I work as a Senior Manager in the Access, Open and Cross-curricular Innovation team. The reason why I really like YXM130 is the flexibility, allowing you to study what interests you from a wide range of subject areas.
I have always been a keen environmentalist and been fortunate to support and work alongside the OU academics who author the Environment curriculum.
In the current climate emergency, I have selected courses related to sustainability to explain both what is happening to the environment and also look at what we can do as individuals to make a difference, limiting our dependency and impact on the Earth’s resources.
I have selected the following OpenLearn courses.
Free courses in sustainability...
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Environment: treading lightly on the Earth
Environment: treading lightly on the Earth focuses on the problem of greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide. This free course will give you an understanding of the nature and importance of carbon footprints of individuals and households. It will enable you to measure your own carbon footprint and explore what you could do to reduce ...
Free course
15 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Working with our environment: an introduction
Global warming: are we responsible? Is our environmental impact damaging the planet? This free course, Working with our environment: an introduction, examines the use of ozone-depleting technology, the impact of fossil fuel use and explores how the development of technology can influence the direction of a society. From the Industrial Revolution...
Free course
11 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Could we control our climate?
Climate crisis is one of the grand challenges we face as a society, but it can be hard to approach as a subject. Not only can the science at times seem dauntingly complex, but the solutions are also far from clear. This leaves many people feeling confused, guilty, anxious, angry, or else completely switched off from the subject. This course ...
Free course
24 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Why sustainable energy matters
Access to safe, clean and sustainable energy supplies is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity during the twenty-first century. This free course, Why sustainable energy matters, will survey the world's present energy systems and their sustainability problems, together with some of the possible solutions to those problems and how these ...
Free course
9 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Can renewable energy sources power the world?
We ask the question ‘Can renewable energy sources power the world?’ as a response to the growing awareness that increased use of renewable energy technologies is making a major contribution to global efforts to limit anthropogenic climate change. The course begins by examining the environmental concerns that have caused a rise in interest in ...
Free course
24 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Waste management and environmentalism in China
This free course, Waste management and environmentalism in China, is an introduction to waste generation and waste management processes currently being practiced in China. This course explores how the Chinese can deal with increasing volumes of waste, drawing parallels with the UK experience of waste management. It also discusses the conceptual ...
Free course
8 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Citizen science and global biodiversity
This free course, Citizen science and global biodiversity, deals with the importance of biodiversity and explores how anyone can contribute to and be involved in identifying and recording wildlife, as a citizen scientist. It looks at what citizen science is, and how citizen science facilitates public involvement in scientific research ...
Free course
24 hours
Level: 1 Introductory
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Climate change: transitions to sustainability
Human societies have to take urgent action to end their dependences on fossil fuels. We have to alter the whole path of our development and decision making in order to make our societies both environmentally adaptable and sustainable. This free course, Climate change, takes on the task of trying to chart some of the ways in which it might be ...
Free course
5 hours
Level: 2 Intermediate
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Eating for the environment
This free course, Eating for the environment, will explore the links between food, nutrition and environmental sustainability.
Free course
8 hours
Level: 2 Intermediate
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Introducing environmental decision making
Many of the decisions we make have implications for our environment, particularly those concerning natural resources and waste. Taking account of environmental factors in decision making can be both complex and challenging. This free course, Introducing environmental decision making, considers decisions in their broader contexts and advocates a ...
Free course
24 hours
Level: 3 Advanced
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