The intent of the year-long extended format seminar series is to provide an ongoing examination and discussion of a selected sustainable development issue. Sustainable development is a new paradigm for human activity compatible with the carrying capacity of the planet.
Spatial dimensions range from global to regional and local.
Areas of concern include environmental constraints on economic activity, disparities in development between regions and peoples, prospects for technology lightening human impacts on natural systems, and intergenerational questions of equity. A Project Description is available which describes the rationale, focus, and methodology for this Project. Participants in the Sustainable Development Seminar directly participated in this project through attendance at a series of regional public forums as well as through each student's selected research topic. A companion purpose is to provide an opportunity for students and faculty to explore and discuss a topic outside the confines of the intensity of the Block Plan and to shift the responsibility for presentations to each member of the Seminar.