In the fall of 2004, Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus caused a stir in the environmental movement with the publication of their essay, The Death of Environmentalism (See Resources). The essay contains a scathing critique of current environmental institutions and calls for a serious examination of the framework of environmentalism. Our essay, Integrating Environmentalism: Finding Motivation Through Translation, responds to Shellenberger and Nordhaus, critiquing their suggestions and offering another approach to the environmental framework.
Robin and Mark’s contract grew out of their work in fall of 2004. The goal of the project was to make the Evergreen on-campus housing energy system more ecologically and socially sustainable while maintaining or increasing financial viability. This essay describes the evolution of the project from its genesis through the end of winter quarter, 2005.
Our final presentation was for our sponsor's class Energy Systems, in week 8 of the winter quarter, 2005 March 01. This was a presentation of our project Winter 2005, with similar information as our The Origin and Development of the Sustainable Housing Project essay (see above).
Synergy was a four-day event at The Evergreen State College. It was paid
for by TESC student activities fees and supported by many academic programs.
The conference boasted six keynotes, and over 30 presentations, workshops,
tours, films and panel discussions. It was organized by a diverse coalition
of students in a collective effort to create a holistic learning experience
and a model for a more sustainable world.
Synergy website
At the end of the Fall Quarter, 2004 we presented our plan for our research project. This project has changed in strategy since then, but the goal of actualizing sustainability remains, as well as the desire to create a better framework.