1. Energy Ethics in A Curriculum on Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
Anu Ramaswami
Professor and Director, IGERT: Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
Center for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems
University of Colorado Denver

2. Broadly Inter-Disciplinary Program: Sustainable Urban Infrastructure

3. Ethics Modules Integrated in Core Courses
Introductory Course: Module 1 - What is Development?
Discuss the goal of development before discussing sustainable development
Amartya Sen – Human Capabilities Approach vs
Peter Gleick (Basic Needs of 50 L water/pp/day) vs
Utilitarian Approach (human labor as a means of development)
Origins of Human Development Index (HDI)
Fukuda-Parr, S; ‘The Human Development Paradigm: Operationalizing Sen’s Ideas on Capabilities’ Feminist Economics 9(2 – 3), 2003, 301 – 317, 2002.

4. Case Study: Is More Energy Use Per Capita a requirement for “development”? HDI vs Primary Energy Use/Capita
From: Steinberger & Roberts 2009

5. Deliberations
Explore trends in energy use (per capita) and the HDI in different nations.
Can society articulate a minimum basic level of energy use for human survival as has been suggested for water? Should this basic energy use level be established as a universal human right?
How much energy use is enough for an improved quality of life? This discussion introduces the notion of sufficiency that is important in discussions about sustainability.
Follow up with a discussion that compares three different paradigms for human development (Basic needs, HDI, Utilitarian)

6. Is there an energy threshold?
From: Steinberger & Roberts 2009

7. Module 2 - Energy & Climate Change
Module 2 - In Defining and Measuring Sustainability
Who’s responsible?
Who pays?
Who says?
Reading from: Michael Grubb; Seeking Fair Weather: Ethics and the International Debate on Climate Change, International Affairs, Vol. 71, No. 3, Ethics, the Environment and the Changing International Order. (July1995), pp  .

8. INTERNATIONAL CO2 per capita Emissions
25 mt CO2e per capita
Target ~2 mt CO2e in a carbon equitable world
INTERNATIONAL CO2 per capita Emissions

9. Some Climate Impacts

10. Who Should Pay for Carbon Mitigation? [Discussion in Grubb]
Who Says Who Should Pay?

11. Rural Indian Family – All belongings
Peter Menzel, Material World

12. A US Family with All Belongings
Peter Menzel, Material World

13. Family in Japan – All Belongings

14. Family in Mali

15. Discussion