The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee on Advancing a Systems Approach to Studying the Earth: A Strategy for the National Science Foundation. The committee has been tasked to develop a compelling vision for a systems approach to studying the Earth in order to inform approaches to integrated research at NSF and to provide guidance as to how NSF can support the research community. The final report will also identify the facilities, infrastructure, coordinating mechanisms, computing, and workforce development needed to support a more integrated approach for studying components of the earth system.

The committee seeks feedback from the scientific community across all components of the Earth system to considered—including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, and the individuals, institutions, and technologies that respond to and influence these dynamics—as will their interactions and feedbacks through time. Your answers to this questionnaire will help the authoring committee better understand the range of issues associated with this complex topic.

The questionnaire is now available and can be found here. Please share among your networks as well. Your input is greatly appreciated!

Join us for a special discussion led by Kristin Baja of USDN with city staff from Salt Lake City, UT and Fort Collins, CO as they highlight how focusing on racial equity and climate justice in local plan and policy development helps lay the foundation for a more equitable and resilient community.

The Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN) is working to restructure and rethink how local governments plan and implement projects by working at the nexus of equity, resilience, and greenhouse gas mitigation. USDN staff and members have developed guidance to overhaul the typical government process and center racial equity and climate justice in plan and policy development as well as implementation by 1) centering corrective action and 2) shifting power to frontline communities to create an equitable and resilient society.

The Nexus Guidance turns traditional planning efforts on their heads and reshapes how we approach planning including Climate Action Plans (CAPs), Hazard Mitigation Plans (HMPs), and Capital Investment Projects (CIPs).

With more Arizona cities beginning CAP and HMP processes, we have the opportunity to learn from USDN’s Nexus work to ensure Arizona government plans and projects are developed through a truly equity-centered approach.

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On Thursday, October 15, 2020, 10:00-11:00 a.m. PDT, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and the Conservation Innovation Lab will host a talk by Newcastle University Research Associate Louise Mair, PhD. Mair will talk about the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) Metric.

STAR is a novel metric that quantifies the potential contribution that threat abatement and habitat restoration actions could make to reducing global species extinction risk. 

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On Tuesday, October 6, 2020, 12:15-2:00 p.m. PDT, ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber hosted a panel discussion on “Industry Partnerships for Biodiversity Outcomes: Measuring private sector contributions toward mitigating biodiversity loss.”

This presentation was originally held on September 21 as part of the United Nations Global Compact’s Uniting Business LIVE (September 21-23), which marked the opening of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly. Due to technical difficulties during the UN conference and by popular demand we presented the session once again.

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“Don’t be afraid to be different and remember your difference is your strength”

Alison Price—Founder & Managing Director of SoilCyclers Pty Ltd, Queensland, Australia

2020 Australasian WE Empower Awardee

Alison Price understands the struggles of being a woman entering the Australian construction industry. While trying to break into one of the most male-dominated industries in Australia, Price was building a company that emphasized the need for recycling industrial waste when “sustainability just wasn’t trendy.” Despite these hurdles, her company has grown significantly and offers various services from topsoil amelioration to mobile composting and soil remediation. WE Empower intern, Revere Wood, interviewed Alison Price and elaborates on her company’s impact on the UN SDG’s.

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Lee Gutkind has made several costume changes in his life. The fatigues of the U.S. Coast Guard. The leather of a biker. The black T-shirt of a beatnik. The tweed of a college professor. But through it all, one thing has remained the same: He is a writer.

This month, at age 75, the SFIS professor published his memoir, “My Last Eight Thousand Days: An American Male in his Seventies,” a deeply personal reflection on the journey that brought him to where he is now, revealing all the discomforts of his latest costume change — that of an older man.

Gutkind will discuss the book with sustainability scholar Steven Beschloss, director of ASU’s Narrative Storytelling Initiative, in a live Zoom event co-hosted by Changing Hands Bookstore at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20. An excerpt from the book is available to read now at the online magazine Transformations, a collaboration between the Narrative Storytelling Initiative and the Los Angeles Review of Books that features essays inspired by the belief that sharing transformative stories has the power to influence the trajectory of our lives.

Sustainability scientists Faheem Hussain, Mary Jane Parmentier and Laura Hosman recently conducted a webinar with USAID. The webinar, Digital Strategies for Offline Communities: Cases and Lessons from the Field, shared research-based insights and lessons learned from various approaches to digital engagement in education and with vulnerable populations, including refugees and rural communities.

The webinar was the second provided as part of USAID's DigiKnow series. Read about the collaboration and find links to both webinars here.

As global environmental issues are increasingly coordinated through international negotiations, new methods are needed to engage citizens worldwide in the policy-making processes. Sustainability scientist Netra Chhetri and co-authors draw insight about citizens' views on issues of climate and energy through quantitative analysis of the data from World Wide Views.

A new paper, Global citizen deliberation: Case of world-wide views on climate and energy, has been published in the December 2020 issue of Energy Policy. The abstract follows.

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Renee Bhatti-Klug, ASU’s Senior University International Educator, provides training to faculty and staff on building inclusive environments for our culturally and linguistically diverse student population. Concurrently, she is a doctoral student in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College (MLFTC) at ASU, working under the supervision of Dr. Audrey Beardsley, a faculty member in MLFTC.

Bhatti-Klug's research focuses on increasing cultural intelligence among university faculty through intercultural competence training. She is hoping to work with four culturally competent-curious faculty members who would be willing and able to participate in the Global Advocacy Certificate Program (GACP) during the spring and fall of 2021.

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Pedestrian deaths in the United States have risen by 50% since 2009, with over 6,000 pedestrians dying in 2018 alone. In this month's episode, Stephen Elser (@stephen_elser) talks with our guest, Angie Schmitt (@schmangee), about her recent book addressing some of the factors that have led to this silent epidemic. She explains how marginalized groups tend to be most vulnerable to traffic violence and how systemic racism keeps these communities in dangerous situations. She tells us how design principles in our cities have totally changed over time from being pedestrian-focused to being car-focused, and what that means for pedestrian safety. They also discuss what role autonomous vehicles play in current and future conditions on our streets and how the cars we drive affect pedestrian safety. 

Listen on iTunes, StitcherGoogle Podcasts, Spotify, or Buzzsprout.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, e-mail us at futurecitiespodcast@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @FutureCitiesPod. Learn more about the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN) at www.sustainability.asu.edu/urbanresilience.

The University Senate Student-Faculty Policy Committee has requested that faculty be reminded of the Spring 2020 Senate-approved Resolution 2020-74 for supporting voting removal of barriers for students. The committee worked diligently with ASU student government on the proposal for relief of academic work on election day. All faculty are urged to demonstrate support for students’ participation in voting by using their discretion when considering the dates of elections when planning course calendars and due dates and when considering excused absences, make-up assignments or testing on election days.

With the unique circumstances posed by Covid-19 and other considerations, it is anticipated that students may need to stand in line for long periods to vote. During past election days, students have been faced with making the difficult decision of leaving the polls and not voting in order to attend class. Students may choose not to vote to avoid penalties imposed by faculty for missing class and/or not submitting assessments that are due on election day. As faculty, we acknowledge that students may face these and other barriers to voting on election day and we do not wish to suppress any citizen's participation in voting or create barriers to students exercising their civic right and responsibility to vote. The University Senate remains committed to protecting the academic freedom of faculty and maintaining excellence in teaching while allowing students to exercise their right to vote.

Please communicate this resolution with faculty in your units. Questions related can be directed to Scott Day, Chairperson of the University Senate Student-Faculty Policy Committee.

On October 6, 2020, 6:00-7:00 p.m., via Zoom, ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Associate Center Director and School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Marine Conservation Beth Polidoro will be delivering a talk to Nature at ASU students on the IUCN Red List training center at ASU.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species is the world’s global standard for measuring and monitoring species extinction risk. During this talk, students will learn about ASU’s formal partnership with the IUCN, including our Red List of Species and Red List of Ecosystems assessment activities, as well as our local and global Red List training initiatives.

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In a shared effort to support increased access and affordability to high-quality learning experiences, Pearson is partnering with ASU to provide access for all enrolled ASU students to all Pearson eText and premium digital courseware products (i.e. MyLabs, Mastering and Revel) at no cost. According to the College Board, the average college student spends more than $1,200 on books and materials (Kristof, 2018). As these titles will be free of cost to all students whether Online or On-campus, faculty who opt-in to the offer will enable a reduction in textbook expenses.

Only textbooks that are available on Pearson’s new eText platform are included. Availability of titles will continue to expand rapidly but will not include old editions or books out-of-publication. In addition to becoming free, the distribution of the titles through the digital eText also ensures seamless access for students. With the launch of Pearson eText 2.0, students will now be able to access their course materials without leaving Canvas. This will allow for material access on day one of classes for all students, both international and domestic, regardless of where the students reside. The easy-to-use, Pearson eText will allow students to continue learning no matter where their day takes them.

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The Hindu, one of the main newspapers in India, has published an invited opinion piece by sustainability scientist Marco Janssen. In the piece, Janssen argues that we need to facilitate the self-governance of local commons, but provide safeguards at various levels.

When we want to manage shared resources, we need to balance both private and public interests. Global commons refer to shared resources that cannot be managed within national jurisdictions. The spread of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19; greenhouse gas emissions; biodiversity reduction; overfishing; and the accumulation of plastic waste are some of the problems within the scope of global commons.

To manage our global commons, we need to facilitate and accommodate the self-governance of local commons, but provide safeguards at different levels to avoid exploitation and manage risks. Governing the global commons is the defining challenge for current and future generations.

Janssen is a professor in ASU's College of Global Futures and president of the International Association for the Study of the Commons. Read the full article at The Hindu.

As part of the United Nations Global Compact’s Uniting Business LIVE (September 21-23), marine conservation experts joined a panel discussion titled "Ocean Hope Spots: A panel discussion on marine protected areas with leading experts"

The expert panel was composed of Sylvia Earle from Mission Blue;  ‘Aulani Wilhelm from Conservation International; and Lance Morgan from the Marine Conservation Institute.  

The panel discussion was followed by a conversation on innovative sustainability initiatives by Mark Kaplan from Envisible and an audience Q & A session facilitated by ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber.

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Today, ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber co-authored a new BioScience publication titled "Ecological Synthesis and Its Role in Advancing Knowledge."

Abstract

Synthesis has become ubiquitous in ecology. Despite its widespread application to a broad range of research topics, it remains unclear how synthesis has affected the discipline.

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The ASU Laboratory for Energy And Power Solutions (LEAPS) and several ASU faculty have been working with the Center for Strategic Policy Innovation for several months to develop ways to enhance renewable energy development opportunities in medium-size cities across the U.S. The LEAPS lab is led by sustainability scientist Nathan Johnson.

After substantial discussion and refinement, LEAPS is ready to introduce the Clean Growth Incubator Template and webinar-enhanced training Platform.

The event has a vital goal: to kick-start significant economic development and job creation at the local level through the build-out of clean, renewable energy. It especially targets local government leaders, urban planning professionals and clean energy experts. Learn more and register.

Thank you to all of the Global Futures faculty and researchers who participated in last week’s UN Global Compact. The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory was able to showcase 142 faculty, staff and external partners to an international audience across 36 hours of programming specific to sustainable development, planetary systems, innovation, complexity and global futures.

You can find all of the recorded content on the UNGC YouTube Channel and we encourage you to share these sessions with your networks as it pertains to the advancement of your research.

In 2018 the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) named Arizona State University as its primary location to house a national biorepository for the next 30 years. Hundreds of thousands of biological samples collected over the next three decades from 81 field sites across the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, are to be curated by ASU’s Biodiversity Knowledge Integration Center (BioKIC) and Natural History Collections and be made available to the greater scientific community. Nico Franz is the principal investigator.

According to Franz, ASU Biocollections and the NEON Biorepository has just completed phase one of physical renovations, with the addition of a nearly 4,000 square feet of "cryo collections" space, for NEON organismal and environmental samples stored at -80 degrees and in liquid nitrogen. Read about the original grant on ASU Now.

The National Science Foundation has issued program solicitation NSF 20-611, Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks (SRS RNs). Full proposals are due by January 11, 2021.

NSF will hold an informational webinar on October 27, 2020, from 2:30-3:30 pm EST to discuss the SRS RNs solicitation and answer questions. Webinar registration and more information.

The United States is made up of regional systems comprising interdependent urban and rural systems and every community category between urban and rural. Urban systems are dependent on rural systems for the provisioning of food, energy, water, and other materials and natural resources, while rural systems are dependent on urban systems for markets, manufactured goods, and medical resources. These systems are also connected by ecological processes that both influence and are influenced by human behavior. The vital interconnection of urban-rural systems underscores the critical need for the advancement of sustainable regional systems (SRS). The goal of this solicitation is to fund convergent research and education that will advance sustainable regional systems science, engineering, and education to facilitate the transformation of current regional systems to enhance sustainability. To further the advancement of SRS science, engineering, and education, NSF will support Full Scale proposals and Planning Grant proposals for Sustainable Regional Systems Research Networks (SRS RNs).

Read more at NSF.gov.