DU Students Travel to 阿拉斯加 for Lesson in Sustainability

当你想到阿拉斯加, “气候灾难,“灾难性”和“可持续性”可能不是你首先想到的词, 直到你去那里亲眼目睹气候变化对这个经常被称为“午夜太阳之地”的州的影响.

今年3月，正规赌博十大平台排行的一群学生前往阿拉斯加，作为“可持续决策:阿拉斯加的艾迪塔罗德之路”的一部分,” an interterm course offered through DU’s 特殊的程序. These 项目 give students experience outside of the classroom, exposing them to ideas 和 cultures that go beyond the textbook. A variety of for-credit courses are offered between quarters.

“教师 develop courses of interest with specific locations in mind. 对于一些, it’s based on locations they’ve been to, research they’ve conducted or somewhere new they would like to explore,香农·雅恩说, interterm 和 special projects manager. “Once they develop the course syllabus, they then propose the idea to me 和 from there, 只要地点得到风险管理和国际化的批准, 课程变得生动起来.”

在去阿拉斯加的旅途中, 学生们沉浸在阿拉斯加可持续决策的研究中，以及它如何影响该州目前的人口, the rights 和 values of its indigenous people, 和 outside interests like oil companies.

The trip also included visits to Anchorage, Fairbanks 和 Nome. 另外, 该小组会见了私营部门的教育工作者和专业人士，并就影响阿拉斯加的一系列问题进行了交谈.

芭芭拉·斯图尔特, who teaches the course with her husb和 Ken, says students are exposed to a number of issues during the course. Their takeaways are not prescribed, 她说, but rather are created based on their personal experiences from the trip.

“艾迪, 阿拉斯加的1,49英里狗拉雪橇比赛, 这是对组织行为和日益可持续的决策的完美比喻吗. I grew interested in sustainability as it is playing out in 阿拉斯加, 哪里气候变化的影响比其他49个州更明显,斯图亚特说。. “不可否认的是，随着永久冻土和海冰的融化，村庄正在落入大海. These disasters carry heavy human costs.”

For DU student Nicholas Bither, who is majoring in geography with a minor in sustainability, 这个课程是一个学习更多正规赌博十大平台排行气候变化对生态和社会影响的机会. 阿拉斯加, he says, offered a unique 和 important view on both. He believes in the effects of climate change, 他说，这是一个紧迫的问题，需要迅速解决，以避免潜在的灾难性影响. His belief, however, became more of a reality after visiting 阿拉斯加.

“如果任何, 这门课使我确信，采取行动的必要性比我以前认为的更为迫切. For anyone interested in climate change, 这(课程)提供了一个不可思议的机会来研究驱动力、最受影响的生态系统和人口, all in one relatively condensed area,Bither说。. “To many of us, the impacts of climate change are quite intangible. We know things are beginning to shift rapidly, 但我们还没有感觉到自己的生活有任何变化，也没有必要调整我们的生活方式. This is not the case for many in 阿拉斯加.”

他说，北极地区是全球第一个感受到严重气候变化的地方. 原住民社区, many of which rely heavily on subsistence fishing 和 hunting, 由于正在发生的剧烈变化，他们是否发现很难以许多代人的方式生存下去.

Positive steps are being made, 比瑟回忆了他们访问阿拉斯加大学费尔班克斯分校的情景, 在那里他们会见了来自阿拉斯加和北极规划情景网络组织的专业人士. 该公司正在整理和处理科学数据，试图帮助北极社区为气候将继续急剧变化的未来做规划.

学生们还会见了费尔班克斯的城市规划者，他们向他们展示了该市正在做些什么来改善当地水道和其他自然资源的健康. Then there’s the Cheena Hot Springs, a resort where all power is generated geothermally, producing no greenhouse gasses, 和 most of the food is grown on site.

“我们目前正在走向气候灾难——现在唯一的问题是，在我们决定采取行动之前，我们愿意让这些问题恶化到什么程度?Bither说。. “Sustainability needs to be the foremost factor in all fields going forward. Being able to see these communities, which are already suffering the consequences, brought this point home for me.”

Fenstermacher的伊莱娜, who is studying strategic communications, 参加了这门课程，并将这次旅行视为一个机会，让自己沉浸在另一种文化中，并了解更多正规赌博十大平台排行阿拉斯加存在的可持续选择.

“对我来说，最大的收获之一是成为一个积极的观点接受者. 我想我们都陷入了日常生活的喧嚣中，而忘记了透过镜头的另一面去看,芬斯特马赫说. “我们在阿拉斯加的那一周, 我被反复告知，美国本土的48个州往往认为他们知道什么对阿拉斯加最好，而不用去阿拉斯加. This course opened my eyes to different ideas of sustainability.”

她说，这次旅行中她最喜欢的部分之一是听到来自阿拉斯加Planning的Barrett Ristrope的消息, which is helping local tribes plan for the future in terms of jobs, economic stability 和 food sources. 芬斯特马赫还很欣赏参观阿拉斯加的管道，并与几代人都在为这个项目工作的家庭见面. 在与他们一起访问时，她了解了管道的重要性，以及管道如何保持该州的经济稳定.

“规划是可持续发展总体目标的重要组成部分，”芬斯特马赫说. “上了这门课之后, 我相信教育和意识是实现可持续发展的唯一途径.”

Fenstermacher believes there is more to sustainability than meets the eye. 解决问题, 她说, will allows us to enjoy some of the things we take for granted, such as the mountains of 阿拉斯加, 野生动物在这片土地上漫步，北极光为夜空增添了美丽.

“Sustainability is more than just recycling plastic, 出门时关灯，投资电动汽车. Sustainability 和 sustenance is what 阿拉斯加 is working toward,” 她说.