Climate Change & Energy

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College of the Atlantic

Energy fundamentals and community projects

Addressing climate change and transitioning to renewable energy require insights and skills from every academic discipline.

Effectively advocating for renewable energy and implementing local projects require a range of knowledge and skills. Our interdisciplinary curriculum makes it possible to gain a powerful combination of skills that are often spread out across different majors at a typical college or university. Opportunities to work on local energy projects are available to all, not just advanced engineering students.

COA students regularly take part in international climate negotiations

The introductory class The Physics and Mathematics of Sustainable Energy gives students a broad foundation in various aspects of renewable energy and energy conservation. Students may then go on to take more advanced, project-based classes to plan and carry out energy ventures such as installing an array of solar cells on campus or a wind turbine on Beech Hill Farm. We use our campus and farms as laboratories in which students and faculty research and implement renewable energy conservation.

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Climate change politics and action

COA students are frequent participants in meetings of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). At these meetings, students engage with the process of the negotiations and collaborate with youth activists from around the globe. Back at COA, classes like Global Environmental Politics, Climate Justice, and Environmental Law and Policy give students a solid grounding in the theory and practice of international environmental politics. The student-led group Earth in Brackets meets regularly on campus and sends representatives to UNFCCC meetings, as well as blogging about climate change politics, sustainable development, and environmental justice. Between the energy and dedication of the students, and the support from faculty who are active on the forefront of UNFCCC politics, Earth in Brackets has emerged as a leader in the youth climate justice movement.

Science

Students learn the science behind our changing climate in courses such as Climate and Weather, Seminar in Climate Change, and Environmental Chemistry. Geology courses like Geology of Mt. Desert Island or Geology and Humanity introduce studies of the earth’s climate and its change over multiple time scales.

Reminder: Areas of study aren’t the only way to think about courses.  Browse and explore here.

COA students learn about renewable energy on Denmark’s Samsø Island
Anjali Appadurai delivers powerful speech at the UN

Related courses

Building Science and Energy Auditing

Buildings account for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions. Sixty percent of Maine homes are heated with heating oil, the highest percentage of any state, and Mainers spend more than a billion dollars on heating oil each year. Improving the efficiency of our homes and buildings is essential for transitioning away from fossil fuels and reducing carbon emissions.

In this course, students will learn how to safely transition buildings away from fossil fuels. This includes understanding the science of energy and moisture movement through a building, how to monitor carbon monoxide and other harmful combustion gases, and methods to reduce energy loss, while maintaining comfortable levels of humidity and fresh air. Students will gain proficiency measuring air leakage with a blower door, using an infrared camera to assess insulation levels, calculating heat loss, and identifying solutions and best practices to develop a plan of action for homeowners.

They will also learn about high efficiency mechanical systems like air source heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and how to assess lighting and appliance electrical usage. Students will learn how to carry out cost calculations for energy savings and research and share information on rebates and incentives available for homeowners. This will be a very hands-on course, with weekly labs to teach energy auditing field skills. This course will include presentations from local energy contractors, and students will participate in energy audits of residential buildings on or off campus. Through these experiences, students will meet and interact with home performance businesses and non-profit organizations in the local community. As time and weather conditions permit, students will gain experience implementing efficiency solutions such as insulation and air sealing.

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to conduct energy audits for homes, identify cost-effective improvements, and prioritize energy improvements to maximize energy savings. This course will provide students with the tools and experience to reduce building energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in a holistic, whole-building approach.

Evaluation will be based on completion of assignments, participation in class discussions, and mastery of field skills.

Course Number
MD4014
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Sustainable Business
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
David Gibson

Climate and Weather

This class will explore general weather and climate patterns on global, regional, and local scales. We will discuss the major forcings driving global climate fluctuations – on both long (millions of years) and short (days) timescales, including natural and anthropogenic processes. We will also learn about basic meteorology and the processes producing some common spectacular optical weather phenomena (rainbows, coronas, cloud-types, etc). Students will complete a term project comprising a photo-documentary journal of the different weather phenomena they observe during the 10-week term. The field component of this course will be self-guided through the observation and documentation of weather phenomena. Who should take this course: No prior geology/science experience is needed – but expect to do a bit of basic math in this course! The course level is intermediate because it will not cover foundational principles of geology (or other sciences) but instead the course will be integrative and require students to practice both their quantitative and qualitative skills. Take this course if you are passionate or curious about climate change, but do not know much about the science of climate and weather!

Course Number
ES3044
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Marine Science, Mathematics and Physical Sciences
Course Level
Intermediate
Instructor
Sarah R. Hall

Climate Justice

Climate change is one of the biggest and most difficult challenges faced by contemporary societies. The challenge has multiple facets: environmental, social, political, economic – each with its own complexities. This course focuses primarily on the social, political and economic components of the climate problem, framed by the concept of climate justice. In the course students are introduced to basic conceptions of justice, the latest findings of climate science and possible impacts on regional scales, and the global politics of climate change, principally in the context of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climate justice and its operationalization is the principal organizing theme for work over the term, addressing questions such as: how the costs of climate change impacts and efforts to address climate change could or should be distributed between rich and poor, global north and global south; and what are the possible means whereby those costs might be addressed through collective action at various levels: local, national, and global. Students will be evaluated based on regular quizzes, several short papers, class participation, and a final synthetic paper or project.

Course Number
HS1054
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Environmental Law & Politics
Course Level
Introductory
Instructor
Doreen Stabinsky

Ecologies of Cities

We typically think of cities as centers of political and economic power, social vibrancy (and tension), and cultural richness, diversity and production. This course explores ecological “readings” of cities, landscapes transformed irrevocably due to human activities and the introduction of unprecedented concentrations of “unnatural” substances and significant loss of biological and hydrological integrity. The course also examines processes by which cities have transformed surrounding regional landscapes as both “wells” of resources and “sinks” for waste and the planetary scale environmental impacts of urban growth in the contemporary global economy. Following a succinct historical survey in the first part of the class (with focus on the interrelated forces of industrialization, colonization and explosive urban growth in the nineteenth century), we will look to recent efforts to reimagine cities such that they are more “ecological.” These efforts come in a variety of forms from “city as refugia” (establishing habitat for nonhumans) to “novel ecosystems” (working with new concentrations of contaminants and colonization of non-native biological communities) to cities as settings in which closed-loop, ecologically inspired systems drive processes of development. Of concern related to all of these ecological urbanisms is that conversion of city landscapes from grey to green and blue can lead to ever greater levels of inequality. In the final section of the course, we will speculate as to ways to intervene in cities-as-ecosystems that build on commitments to both social justice and ecological replenishment, bringing into relation the flourishing of humans and nonhumans in urbanized environments. Evaluations will be based on class participation and sustained engagement with the core themes: attendance, demonstration of close readings of texts, contributions to group discussions (including listening), honing of collaborative capabilities, and commitment to an iterative process with the three course projects (the last of which will be worked on in teams) that involve succinct compositions of written narratives and diagrams and other visual representations (multiple graphics workshops will be structured into the class).

Course Number
AD2042
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
Brook Muller

Environmental History

How has human history shaped and been shaped by “the environment”? Environmental history is one of the most exciting new fields in history. In this course we examine world history from Mesopotamia to the present to see the role such things as resource scarcity, mythology, philosophy, imperialism, land policy, theology, plagues, scientific revolutions, the discovery of the new world, the industrial revolution, etc. on the natural, social, and built environments.

Course Number
HS1011
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Field Ecology & Natural History, International Studies, Marine Science
Course Level
Introductory
Instructor
Todd Little-Siebold

Environmental Justice

Environmental harms and benefits fall in predictable patterns across our bodies and landscapes, tracing lines of inequality that are embedded deep within our colonial history and modern societal structures. Environmental justice as a field of study represents an attempt to uncover and understand those patterns by drawing connections between harm and broader practices, laws, and procedures by state and private actors. It is also a study of resistance to harm, often led by those in marginalized communities, but increasingly led by more reluctant activists who find themselves on the losing side of capitalism’s growing list of externalities, from pollution, pipelines, and extraction to land degradation and climate collapse.

In this foundational course, we will navigate frustration and accomplishment, despair and hope, and the boundaries around what’s broken, and what may still be fixed, in our movement toward a more desirable future for life on earth. The course will draw on philosophy (e.g., John Rawl’s Theory of Justice), history and contemporary politics (e.g., Nina Lakahni’s Who Killed Berta Cáceres), and sociological theory (e.g., Naomi Klien’s Shock Doctrine) to ground specific case studies and bring context to their development so that students may begin to see what drives environmental injustice and response.

This course will be of value to students at all levels interested in bridging social theory with contemporary problems so that they may develop deeper analysis of and more sustainable solutions to ongoing environmental and social problems. Over the course of the term, we will pair readings and in-class discussion with the development of a “braided narrative” that brings together lived experiences and deep research. Students will be evaluated through a combination of self-assessment, written assignments, and in-person engagement.

Course Number
HS2129
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Farming & Food Systems
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
Leeann Sullivan

Glaciers and the Landscape

Glaciers are rapidly retreating around the planet and predicted to continue this trend in the coming centuries. The decline of the world’s ice sheets and mountain glaciers will impact sea level, infrastructure, and fresh-water resources for communities around the world. To put current changes into a long-term geologic context, students will learn the processes, landforms, and impact of glaciers on the Earth’s surface as the planet has cycled through ice ages. This course is designed to provide students with a solid understanding of the dynamic interactions between ice, climate, landscapes, and humans over varying spatial and temporal scales. In addition, we will cover the basics of glaciology and the physics that influence the structure, size, and movement of ice. Through class discussions and assigned problem sets, students will reinforce the content covered in lectures. In addition, this course will give students hands-on experience with tools and methods commonly used to study glaciers and ice sheets (such as: ground-penetrating radar, LiDAR, rock sampling for cosmogenic analysis). This course will have various field trips during class time on Mount Desert Island to explore how an ice sheet shaped the region’s landscape during the Last Glacial Maximum. Students will be evaluated on weekly problem sets and readings and a final project and presentation related to this history of glaciation in Maine.

Level: Introductory. Prerequisites: None. Class limit: 14. Lab fee: $50. Meets the following degree requirements: ES.

Course Number
1088
Prerequisites
None
Class Size Limit
14
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy

Oceans & Fishes: Readings in Environmental History

This course will explore the rapidly expanding field of marine environmental history and historical studies that focus on fish and fisheries. Recent methodological and conceptual work as well as growing interest in the history of these topics driven by conservation and policy issues has made this an important and innovative field. Using the work of a variety of scholars from different fields the class will explore how historical accounts can be constructed with an emphasis on the types of available sources, the use of evidence, and how each author builds their argument. We will explicitly compare the methods, use of evidence and other aspects of different disciplinary approaches to the topic to highlight the strengths and limitations of each approach. This dimension of the class is particularly interesting because of the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of scholarship right now that brings a wide range of research into dialogue. Students will learn about the history of oceans and fishes by looking at how historians and other scholars frame their works and make their arguments. Students will be evaluated on their preparation for discussion, mastery of the material, short written assignments, and a final project made up of a presentation and essay. This course is appropriate for students with interest in history, community-based research, marine studies, and environmental policy. Students who are just curious and interested in lots of things are also most welcome.

Course Number
HS3036
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Field Ecology & Natural History, Marine Science
Course Level
Intermediate
Instructor
Todd Little-Siebold

Physics and Mathematics of Sustainable Energy

In this course students will learn content and skills so that they can participate effectively in sustainable energy projects, make personal and community decisions that reduce carbon emissions, and work in ventures in sustainable energy. Additionally, this course will be useful for those interested in energy and climate policy, either internationally or domestically. We will begin with a quick overview of current CO2 emissions levels and look at how this is related to energy use. We will then turn our attention to basic ideas from physics, including the definition of energy and the difference between energy and power. The bulk of the course will consist of a survey of different forms of energy consumption and generation. Throughout, we will quantitatively analyze technology from both a local and global point of view. For example, we will calculate how much electricity one can generate on a rooftop, and we will also examine the role that solar PV could play toward the goal of eliminating fossil fuel use worldwide. In a unit on financial mathematics, students will learn about the time value of money and several ways of quantifying investments, including ROI (return on investment) and IRR (internal rate of return). Students will apply these financial tools in several short case studies. If time permits, we may also cover negative emissions technologies and the electrical grid, including grid stability issues and the potential of smart-grid technology. This will be a demanding, introductory, class. Evaluation will be based on weekly problem sets.

Course Number
ES1056
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Farming & Food Systems, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Sustainable Business
Course Level
Introductory
Instructor
David Feldman

Plants and People: Economic Botany

This class offers an introduction to plant biology centered around plants that are useful to human societies. We will explore plant anatomy, physiology, evolution, and ecology through case studies involving plants that are useful to humans. Through lectures, readings, and discussions, students will gain a rich understanding of how plants function and how human societies depend on them in myriad ways. We will cover universal and familiar uses of plants such as food, building materials, and textiles, as well as less widely practiced uses including arrow poisons, lacquers, and living fences. We will discuss the origins of agriculture and methods of plant breeding, as well as the biogeographical history of important cultivated plant lineages. The focus will be on plants and our uses for them, but we will also discuss ethical concerns surrounding practices like bioprospecting and ex situ conservation. Students will be evaluated on participation and the successful completion of two presentations and a research paper.

Course Number
ES1081
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Field Ecology & Natural History, Sustainable Business
Course Level
Introductory
Instructor
Susan G. Letcher

Political Economies of Carbon

Carbon is the building block of life. It is also central to one of the most critical challenges of this century: climate change. Combustion of fossilized carbon leads to the increase in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide that threaten life across the planet. Trees and other living organisms that store carbon are celebrated as solutions to the growing crisis, yet rampant destruction of these carbon stores continues unabated. The global management of carbon and its impacts includes projects to decarbonize economies and recarbonize ecologies, as well as fantastical technofixes for carbon removal and blocking the sun. Who will decide how much fossil carbon ultimately gets burned? How much land will be claimed by global elites to soak up their continued fossil emissions, and where will it be located? What role do carbon markets and geoengineering play in addressing or perpetuating fossil economies? These are some of the questions we will explore. In the course we use several different theoretical lenses that look at intersections of institutions, nature, economy, and power (critical geography, political ecology, political economy) to understand more deeply the political, economic, and ecological relationships that emerge around forms of carbon (fossil fuels, trees and landscapes, monoculture plantations) in the context of global efforts to address climate change. Topics to be covered include the carbon cycle; carbon markets; climate models; geoengineering and carbon dioxide removal; international climate treaties and global politics of governing carbon; and carbon democracy and fossil capital. The aim of the inquiry, and what students should expect to take away from the course, is a broader and deeper understanding of global political economies and local political ecologies of climate change and carbon.

Readings will come from academic as well as non-academic literature from think tanks, non-governmental organizations, and social movements. Core course texts will include Carbon Democracy by Timothy Mitchell and Overshoot by Andreas Malm and Wim Carton. The course will be conducted in a lecture-seminar format, with emphasis on class discussion of readings and lecture material. Students will be evaluated based on engagement in class discussions, regular writing assignments and problem sets, and a final project or synthetic essay.

Students will participate virtually and/or in-person in the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In-person attendance is optional.

Course Number
HS4116
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Environmental Law & Politics, Sustainable Business
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
Doreen Stabinsky

Practicum in Sustainable Energy

This is a hands-on, project-based class in which students will collaboratively plan for and participate in all aspects of renewable energy projects on College of the Atlantic’s campus. Examples of projects include installation of a solar photovoltaic array, airsealing and insulating one of the college’s buildings, or planning and installing a greenhouse heating system. Students will learn how to take a project from design through fruition while navigating the various phases of the project lifecycle including operation and maintenance. The course will begin with an overview of existing technology and an analysis of the current energy generation and consumption data for the project site(s). The class will then plan the project and present this plan to the community. As part of this planning process, students will learn about the economics of renewable energy systems, including return on investment (ROI), internal rate of return (IRR), and related quantities. Students who successfully complete this class will gain the skills necessary to conceptualize, plan for, finance, and implement renewable energy projects. Evaluation will be based on several short presentations, problem sets, and active and effective participation in all aspects of the project. Default grade is Credit/No Credit.

Course Number
ES3090
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Sustainable Business
Course Level
Intermediate
Instructor
David Gibson

Readings in Political Ecologies

This is an intermediate/advanced reading seminar focused on contemporary, experimental, and speculative political ecologies. Readings will include books, dissertation manuscripts, and scholarly articles. The course is designed to allow students to explore intersections between their own individual and collective intellectual interests and endeavors and political ecologies. The course will be a collective intellectual endeavor conducted through conversation and written reflections, including through regular interaction on an online blog. Evaluation will be based on participation in real-time and blog conversations, including twice-weekly reflective blog postings; leading several class discussions; and a final synthetic essay on a topic of their choosing.

Course Number
HS4105
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Farming & Food Systems
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
Doreen Stabinsky

Rights of Nature

Does nature have rights? There is a growing global movement answering that question in the affirmative. But what does that mean and how does it function in legal and political systems? The Rights of Nature (RoN) movement(s) has the potential to revolutionize environmental law and our relationship to the planet. Many believe that existing environmental law is inadequate to solve the critical problems of climate change, habitat loss, and mass extinction. The RoN movement proposes strategies that include granting rights to nature through legal personhood and assigning property rights to rivers, culturally important plants, specific animals, and wildlife. The course explores both the promise and perils of this approach while also exploring the field’s multifarious origins, including Indigenous Law. By examining the concepts of rights, constitutionalism, standing, human rights law, and eco-centric law, students will gain an understanding of the context of the RoN movement. Although a powerful rhetorical concept, implementation of RoN as a legal strategy has been challenging and has met with mixed success. Fundamental questions of “who speaks for the trees” and what obligations are conferred when rights are granted are slowly being worked out in courts and national legislatures. These questions are particularly challenging where Western and Indigenous worldviews come together. Fundamentally, this seminar will explore what it takes to recognize the inherent rights of the natural world to “exist, thrive, and evolve.” Students will be evaluated through several written assignments, class presentations, and active and meaningful participation in seminar discussions. Students will be asked to engage in a term-long research project that examines a specific RoN case study.

Course Number
HS4114
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Environmental Law & Politics
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
Ken Cline

Seeds

Over 90% of today’s terrestrial flora are seed plants and provide the majority of the ecological energy across the world. Today the majority of the human population is dependent on the energy and nutrients stored in the seed of a remarkably few crops that arose through the breeding and saving of seeds. Today this critical interdependence is rich with questions and at are at the center of the food security and food sovereignty debates. Some questions of this human-plant co-evolutionary story to be addressed in this course are: How is crop breeding done in different parts of the world? What are the techniques for breeding, seed saving, and storage? What traits are selected for in traditional and modern breeding? What role do seed banks and libraries play in our common future? What are the current laws governing seed quality and ownership? How do these laws and treaties structure corporate consolidation, community initiatives, and possible mechanisms for developing crops in the face of global climate change? What is the “free the seed movement” and why might it be important? The second major debate to be explored will be the ethical and ecological implications of the “assisted migration” of wild plants as a means of conservation and adaptation to global climate change and the replacement of horticultural materials with wild plants as means for expanding native habitat corridors. We will contextualize these two major themes with an in-depth look into the biology of seeds as well as the ecological and evolutionary significance of seeds. In preparation for required attendance at the Organic Seed Alliance conference, laboratory exercises will cover seed dormancy and germination, and build skills in hand pollination and trait selection. Evaluation will be based on class participation, leadership in seminar discussions, quizzes, a group report on the Organic Seed Alliance Conference, and the development of a final project based on one or both of themes in the course.

Course Number
ES4041
Area of Study
Climate Change and Energy, Field Ecology & Natural History
Course Level
Intermediate/advanced
Instructor
Suzanne R. Morse

Faculty

ken outside with scenic background

Ken Cline

Faculty, Law and Public Policy
David Rockefeller Family Chair in Ecosystem Management and Protection
Phone: 207-801-5719
Email: kcline@coa.edu
Office: Davis Room 303

ABOUT

Before COA

Before joining the faculty, Ken served as a Judicial Clerk for Federal Judge Gus J. Solomon in Portland, Oregon; as a Staff Attorney for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco; and as an attorney specializing in municipal, environmental, and land use litigation for Calfee Halter & Griswold in Cleveland, Ohio.

His other interests include whitewater canoeing and kayaking, politics, and wilderness camping.

Course Areas

Environmental law, land & water conservation, parks and protected areas

COURSES

EDUCATION

  • B.A. Hiram College, 1980
  • J.D. Case Western Reserve University, 1983

More Information about my Courses

Most of Ken’s courses are underlain by a pedagogical commitment to the principle that classes that enable students to apply knowledge to real problems can provide superior training for the students and a real benefit for people faced with those problems. Therefore, Ken uses neighboring Acadia National Park, a local watershed, and surrounding communities as the focus of class work and projects. Students in Ken’s courses have developed watershed conservation plans, filed legal documents to protect endangered species, lobbied state and national legislatures, attended United Nations conferences, testified at hearings, changed local zoning ordinances, prepared a plan to revitalize a local waterfront, organized local citizens, and routinely work with local leaders, agencies and citizens.

INTERESTS

Ken joined the faculty in 1989 where he teaches a broad range of courses in environmental law and policy. In addition to legal studies and pre-law courses, Ken teaches several interdisciplinary courses that focus on conservation policy within the United States and internationally. These classes include courses on public lands and parks, wildlife protection, wilderness, the history of the conservation movement, land conservation, land use planning, and river and watershed protection. Ken’s international courses focus on wildlife, environmental treaties, protected areas, and water management. 

ADVOCACY

Ken has been recently appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior to the Acadia National Park Advisory Commission.

He is a Volunteer Leader for the Sierra Club in Maine and nationally. In this capacity, he has served on numerous state and national committees and stakeholder groups.

Ken is on the board of the Frenchman Bay Conservancy a regional land trust covering the watersheds of the Union River and Frenchman Bay.

PUBLICATIONS

Publications

Newlin, W., K. Cline, R. Briggs, A. Namnoum, and B. Ciccotelli The College of the Atlantic Guide to the Lakes & Ponds of Mt. Desert, North Atlantic Books. Berkeley CA 2013.

Ken has done extensive work with local and national river and watershed conservation groups. He has worked on river conservation issues in Maine, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Chile. He presently serves on the national rivers committee of the Sierra Club and has presented at national river conferences. Ken is director of the College of the Atlantic’s Watershed Project a collaborative, community-based curriculum and outreach project. The watershed project recently received a $360,000 grant from the US Department of Education to develop a model for interdisciplinary experiential teaching that utilizes the watersheds in Hancock County and addresses the issues facing the gateway communities surrounding Acadia National Park. Through this grant the College has helped to found a local stakeholder group to protect the nearby Union River and has worked closely with citizen groups, agencies, and local governments to monitor and educate the public about the Union River Watershed.

Presentations

March 2015, Oakland, California George Wright Society “Re- Envisioning the Application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Within Land Management Agencies” with Chris Buczko from the National Park Service

November 2014, Sydney, Australia6th World Parks Congress “Parks Across the Curriculum: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Protected Area Education”

October 2014, Bar Harbor, Maine Society for Human Ecology Conference “Human Ecology as an Educational Foundation for Protected Area Managers”

Oct. 2013, Bar Harbor, Maine Moderator for Impacts of Climate Change on Acadia National Park Presentation

Oct. 2012, Hallowell, Maine. Keynote Address at the Maine Groundwater Summit “The Right to Water.”
David Feldman

David Feldman

Faculty, Physics and Mathematics
Dean, Academic Affairs
Phone: 207-801-5709
Email: dfeldman@coa.edu
Office: Second Floor, Turrets Annex

ABOUT

Before COA

From 1991-1993, Dave was a teacher of 9th and 10th grade physics and mathematics at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, TN. As a graduate student at UC Davis, Dave received several awards in recognition of both teaching and scholarship: The Dissertation Year Fellowship; The Chancellor’s Teaching Fellowship; and he was nominated for the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award.

His other interests include ultimate frisbee, hockey, cooking, travel, and gardening. He is married to Doreen Stabinsky; they have three excellent cats.

Personal Website

https://dpfeldman.github.io

Course Areas

Physics, mathematics, networks and groups

COURSES

More Information about my Courses

At COA Dave has taught over twenty different courses in physics, mathematics, and computer science.

Together with several other colleagues, in 2016 Dave launched the Thoreau Environmental Leaders Initiative, a project that supports participatory learning in food systems, renewable energy, and climate change politics, and helps give students skills in community organizing and activism. The project has been supported by several grants from the Henry David Thoreau Foundation totaling $155,000.

EDUCATION

  • B.A, Physics, Carleton College, 1991
  • Ph.D., Physics, University of California, Davis, 1998

HONORS & AWARDS

2012
U.S. Fulbright Lecturer, Rwanda
Fulbright Scholars
1997-98
Dissertation Year Fellowship
University of California, Davis
1996
Chancellor’s Teaching Fellowship
University of California, Davis

INTERESTS

Dave’s research interests lie in the fields of statistical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics. In particular, his research has examined how one might measure “complexity” or pattern in a mathematical system, and how such complexity is related to disorder. Dave has authored research papers in journals including Physical Review E, Chaos, and Advances in Complex Systems. Two of his papers have been cited over 400 times. In his research, Dave uses both analytic and computational techniques.

Dave is also interested in the teaching and learning of chaos and dynamical systems.  He has authored two books on these topics: Chaos and Fractals: An Elementary Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2012), a textbook for non-math/science majors; and Chaos and Dynamical Systems (Princeton University Press, 2019), a contribution to the Primers in Complex Systems series. Dave has developed two MOOCs, one on Chaos and Dynamical Systems and one on Fractals and Scaling. These free, online classes are part of the Santa Fe Institute’s Complexity Explorer project and have been taken by thousands of students.

Dave has recently become interested in teaching about renewable energy and energy conservation. With Anna E. Demeo, then a lecturer at COA in engineering, he developed an introductory course on the physics and mathematics of sustainable energy. Anna and Dave received a $95,000 grant from the Maine Space Grant Consortium Research and Higher Education Program to support the development of the class. He is currently working on a textbook based on this class. Anna and Dave also received an $18,000 grant from the Environmental Education Program of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and teach a workshop on sustainable energy for area elementary school teachers.

From 2004-2008, Dave gave a week-long series of lectures at the China Complex Systems Summer School (CSSS), co-sponsored by the Santa Fe Institute and the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. His lectures provided students with a broad introduction to complex systems, including dynamical systems, information theory, and computation theory. From 2006-2008 he was co-director of the China CSSS. He was PI on a $116,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation that partially supported the CSSS. Since 2017 he has served as director of the annual CSSS in Santa Fe.  From December 2018 to August 2019 he served as the Santa Fe Institute’s Interim Vice-President for Education.

ADVOCACY

Dave is on the steering committee of Indivisible Mount Desert Island. He spoke at the 2017 Climate Change March, the 2018 Waves of Love rally on the one-year anniversary of the events in Charlottesville, a rally in 2019 on the eve of President Trump’s impeachment, and an event in 2022 shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Dave is also a founding member of the MDI Racial Equity Working Group and the MDI Racial Equity Collective. He is a member of the Title IX team at College of the Atlantic and has completed an ATIXA level two Civil Rights Investigator training.

PUBLICATIONS

  • D.P. Feldman and J.P. Crutchfield, Discovering Noncritical Organization: Statistical Mechanical, Information Theoretic, and Computational Views of Patterns in One-Dimensional Spin Systems, Entropy, 24(9), 1282- 1354. 2022.
  • A.E. Demeo, D.P. Feldman, and M.L. Peterson. A Human Ecological Approach to Energy Literacy through Hands-on Projects: An Essential Component of Effectively Addressing Climate Change. Journal of Sustainability Education. Vol. 4, January 2013.
  • M.D. Robinson, D.P. Feldman, and S.R. McKay. Local Entropy and Structure in a Two-Dimensional Frustrated System. Chaos. 21(3). 037114. 2011.
  • D.P. Feldman, C.S. McTague, and J.P. Crutchfield. The Organization of Intrinsic
  • Computation: Complexity-Entropy Diagrams and the Diversity of Natural Information Processing. Chaos. 18:043106. 2008.
  • D.P. Feldman and J.P. Crutchfield, Synchronizing to Periodicity: The Transient Information and Synchronization Time of Periodic Sequences. Advances in Complex Systems. 7(3-4): 329-355, 2004.
  • D.P. Feldman and J.P. Crutchfield, Structural Information in Two-Dimensional Pat-
  • terns: Entropy Convergence and Excess Entropy. Physical Review E. 67:051104. 2003.
  • J.P. Crutchfield and D.P. Feldman. Regularities Unseen, Randomness Observed: The
  • Entropy Convergence Hierarchy. Chaos. 15: 25-54, 2003.
  • J.P. Crutchfield and D.P. Feldman, Synchronizing to the Environment: Information Theoretic Constraints on Agent Learning. Advances in Complex Systems. 4: 251-264,
  • 2001.
  • J P. Crutchfield, D.P. Feldman, and C. R. Shalizi. Comment I on “Simple Measure for Complexity.” Physical Review E. 62:2996-7, 2000.
  • D. P. Feldman and J.P. Crutchfield. Statistical Measures of Complexity: Why? Physics Letters A, 238:244-52, 1998
  • J.P. Crutchfield and D.P. Feldman, Statistical Complexity of Simple 1D Spin Systems. Physical Review E. 55:R1239-42, 1997.

Invited Book Reviews

  • D.P. Feldman. Review of Introduction to Modern Dynamics: Chaos, Networks, Space and Time. Physics Today, 68(12):56, 2015.
  • D.P. Feldman. Review of Complex and Adaptive Dynamical Systems. Physics Today, 62(7):58-9, 2009.
  • D.P. Feldman. Review of Monte Carlo Methods in Statistical Physics. Computing in Science & Engineering, 2:73-4, 2000.

Essays

  • D.P. Feldman. Field Theory. Bateau. 7.1. Fall 2018.

Presentations

  • A Crash Course on Fractals and Scaling. Complex Systems Summer School. Santa Fe, NM. June 13, 2019.
  • A Crash Course on Information Theory. Complex Systems Summer School. Santa Fe, NM. June 18, 2019.
  • A Crash Course on Fractals and Scaling. Complex Systems Summer School. Santa Fe, NM. June 13, 2018.
  • A Crash Course on Information Theory. Complex Systems Summer School. Santa Fe, NM. June 18, 2018.
  • Panel on Gerrymandering. A panel sponsored by the Maine League of Women Voters. Augusta, ME. February 15, 2018.
  • D.P. Feldman. Gerrymandering in the US: History, Law, Math, and Politics. Human Ecology Forum. College of the Atlantic. October 24, 2017.
  • Field Theory. A joint reading with Dan Mahoney. Human Ecology Forum. College of the Atlantic. Bar Harbor, ME. May 23, 2017.
  • Predictable Unpredictability: Strange Attractors and the Buterfly Effect. Eagle Hill Institute. Steuben, ME. August 8, 2013.
  • Local Complexity for Heterogeneous Spatial Systems. Information in Dynamical Systems and Complex Systems Workshop. Burlington, VT. July 18–19, 2013.
  • Complexity, Unpredictability, and Synchronization: Information Theoretic Measures of Structure and Randomness. IDyOM Workshop on Information and Neural Dynamics in the Perception of Musical Structure. Goldsmiths College, London, UK. March 17, 2013.
  • Strange Attractors and the The Butterfly Effect: The Mathematics of Chaos. Science
  • Café sponsored by the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory and McKay’s Public
  • House, Bar Harbor, ME. Feb. 6, 2013.
  • Chaos and Complex Systems: In the Classroom and Beyond. Smith Institute for
  • Applied Research, Invitational Symposium. Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte,
  • NC. Oct. 26, 2012.
Jay Friedlander

Jay Friedlander

Faculty, Sustainable Business
Sharpe-McNally Chair of Green and Socially Responsible Business
Phone: 207-801-5716
Email: jfriedlander@coa.edu
Office: Center for Human Ecology, Room 107

ABOUT

Jay has been a Babson College Senior Fellow in Social Innovation and a Fulbright Scholar. He lectures globally on sustainable innovation, social entrepreneurship and using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to catalyze innovation.

In 2023, he launched Profit Decoder to build the local economy and help small businesses get a grip on their profitability in minutes.

Jay has a wide range of work and life experiences. He has served in the Peace Corps in Mauritania; written an ecotourism business plan for a college in Costa Rica; broke fundraising records for Rails-to-Trails Conservancy; counseled Native American students; and taught environmental education.

Jay is an outdoor enthusiast and has spent time living and traveling throughout North America as well as Africa, South and Central America, and Europe. 

Jay’s honors include: recognition as one of “50 Mainer’s Charting the State’s Future”; being named as a senior fellow in social innovation and serving as an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at Babson College; serving on the advisory board for the Maine Center for Graduate Professional Studies; being selected for the Electricité de France  Sustainable Design Challenge for projects in sustainable energy and business; serving as a board member for Maine Businesses for Sustainability and the Maine Tourism Association; designing and delivering the Fair Food Fund Business Boot Camp.

Before COA

Prior to joining College of the Atlantic, Jay was the chief operating officer for O’Naturals, Inc., a natural and organic fast-food restaurant group. O’Naturals was founded by Gary Hirshberg, the CEO of Stonyfield Farm, and board members included Peter Roy, a former President of Whole Foods Market.

O’Naturals received numerous awards for sustainable business and was recognized for its innovative approach by international media and industry leaders. Jay was instrumental in all elements of the start-up, including fundraising, concept development, daily operations and expansion strategy. Under his leadership, O’Naturals developed a franchising relationship with the $19.5 billion Compass Group.

In addition to his start-up experience, Jay has worked with senior executives of Fortune 500 companies. As a strategy consultant he developed and implemented global brand experiences and customer-centered growth strategies for clients including Citigroup and other industry leaders.

Personal Websites

www.abundancecycle.com

www.profitdecoder.com

Course Areas

Entrepreneurship, social innovation, sustainable business, green business

COURSES

EDUCATION

  • B.A. Colgate University 1990
  • M.B.A. Olin Graduate School of Business, 1997

INTERESTS

As the inaugural Chair of the Sustainable Business program, Jay founded the program and developed a sustainable business curriculum focusing on how building social, economic and environmental capital sparks innovation and creates competitive advantage.

In addition Jay created the Hatchery, a sustainable enterprise incubator fostering growth of traditional and social ventures for academic credit.

This unique academic program has attracted the attention of over 30 national publications including The New York Times, Fast Company and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Ashoka, an international leader in social entrepreneurship, selected College of the Atlantic as one of five U.S. Changemaker Campuses in 2009.

In addition, the program has attracted significant funding from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, Department of Agriculture, private foundations and individuals.

ADVOCACY

Jay’s honors include: recognition as one of “50 Mainer’s Charting the State’s Future”; being named as a senior fellow in social innovation and serving as an adjunct lecturer in entrepreneurship at Babson College; serving on the advisory board for the Maine Center for Graduate Professional Studies; being selected for the Electricité de France  Sustainable Design Challenge for projects in sustainable energy and business; serving as a board member for Maine Businesses for Sustainability and the Maine Tourism Association; designing and delivering the Fair Food Fund Business Boot Camp.

PUBLICATIONS

Significant articles:

  • A College in Maine that Tackles Climate Change, One Class at a Time – The New York Times. Front-page business section. July 1, 2015.
  • Start-Ups Rise to Close a Gap for Farmers – The New York Times. Front-page business section. December 30, 2014.
  • From Maine to Denmark Islanders (Including Students) Seek Sustainable Solutions – The New York Times. DOT Earth blog. December 19, 2014.
  • A Completely Green Powered Island Gives Mainers Ideas – Portland Press Herald. November 2, 2014.
  • Samsø: World’s Most Inspiring Renewable Energy-Powered Island – EcoWatch. October 23, 2014.
  • Students Study Renewable Energy on Samsø – EcoWatch. September 24, 2014.
  • Twenty20 – Featured as part of a special trends report for Drug Store News. August 25, 2014.
  • The 7 Traits of Good Entrepreneurs – Entrepreneur. January 10, 2014.
  • Leaders in the Clean-Tech Economy – Chief Executive Magazine. October 7, 2013.
  • Want a More Fulfilling Job, Lean Out – Money. July 8, 2013.
  • Top Trends in Higher Education: Krampetz and Kim in Conversation – Forbes. April 2, 2013.
  • A Tiny College Nurtures Big Ideas – The Chronicle of Higher Education. Front-page. October 29, 2012.
  • The Changing Path to Entrepreneurship: A Look at Alternatives to Business School – Entrepreneur. August 14, 2012.
  • Winding Up for a Sustainable Economy – National Association of College and University Business Officers. November 2009.
  • Schools Expand Green Courses and Majors – Newsweek. August 11, 2009.  

Articles and Talks by Jay:

  • The Sustainable Tactics You Don’t Know, But Should – MITSloan Management Review
  • How to Unleash Sustainable Innovation that Matters – Forbes
  • Five Steps to Strategic Sustainability and Abundance – MITSloan Management Review
  • Three Ways to Change the World – Virgin
  • Strategic Sustainability: 5 Steps to Create Abundance – Triple Pundit and International Council of Small Business. 
  • Strategic Sustainability: Creating Abundance – American Management Association. 
  • Strategic Sustainability: Introducing the Value Web – Triple Pundit. 
  • Pro/Con: Friedlander on Green Selling – SAGE Business Researcher. Sustainability Research Report.
  • Innovation Nation? The U.S. needs to embrace sustainability or get comfy in the dust. Mainebiz.

Presentations:

Jay has given presentations on sustainable business and social innovation to academic, business and community groups in the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

  • Ceremonial Speaker, Using Values to Create Value, Yale School of Management and Goldman Sachs Foundation Partnership on Non-profit Ventures. 
  • TEDx Dirigo – Mavericks and Misfits. Creating Abundance. 
  • Keynote speaker, Creating Abundance at the 2014 Asian Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment. Osaka, Japan. 
  • Conference presentation at the 2014 Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations. Movements in Energy and Environment that Aim to Increase Quality of Life. Tokyo, Japan. 
  • Featured speaker, Sustainable Enterprise: Unlocking Innovation and Preparing for the Next Economic Wave to the 2013 European Conference on Sustainability, Energy and the Environment. Brighton, United Kingdom.
  • Featured workshop Maine Startup and Create Week on The Abundance Cycle: helping sustainability reign supreme through an innovative and holistic framework. Portland, Maine. 
  • Plenary, Lessons and Models from Samsø at Forum 2100: Innovation in Business and Energy at EPFL University. Lausanne, Switzerland. 
  • Workshop, Envisioning the University of the Future at Brown University. 
  • Workshop, Social Innovations for the Future: The Ashoka Census and the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference. 
  • Featured presentation, New Social Business Frameworks at Brown University AshokaU Exchange. 
  • Selected presentation, Moving from Theory to Action: A Model for Higher Education for the 19th Society for Human Ecology Conference in Canberra, Australia 
  • Keynote speaker for New Hampshire Businesses for Socially Responsibility Spring Conference, Unlocking Innovation. Concord, New Hampshire. May 2013.
  • Led workshop Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Unlocking Innovation at the International Council of Small Business. Wellington, New Zealand. 
  • Organizer and presenter for the Babson College Social Entrepreneurship Conference, Catalyzing Change: Teaching and Learning in an Unpredictable World.
  • i4 Innovation Community of the BNY Mellon Strategic Growth Initiatives to identify new innovations to improve the social good. 
  • Featured speaker at the QSR Magazine Executive Conference, Creating a Green Restaurant. 
sarah holding books with ball cap on, outside

Sarah R. Hall

Faculty, Earth Science
Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Chair in Earth Systems and GeoSciences
Phone: 207-801-5735
Email: shall@coa.edu
Office: Dorr Museum, 2nd Floor; Geoscience Research Space: CHE 200b

ABOUT

Before COA

Sarah joined the faculty of COA in the Fall of 2012 and teaches courses in the Earth Sciences. Before coming to COA Sarah was an Assistant Professor at McGill University in Montreal following her graduate work at the University of California, Santa Cruz and undergraduate degree at Hamilton College. She grew up in upstate NY and after college spent a few years in Atlanta, GA working as a Geologist at an environmental consulting firm and as an ECOWATCH AmeriCorps team member.

Course Areas

Earth science, geology, geomorphology, weather, climate, water, landscape, climate change

Personal Website

https://coageoscience.earth/index.html

COURSES

More Information about my Courses

Sarah regularly offer courses on topics exploring landscape shaping processes, climate, geologic principles, interactions between human and Earth systems, as well as place-based studies of Mt Desert Island (MDI) and Maine.

Most of her courses have some field component where COA students may be learning field methods (e.g. mapping, water sampling, measuring the orientation of geologic features, or describing soils), while visiting parts of Acadia National Park, MDI, or Maine to understand the overall geologic history of the region. In some classes, students design and complete self-guided field work as in the Climate and Weather class where students produce a field guide to various meteorological phenomena. Occasionally, Sarah offers intensive field courses to regions with very different geology from Maine such as Eastern California and the Peruvian Andes.

Sarah regularly advises students on independent research projects. Some are related to her ongoing research and some are inspired by student interest. See some examples of student research here. Explore student created Story Maps of select National Parks here.

Opportunistically Sarah co-teaches courses with other faculty, such as The Anthropocene, Demons from the Depths, and Topics in Research: Geoscience and Geochemistry offering students an inter- multi- or transdisciplinary learning experience.

For the 2023-2024 academic year, geoscience courses were taught by glacial geomorphologist, Scott Braddock while Sarah pursued an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship in Washington D.C. Sarah is currently positioned in the Landslide Hazards Program Office, Natural Hazards Mission Area of the U.S. Geological Survey.

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2009
  • B.A. Geology, Hamilton College, 2001

INTERESTS

Sarah is trained as a geomorphologist studying the processes shaping the surface of the earth. Her research interests are quite broad including mountain building, past glaciations, active faulting, watershed monitoring, and the erosion of landscapes. One of Sarah’s current research projects involves completing a chronology of past glaciations in a portion of the Peruvian Andes. Two local water quality projects are focused on watershed monitoring in and around Acadia National Park and a study concerning private well water characteristics. Through her teaching of field-based courses, Sarah has begun to explore ways to connect professional development opportunities directly to curricular content. With collaborators and COA students, she developed and implemented the Environmental-STEM field-based professional development program, a curriculum that is freely available online for use by other educators.

ADVOCACY

Member of the Executive Council of the Geological Society of Maine.

Cooperating curator of the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine.

Affiliated faculty researcher at the Climate Change Institute.

Steering committee member of the Coastal Maine Geopark.

PUBLICATIONS

Publications
Select publications are listed below. A star (*) indicates student co-author. For a full list, visit this website.

Benavente, C., Palomino, A., Wimpenny, S., García B., Rosell, L., Aguirre, E., Macharé, J., Rodriguez Padilla, A.M.*, and Hall, S.R., 2022. Paleoseismic Evidence of the 1715 C.E Earthquake on the Purgatorio Fault in Southern Peru: Implications for Seismic Hazard in Subduction Zones, Tectonophysics, doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2022.229355

Walker, B., Hall, S.R., and Schmidt, C. 2020. Environmental STEM (E-STEM) Field Course and Professional Development Modules, Reviewed Teaching Activity Collection of the Teach The Earth Program (some “Exemplary” modules), Science Education Resource Center (SERC), Teaching Resources website

Farrell, A., Buckman, K., Hall, S.R., Muñoz, I.*, Bieluch, K., Zoellich, B., and Disney, J., 2021. Adaptations to a secondary school-based citizen science project to engage students in monitoring well water for arsenic during the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of STEM Outreach 4(2), doi: 10.15695/jstem/v4i2.05.

Saillard, M., Audin, L., Rousset, B., Avouac, J.-P., Chlieh, M., Hall S.R., Husson L., Farber, D.L., 2017. From the seismic cycle to long-term deformation: linking seismic coupling and Quaternary coastal geomorphology along the Andean Megathrust, Tectonics, 36(2), p. 241-256. doi: 10.1002/2016TC004156.

Michalak, M.K., Hall, S.R., Farber, D.L., Audin, L., and Hourigan, J.K., 2015. (U-Th)/He Thermochronology records late Miocene accelerated cooling in the north-central Peruvian Andes, Lithosphere, 8(2), p.103–115, doi: 10.1130/L485.1.

Margirier, A., Robert X., Audin, L., Gautheron, C., Bernet, M., Hall, S.R., and Simon-Labric, T., 2015. Slab flattening, magmatism, and surface uplift in the Cordillera Occidental (northern Peru), Geology, 43(11), p. 1031-1034, 10.1130/G37061.1.

Hall, S.R., Farber, D. L., Audin, L., Finkel, R.C., 2012. Recent contractile deformation in the forearc of southern Peru, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 337-338, 85-90, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2012.04.007.

Hall, S.R., Farber, D.L., Ramage, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., Finkel, R.C., Smith, J.A., Mark, B.G.,Kassel, C., 2009. Geochronology of LLGM through Holocene glaciations from the tropical Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru, 2009. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28, 2991-3009, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.08.004.

Saillard, M., Hall S.R., Audin, L., Hérail, G., Farber D.L., Finkel, R.C., Martinod, J., Bondoux, F., and Regard,V., 2008. Pleistocene marine terrace development and non-steady long-term uplift rates along the Andean margin of Chile (31°S). Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 277(1-2), 50-63, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2008.09.039.

Hall, S.R., Farber, D.L., Audin, L., Finkel, R.C., Meriaux, A-S., 2008. Geochronology of pediment surfaces in southern Peru: Implications for Quaternary deformation of the Andean forearc. Tectonophysics, 459,186-205, doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2007.11.073.

Presentations
Abstracts (*student author) of select presentations featuring student research. A full list of presentation abstracts are available here and find out more about student presentations.

Capuano, B., Adams, M., Hall, S.R., Disney, J., 2022. Precipitation-mediated fluctuations in well water arsenic in Hancock County, ME, Maine Sustainability and Water Conference, Augusta, Maine, March 31, 2022.

Feher, A.*, Hall, S.R, Disney, J.E., and Jackson, B.P., 2022. Arsenic abundance in arugula and kale, Maine Sustainability and Water Conference, Augusta, Maine, March 31, 2022.

Slamova, L., Hall, S.R., Feher, A., Disney, J.E., and Jackson, B.P., 2022. Do the orchard soils of Mount Desert Island region harbor residuals of historical arsenical pesticide use? Maine Sustainability and Water Conference, Augusta, Maine, March 31, 2022. Won honorable mention for poster presentation.

Moran, L.*, Hall, S.R., Farrell, A., and Disney, J., 2022. Influence of different water treatment systems on arsenic concentrations in private well groundwater: A view from MDI, ME.

Muñoz, I.L., Cahueque, S., Farrell, A., Moroz, G., Hall, S.R., Buckman, K., and Disney, J. 2021. Pathways of arsenic ingestion in Maine: Data to Action, Geological Society of Maine Spring Meeting, virtual meeting poster presentation, April 9, 2021, published in GSM Newsletter July 2021

Moroz, G.*, Hall, S.R., Disney, J., Farrell, A., and Stanton, B., 2021. Spatial, temporal, and well-specific influences on well water quality, northern Mount Desert Island, Maine, Maine Sustainability and Water Conference, virtual meeting poster presentation, April 1, 2021; Won honorable mention for poster presentation.

Hall, S.R., Moroz, G.*, Farrell, A., Disney, J., and Stanton, B., 2021. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Private Well Water Quality: A View from Mt. Desert Island, Maine, Maine Sustainability and Water Conference, virtual meeting talk, March 31, 2021.

Hall, S.R., Walker, B., Schmidt, C.M., and Paul, J.R., 2019. Use of a field and career preparation program as a tool for recruitment and retention in the Environmental STEM workforce: A report from the ESTEM Program for 2-year and 4-year college undergrads. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 51, No. 5, Presented at GSA Oct. 2019 by Walker, B.

Aragon Oreggo, M.F., Moroz, G., Gibson, S., Kumagai, A., Löwgren, S.*, Hall, S.R., Schmidt, C.M., Walker, B., and Paul, J.R., 2019. Matching skill to need: A multi-institution approval to field-based Environmental-STEM (ESTEM) studies and professional development skills, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328351. (Also presented at Acadia National Park Science Symposium, 2018)

Farrell, A., Poland, R., Hall, S.R., Disney, J., and Stanton, B., 2019. Monitoring well water for arsenic on Mt. Desert Island: Engaging high school and college students in interdisciplinary and societally relevant work, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328363.

Gallardo Garcia Freire, P.*, Henkel, B. and Hall, S.R., 2019. Past, present and future of the College of the Atlantic stream: A small coastal watershed assessment, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328441. (Also presented at ANPSS, 2018 and GSM, 2019)

Gibson, S., Lowgren, S., Hall, S. R., and Smith, S. M. C., 2019. Geomorphic map of Kebo Brook Watershed: Identifying characteristic channel geometry and channel head locations for a small post-glacial coastal New England watershed, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328398. (Also presented at Geological Society of Maine, 2019 – Best Student Poster Presentation)

Hall, S.R., McKenzie, J.M., Hall, B.L., Meriaux, A.-S., Fortin, M.-A.*, 2019. Glacial geochronology transecting a tropical mountain range, the Cordillera Blanca of northern Peru, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328472.

Henkel, B., Hall, S.R., Gallardo Garcia Freire, P., and Löwgren, S., 2019. Watershed monitoring in Acadia National Park: Preliminary results based on three years of data collected across multiple watersheds, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328382.

Van Vliet, N. and Hall, S.R., 2019. An anthropologist and a geologist go into a classroom and…, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, Vol 51, No. 1, 328331.

Rodriguez Padilla, A.M.*, Hall, S.R., Benavente Escobar, C., Venuti, G.L., Fernandez Baca, B.G, Roselle, L.N., and Audin, L., Evolution of a Paradoxical Landscape: New Constraints for Tectonic and Climatic Processes in the Forearc of Southern Peru, 2018. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington, D.C., EP53A-06.

Venuti, G.L.*, Hall, S.R., and Nurse, A., The Paleoecology of Great Duck Island, Acadia National Park Science Symposium, College of the Atlantic (Nov, 2017); Geological Society of Maine Meeting, Unity College (April, 2018); Borns Symposium, Climate Change Institute (May 2018).

Taylor, V., Crowley, C., Lowgren S., Gallardo, Garcia, Freire, P., Hall, S.R., and Henkel. B., 2018. Insights into stream water quality: Bacteria sampling at the Cromwell-Kebo Watershed through summer storm events., Acadia National Park Science Symposium, College of the Atlantic, Oct. 20, 2018.

Gray, S.E. III*, Hall, S.R., Michalak, M.J., and Bailey, D.G., A new look at the geologic history of Great Duck Island and Mount Desert Rock through high resolution aerial imagery, geologic mapping, geochemistry, and geochronology, 2017. Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 2, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017NE-291262.

Hall, S.R., Schmidt, C.E., and Walker, R., 2017. Challenges and opportunities in the development of a multiinstitution field-based professional development program for Environmental-STEM (ESTEM) undergraduates, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 49, No. 2, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017NE-290986.

Minogue, W.*, Hall, S.R., Henkel, B., Stream discharge moitoring in seven watersheds on Mt. Desert Island, ME, Acadia National Park Science Syposium, Schoodic Educational & Research Center, September 2016.

Hall, S.R., Hodson, K.R., Michalak, M.J., Farber, D.L., Hourigan, J.K., 2016. Pliocene to present denudation in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru: Interactions of climate and tectonics in a tectonically active glaciated mountain range, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 2, paper no. 15-7

Prest, T., Strader, J., Galey, M.*, Hall, S.R., Assembling a teaching collection at COA: outcrop, hand-sample, and thin-section analysis of rocks from Mt. Desert Island and Mt. Desert Rock. Acadia National Park Science Symposium, Schoodic Educational & Research Center, 2014.

Davis, M.W.*, Hall, S.R., Farber, D.L., Audin, L., Finkel, R.C., 2007. Quaternary geologic history of the Rio Tambo, southern Peru: repeated mass-wasting events in Western Cordillera drainages, Eos Trans. AGU, 88(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract T31A-0283.
Doreen Stabinsky

Doreen Stabinsky

Faculty, Global Environmental Politics
Phone: 207-801-5710
Email: dstabinsky@coa.edu
Office: First Floor, Witchcliff

ABOUT

Before COA

Doreen worked as science advisor and campaigner for Greenpeace US and Greenpeace International from 2000-2010.

She was assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Studies at California State University, Sacramento from 1995-2000.

Doreen speaks French and Spanish. She loves biking, hiking, gardening, and kayaking. In 2021, she completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training program with the Kula Yoga Project.

Course Areas

Climate justice, land and climate, biodiversity and climate change politics

COURSES

More Information about my Courses

Doreen teaches courses on climate justice, land and climate change, comparative climate change and biodiversity politics, and French and European political institutions. Her courses span theory and practice, with theoretical groundings in political ecology and practical political engagement in real-world struggles for climate justice and social change.

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D. Genetics, University of California, Davis 1996
  • Post-baccalaureate study, Biology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 1983-1986
  • B.A. Economics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, 1982

HONORS & AWARDS

2015-2016
Zennström professorship in climate change leadership
Uppsala University, Sweden
1999-2000
Fulbright Faculty Fellowship
Fulbright Program
1991
Switzer Fellow
Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation

INTERESTS

Doreen’s professional work beyond teaching and COA straddles intersections between biodiversity and climate policy and politics. She is advisor and consultant to international climate justice organizations and social movements on issues related to land, livelihoods, and climate change, in particular against carbon markets and carbon offsetting. In UN Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations, she serves as technical advisor to a group of developing country governments on the issue of loss and damage.

Doreen is a member of the Technical Council of the Science-Based Targets Initiative. She co-chairs the Net Zero working group of the Climate Social Science Network and chairs the No Offsets working group of the Climate Land Ambition and Rights Alliance (CLARA). She is active in a number of other national and international alliances of climate justice organizations working against carbon offsetting and the commodification and financialization of nature. 

ADVOCACY

Doreen is a member of the Northeast Climate Change Education Collaborative and the Equity and Ambition Group. Doreen served as a member of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action of the American Academy for Arts and Sciences. 

PUBLICATIONS

Doreen’s most recent publication is “The tool of imagination”, co-authored with Katrine Østerby, included in the anthology The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to teach in a burning world, edited by Jennifer Atkinson and Sarah Jaquette Ray. She is author of Fossil futures built on a house of cards and Chasing Carbon Unicorns: the deception of carbon markets and “net zero”, both published by a group of climate justice organizations and social movements including Friends of the Earth International and La Via Campesina. She is a co-author of Missing Pathways to 1.5 °C: the role of the land sector in ambitious climate action, published by CLARA. She is a contributing author to Working Groups II and III reports of the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

She is the co-author, with Ronnie Lipschutz, of Environmental Politics in a Changing World: power, perspectives, and practice, and co-editor, with Stephen Brush, of Valuing Local Knowledge: indigenous people and intellectual property rights. 

Presentations

Doreen presents widely on topics related to climate justice, land and climate change, carbon markets, and the financialization of nature.

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Student voices

COA Might be Right for You if…

…you are ready to have your life and identity flipped on its head and dunked in the ocean repeatedly.

Jonna Lynn Nielsen ’27

…you don’t know what you want to study because you have far too many interests to just focus in on one of them. 

Wilson Korneev ’28

…you want to be in a small community where people will remember your name.

Alya Kiiashko ’25

…you have an open mind, enjoy small communities, and want a well-rounded (however unconventional) education experience. 

Seth Sears ’28

…you want to meet politically, emotionally, and academically engaged people.

Alder Ame ’27

Carolina headshot, scenic background

…you think being sent to the oceanside to improve your mental health actually sounds awesome (it totally is).

Carolina de Oliveira Castro ’26

…you are passionate about the natural world and want to study it and love spending time outside.

Conrad Kortemeier ’26

…you want to be surrounded and inspired by people who are excited about niche subjects, and by people who are still figuring out what they’re doing.

Marina Schnell ’25

…you can’t choose between the mountains and the sea.

Megan Maloney ’26

…you want freedom in your class structure.

Andie Piliouras ’26

…you want small, intentional community.

Conlan Lamb ’28

…you want to expand your perspective and knowledge of the world around you, and gain valuable connections from all around the world!

Trinket Lester ’28

…you question the answers to your questions, challenge the status quo, and seek tranquility in the heart of the spruce-fir forests.

Greta Bernier ’27

…you have the desire to choose your own path to a degree.

Béatrice St-Louis ’28