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The course has significantly enhanced my overall understanding of the environment and development. With my courses so far being oriented towards the environment side rather than development, it was really valuable to learn how pivotal development approaches are to protecting the global environment. Knowledge of the differences in discourses was particularly useful. In-class guest lectures from experts would have been beneficial to fill up an hour of workshops every few weeks would have been interesting. However, I know there's logistical constraints. Padlet was very helpful. Knowledge from tutorials from other courses is often hard to retain, but with padlet in this course it really in retaining it.

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Workshop 2 - Perspectives of Environment and Development

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Workshop 2 - Perspectives of Environment and Development

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What are the three key things you have learned from the workshop?

The main things I learned from this workshop include the variety of discourses relating to the environment. This covered the position of sustainable development as a moderate, development-focused discourse, in contrast to several other discourses. I hadn't realised this discourse is heavily challenged by various actors, such as environmental groups, and the workshop allowed me to explore its flaws.

Describe the learning activities in the workshop: how useful were they for your learning?

The learning activities focused on defining and differentiating the various environment and development discourses by examining and categorising different statements, alongside other discussions. This was very helpful, as I can now differentiate these discourses.

What questions came up for you during the workshop? About which issue or point of discussion would you like to find out more?

This was explored briefly in the tutorial, but I am particularly interested in avenues for replacing sustainable development as the mainstream discourse – specifically, how it could be replaced by a more ecologically-focused one.

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What are the three key things you have learned from the workshop?

rom this workshop, my main takeaways were the definitions of alternative views on environment and development. Our group focused on deep ecology, a values-based philosophy that prioritises the intrinsic value of nature beyond human use. I learned that this also differs from other views, such as political ecology and social ecology, which are more focused on integrating solutions into existing systems.

Describe the learning activities in the workshop: how useful were they for your learning?

The learning activities included analysing a particular approach, as mentioned. We then compared this to another approach, looking at political ecology. This was particularly useful because comparing deep ecology and political ecology helped us discover the more in-depth details of both philosophies.

What questions came up for you during the workshop? About which issue or point of discussion would you like to find out more?

Where can each of these approaches be seen in action, and how could we advance them? It would be interesting to find out, as all of them had aspects that I believe would be beneficial if implemented.

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Workshop 8 - Global Commons and Sustainability 

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Workshop 8 - Global Commons and Sustainability 

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What are the three key things you have learned from the workshop?

A key learning point was the lack of protection for natural resources in the global commons. While this might seem obvious, it was striking to research the level of exploitation occurring in these areas without accountability. Additionally, I learned about the lack of enforcement where some protection exists (e.g., on the high seas) and the way these areas are governed.

Describe the learning activities in the workshop: how useful were they for your learning?

In this workshop, we discussed key concepts in our groups and then analysed a case study of a global commons area in the context of its sustainability and governance. Our group examined the high seas, revealing numerous threats such as overfishing and deep-sea mining, which also had limited protection. This activity was very helpful, as this is an area of environmental policy I haven't extensively covered before.

What questions came up for you during the workshop? About which issue or point of discussion would you like to find out more?

I am not very familiar with the extent of power the United Nations can have in protecting the global commons. In the current politically volatile landscape, I believe it's vital that they are given more capacity to enforce protections and ensure the long-term sustainability of natural resources.

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Sustainable Development - Reflective Paper

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Sustainable Development - Reflective Paper

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A main topic of interest for me has been learning about the elevation of 'sustainable development' (and its flaws) to become the dominant discourse within the global environment and development policy space. While its widespread global focus, led by the United Nations, indicates increased awareness of environmental limitations, I remain critical of its efficacy and foundational assumptions. I find myself aligning more with ecologically-centred viewpoints.

This issue is important for 'development'. A primary concern is that mainstream interpretations of sustainable development frequently prioritise anthropocentric objectives and perpetual economic growth, potentially compromising genuine ecological health. Research I undertook before and during the tutorial highlights how this approach often fails to adequately challenge the underlying 'developmentalism' that contributes to environmental degradation, risking 'greenwashing' rather than creating transformative change. Consequently, sustainable development can appear as environmentalism constrained within existing economic paradigms, falling short of the global shifts needed to address the climate and biodiversity crises. To address this, increased global attention to genuinely ecologically-focused policy approaches is essential. These perspectives advocate for protecting the intrinsic value of nature and its ecosystem services, moving beyond purely utilitarian frameworks. Addressing sustainable development's shortcomings necessitates a fundamental re-evaluation of the future of development. This involves critically examining growth-oriented models and promoting a global moral perspective that respects the intrinsic value of all life and ecosystems.

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Workshop 10 - Power of Culture and Knowledge

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Workshop 10 - Power of Culture and Knowledge

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What are the three key things you have learned from the workshop?

I think the main takeaway has been the importance of knowledge in creating shifts towards sustainability. We discussed various ways this can occur, such as education's ability to change individual viewpoints. If this becomes widespread, it can have a broader societal impact and influence demands on governments. A couple of other points raised were that differences in knowledge systems can influence culture and that education promoting critical thinking can significantly impact values.

Describe the learning activities in the workshop: how useful were they for your learning?

Each table was assigned a question relating to culture, knowledge, and sustainability. Then, all table members, except for one person who remained, moved around to each table to discuss their respective questions. This was a fantastic way to learn, as it prompted us to think about a variety of topics, and all perspectives on the individual questions were shared at the end.

What questions came up for you during the workshop? About which issue or point of discussion would you like to find out more?

My main question was about how much education can actually influence sustainability within a society, given existing structural powers, and whether it could change them. I would like to learn more about how the Australian Curriculum currently teaches students about sustainability and climate change.

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Critical Review (from Workshop 6) - Schweickart, D. (2010). Is Sustainable Capitalism Possible Download s Sustainable Capitalism Possible? Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 2(5): 6739-6752. 

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Critical Review (from Workshop 6) - Schweickart, D. (2010). Is Sustainable Capitalism Possible Download s Sustainable Capitalism Possible? Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 2(5): 6739-6752. 

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David Schweickart's 2008 article, "Is Sustainable Capitalism Possible?", critically reviews different perspectives on sustainable alternatives to our current capitalist economic model. He explores American scholar Joel Kovel's argument that sustainability cannot be achieved within a capitalist system due to its inherent need for economic growth, which depletes finite natural resources. Schweickart contrasts this with the perspective of Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and Hunter Lovins, who contend that a more sustainable form of capitalism is achievable if governments ensure the proper valuation of natural capital through market measures like subsidies and taxation. Schweickart then dedicates most of the article to proposing an alternative sustainable economic model involving the democratisation of the economy. This model features worker-owned firms, which he suggests leads to more evenly distributed profits and limited growth incentives; additionally, it involves replacing private investment with public investment, raised through taxation and allocated sustainably.

A key strength of the article is its clear articulation; arguments are presented logically and are easy to comprehend. His arguments—for instance, that capitalism's growth imperative requires intervention—are supported by careful reasoning, moving from the problem of resource depletion to its cause, and then to a proposed solution clearly addressing these issues. However, the types of evidence used to support arguments and reasoning could be more diversified. Empirical evidence and case studies are used minimally when presenting how an 'economic democracy' model might function in practice. While Schweickart acknowledges making certain simplifications, these sometimes detract from his argument on specific points. For example, he states that democratic workplaces lack the incentive to grow and thus place less pressure on natural resources, despite also noting that they still aim to secure market share. It seems logical to conclude that if profit is shared among workers, they would be driven to increase their market share. Ultimately, Schweickart's work effectively challenges readers to consider systemic economic change as a prerequisite for true ecological sustainability.

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Schweickart 2008_Is Sustainable Capitalism Possible (1)

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Workshop 2 - Conceptualising 'Environment' and 'Development'

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Workshop 2 - Conceptualising 'Environment' and 'Development'

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Workshop 8 - Global Commons and Sustainability

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Workshop 8 - Global Commons and Sustainability

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Workshop 10 - Power of Culture and Knowledge

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Workshop 10 - Power of Culture and Knowledge

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Workshop 11 - Conclusion: Sustainable Futures

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Workshop 11 - Conclusion: Sustainable Futures

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What are the three key things you have learned from the workshop?

The workshop reinforced for me how important it is to stay engaged – both in politics generally and in local, community-level action. The roundtable at the end certainly emphasised that our generation needs to continue advocating for sustainability and educating others around us.

Describe the learning activities in the workshop: how useful were they for your learning?

It was a good summary of the course. Thomas's presentation and the table group conversations reinforced key course messages. The roundtable at the end was very interesting, offering different perspectives from people who are all passionate about the environment.

What questions came up for you during the workshop? About which issue or point of discussion would you like to find out more?

How can we mobilise more young people to care about and advocate for more sustainable policies for our future?