Because law plays a key part in finding the balance between environmental and economic needs, ASU hosted the university's inaugural Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators on May 8.

More than 60 law professors from around the country convened at the conference for panels on issues such as climate-change policy, natural-resources law, agricultural and food regulation, and disaster law. By assembling many of the nation’s preeminent legal scholars in these fields, the conference – hosted by the Program on Law and Sustainability at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law – seeks to spur new research ideas and collaborations.

“Sustainability-related policy innovation is occurring at a rapid pace throughout the country, but there are limited opportunities for legal scholars researching in this area to come together and share ideas,” said sustainability scientist Troy Rule, who serves as faculty director of the Program on Law and Sustainability. “This conference will help to fill this gap.”

On June 6, World Wide Views invites participants from around the world to share their perspectives on climate change and energy.  The one-day event rolls out in time zones around the world, with more than 5,000 citizens and 50 countries participating. The views that are shared will be incorporated into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris this December.

“We want to honor the multiple views about climate and energy because the policy or outcome of this UN framework should be useful for everybody,” says Netra Chhetri, a senior sustainability scientist and a WWViews project director. “Even if someone hasn’t finished high school, he or she is still a citizen of this particular geography. They have their views, and they may be different than those embraced by the educated community, but that doesn’t mean those views should be neglected.”

Osvaldo Sala is a Julie A. Wrigley chair in life sciences and sustainability and a Foundation professor in the School of Sustainability; a professor in the School of Life Sciences; an advisory board member for the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes; and a distinguished sustainability scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability.

He is particularly interested in working with scenarios as a way of simplifying, understanding and communicating the complex relationships that emerge from the study of social-ecological systems.

In this video, Sala discusses his research, as well as the nature and significance of sustainability science.

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Can a story trigger social movement? What is the role of imagination in society’s’ response to climate change? On April 2, ASU‘s Manjana Milkoreit moderated a panel event sponsored by ASU’s Imagination and Climate Futures Initiative (ICF) titled “Climate Fiction: Science, Stories, or Seeds of Transformation”. The panelists included LightWorks affiliates Joni Adamson, Sydney Lines, and Clark Miller, who examined the roots of the emerging “cli-fi” literary genre and its impact beyond simply telling stories.

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The Center for Biodiversity Outcomes is supporting exploration of a partnership with the Whale Trust, and Lahainaluna High School (LHS), in Lahaina, HI

Recently CBO director, Leah Gerber and PhD student Yaiyr Astudillo-Scalia (SOLS) spearheaded an initiative to integrate the research efforts of local NGO, Whale Trust with STEM education and outreach facilitated by LHS and ASU. Given CBO’s goal to engage underserved youth in STEM, the proposed partnership would represent an important opportunity for Lahaina students. A partnership among these three institutions is a next step to help accomplish CBO’s vision, Whale Trust’s outreach mission, and LHS’s STEM education goals, while also supporting research of ASU graduate students.

Arizona State University was recently honored with a 2014 Tree Campus USA award, which Gov. Doug Ducey presented to the ASU Grounds Services/Arboretum crew at the Arizona Capitol on April 23. The national Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

Professor Nancy Grimm delivered the 30th Annual Eugene P. Odum lecture at the University of Georgia. Grimm presented a talk that synthesized her more than 35 years of research in the Southwest, entitled "The Only Certainty is Change: Reflections on a Stream, a City, and a Public University."

RAPID CITY, S.D. and TEMPE, Ariz. (April 23, 2015) – The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology and Arizona State University (ASU) have entered into an agreement to promote cooperation on research and other joint projects.

A memorandum of agreement signed by the universities will encourage and promote cooperation in research, long distance learning, student success and other services particularly, though not exclusively, relating to sustainability, energy and natural resources.

“We have complementary strengths and a similar set of values,” said Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University. “It makes sense for us to collaborate more closely.”

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Narayanan Neithalath is one of the researchers interviewed on a national PBS News Hour program on efforts of inventors and engineers to make cement and concrete that has a much smaller carbon footprint. With support from the National Science Foundation, Neithalath and his team in the Laboratory for the Science of Sustainable Infrastructure Materials have made progress in developing multi-functional materials that could offer more environmentally sustainable forms of binders for concrete.

Energy Digital ranks ASU the top higher education institution in terms of solar installments.

Per energy Digital, "It’s been incremental, but ASU is the nation’s top higher-education institution with solar installed by quite a bit. It’s portfolio of solar installations is huge: It has 86 installations on four campuses and the ASU research park. The campus has numerous buildings that are LEED Silver certified, with more on the way. And as the university states, installing solar is “the right thing to do.”

C. A. Miller, J. O’Leary, E. Graffy, E. Stechel, G. Dirks “Narrative Futures and the Governance of Energy Transitions” Futures, doi: 10.1016/j.futures.2014.12.001, 2014.

Arizona State University students across all campuses are being asked to “Ditch the Dumpster” by donating their unwanted items from campus residence halls instead of throwing them away. Donated and recyclable items not only are distributed to area children and families via community partners and local non-profits, but also are diverted from area landfills.

The event kicks off on April 22 for Earth Day and continues through May 10. Sun Devils have participated in the donation event every year since 2008.

ASU received honorable mention in a list of the nation's 25 greenest college campuses, which was compiled using The College Sustainability Report Card, Sierra Club Cool Schools 2014, EPA Top 30 Colleges and Universities, and the AASHE Stars ratings.

The award graphic can be found here.

LightWorks has helped to bring Intel’s Green Buildings Conference to ASU, February 12, 2015, where industry leaders include Intel, Ameresco, CHMHill, AECOM, P&G, Colgate and local members of the U.S. Sustainable Global Building Council. These companies will be coming to learn about best green building practices not only from their corporate peers, but from ASU faculty as well. Attendees will learn about topics ranging from Sandia National Labs’ sustainability campus, ASU’s strategies to reach zero-carbon goals, and LEED goals, PV and retrofits.

LightWorks and QESST are solarizing the Super Bowl Central block party Jan. 28-Feb. 1 in downtown Phoenix by connecting solar panels, which are erected to form a shade structure over the ASU booth. At the booth, batteries for fun games will be charged using solar energy.  QESST volunteers and students will display how solar energy is generated by showing off their own solar panels and hosting hands-on games, which allow participants to connect solar panels to switches and fans, and to solar-powered cars. Students who participate with QESST will also teach attendees about the innovations QESST has made in photovoltaics.

ASU LightWorks is looking forward to working more closely with Mexico’s UNAM Institute of Engineering, Institute of Renewable Energies, as well as Mexico’s Electrical Research Institute. Director and deputy director of ASU LightWorks, Gary Dirks and Ellen Stechel, visited their campuses in January 2015 and met with institutions’ directors to further discuss collaborations regarding undergraduate and graduate student exchange programs, bioremediation, desalination and joint algae ventures, expanding their solar expertise and operations, smart grids, micro grids and cross-border transmissions.

ASU student Will Novak - who is studying public service and public policy in the School of Public Affairs - has a plan to beautify the 181 miles of canals that run through Phoenix. The project recently received an ASU Innovation Challenge grant, which awarded him $2,000 from the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies.

Low Impact Development Toolkit

The Cities of Mesa and Glendale, with a grant from the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA), have partnered to develop this Low Impact Development (LID) Toolkit, with the support of consulting planners and designers and the input of city agencies.The Toolkit is intended to identify current stormwater management practices and national and regional LID

best practices, ultimately providing a living document with simple, updatable tools, that can guide the city and their businesses and residents, toward more sustainable stormwater design practices.

While the Cities of Mesa and Glendale are distinct entities with their own development and stormwater management challenges, goals and policies, there are enough similarities - in their maturity, development potential, geography and proximity to the metro area - that practices and recommendations from this effort can be readily applied in both communities, as well as elsewhere

in the Valley. Representatives from both cities’ engineering, transportation, planning, environmental, and parks agencies generously contributed their ideas, concerns and challenges.

City policies can either encourage or discourage the use of LID tools. As with other cities in the Valley, Mesa and Glendale have adopted a modified form of Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) standards for guiding development policy and implementing public works projects. This Toolkit includes some practices that are not currently recognized by MAG or the Cities, but should be

reviewed and adopted before being acceptable for use. Many cities have already adopted incentives for both public and private development to encourage increased LID use. For the developer and builder, benefits can include expedited reviews, tiered fees, and even exceptions to certain planning requirements such as overall density, setbacks, parking, and landscaping requirements. For

homeowners, potential incentives include rebates, and reduced landscape water use. The Cities’ role in this effort is to lead by example -- by providing funding for pilot projects in highly visible areas to increase public awareness, by updating and supporting policies that encourage more sustainable stormwater management, and by considering the integration of LID into all municipal projects. View the toolkit here.

ASU receives a 2014 Food Recovery Challenge (FRC) Certificate of Achievement from the EPA for increasing food waste diverted from landfills by 742% from 2012 to 2013.  Through food recycling alone, ASU has prevented 178 metric tons of carbon equivalent, which is like avoiding the burning of 191,102 lbs of coal.

At the April 14 President’s Recognition Reception, ASU President Michael M. Crow awarded university movers and shakers with the President’s Award for Innovation, the President’s Award for Sustainability and the President’s Medal for Social Embeddedness, as well as the SUN Awards for Individual Excellence.

Recipients of the President’s Award for Sustainability included the Seville Orange Juicing Partnership, a venture among ASU Facilities Management Grounds Services, Aramark, Campus Harvest and local Sun Orchard Juicery. This past year, volunteers and Facilities Management Grounds staff harvested 10,000 pounds of Seville oranges from the Tempe campus, and Sun Orchard processed and bottled 380 gallons of juice. Aramark then purchases the juice for their chefs to use in residence halls, restaurants and at catered events. Even the orange peel is processed and used by local farmers as a healthy, all-natural feed for cattle and hogs.

The Clinton Global Initiatives' University Zero Waste and Biodesign's Sustainability Science Education Project also received the President’s Award for Sustainability.