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October 4, 2019
The five awardees of the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge convened in New York this month for a packed week of training, networking opportunities and speaking engagements to boost their businesses.
The WE Empower UN SDG Challenge is a first-of-its-kind global business competition for social entrepreneurs who are advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and inspiring entire communities to act to create the world we want by 2030.
October 2, 2019
In lieu of an in-person fall board meeting, we will host a group Zoom meeting. The primary Zoom videoconference session will be held on Friday, October 18th from 1:00 – 2:30 pm (AZ time). A secondary session will be offered for those that cannot attend the first meeting; this will take place on Tuesday, October 29th from 12:00 – 1:30 pm (AZ time).
Please contact Emma Hopson to register for one of these calls.
October 1, 2019
This month's guest, Justin Stewart (@thecrobe), studies air quality and atmospheric microbial communities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He tells us about how he got interested in microbes and about some of the challenges of studying these organisms in the air. He explains how several components of air quality (including ozone, PM2.5, and microbes) vary across the city, how they can affect human health and ecosystem function, and how those air quality might change in the face of extreme weather events and climate change. We discuss what the city has done to combat poor air quality (spoiler: not much) and whether microbes could actually play a role in helping to make the air safer for everyone to breathe.
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.
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Buzzsprout.
October 1, 2019
Researchers from Arizona State University have launched a new project to explore how we reconcile our search for spirituality in a secular age of technoscientific advancements.
Titled “Beyond Secularization: A New Approach to Religion, Science and Technology,” the interdisciplinary initiative has received a $1.7 million grant from the Templeton Religion Trust and has the potential to revolutionize how we understand the intersection of religion, science and technology in public life. It will establish a collaboratory that will include graduate students, postdocs and faculty who will develop and advance new research methods and understandings over the next several years.
October 1, 2019
Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel is the co-founder and chief executive officer of ECOncrete and the 2018 WE Empower UN SDG Challenge awardee from the category of Western Europe and Other Regions. Her revolutionary company has been chosen by Financial Times as a FT Future 25 business for the Middle East region. In a special report, Financial Times focuses on companies that are breaking down barriers in their fields and contributing positively to our world.
October 1, 2019
Marty Anderies, a senior sustainability scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and a professor in the School of Sustainability, was one of several authors of a journal article, "Transnational corporations and the challenge of biosphere stewardship," published in the journal Nature, Ecology & Evolution. According to the authors, transnational corporations are increasingly aligning their business models to support a stable planet.
Medium | September 27, 2019
Since September 20, more than 6 million people have marched worldwide as part of the Global Climate Strikes, spurred on by a youth movement laser focused on making climate policy a priority. In the latest article from Global Futures Laboratory thought leaders, "Why the Youth Movement Matters," Peter Schlosser, Steven Beschloss and Nina Berman look at the wave of young people who are organizing and rallying around the notion that the climate crisis is not a future problem - it is a now problem.
You can read the response on Medium. To ensure you don’t miss any Global Futures Laboratory Medium posts, follow our Medium channel directly, or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn where we announce all new posts.
September 26, 2019
Global outrage over the fires in the Amazon has once again generated a debate about how to take care of our environment. In analyzing the causes of the fires, experts point their fingers at illegal deforestation by individuals and organizations that want to exploit the forest for agriculture, mining and logging.
However, in certain countries such as Argentina, those very same industries (agriculture, mining and logging) are presented as a source of economic salvation. Is it possible to reconcile both worlds or does nature facing a losing battle?
September 25, 2019
P&G is a long-time global advocate of women empowerment and gender parity through various impact programs. The company has spent more than $1.1 billion with women-owned businesses globally. P&G helps empower and shape societal perception of women through its partnership with the Association of National Advertisers and #SeeHer initiative to reflect accurate portrayals of women in girls in advertising and media.
Why does P&G support Gender Equality?
As one of the largest advertisers in the world, P&G seeks to use its voice to be a force for good by tackling gender bias and sparking conversations that lead to change through their advertisements. Arguably the most well-known is the #LikeAGirl campaign by the brand Always, turning the phrase “like a girl” from an insult into an inspiring and empowering message through the award-winning advertisement that captured the attention of millions.
View Source | September 24, 2019
Michael Brown, Samantha Cheng and Jim Tolisano, along with dozens of conservation and development researchers and practitioners representing ASU's Conservation Solutions Lab, have penned a new opinion piece, released September 24, 2019, on Mongabay. The scientists call for a crucial change in the way conservation efforts are undertaken.
The scientists argue that conservation efforts must specifically engage frontline communities – those people intimately situated in and around landscapes targeted for conservation – and elevate their role such that they can take the lead in planning and directing nature conservation.
Co-developing solutions with frontline communities requires groups that fund, implement and research conservation to revise their role and approach. In addition, learning from community experiences and adapting solutions over time can improve conservation efforts globally.
September 23, 2019
ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber recently coauthored a letter on Science titled “Solve the biodiversity crisis with funding.”
In the letter, Gerber and a team of conservation scientists from other universities and representatives from Defenders of Wildlife call on Congress to fully fund wildlife conservation programs to protect imperiled species.
September 22, 2019
On September 21, Arizona State University and the City of Tempe conducted Tempe’s first Heat Walk: a community event orchestrated to help city officials and ASU researchers understand how residents experience heat in their neighborhoods, parks and multi-use paths. According to Jennifer Vanos, an assistant professor in the School of Sustainability and senior sustainability scientist the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, “Our goal is to ensure that public spaces that are meant to be used for activity, play and active transport are thermally comfortable and safe from extreme heat for as much of the day and year as possible."
September 22, 2019
Leah Lizarondo knows the farm-to-table connection is broken. Too many people are food insecure, and yet too many organizations lack the logistical know how and manpower to rescue unsellable, but perfectly good, food. Instead, that food gets thrown away. In droves.
That’s where Lizarondo’s 412 Food Rescue comes into play.
412 Food Rescue uses its technology to recover food from national retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, caterers, universities and more, and redirects that food to nonprofits and community organizations who distribute it to their beneficiaries. The food they’re picking up isn’t just any food: 412 Food Rescue only redirects fresh, perishable food – the healthy stuff.
September 21, 2019
The Project Cities-Glendale partnership is now entering its the second year, collaborating with Arizona State University students and faculty on contemporary sustainability challenges in the community. Over the last year, we have completed five projects, working with eight ASU classes, eight faculty and 108 students. The past projects covered an array of topics, including sustainable facilities, above-ground storage tank safety and compliance, fleet electrification, community engagement and social media policy.
September 20, 2019
ASU-Conservation International Professor of Practice Jack Kittinger, along with a team of experts from The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and California Environmental Associates have built a research agenda on Blue Water Marine Protected Areas via a report titled "Developing a Shared Research Agenda for Blue Water MPAs."
Blue Water MPAs are open ocean areas designated to protect marine biodiversity and other cultural and natural resources. The efficacy of marine reserves varies greatly depending on where they are located and how they are managed.
September 20, 2019
Time is precious — the absence of it and the way we spend it affects our families and our communities. Around the world, millions are spending their precious time walking long distances every day to collect an equally precious resource: water. Christelle Kwizera is disrupting that.
Christelle knows water access is a fundamental human right. And she knows that the burden of finding water falls disproportionately on women: women spend 40 billion hours every year gathering water. 40. BILLION.
September 19, 2019
Beth Polidoro, ASU New College professor and Center for Biodiversity Outcomes associate director of biodiversity valuation and assessments, was featured in an ASU Now article about her ambition to mitigate microplastics and pollutants in our oceans.
With the help of her Salt Water Assessment Team, Polidoro has made progressive strides in alleviating the plastic pollution problem through her research on contaminants found in seafood.
ASU Now | September 18, 2019
People are killing coral reefs.
These reefs — some worth $1 million per square kilometer per year — are being destroyed by overdevelopment of coastlines, improper disposal of sewage, overfishing, ocean acidification due to climate change, and many other human activities. In addition to that, these reefs are poorly mapped, limiting our understanding of them.
Enter Greg Asner and Robin Martin.
September 16, 2019
Although she was raised to love and care for the environment, Andie Wilkerson almost didn’t study sustainability.
“Going into college, I didn't even realize sustainability was an option,” Wilkerson said. “I applied to ASU intending to be an environmental engineering major, but two weeks before orientation, I discovered the school of sustainability through the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability's website.” Wilkerson read about the program and by the time she was done, she had decided to change her major.
ASU Now | September 16, 2019
The National Academy of Public Administration has inducted Nicole Darnall, associate dean and professor in Arizona State University's School of Sustainability, into its 2019 class of fellows. Darnall is one of eight NAPA fellows from ASU. An induction into NAPA is one of the highest honors of a public administration official.
Established by Congress in 1967, the nonpartisan NAPA conducts work for federal cabinet departments and agencies, aiming to “improve governance and advance the field of public administration,” by focusing on intergovernmental evaluation, financial management, strategic planning, organization assessment, performance management and human capital.
