Course seeks to engage students in discussions about planetary health, sustainability

A new course through the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate seeks to engage students in discussions about taking a planetary health approach to address climate change and resource sustainability challenges.

Planetary health is a field of research and practice focused on understanding and addressing the interconnections between human health and the health of the planet. It aims to assess, understand, and quantify the human health impact of global environmental disruptions and to develop solutions that will allow humanity and the natural systems we depend on to thrive now and in the future.

Focusing on the Food, Energy, Water and Climate Change Nexus, the course will incorporate geospatial approaches to systems thinking, human-centered design, and community-engaged research to highlight the need for interdisciplinary collaboration and research to achieve resource sustainability.

“Through the use of interdisciplinary curated readings, class discussions, geospatial theoretical and methods training, local to international guest speakers, and field trips, this course will provide students with an immersive learning experience to critically assess technologies, practices, and policies in use, being developed, and proposed to combat climate change through resource-sustainable initiatives while considering unintended consequences and environmental justice outcomes,” said assistant professor Yolanda J. McDonald, who co-designed the course with Kayla M. Anderson, Community Action and Research Ph.D. candidate.

Class discussions throughout the course include applying a systems-based approach to identify, measure, and assess planetary health problems, from issues to policy recommendations; finding and applying information, such as policies and databases, relevant to planetary health approaches to resource sustainability; and the role of technology in solving resource sustainability challenges.

VSEC director Hiba Baroud, A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation Faculty Fellow and associate chair of civil and environmental engineering, said the course aligns with VSEC’s mission.

“Climate change poses serious threats to human health, global infrastructure, economic stability and established regulatory frameworks,” Baroud said. “Through class discussions on this issue, students will hopefully be educated even more about what’s happening in their environment, and be motivated to find innovative ways to address it.”