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ASU Now | February 7, 2020
Despite the near universal consensus confirming the phenomenon of climate change, climate skepticism still poses a significant barrier to developing more environmentally conscious policies. One particular segment of the population — the Christian right — is the most skeptical major religious group in America regarding climate change. However, the reasons behind their skepticism are not what one would expect.
February 7, 2020
On February 5th, 2020 ASU students, faculty, and city staff met at Peoria City Hall for the spring 2020 kickoff event with Project Cities. In the Council Chambers, Erick Strunk, Deputy City Manager, opened the occasion with a warm welcome and stressed the great value the students’ work promises to bring the city. Jay Davies, Chief of Staff at the City Manager’s office, took over from there, with his memorable Peoria Trivia game, full of unique and unexpected factoids about the area, and questions to test the students on their knowledge of the city’s population, demographics, urban development plans and more. Right as the students were getting ready for group photos, City Manager, Jeff Tyne made a surprise appearance to introduce himself briefly, and thank the students personally for their hard work.
ASU Now | February 7, 2020
Arizona State University is offering a unique new degree that will teach students from any background how to launch a successful venture.
The Master of Science in innovation and venture development is a transdisciplinary partnership among three schools at ASU: The Design School in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the W. P. Carey School of Business and the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering.
The one-year, on-campus program, which is now accepting applications, will be experiential. Students will participate in several intensive studio courses and work in teams, according to Cheryl Heller, the director of design integration, a joint position among the business, engineering and design schools.
February 6, 2020
We talk with two researchers, Dr. Nazli Uludere Aragon and PhD student Michelle Stuhlmacher (@MFStuhlmacher on Twitter) about their recent publication, “Urban agriculture’s bounty: contributions to Phoenix’s sustainability goals.” The researchers explain what Phoenix’s sustainability goals currently are, how and where to develop agriculture in a desert city. We talk about how urban agriculture in Phoenix can get so-called food desert communities access to fruits and vegetables that they do not currently have, and how to balance demands for low water usage with a desire for a greener city. Our guests wrote a haiku to summarize their paper: Urban farms provide the bounty of the garden, open space, clean air.
Urban farms provide
the bounty of the garden,
open space, clean air.
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher 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.
February 5, 2020
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Assistant Research Professor Katie Cramer recently co-authored a paper in Ecography titled the “Millennial‐scale change in the structure of a Caribbean reef ecosystem and the role of human and natural disturbance.”
Abstract:
Caribbean coral reefs have transformed into algal‐dominated habitats over the past half‐century, but the role of specific anthropogenic drivers is unresolved due to the lack of ecosystem‐level data predating human disturbance.
February 4, 2020
Pakistan. Somalia. Ethiopia. Kenya. Locust swarms of near biblical proportions are currently wreaking havoc across a wide swath of southwest Asia and east Africa.
According to the United Nations, the swarms are the largest in Somalia and Ethiopia in 25 years, and the most severe in Kenya in 70 years. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Pakistan’s special assistant to the prime minister for information and broadcasting, called the infestation the “worst in more than two decades.” Both Pakistan and Somalia have declared national emergencies as they struggle to contain the impact of the pests' invasion. As a testament to the significance of the threat, Somalia’s Ministry of Agriculture warned that the locusts posed “a major threat to Somalia’s fragile food security situation.” It was a sentiment echoed by Qu Dongyu, director-general of the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization.
February 4, 2020
This blog post was written by ASU graduate student Sarah Lemon. In addition to studying Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership at ASU, Sarah is a beginning rancher, who just finished a 9-month apprenticeship in sustainable livestock production at the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in the Hudson Valley of NY.
They say, “good fences, make good neighbors,” and while that may be true, I can say for certain that in Wilcox, Arizona, “good neighbors, make good fences” and other good choices that support sustainability. Nowhere is this more evident than at the C Bar Ranch where Tina Thompson and her family are hard at work raising angus beef cattle.
February 3, 2020
Applications are open through April 15, 2020, for the third annual Everything Change global climate fiction contest. The Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative at Arizona State University—a partnership of the Center for Science and the Imagination and the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing—seeks short stories that help us imagine how humans can live within Earth’s planetary boundaries—at the individual level, yes, but more importantly at the level of organizations, communities, and societies, and at the level of a global human civilization.
Submissions must be 5,000 words or less. All genres of short fiction are welcome.
Medium | February 3, 2020
Across the globe, wildfires continue to occur with increasing frequency and higher intensity. The world watched in shock as the still-burning flames in Australia engulfed thousands of homes, scorched millions of acres and burned alive more than a billion animals. The unprecedented disaster has experts worried.
In the latest thought leader piece from the Global Futures Laboratory, "A world on fire: Will we respond?," Peter Schlosser, Clea Edwards, Steven Beschloss, Nina Berman and Upmanu Lall discuss the impacts of the devastating fires in Australia and our collective responsibility to act. "It is the responsibility of all of us — Australian or not — to take this staggering moment to work for change on a global scale," they say.
February 3, 2020
Early Friday morning on January 31, 2020, 17 sleepy masters students in PUP 580: Planning Workshop, disembarked from a large gray charter bus to Clarkdale, Arizona. After two hours on the road, the ASU students, with their professors Meagan Ehlenz and Kim Kanuho, headed into the Old Memorial Clubhouse to meet with town leadership for the spring semester Project Cities kick-off. Project Cities’ kickoff events offer an initial opportunity for students and faculty to interact with town staff, set the tone for the semester, and get everyone started off on the right foot. Sipping coffee in the cool, crisp air, the students were eager to gain additional information and perspective for their developing projects. This spring, these students will work with Clarkdale to develop downtown revitalization plans focused on their historic business district and the 89A commercial corridor.
February 2, 2020
The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and Global Futures Laboratory joined with the East West Center and Ka WaiWai collective in Hawaii on Saturday, February 1 to promote sustainability solutions from women innovators and entrepreneurs involved with the WE Empower United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Challenge.
February 1, 2020
AASHE, The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, will present a Sustainability Across the Curriculum Leadership Workshop at San Diego State University on June 3 to 4, 2020. This intensive workshop teaches faculty to introduce and expand sustainability in their curricula.
To apply to attend the workshop, see the application here. For ASU faculty, the opportunity qualifies for the Sustainabiltiy Curriculum Incentive.
Science Direct | February 1, 2020
As we continue to witness the devastating impacts of climate change, there is a consensus that we as a human population need to transition to a more sustainable way of living. But with so many ideas and proposals, how do we decide which pathways are best? Experts from Arizona State University have created a tool to help: The Sustainable Future Scenarios (SFS).
According to a new paper published in the journal of Landscape and Urban Planning, "The co-production of sustainable future scenarios," the SFS “offers guidance to co-produce visions and transition pathways of positive futures that develop and integrate interventions for sustainability transformations of social-ecological-technological systems.”
January 31, 2020
This article was written by William H. Walker VI, a sophomore in the School of Sustainability.
Modern consumers have lost touch with how food is more than a commodity and brings more than nutritional value. Cultural, spiritual, ecological and community values are bound up in everything we eat. For food systems to be more sustainable, consumers need to embrace indigenous and place-based food narratives that foster more equitable food systems.
To push back against the common narrative of food for nutrition’s sake, the Wisdom of Indigenous Foodways conference highlighted uplifting agricultural, social and sustainable narratives from the indigenous community.
January 31, 2020
At the Wrigley Lecture held on January 30 at Arizona State University, climate leader Christiana Figueres said extreme events like the Australian wildfires are foretelling of things to come if we continue to sleepwalk into the future. "That world is possible, but it is not inevitable," she said.
Figueres is recognized internationally as a diplomatic leader on climate change. From 2010 to 2016, she was executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. During her tenure, Figueres brought together national and sub-national governments, corporations and activists, financial institutions and NGOs to deliver the historic Paris Agreement on climate change. To accelerate the global response to climate change, Figueres founded Global Optimism Ltd., a purpose-driven enterprise focused on social and environmental change. On February 25, 2020, Figueres is launching her new book, "The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis."
January 31, 2020
2020 is a watershed year for women. It marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, the 20th anniversary for the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the 10th anniversary of UN Women and the Women’s Empowerment Principles. However, despite all efforts to date, no country in the world has completely achieved gender equality. Latest data from the World Economic Forum estimates it will take another 257 years to reach economic equality.
January 31, 2020
We're looking forward to the board meeting on February 17th and 18th. While we celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, we quickly turn our focus to influencing the next 15 years. The meeting agenda is on the board website. Reminder: password is "board." Please contact Emma Hopson (ehopson@asu.edu) with questions.
January 30, 2020
Inspired by his passions for nature and correcting social inequities, and fueled by his alarm at the climate crisis, Cameron Chavez Reed began his Arizona State University career determined to obtain a degree that would enable him to make a difference.
“I knew I wanted to study something that could make a difference and integrate the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability into a single program,” Reed said. “ASU’s School of Sustainability has provided me this opportunity: a program that incorporates the social, political, economic, and natural ecological aspects of the incredibly diverse and complex issue that is sustainability.”
January 27, 2020
With Hurricane Dorian threatening in late August 2019, staff from Arizona State University traveled to Norfolk, Virginia to investigate and film flooding due to the climate crisis. Norfolk is the site of the largest Naval base in the world and vital to U.S. national security. The city is also the first location in the U.S. where the threats and complications from sea level rise began in earnest.
This nine-minute documentary was produced by Steven Beschloss for the Global Futures Laboratory and co-produced, shot and edited by Kirk Davis for Knowledge Enterprise.
January 27, 2020
A food summit co-sponsored by Arizona State University brought indigenous voices to the forefront of a conversation about transforming our food system.
The ASU Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Food Tank and the University of Hawaii, West Oahu partnered for the inaugural Food Tank Summit, “The Wisdom of Indigenous Foodways." The event, which took place on January 22 at ASU Skysong, featured 22 speakers, almost all of them Native American or Native Hawaiian. Indigenous celebrity chefs Mariah Gladstone and Sean Sherman, founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef, were also present.
