Sustainability

The world’s path to climate change is inevitable. Activists and legislators, all around the world, are actively working to slow down this process or stop changes. Technology is moving toward a sustainable future of renewable energy and resources to lighten the impact that the human population has on the climate. Whether or not these efforts will slow down the changing climate is unknown, but the world’s scientists, engineers, and designers are preparing for any scenario that comes our way.
This thesis uses graphic design to visualize the future of humanity adapting to climate change. Topics that are explored include controlled-environment agriculture, vertical farming, sustainable food production, advancements in the medical industry, advancements in transportation, and sustainable energy production. These elements will come together, in my projects, to visualize one possible future of living in Arizona, where living conditions have become inhospitable for life as we know today.

The purpose of this study was to describe the campus sustainability performance at four exemplary higher education institutions, i.e., Doctoral, Master’s, Baccalaureate, and Associate’s, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). The case-by-case analysis and the cross-case analysis demonstrated the similarities and differences that emerged across the four cases in the area of the institutional dynamics, sustainability performance, the journey of campus sustainability, and challenges, as well as drivers. In addition, the research aims to provide some implication to other institutions that intend to advance sustainability on their campuses.
A multi-site case study was used to investigate the sustainability performance of four exemplary institutions that participated in the STARS program. Two forms of data collection techniques used for this research study were document analysis and in-depth interviews. Nurturing the student, serving the community, taking social responsibility, and making changes was the internal motivations which drove the four institutions to what they have achieved today. They shared the same purpose of helping students become more aware and informed on how they could apply sustainability into their work, business, and many other places to make the change.