Kristi Straus’ Environment 239 class dives deep into sustainability.
UW Environment
Kristi Straus’ Environment 239 class dives deep into sustainability.

Offered in fall, winter and summer quarters, Kristi Straus’ Environment 239 class is a great fit for students interested in taking a deep dive into sustainability — its meaning, history and what it looks like in action. Sustainability: Personal Choices, Broad Impacts challenges students to map the concept back to their own lives, examining questions around their eating habits, purchasing decisions, transportation choices and more.

“A large portion of the work we do in this class is done outside of the classroom by design,” said Kristi Straus, the instructor and 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award winner. “We’re not going to move toward sustainability by reading a textbook alone. I really wanted students in this class to physically engage with the idea of sustainability in their lives. If they’re thinking about personal choices, it’s not an abstract concept anymore.”

Straus is a lecturer at the University of Washington’s Program on the Environment, home of UW’s interdisciplinary environmental studies major. Program on the Environment faculty come from across campus and teach environmental economics, environmental history and sustainability, among other areas of expertise.

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