College of Letters & Science
The College of Letters and Science is home to a variety
of majors and minors, including biology, chemistry,
geography, history, philosophy, psychology, and English, to name a few. Even
though each discipline encourages sustainable practices,
some departments go to a greater extent than others.
Biology professor Eric Singsaas (along with Don Guay,
paper science and engineering) is leading the way in the
development of biofuels. He has created, in a UWSP science
lab, a bacteria that produces isoprene, a substance that can
be used in the manufacture of noncarcinogenic fuels ranging
from petroleum to rubber. This development has won Singsaas
a number of grants and awards to continue research.
(Information courtesy of To The Point, a College of Letters
and Science publication. To view the article,
click here. See page 2.)
Fisheries students utilizing the
Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, a UWSP
field station located in Bayfield, Wis., are practicing
sustainability by growing fish. Much like trees, the world's
fish supply is constantly depleted, but can easily be
replaced. Chris Hartleb, co-director of the facility, said
that as people have realized the health benefits of eating
fish, the ocean's fish supplies are being used up and the
only way to ensure enough fish in our oceans, lakes, and
streams in the future is to grow our own fish on fish farms
and in hobby ponds. Similar to gardening, many people in
Wisconsin have created small ponds in their backyards to
house and grow enough fish to feed their own family. It's a
creative way to live off of the land, and water, and produce
fresh fish without harmful chemicals or toxins from polluted
habitats. Professors in the field of fisheries biology
educate UWSP students on the importance of fish farming, as
well as the importance of eco-friendly fish farming. The
NADF provides services and courses to fish farmers in
Wisconsin, sometimes run by students, to teach people how to
create and maintain their fish ponds with minimal harm to
the Earth. Methods such as fertilizing fish ponds are being
optimized to limit harmful environmental effects while
maximizing fish production. Fisheries students and faculty
members are also working to build wetlands for filtering
water from large fish tanks and other waste waters.
The English department has added its own talents
regarding the subject of "green living." In the fall of
2008, Professor John Coletta's Literature and Ecology
students began writing an "ecothriller," a soap opera-like
chapter book with a focus on sustainability. A new chapter
will be written each semester and students in Coletta's
Environmental and Science Writing class will edit each
chapter as the book is written. Look for "As the Sustainable
World Turns: A Serialized 'Ecothriller' of Life in Stevens
Point, 2050" under the "student initiatives" section of this
website for new chapters as they are finished each semester!
Other areas of the College of Letters and Science are
"going green" by focusing on sustainability or adding "green
tracks" as a part of their curriculum. These include, but
are not limited to, the philosophy major's
environmental ethics
concentration (the very first of its kind in the world),
geography's earth science track, environmental projects
within the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Center, and
the natural science major, which combines a number of
science disciplines. There are many professors within the
college with an interest in the environment as well,
including James Sage, philosophy, Chris Diehm, ethics, and
Keith Rice, GIS.
