David W. Orr is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of

Environmental Studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...

and Politics Emeritus at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, and presently Professor of Practice at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. During his tenure at the Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College, Orr demonstrated how institutions of higher learning can teach

ecological literacy Ecological literacy (also referred to as ''ecoliteracy'') is the ability to understand the systems ecology, natural systems that make life on earth possible. To be ecoliterate means understanding the principles of organization of ecological communi ...

while practicing sustainable design and encouraging more eco-friendly lifestyles on campus. Orr's books, ''Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World'' (1992) and ''Earth in Mind'' (1994-2004), proposed ways in which education should evolve to emphasize sustainability, not only in the narrow parameters of ecology-based programs, but in wider curricula, from political science and economics to liberal arts.

Early career

From 1971 to 1976, Orr was an associate professor of political science at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, where he co-founded the annual Atlanta Environmental Symposium. Influenced by the book ''

The Limits to Growth ''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential Economic growth, economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer ...

'' (1972), the Symposia in 1973 and 1974 focused on the limits to growth and land-use in the Atlanta region. These were among the first such regional-wide events to bring media, government agencies, business, community, students and experts to discuss the practical and political implications of earth's limits. From 1976 to 1979, Orr was assistant professor of political science at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC. He published articles in ''The Journal of Politics, Polity, the Western Political Quarterly, the International Studies Quarterly, Human Ecology, the Sierra Club Magazine, Dissent,'' and co-edited and contributed to ''The Global Predicament'' (University of North Carolina Press, 1979) that helped make the case for including environmental issues to the core of Political Science.

Oberlin College

In 1996, he organized the construction of the

Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam si ...

. He was awarded a Lyndhurst Prize by the

Lyndhurst Foundation The Lyndhurst Foundation is a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based grant-making foundation organized in 1938 by Coca-Cola Bottling Company magnate Cartter Lupton. The Lyndhurst Foundation was the first private foundation in Tennessee, and it focuses on ...

in 1992, a National Conservation Achievement Award by the

National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (i ...

in 1993, the Benton Box Award from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

in 1995 for his work in Environmental Education, and a Bioneers Award in 2002.

Books published

*''Dangerous Years: Climate Change, the Long Emergency, and the Way Forward '' Publisher: Yale University Press (November 22, 2016) *''Hope Is an Imperative: The Essential David Orr'' Publisher: Island Press (December 1, 2011) *''Down to the Wire: Confronting Climate Collapse'' Publisher: Oxford University Press (September 2009) *''Design on the Edge: The Making of a High-Performance Building'' (Cooperative Information System) Publisher: The MIT Press (April 30, 2008) *''Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World'' (The Bioneers Series). Publisher:

Sierra Club Books Sierra Club Books was the publishing division, for both adults and children, of the Sierra Club, founded in by then club President David Brower. They were a United States publishing company located in San Francisco, California with a concentrat ...

; (October 1, 2005) *''The Nature of Design: Ecology, Culture, and Human Intention''. Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; (October 14, 2004) *''Earth in Mind: On Education, Environment, and the Human Prospect''. Publisher: Island Press; (July 30, 2004) *''The Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror''. Publisher: Island Press; (March 15, 2004) *''Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World'' (Suny Series in Constructive Postmodern Thought). Publisher: State University of New York Press (January 1992)

References

External links

David W. Orr (Oberlin Project)
(2014). Retrieved November 16, 2014.

Retrieved February 14, 2008.

Retrieved April 26, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, David W. American environmentalists Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Living people Westminster College (Pennsylvania) alumni Michigan State University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Oberlin College faculty University of Vermont faculty 1944 births