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Global Field Study in Scandinavia

Research environmental sustainability in Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden through visits to alternative energy sites, investigations of eco-villages, tours of industries featuring green technology, and discussions with members of non-governmental organizations dedicated to improving the environment. (Spring-3 credits)

Sample Field Program Syllabus--Sustainable Scandinavian Systems
Course Overview: This 3 credit course entails travel to Scandinavia in the spring intensive to research innovations in green technology and explore environmentally friendly planning, building, and education practices. The two-week intensive field program will visit four countries - Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Total lab fee estimate for the trip, pending confirmation of round trip airfare from Boston, is estimated at $2000. The lab fee includes all travel, lodging, and board costs.

On the trip you will:
Tour alternative energy sites (geo-thermal, solar, wind, bio-mass)
Investigate "eco-villages" and industries featuring green technology
Meet members of NGOs dedicated to improving the environment
Visit schools and colleges educating for a sustainable society

Course Premise: The UN Commission on Environment and Development was founded in 1983, headed by then Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Brundtland Commission essentially put the concept of sustainable development on the international agenda.

The Rio Conference of 1992 and Johannesburg again in 2002 further emphasized the need for a "Local Agenda 21," that is, local involvement of individuals and organizations to address pressing global environmental challenges of the 21st Century. We agree that fostering a responsible attitude toward sustaining our planet is an absolutely essential outcome as we engage in educating the next generation of student leaders.

The Scandinavian countries are setting striking examples in local governmental and business "systems thinking" practices that help protect the environment. We all can benefit by studying Scandinavian examples as models for how North American ecological practices could better attend to environmental protection.