Sustainability

Dr. John C. Ayers is a Professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department at Vanderbilt University. John is a geochemist whose research focuses on what controls the movement of elements in natural systems. Current projects include identifying the sources of salts and arsenic in soil and water in the coastal zone of Bangladesh; the geochemistry of soil formation; and measurement of soil gas fluxes of methane in areas where natural gas is mined by hydraulic fracturing. John has published over thirty papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and is a fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America. At Vanderbilt he has served as Department Chair and Director of Graduate Studies, and he teaches courses on Geochemistry and Sustainability Science.

Introduction. Sustainability and Human Well-Being. The Environmental ImPACT. Risk, Resilience, and System Dynamics. Sustainable Development: How to Avoid Collapse and Build a Better Society. Nonrenewable Resources: Oil and Minerals. Global Climate Change. Responses to Global Climate Change. Nonrenewable Energy Sources. Renewable Energy Sources. Sustainable Energy Plans. Water. Food. Waste and Pollution. The Biosphere. The Future.