Sustainability Resources
1. Tools for Industry
a. Green Engineering
 Michigan Tech's Sustainable Futures Institute is very
active in providing education outreach to industry, universities, and
the community. Dr. David Shonnard, Professor
in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been involved in a number
of initiatives over the last 5 years. Since 1998, in collaboration
with the U.S. EPA Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics and the American
Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), Dr. Shonnard has conducted workshops and short courses to "Educate the Educators"
in Green Engineering, the design of industrial processes that minimize
environmental impact and improve profitability. These 2-day events
were conducted at Michigan Tech and several other universities, at the
annual meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE),
at the ASEE Summer School at the
University
of
Colorado, and at the NSF Engineering
Research Center (ERC) at the
University
of
Kansas.
As a result, over 100 professors and graduate students have implemented
Green Engineering methods from the recent textbook "Green Engineering:
Environmentally Conscious Design of Chemical Processes" (Allen, D.T.
and Shonnard, D.R., Prentice Hall, 2002), into university courses
and research projects, at institutions both at home and abroad.
b. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
More
recently Dr. Shonnard has gotten industry involved
in Green Engineering and life cycle assessment (LCA). In LCA a manufactured
product or an industrial process is evaluated for environmental impacts
over the entire life cycle from "cradle-to-grave". Dr. Shonnard has worked as a visiting professor
in the EcoEfficiency Analysis Group at BASF-AG
in
Ludwigshafen,
Germany.
There he conducted a number of LCAs on BASF
products and processes, typically on projects involving possible beneficial
uses of chemical process waste streams. In the summer of 2004 Dr. Shonnard advised
Dow Corning (
Midland, MI
) and UOP LLC
(
Des Plaines, IL
) on best practices in industrial applications
of LCA to improve chemical products and processes. A 5-day course
for LCA training is being conducted by Dr. Shonnard at UOP LLC beginning in December 2004 and ending in February 2005.
Contact
Dr. David Shonnard for further information (drshonna@mtu.edu, 906-487-3468)
c. Environmental Technologies Design Option
Tool (ETDOT)
Environmental Technologies Design Option Tool (ETDOT)
is a compilation of self-contained simulation software for use in assessing
and implementing effective treatment strategies for gaseous, aqueous,
organic, and solid waste by-product streams. ETDOT provides simulation
software necessary in determining whether prevention or treatment is preferred
during the design phase.
Further information on these software tools, including
information on how to obtain them may be obtained at: http://www.cpas.mtu.edu/etdot/
2. Tools for Community Planners
a. Design
Guidelines to enhance Community Appearance and Protect Natural Resources
Community
programs at the
GEM
Center
for Science
and Environmental Outreach focus on helping communities, organizations,
and individuals make informed decisions that either directly benefit or
minimize negative impacts on health and environmental quality. Some of
the Center's outreach efforts have included community planning and management;
development of sustainability indicators for the
Lake
Superior
watershed, and recycling initiatives.
Learn
more about Design
Guidelines to enhance Community Appearance and Protect Natural Resources
b. Lake Superior
Basin Environmental/Socioeconomic Sustainability Indicators Project
True sustainability requires
balancing environmental, social, and economic needs. Development of sustainability
indicators related to these needs is an attempt to track trends over time
that may suggest focal areas for policy and management changes, as well
as further research.
The Developing Sustainability
Committee of the Lake Superior Work Group, part of the Binational Program to Restore and Protect the Lake Superior Basin collaborated
with the
GEM Center
for Science and Environmental Outreach
on a project to develop baseline data for a suite of socioeconomic sustainability
indicators.
Read the report Baseline Sustainability Data for the Lake Superior
Basin
c. Development
of SOLEC Land Use and Societal Indicators for the Great Lakes Basin
In
preparation for the State of the Lakes Ecosystem Conference (SOLEC) 2002,
the
GEM Center
conducted a project to further develop five societal and one land use
indicator from the SOLEC suite. This project, funded by the USEPA Great
Lakes National Program Office, focused on six indicators of priority interest
to SOLEC.
For
more information on these and other indicators, see the SOLEC Implementing Indicators 2003
summary and technical reports
3.
Tools for International Development
International
Development Resources: Research Reports and Technical Briefs
4. Tools for Pre-College Educators
A
web-based platform for dissemination of educational materials, research
results, and the scholarly products of Michigan Tech's students, staff,
and faculty as well as off-campus collaborators in academia, government
and industry.
5.
Tools for K-12 Education (K-12 teachers and non-formal educators)
Western
Upper Peninsula
Center
for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education
i. Looks Count!
Community Planning, Natural
Resource Protection and the Visual Environment: An Interdisciplinary Middle
School Curriculum Unit for Social Studies, Language Arts, Math, Science,
and Art
ii. Programs & Resources for Teachers
1. Professional Development for Teachers
Information
about institutes, workshops, etc for educators
2. Curriculum Resources
Curriculum
resources for forestry, stream monitoring, community planning, frogs,
wetlands, etc
3. Resources Clearinghouse
Free
Lending Library of activity guides, teacher resources,
scientific equipment, activity kits and children's literature for teachers
in the Copper Country ISD and Gogebic-Ontonagon ISD.
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