustainability itself – Nottingham is committed to integrating sustainability values and knowledge into the experience of its own students and staff. We do this via our courses, …
Countdown #29: Five top tips to save water
December 29, 2013
Georgina Wood gives us her top tips for saving water at home: Put the plug in the sink when washing your face or brushing your teeth Fill up the washing machine and/or the dishwasher each time they’re used Take shorter showers instead of baths Wash fruit and vegetable in a dish or pan of water …
Advent calendar #24: Are you an eco-tourist?
December 24, 2013
At least according to the adverts on TV, Christmas must be the time when people start planning their next holiday. So are you an eco-tourist or plan an eco-holiday this year? Eco-tourism involves being visiting areas of the planet that are more undisturbed, while trying to be low-impact and socially responsible. These holidays often have …
Advent calendar #18: A facilitator’s view
December 18, 2013
Georgina Wood writes: Sadly my time at Nottingham is coming to an end as I submit my PhD thesis and move on to pastures new! My PhD focused on the ‘water literacy’ of young people in the East Midlands of the UK. By this I mean the conceptual knowledge and understanding teenagers have about how …
Advent calendar #3: Biodiversity offsetting and the value of nature
December 3, 2013
Neil Sinclair, a philosophy lecturer involved in the Sustainability, Society and You MOOC on FutureLearn. has recently posted on the Think About It blog about the ethics of biodiversity. His post Biodiversity Offsetting and Extrinsic Properties talks about the involvement of Nottinghamshire in the pilot phase of the biodiversity offsetting scheme about which the UK Government …
Harm and Climate Change, Part II
November 25, 2013
Some of the people affected by climate change (see the IPCC report) are yet to be born. These people will not first experience a planet and way of life unaffected by climate change, only to see that verdant utopia snatched away. Rather, they will only ever experience a degraded planet and way of life. In …
Harm and Climate Change, Part 1
November 23, 2013
The recent report about atmospheric C02 levels reaching the symbolic level of 400 parts per million calls attention to some of the issues dealt with in the Philosophy Department’s Environmental Ethics module. Suppose you are engaged in an activity that causes significant harm to others. It forces them out of their homes, raises the cost …
