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2,424 ratings

Dr. Jonathan Tomkin

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Introduction to Sustainability

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

About this Course

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This course introduces the academic approach of Sustainability and explores how today’s human societies can endure in the face of global change, ecosystem degradation and resource limitations. The course focuses on key knowledge areas of sustainability theory and practice, including population, ecosystems, global change, energy, agriculture, water, environmental economics and policy, ethics, and cultural history.
This subject is of vital importance, seeking as it does to uncover the principles of the long-term welfare of all the peoples of the planet. As sustainability is a cross-disciplinary field of study, this foundation requires intellectual breadth: as I describe it in the class text, understanding our motivations requires the humanities, measuring the challenges of sustainability requires knowledge of the sciences (both natural and social), and building solutions requires technical insight into systems (such as provided by engineering, planning, and management).

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Approx. 25 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Approx. 25 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.83/5 (605 Ratings)

Dr. Jonathan Tomkin

Associate Director

School of Earth, Society and Environment

134,865 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating96%(18,328 ratings)

Week

Week 1

3 hours to complete

Orientation and Introduction

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 37 min), 5 readings, 3 quizzes

Week

Week 2

3 hours to complete

Population

3 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 49 min), 1 reading, 4 quizzes

Week

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Ecosystems and Climate Change

4 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 78 min), 1 reading, 5 quizzes

8 videos

Ecosystems and Climate Change Introduction55s

Tragedy of the Commons10m

Tragedy of the Commons: Solutions14m

Ecosystems and Extinctions6m

Weather vs. Climate3m

Climate Changes in the Past10m

Modern Climate Change14m

[OPTIONAL] Climate Processes16m

1 reading

Module 3 Overview and Readings10m

4 practice exercises

Ecosystems, Extinction, and Tragedy of the Commons Practice Quiz30m

Climate Change Practice Quiz30m

Climate Change Interactive Homework10m

Module 3 Quiz30m

Week

Week 4

3 hours to complete

Energy

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 58 min), 1 reading, 4 quizzes

Week

Week 5

3 hours to complete

Water and Agriculture

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 68 min), 1 reading, 3 quizzes

Week

Week 6

4 hours to complete

Environmental Policy

4 hours to complete

9 videos (Total 94 min), 1 reading, 4 quizzes

9 videos

Environmental Economics and Policy Introduction1m

Negative Externalities14m

Environmental Policy11m

Environmental Policy Assessment14m

[OPTIONAL] Environmental Economics17m

[OPTIONAL] Application of Environmental Economics and Policy, Part 111m

[OPTIONAL] Application of Environmental Economics and Policy, Part 213m

[OPTIONAL] Application of Environmental Economics and Policy, Part 38m

Environmental Policy Examples: "Biofuels"3m

1 reading

Module 6 Overview and Readings10m

3 practice exercises

Environmental Policy Practice Quiz30m

Environmental Policy Examples Homework30m

Module 6 Quiz30m

Week

Week 7

4 hours to complete

Measuring Sustainability

4 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 68 min), 1 reading, 4 quizzes

7 videos

Measuring Sustainability Introduction1m

Biodiversity and Ecosystems10m

Sustainability Metrics, Part 112m

Sustainability Metrics, Part 28m

Food Miles9m

Measuring Sustainability: The Future, Part 112m

Measuring Sustainability: The Future, Part 212m

1 reading

Module 7 Overview and Readings10m

3 practice exercises

Measuring Sustainability Practice Quiz30m

Sustainable Future Practice Quiz30m

Module 7 Quiz30m

Week

Week 8

1 hour to complete

Conclusion

1 hour to complete

1 reading

Reviews

4.8

767 reviews

5 stars
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4 stars
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3 stars
1.64%
2 stars
0.41%
1 star
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TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY

by KFDec 18, 2016

It is a well prepared course. Contents are carefully organized and plenty of concepts and examples are included and analyzed. Overall, it is a excellent course to get an overview of sustainability.

by AMJun 3, 2020

Professor John Tomkins did a great job. I am going to pursue a career in sustainability only after completing the course. The course has had a very positive impact on me. Thankyou.

by SPMay 28, 2020

A well thought and curated module which covers all essential aspects of sustainability. The course conduct was well designed and the examples and cases presented gave further insights.

by MTSep 23, 2020

This course helps me to learn many things about sustainability. By this course, I am more interested in sustainable developments. I expect to learn more about this provided by Dr Johnathan Tomkin.

View all reviews

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Is financial aid available?
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Introduction to Sustainability

Introduction to Sustainability

About this Course