Research Interests
My research explores how individuals, organizations, and societies—from pre-agricultural to contemporary—make choices that affect the environment, which, in turn, affects them. An overarching theme is an effort to understand the general disjunction between stated, widespread environmental concern and present-day actions, lifestyles, and policies. In this vein, a major focus is developing a framework for transparently evaluating and illuminating the tradeoffs among alternative policies, projects, and product designs under conditions where limited information, risk, conflict, lack of scientific consensus, and multiple and incommensurable evaluation criteria predominate. I also use this evolving framework to assist schools, communities, organizations, and businesses in their efforts to promote ecological and cultural (ecocultural) sustainability by doing more with less.
In January of 2005, he completed a 12kW research/education PV array that is being used to assess the life-cycle costs of three types of PV panels, which represent the three leading PV technologies (single crystal, polycrystalline, and amorphous). Glasser also leads an innovative, inquiry and project-based learning initiative to develop energy education for sustainable development curriculum for K-12 students in Michigan.
Selected Publications
Glasser, H. Bringing the Search for Wisdom Back to Life: Conversations with Arne Naess on His Philosophy and Deep Ecology. Heidelberg, Germany: Springer, forthcoming 2007.
Glasser, H. “Minding the Gap: The Role of Social Learning in Linking Our Stated Desire for a More Sustainable World to Our Everyday Actions and Policies. In A. E. J. Wals, ed., Social Learning: Toward a More Sustainable World. Tokyo: United Nations University Press, forthcoming 2007.
Glasser, H. (Series Editor). The Selected Works of Arne Naess (10 volumes; 3650 pages). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer, 2005. (For an overview of Naess’s philosophical contribution and development, see the “Series Editor’s Introduction: Arne Naess—A Wandering Wonderer,” pp. xi-lv, which appears in each volume).
Glasser, H. “The Sustainability Challenge: Higher Education for a Higher Purpose.” Heartstone 6 (2005): 23-31.
Glasser, H. “Learning Our Way to a Sustainable and Desirable World: Some Ideas Inspired by Arne Naess and Deep Ecology.” In Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability: Problematics, Promise, and Practice, ed. A. E. J. Wals and P. B. Corcoran. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic, 2004, pp. 131-148.
Glasser, H. and A. Nixon. “From the State of the World to the State of the State of the Academy: Campus Sustainability Assessment—A Bright Star on the Horizon.” The University Leaders for a Sustainable Future Declaration (Winter 2002/3), pp. 6-10.
Glasser, H. “Introduction” to Arne Naess’s Life’s Philosophy: Reason and Feeling in a Deeper World. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002, pp. xiii-xxxi.
Glasser, H. “Murky Grades on Campus Sustainability: A Survey Reveals a Widespread Unwillingness to Make the Environment a High Priority.” Association of Governing Boards Trusteeship March/April (2002): 34-35.
Glasser, H. “Deep Ecology.” In the International Encycopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences, ed. N. J. Smelser and P. B. Bates. Oxford: Pergamon, 2001, pp. 4041-4045.
Glasser, H. and P. P. Craig. “All of Keynes’ Horses...: The Need for End-Goal Driven Assessment of Ecosystem Services.” Ecological Economics 29 (1999): 321-327.
Glasser, H. “Ethical Perspectives and Environmental Policy Analysis.” In Handbook of Environmental and Resource Economics, ed. Jeroen van den Bergh. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 1999, pp. 981-1000. |
