Ecosystems represent the interaction of how the laws of nature work within a specific geographic area. These laws of nature express a unique collection of relationships as energy moves and expands throughout the system creating a rich mixture of biodiversity. These diverse systems support all life on earth; the buildings where we live and work, the air we breathe, critical water resources, energy, and the food we eat.

Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts. Biotic factors include plants, animals, and other organisms. Abiotic factors include rocks, temperature, and humidity. The laws of nature that make up the diverse ecosystems on earth are connected and provide the transfer of energy from one system to another in a larger biome. Biomes are large sections of land, sea, or atmosphere. Forests, ponds, reefs, and tundra are all types of biomes that manifest the specific laws of nature expressed in the flow of energy from one system to another that make life on Earth possible.

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.

Ecosystems (First of 6 modules)

Global Solutions for Sustainable Living: Ecosystems