Subject Guides: Sustainability: Sustainability Studies

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability Timeline
A timeline created by the International Institute for Sustainable Development that presents important moments in sustainable development from 1962-2012

In 1987 the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." --Our Common Future

Higher Education

Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
Professional development activities, resources, conferences, and more aimed to "make sustainable practices the norm within higher education."
American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment
"Provides a framework and support for America’s colleges and universities to implement comprehensive plans in pursuit of climate neutrality." See the "Take Action - For Students" tab.
The College Sustainability Report Card
Find sustainability profiles for colleges and universities.
National Wildlife Federation - Campus Ecology
"Our primary goal is to reduce the need to 'reinvent the wheel' of climate and environmental action from campus to campus."

Sustainability Minor

"The sustainability revolution is nothing less than a rethinking and remaking of our role in the natural world. It is a recalibration of human intentions to coincide with the way the biophysical world works."
--David Orr, preface, The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift

Auburn University offers a Minor in Sustainability. The following link leads to information on the program.

Auburn University Office of Sustainability
For information on the Sustainability Minor

Sciences and Engineering

Pollution Abstracts (AU only)

Provides citations and abstracts to the literatures of scientific research and government policymaking. Topics are covered from the standpoints of atmosphere, emissions, mathematical models, effects on people and animals, and environmental action in response to global pollution issues.

Environmental Sciences & Pollution Management (AU only)

Provides citations and abstracts to the literature of the environmental sciences. The citations describe journal articles, conference proceedings, technical reports, monographs and selected books and patents.

Science Direct (AU only)

Science Direct provides full-text access to over 500 journals mostly in the sciences. There are many articles that deal with sustainability studies. Access to almost all the publications is available after setting up a personal a profile. A good way to get into Science Direct is to search it using the SCIRUS interface that searches selected web pages as well as scholarly articles.