Green Economy – 1st Paper Assignment – Due Wed., Jan 31
20% of total class grade
1,500 words
Analyze an environmental sustainability initiative from a “green economy” perspective
Analyze a significant initiative by a city, state, region, or country, or a sector of the US economy, to shift a portion of their economy toward a more environmentally sustainable future. It could be focused on any range of types of impacts – water, energy, transportation, waste, buildings, food, or a combination – and could be aimed at a single scale, or across multiple scales or regions. It might be a mayor’s or governor’s initiative, or a grassroots/non-profit initiative to shift a community-wide system, a national campaign with a long list of signatories, or something else.
The paper should be at least 1,500 words, and should address some of the following types of questions.
Some questions you might consider for your paper:
- How is it “green”? – what are the environmental issues it is aiming to address?
- At what scale are the issues, and the efforts to impact them? Are the solutions or efforts at the same scale as the problem(s)?
- How successful has it been? What have the impacts been?
- Describe how this initiative impacts the economy. What is the size and extent of the economic impact? Where?
- Who are the primary participants in the effort? Who are the beneficiaries? Is there anyone who is negatively impacted by the effort? How does this affect them economically?
- Is this a model for other people/places? Who, where, and in what ways?
- Are there cautionary lessons for others from this initiative?
- Are there uniquenesses or differences between this initiative and other similar efforts in other places?
