Sustainability

I have been interested and involved in Sustainable Chemistry for over 12 years and more recently in the broader issues of Sustainability. My efforts regarding Sustainable Chemistry or Green Chemistry are discussed in detail starting at greenchemistry.html.

My efforts with regard to the broader issues of sustainability began to blossom when the University of Scranton instigated the Education for Justice: The Case for Sustainability project and formed the Task Force on Sustainability to implement this. The beginnings of this program can be traced back to a sustainability proposal, by Professor Cynthia Cann (management/marketing) and myself, to the President of the University of Scranton in July 2004. As a result of this proposal, the Task Force was formed in September 2004 and the public unveiling of the initiative was at a Trustee Day in February 2005 with a presentation on sustainability by myself. I have served on the Task Force since its inception, and in addition to my interest in promoting sustainability in operations on campus and in outreach, my greatest accomplishment has been in the infusion of the issues of sustainability across our curriculum at the University of Scranton (see: http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/done-academics.shtml).

The principal vehicle for this infusion of sustainability into our courses has been the Sustainability Workshop for faculty. I was the principle behind the development and implementation of this annual workshop during its inception in 2005-06. I continue as co-facilitator of this workshop along with Professor Sharon Meagher (philosophy). The first two years of this interdisciplinary program has seen the infusion of sustainability into over 28 different courses by 25 faculty members. The infusion has been across the disciplines from business to biology, to theology and education, to philosophy and psychology, to political science and sociology, to criminal justice and chemistry, to............ (for details on actual courses see the links at the bottom of http://matrix.scranton.edu/sustainability/workshop-2005-2006.shtml). For 2007-08 an additional 10 faculty are participating in this project. The intention is continue this workshop for many years to come.

In addition to my work on the Task Force, I have infused the issues of green chemistry and sustainability into the courses I teach, and I have been involved in lecturing on sustainability (for presentations and publications on green chemistry see: recentpres.html and selpub.html) to groups at environmental fairs, to high school students and teachers, and to community leaders. I have done radio, TV and print interviews, and written an article that has appeared in several newspapers which I call The Musings of a Grandfather.

Book Chapter

Selected Presentations

  • Cann, Michael C., "Sustainability or Bust," Vosburg Neck Festival, Tunkannock, PA, June 2, 2007.
  • Cann, Cynthia W., Sebastianelli, Rose and Cann, Michael C., "Examining Environmental Sustainability Efforts: A Preliminary Survey." Proceedings of the 34th Annual Meeting of the Northeast Decision Sciences Institute. Philadelphia, PA, March 2005
  • Cann, Cynthia W.,and Cann, Michael C., “Sustainability,” Justice Club, University of Scranton, March 3, 2004.
  • Cann, Cynthia W. and Cann, Michael C., “A Plan for Corporate Sustainable Development: Creating a Corporate Competitive Advantage Through the Combination of Green Chemistry and Strategic Marketing Management.” 7th International Conference Towards Sustainable Product Design proceedings, Managing Sustainable Product: organizational Aspects of Product and Service Development ( London , England , October 28-29, 2002 ).
  • Cann, Cynthia W. and Cann, Michael C., “Business, Green Chemistry (GC) and Other Sustainable Practices,” Secretary David Hess of Department of Environmental Protection, State of Pennsylvania, University of Scranton, September 19, 2002.
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