Teaching Ecological Citizenship within the

Sustainability CurriculumNancy J. Manring, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Political Science

Hannah Simonetti Undergraduate Research Scholar

Voinovich School of Leadership and Public AffairsOhio University

Learning Outcomes

• The Role of Ecological Citizenship Courses Within University Sustainability Initiatives

• Pedagogical Challenges

• The Ecological Footprint and Key Ecological Citizenship Concepts

• Exploring Ecological Citizenship in the Private Sphere

• Ecological Citizenship as a Means of Nurturing Hope and Personal Efficacy

Introduction:Learning Outcome 1

Why should an ecological citizenship course be part of

broader university sustainability initiatives?

Vision For a Sustainable Ohio

UniversityOhio University will be an active leader in campus sustainability. Our leadership will be demonstrated through our commitment to ecological citizenship, stewardship and justice.

Goal: Ohio University will promote and enhance ecological citizenship as expressed through literacy, engagement and sense of place.

Ohio University Sustainability PlanAdopted Summer 2011

Student Survey:Do you think that increasing

ecological citizenship knowledge has the potential

to help fulfill OU’s goal to become a more sustainable

institution?

Student Perspectives

“The university community cannot become more sustainable until ecological citizenship is achieved . . . students must leave this institution having been changed into globally minded ecological citizens.”“After taking this course I feel equipped with the information it takes to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.”

Societal Challenge Mirrored

at the University Level: What can individuals doin the face of institutional

structures and systems of power?

Traditional Approaches

Recycling Initiatives, Reducing Food Waste, Energy AwarenessPolitical Activism and Grassroots OrganizingBeyond Coal at Ohio Universityhttp://www.wp.oh-sec.org/?p=463

Student Perspective

“It is easy to feel disempowered by the reality of how institutionalized many of the environmentally unsound practices of this nation are . . . I was very near a complete burnout as an environmental activist and organizer.”

Challenge for Sustainability

EducatorsCan we provide a comprehensive and inspiring model of sustainable living? Can we provide a vision of individual action that fosters personal efficacy and empowerment?

Student Perspective

“[The Ecological Citizenship Course] restored in me a feeling of efficacy as an environmentalist, and renewed my resolve to live as sustainably as possible.”

What is Ecological Citizenship?

Handout

Citizenship and the Environment

by Andrew Dobson. Oxford University Press, 2003.

It is my intention to explore the possibility that at the edge of the 21st century, citizenship will

gain a new and fourth dimension. I am referring here to the notion of ecological

citizenship as an addition.

Ecological Citizenship:Key Concepts

1. Non-territoriality Not limited to political boundaries or membership in a nation/state

2. Non-Reciprocal ResponsibilityWe do not engage in ecological citizenship with

the expectation of direct benefits to ourselves

3. Expansion of Citizenship into the Private Realm

Based on the logic that consumer/lifestyle choices have a public impact

Learning Outcomes 2 and 3

Pedagogical ChallengesAudience

Accessible Literatures

AudienceOhio University Sustainability

PlanPromote and enhance ecological citizenship

Improve sustainability literacy of students, faculty and staff.

General Education Requirement

Student Perspective

“I think it would be a great idea to make [Ecological Citizenship] a mandatory Gen ED requirement for under-classmen. Not only did I learn a lot about environmental issues, but was also required to think critically and be analytical, which are excellent skills to gain as an undergrad.”

Challenge: Identifying Relevant and

Accessible LiteratureMuch of the literature on ecological

citizenship is derived from studies of citizenship within political theory

Recent Books on Citizenship

Rimmerman, Craig A. 2010. The New Citizenship: Unconventional Politics, Activism, and Service. Westview Press; (4th edition). Index: Looking for the word “Environment”What did I find?

Earth Liberation FrontAnd a section of one chapter on Earth First!

Recent Books on Citizenship

Dalton, Russell J. 2009. The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation is Reshaping American Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.Index: Looking for the word Environment”

What did I find? Nothing . . .

The Good Citizen:The Two Faces of Citizenship

Duty-Based Citizenship

VotingFollow the lawPay taxesContribute to national need (military service)

Engaged Citizenship

Being active in civil society groupsUnderstand others’ viewsMoral and empatheticHelping others (at home and abroad)Buying products for political reasonsChallenging “elites”

Engaged Citizenship

Ecological Citizenship

Learning Outcome 4The Ecological

Footprint Concept as a Teaching Tool

Ecological Footprint Definition

The land (and water) area required to support a defined human population and material standard indefinitely.

Ecological Footprint and Key Ecological Citizenship Concepts

Non-territoriality: For ecological citizenship the relevant political community is that created by the ecological footprint (“citizenship beyond the state”)Non‐reciprocal obligations: Created by the asymmetry of ecological footprintsEcological Citizenship in the Private Sphere:All actions in the home have a public impact in the specific sense of the creation of an ecological footprint.

Student Perspectives“When our Ecological Footprint affects others, it is time to start taking responsibility for our actions and try to give back what we owe…This is not a sacrifice, and non-reciprocal obligations should not be seen with a negative light.” “My understanding of Ecological Citizenship was enhanced by this assignment . . . the act of filling out the quizzes forced me to examine my habits and those of my family. It made the concept of the Ecological Footprint a lot more tangible and relative to my life.”

Learning Outcome 5:Ecological Citizenship in the Private Sphere

Becoming a Locavore

Kingsolver, Barbara. 2007. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.Hewitt, Ben. 2010. The Town that Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food. New York: Rodale, Inc.

Becoming a Locavore Assignment

Evaluating Your Usual Diet Record everything you eat for 3 days (including snacks and beverages). Estimate how many food miles/day there are in your usual diet

Becoming a LocavoreUsing the criteria adopted by the Kingsolver family described in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, plan 3 days’ worth of locavore meals

AnalysisHow do the food miles/day of your usual diet compare with the food miles/day of your locavore diet? What is the significance of the difference in the context of sustainability and ecological citizenship?

Student Perspectives“Being a complete locavore would put anyone well on their way to being a great ecological citizen; within the food realm, one’s ecological footprint would shrink into more acceptable sizes.” “By changing my diet from a non-local diet to a local one I was able to reduce my food miles per day by approximately 7,640 miles . . . Committing to eat locally and organic could be one of the most influential acts of ecological citizenship yet.”

Personal Consumption:Resource Extraction, Manufacturing and Waste

Goleman, Daniel. 2009. Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything. New York: Broadway Books. Leonard, Annie. 2010. The Story of Stuff: How our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, our Communities, and our Health. New York: Free Press.

Life Cycle Assessment of a Laptop

Resource: The Story of Stuff

 Journal 8Finding Meaning without Consuming

Step 1: List the ways in which you consume to satisfy your basic material needs such as hunger, thirst, shelter, clothing, warmth, and exercise

Step 2: List ways in which you try to satisfy non-material needs through consuming or possessing.

Step 3: Now think of times you have felt a sense of purpose, meaningfulness, beauty, love, joy or similar emotion that feels satisfying or nourishing. To what extent does this feeling depend on consuming or possessing something? To what extent does the feeling depend on feeling connected or part of something bigger?

Step 4: What did you learn about yourself and your consumption habits from this exercise? How does what you learned relate to Ecological Citizenship?

Student Perspectives“This exercise forced me to be honest about some of my less honorable consumption habits . . . It has inspired me to be more conscious of my spending, and beyond that, to seek out ways to fulfill these non-material needs that are healthy [and] stem from my deeper self.”“I’ve realized that it’s creating that makes one happy. Although consuming things is pleasing, it is a fleeting feeling that only lasts as long as you are actively consuming that product. Ecological citizenship also gives me a feeling of great satisfaction when I participate.”

Learning Outcome 6Nurturing Hope and Personal Efficacy

We have SO MANY serious

environmental problems.

The effects of small, individual actions in the

aggregate . . . . . . make a difference.

Reusable beverage bottles

Chris JordanRunning the Numbers

http://www.google.com/search?q=chris+jordan+running+the+numbers&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&rlz=

(Also available in hardcover from Amazon.com)

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

                                                                                                                

                  

Factoring in the amount of petroleum used in the manufacture and transport of each beverage

bottle. . . Imagine each bottle ¼ full of oil.

Choosing Hope

Choosing Hope“This is the great paradox of true hope:

Because nothing is absolutely determined, there is not only

reason to fear but also reason to hope.”

Jerome Groopman, M.D.

Student Perspectives:“As a young environmentalist, it is easy to get discouraged by the seemingly bleak future of the earth and its inhabitants . . . this course has re-ignited in me a passionate and undying hope for a clean, community-based, revolutionary future.” “I think it is important to stay positive and believe that our small individual choices in the aggregate really will make a difference . . . I think this is the most important lesson I have learned in this course.”

As David Orr would say . . .

“Hope is an imperative.”

In order to fully implement

sustainability Ecological Citizenship

is an imperative.