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August 31, 2022
Osvaldo Sala of Arizona State University, Tempe partnered with Richard Phillips from the University of Indiana, Bloomington and Melinda Smith of Colorado State University to tackle the intersection of climate change and applied drought studies, presenting findings at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Montreal. Science recently published an article on this study and its impact.
August 29, 2022
The Sustainable Cities Network (SCN) Steering Committee is a group of Arizona's leading representatives and Arizona State University experts pursuing sustainability initiatives. The committee shares their best practices to encourage collaborative action for each city, town, county, or tribal community. You can read more about the committee and its members here.
This week, we’re highlighting Steering Committee Chair Laura Hyneman! Laura began her journey with sustainability through her career as an architect in St. Louis and later moved to Mesa. She recalls Mesa’s “fast growing community” inspiring her to become a certified urban planner. Six years ago, she joined Mesa’s passionate Environmental & Sustainability team and began participating with SCN.
August 29, 2022
To highlight some of Project Cities' star students and faculty, PC staff sat down to interview Gabby La Caria, an undergraduate student in the School of Social Transformation. With a double major in Justice Studies and Public Service and Public Policy, Gabby is focusing on law and policy, hoping to attend law school in the future. She is interested in racial and social justice and wants to pursue constitutional law since it affects everyday people.
August 25, 2022
Sarah Queen joins SPRI as our new Graduate Research Assistant for the 2022-2023 academic year. Sarah is currently working on her Masters in Sustainability Solutions in the School of Sustainability. She has a background in non-profit marketing, zero-waste, startups, and corporate sustainability efforts and is interested in studying ESG and how corporations can be more sustainable. Sarah, bringing her past experience, develops social media and blog posts for SPRI as well as contributing to other projects. Please join us in welcoming her to the team!
August 22, 2022
By: Allison Perkins, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
It was an honor for our graduate cohort to meet with Deputy Secretary of USDA, Dr. Jewel Bronaugh, during our DC Immersive trip. As a graduate student of Sustainable Food Systems, I was inspired by Dr. Bronaugh’s intersectional work which I can learn from to enhance impact across my academic, professional, and personal life. Deputy Secretary Bronaugh spoke as both a leader and compassionate individual aligned with our cohort’s mission to drive sustainable food systems. Bronaugh created space for an open dialogue to discuss our backgrounds and experiences as we learned from her wealth of knowledge in agricultural policy. The meeting was unique, and it was quickly evident that being Deputy Secretary of USDA is not just a job for Dr. Bronaugh but a role she takes responsibility for and accomplishes with grace.
August 17, 2022
To highlight some of Project Cities' star students, PC staff sat down to interview Shrut Kirti Chawla, a recent master’s graduate from The Polytechnic School Environmental and Resource Management program! With a background in biotechnology, Shrut enrolled in the ERM program to pursue her passion for environmental health and safety. As a student, Shrut was the Vice President of the Environmental & Resource Management Club at ASU, as well as a Safety in the Built Environment office assistant.
August 15, 2022
By: Deborah Sadler, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
On Tuesday, May 10th, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Chief Scientist for Resilience and Food Security, Dr. Rob Bertram, came to the ASU campus in Washington D.C., where I had the privilege of being amongst the Sustainable Food Systems graduate students to hear him speak. He explained the history and work of the Feed the Future program, the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, and the challenges that lie ahead in combating global hunger. Dr. Bertram has worked with USAID for over twenty years, where he draws on his expertise in plant genetics and his international experience to find scientific solutions to hunger and malnutrition.
August 10, 2022
By: Keith Arnold, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
Before my visit to our nation’s capital for our food policy course, my opinion regarding lobbyists, admittedly from an uninformed perspective, was of someone paid to push their company’s product or issue ahead of others. I didn’t know what it took to have a voice on Capitol Hill that carried weight to influence real change. However, this DC immersive trip was richly informative as our guest speakers were full of perspective, insight, rigor, intelligence, drive, and personality. Getting an industry insider perspective on discussions with policymakers was eye-opening. We were all thankful for their time and their invitation to join the cause to pursue change in the food system.
August 10, 2022
As a leader in sustainable solid waste, the City of Peoria is always on the cutting edge of sustainable solid waste management. As part of a larger Solid Waste Management project portfolio, the City of Peoria has worked with ASU Project Cities on three solid waste projects, including Textiles & EPS, E-Waste, and Biomass Gasification.
August 7, 2022
By Abigail Martone-Richards, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
During our cohort’s DC immersive program, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Kumar Chandran, a USDA Senior Advisor focusing on nutrition under Secretary Vilsack. This isn’t Mr. Chandran’s first foray at USDA; he previously served as Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services in the Obama Administration. Just prior to his most recent position, however, he served as Policy Director for the national nonprofit, FoodCorps. Chandran’s current appointment to USDA is significant for a number of reasons including President Biden’s (and Secretary Vilsack’s) commitment to a more diverse government. But it is really Chandran’s expertise in food policy that is so vital to the department, especially after it had endured four years of unique challenges and setbacks under the Trump administration.
August 4, 2022
By: Eleanor Ross, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
They say never meet your heroes, but that is only because they haven’t had the pleasure of speaking with Janie Hipp. One of the biggest highlights of our DC Immersive trip was sitting down with the General Counsel for the USDA. A hugely important and impressive role, the General Counsel is tasked with legal services and oversight across the USDA mission and programs. While the gravitas of this position can be intimidating, our time with Janie Hipp was filled with honesty, humor, and passion.
August 1, 2022
Foundation Professor Stuart Bretschneider and co-founder of Arizona State University’s Sustainable Purchasing Research Initiative (SPRI) retired in June 2022. Prof. Bretschneider was instrumental to the creation of SPRI, its community, and the students he advised. His numerous publications and the many students he graduated illustrate his deep commitment to research and student mentorship, and his fundamental desire to improve how public organizations function. We are fortunate, indeed, that Prof. Bretschneider was part of SPRI’s day-to-day activities. We are also grateful that he will continue to engage with SPRI faculty and students on their research, all while taking time for things he enjoys most!
August 1, 2022
By: Jane Coghlan, Swette Center Food Systems Specialist.
It was an overcast day in mid-July when I turned onto the gravel road leading me to the Grain Place Farm in central Nebraska. As I turned, I slowed down to take notice of the familiar sign that reads: “How your food is produced does matter.” On this special day, there was a field day being hosted on the farm to invite the public to learn about their farming methods. Attendees also had the opportunity to take a tour of their grain processing facility, have lunch prepared by Indigenous chef Anthony Warrior, and hear from guest speakers Paul Schiefer from Amy’s Kitchen and Kellee James from Mercaris. A large and diverse crowd gathered on the farm which was composed of farmers, researchers, artists, foodies, local community members, and lots of others from various backgrounds. Despite their differences, they all had one thing in common: an interest in the connection between agriculture and planetary health.
July 27, 2022
To highlight some of Project Cities star students and faculty, PC staff sat down to interview Jade Bravo. As part of the culminating experience for her Master’s of Public Policy, Jade worked with Peoria’s Water Services Director, Cape Powers, to research tiered water pricing as a water conservation strategy.
July 25, 2022
By Tucker Larson, Swette Center student worker.
It’s no secret that agriculture uses a large percentage of our Earth’s fresh water supply. In Arizona, 74% of fresh water is used for agricultural purposes. That number has been as high as 90% in the mid to late 1900’s. The decrease in water consumption in Arizona’s agricultural sector can be explained by the ever-expanding urban sprawl as well as improved irrigation technologies. In 1973, Construction of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) began. The project, which ended in 1993, ensured a substantial amount of water that allowed for continued growth in residential, industrial and agricultural sectors. For CAP to go forward, Arizona renounced their water rights to the Colorado River from senior to junior status. This means that as soon as water restrictions begin to come into effect, Arizona will be the first to feel them. The Colorado River provides a large amount of water to Arizona’s larger cities. In Phoenix, that is two fifths of all water and in other parts of the Phoenix Valley and state, the reliance on CAP water can be much heavier.
July 22, 2022
By Mauricio R. Bellon, Swette Center Research Professor.
Last month, I participated in the Sustainability Research & Innovation Congress 2022 (SRI2022) that took place in Pretoria, South Africa from June 20-24. The Congress is “a transdisciplinary gathering in sustainability – a space of dynamic advocacy for sustainability scholarship, innovation, collaboration, and action." It takes place annually in different parts of the world and brings together global leaders, experts, industry, practitioners, and innovators to inspire action and promote transformation in sustainability.
July 21, 2022
By Mary Mik, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
While in Washington D.C., our ASU sustainable food policy cohort met with key stakeholders in the agriculture realm—both virtually and in person. We were honored to have the opportunity to hear from Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young, who since our visit has become the newly confirmed Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE) so she will oversee USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Economic Research Service (ERS), the National Agriculture Statistics Services (NASS), the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the office of the Chief Scientist. Prior to her current position, Dr. Jacobs-Young was the Director of the Office of the Chief Scientist at the USDA.
July 20, 2022
By: Sharla Strong, ASU Food Systems graduate student.
This spring, my classmates and I had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. to meet with multiple food policy experts who work within and alongside the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). As graduate students in the Food Policy and Sustainability Leadership Certificate program with Arizona State University, our class had the privilege to meet with politically appointed leaders within the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Mission Area. FPAC includes the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Risk Management Agency (RMA). The FSA, NRCS and RMA are three key farmer and rancher facing agencies within the USDA and they provide services across multiple field offices in every state.
July 18, 2022
New research on the verification of carbon removal published in the international journal Climate Policy reveals a complex, rapidly expanding certification ecosystem with many actors, standards, and certification products. Some carbon removal technologies like reforestation have many standards, others like enhanced weathering have none. The compliance carbon removal market has a narrow scope, the voluntary market casts a wider net.
The research also found the standards are inequivalent in terms of their treatment of the avoided, reduced and removed emissions as some equate the three and others do not. This has implications for transparency, the development of methods to account for the emissions, and claims that can be made by purchasers. Similar observations regrading inequality were made by other research teams, such as CarbonPlan on the varying rigor, safeguards, and durability of standards of soil carbon enhancement https://carbonplan.org/research/soil-protocols-explainer.
The research was led by Dr. Arcusa from the Center for Negative Carbon Emissions at Arizona State University in collaboration with Dr. Sprenkle-Hyppolite at Conservation International and is the first output from their project on advancing the verification of carbon removal. The project is also exploring topics such as durability and additionality and has held consultations with international standard developing organizations under the hospice of the Global Carbon Removal Partnership https://www.carbonremovalpartnership.net/. Research from ASU Lightworks, a university initiative focused on new energy systems and decarbonization, found through a series of interviews with corporate leaders that many large corporations have no trust in current carbon trading schemes. This lack of trust is primarily due to the volatility of the market, no existing standards and limited transparency.
The project will ultimately develop a framework for the certification of carbon removal in a manner that is technology agnostic, measurable, verifiable, and safe for today and the future. With the need for gigatons of carbon removal to meet net-zero goals and the anticipation that carbon removal must be tradeable, a common framework will ensure that all carbon removal meets a minimum level of quality. This will shift the burden of responsibility from the buyer to the producer, who ultimately has control over quality.
The research can also be viewed interactively on this platform https://sarcusa.kumu.io/who-certifies-carbon-dioxide-removal.
July 18, 2022
To highlight some of Project Cities' star students and faculty, PC staff sat down to interview Katy Hendricks. As a recent graduate with her Master of Public Administration, Katy recently accepted a position with a consulting firm, McKinsey & Company.
