“Buildings are responsible for about one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, making buildings the single largest contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An average person spends about 90 per cent of their time inside buildings. This presents the building sector with the challenge of reducing GHG emissions, while maintaining, if not enhancing, the quality of services to building occupants. Furthermore, the building sector typically contributes 5 to 15 per cent of a country’s GDP on average and provides 5–10 percent of employment at the national level. Mitigating climate change in the building sector also means providing opportunities for a green economy and more green jobs.”

— United Nations Environment Programme’s Risoe Centre on Energy, Climate and Sustainable Development

Instructions

Global Solutions for Sustainable Living identifies the laws of nature that are inherent in the diverse ecosystems that comprise and sustain all life on earth. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the energy we need to sustain ourselves, the food we eat and the buildings we live in are all influenced by the natural systems where we live. Our goal in this course is to identify the critical environmental issues we face in each of these areas: Ecosystems, Architecture and the Built Environment, Air, Water, Renewable Energy, and Agroecology and find solutions to create greater sustainability for our planet. There are no textbooks for this course.

The course structure includes six modules:

1. Ecosystems
2. Architecture and the Built Environment
3. Air
4. Water
5. Renewable Energy
6. Agroecology

Internet resources from the United Nations Environment Programme, World Economic Forum, TED talks, Youtube videos, and listed websites will provide course participants with introductions to each topic. Listed websites and internet resources will help you (the student) understand how solutions are being implemented across the world in real time to solve the critical environmental problems the world is facing. You will develop your own solutions for the problems you wish to explore in each module. Six examples of topic questions, and solutions, are provided for each module. Once you have developed a solution for the problem you will design and present a project to solve the issue you have identified. Solutions can be applied on an individual, local, state, national or international level.

Architecture and the Built Environment (Second of 6 modules)

Global Solutions for Sustainable Living: Architecture and the Built Environment