When Margaret Dunn decided to return to ASU two years ago, she was fulfilling a 25-year-old promise. What she found was a life's passion.

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Q&A with Christopher Boone

Dr. Boone is associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change and in the School of Sustainability, where he is also graduate chair. His extensive work in urban sustainability explores the relationships between cities and the natural environment to find ways that urban ecosystems can be strategically focused to reduce the negative effects of world poverty.

What triggered your focus on sustainability?

As a new graduate student in 1987, I read the United Nations report Our Common Future and recognized its ideas as a radical departure from the usual compromises between human development and the environment. Then, in the late 1990s, I had the opportunity to join the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a large integrated project with a team of 50 scientists working to understand how a metropolitan area functions as an ecosystem. Through this work, we began to find ways to translate our science into actions that would ensure a prosperous, healthy, and meaningful future for all residents of the Chesapeake. My participation in the Central Arizona—Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research project continues that work.

What are your most important sustainability-related research projects?

I am working on two related projects that examine how ecosystem services (the benefits of our natural environment such as clean water and air) are distributed in metropolitan areas. The first project looks at the environmental benefits and costs of planting and maintaining tree canopies in five U.S. cities: Phoenix, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Baltimore, and Miami. The second, a book project, surveys the uneven consequences of global environmental change on urban residents around the world. For both projects, the primary concern is assessing the environmental justice of ecosystem services — who gains most from the ecosystem services we develop and nurture in metropolitan areas and how these services could be more equitably distributed.

How will your sustainability-related research affect policy decisions in the “real world”?

Strategically provided ecosystem services can improve health and quality of life, make cities more livable, attract investment, and reduce operating costs to individuals and municipalities. Our research on urban tree canopies will provide decision-makers with information on best practices for managing ecosystem services, including benefit and cost trade-offs and how to reach the most vulnerable populations.

What is the world sustainability challenge that concerns you the most?

Grinding poverty undermines long-term environmental stewardship and the basic principles of justice that are fundamental to sustainability. We cannot achieve global sustainability while substantial numbers of people around the world try to subsist on less than a dollar a day.

April 30, 2010

A popular preserve in the middle of downtown Tempe was treated to a makeover on Saturday as part of Earth Day events.

About 100 volunteers participated in a path restoration project on the Hayden Butte Preserve, more popularly known as A Mountain. In addition to redefining its hiking trails, they painted trash cans and benches, planted cacti to define paths and removed debris so water can flow under pathways.

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Arizona State University is one of the country’s most environmentally responsible colleges according to The Princeton Review. The nationally-known education services company selected ASU for inclusion in a unique resource it has created for college applicants – The Princeton Review’s "Guide to 286 Green Colleges."

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is an opinion-editorial article and the concluding piece to the ASUNews' Earth Week 2010 series that pays tribute to the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

By Jonathan Fink

Last fall I went to the 40th reunion of a high school class in St. Louis that I was a part of through freshman year. I had not seen any of the 75 other attendees in four and a half decades. It felt like a “Twilight Zone” episode, meeting these graying, accomplished retirees, with which my last conversations were about the latest Beatles single or whether their moms could drive them to my house to play. While most of these 59-year-olds were still in good physical and mental shape, the sobering reality was that by our next decadal reunion, many would be in serious decline.

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New program will reduce electricity consumption, generate thousands of green jobs and create a more sustainable city in the desert

TEMPE, Ariz. – The City of Phoenix was awarded a $25-million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to launch, in partnership with Arizona State University and Arizona Public Service, "Energize Phoenix," a project that will save energy, create jobs and transform neighborhoods.

The grant will be used as seed funding to establish a fiscally viable, permanent program that will eventually be expanded throughout the city. Locally, the funds will be leveraged by at least $190 million of additional funding from a combination of banks, local businesses and public partners.

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What we do each day makes a difference. A team of ASU staff members from university sustainability practices recently discussed at a Sunday luncheon how we can make our daily lives – at home and at work – more ecological.

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The mineral phosphorus (P) is critical to the creation of bones, teeth and DNA. "P" is also a key component of the fertilizers used to produce our food, as critical to agriculture as water. But is P, like oil, peaking? Natural and social scientists in Europe, Australia, the United States and elsewhere see growing evidence that the answer is yes. But when? That is the question.

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Sustainability embodies the idea of transformative change and social-environmental stewardship. It compels us to think beyond linear projections of the past into systemically exploring and constructing alternative futures that foster the goals of intra- and inter-generational equity.

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Darden Restaurants has joined the Sustainability Consortium, an independent organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. The consortium is jointly administered by the University of Arkansas and Arizona State University.

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by Bonny Bentzin, Director – University Sustainability Practices, Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University (This article appears in the April, 2010 issue of The ACUPCC Implementer)

In today’s sustainability conscious world, there has been much discussion about food waste reduction options. At Arizona State University (ASU), in conjunction with our Carbon Neutrality goal, we have established a goal for Zero Waste (solid waste and water waste). Our food waste reduction strategy includes harvesting food from our landscaping, diverting food waste through appropriate donations, implementing trayless dining programs, monitoring consumption patterns and tracking orders, and the exploration of composting programs. Some of these options are proving more complex than others.

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Q&A with Kevin Dooley

Dr. Dooley is a professor of Supply Chain Management and Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar in the W. P. Carey School of Business, and an affiliated faculty member of the School of Sustainability. He is a world-known expert in applying complexity science to help organizations improve and has consulted with numerous global companies, including Motorola, Raytheon, Citibank, and Toyota. As senior advisor at the Sustainability Consortium, he is responsible for leading sustainability research initiatives in electronic products, home and personal care products, life cycle analysis, and consumer science.

How did “sustainability” become part of your research focus?

Two years ago, several colleagues asked me to help them in a study about green purchasing. At the same time the School of Business needed someone to interact with the Global Institute of Sustainability and School of Sustainability. During my ensuing crash course to learn about sustainability I became convinced that I not only could, but should, make a professional commitment to address sustainability. One of my first projects involved studying the environmental impacts of seaports — collecting data to see if port efficiency and environmental excellence can co-exist.

What is your most important sustainability-related research project?

At the Sustainability Consortium we are developing the standards and systems needed to assess consumer product sustainability across the entire supply chain and product life cycle. This work will drive innovation for improving global consumer product sustainability. Our project started with a major gift from Walmart and we have added more than 40 additional retailers and manufacturers as members in less than a year, including Best Buy, General Mills, Cargill, and Waste Management.

How will your research affect policy or other “real world” decisions?

The Sustainability Consortium provides a natural platform to diffuse product research directly into companies and government agencies. Companies such as Intel or Dial-Henkel can use the research to improve their operations, while government agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.K. Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs can use it set policy.

What world sustainability challenge concerns you most?

As a sustainability-aware person, I know Earth’s systems are in big trouble. As a business school professor, I know we’ll be hard-pressed to shed the habits of our current consumer economy. I am working to find the common ground that will make sustainability work.

March 31, 2010

The National Science Foundation (NSF) held its annual Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Mini-Symposium on March 4, 2010 in Washington, D.C. The mini-symposium, "Ecosystem Services in a Changing World," featured presentations by CAP LTER scientists Kelli Larson and Christopher Boone. Larson's presentation, "Ecosystem services in residential landscapes: Perceptions, trade-offs, and cross-site research questions," drew on residential landscaping work conducted in the Phoenix metropolitan area as well as in the Boston, Baltimore, and Miami areas. Boone’s presentation, "Changing preferences for ecosystem services over time," showcased research from the Phoenix, Baltimore, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas.

FLORHAM PARK, NJ – BASF today announced that it is the first chemical company to become a member of The Sustainability Consortium, an independent organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. The company joins other retailers and consumer product manufacturers that have become members of the Consortium and its product "life cycle" mission, including social and environmental considerations.

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PHOENIX, AZ  – The Phoenix Green Chamber of Commerce (PGCC) announces today that Arizona State University's prestigious Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) has joined the Chamber. The School of Sustainability is part of GIOS and also will be a participant in the Chamber.

The Green Chamber promotes sustainable business practices, including recycling, energy and water conservation, pollution prevention, and the use of energy-efficient facilities and equipment. It provides education forums on topical issues in sustainability, and business opportunities among members.

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TEMPE, Ariz. – As graduate students in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, Maren Mahoney and Zach Hughes had seen plenty of academic journals related to sustainability. But nowhere could they find a publication that made the complex concept of sustainability accessible to the everyday reader.

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Each year during the CAP LTER Annual Poster Symposium, a panel of researchers and education experts judge student posters on their research content, originality, and visual clarity. This year, Scott Davies wins the competition with his excellent poster (co-authored with Karen Sweasea and Pierre Deviche), The Influence of Acute Stress on Glucose and Protein Utilization of a Desert Songbird.

Judges selected two posters as runners-up in the competition: Won Kyung Kim for his poster (co-authored with Elizabeth Wentz), Understanding Urban Open Spaces using a Green Index, and Carissa Taylor for her poster, Local Food in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area: Barriers and Enablers as Perceived by Food System Stakeholders (co-authored with Rimjhim Aggarwal, Hallie Eakin, and Katherine Spielmann).

PLEASANTON, Calif. - March 1, 2010 - Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY) has become the first U.S.-based retail grocery chain and manufacturer for private label merchandise to join The Sustainability Consortium in support of the organization's science-based work toward a more sustainable global supply chain. The company joins other retailers and consumer product manufacturers that have become members of the Consortium and its product "life cycle" mission including social and environmental considerations.

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Q&A with Arnim Wiek

Dr. Wiek is an assistant professor in the School of Sustainability. Over the last 10 years, he has conducted sustainability research in Europe, Canada, Sri Lanka, and the U.S. addressing topics such as emerging technologies, urban and regional development, land use conflicts, resource governance, and climate change. His research is carried out in collaboration with partners from government, business, and civil society. He is currently directing research in conjunction with ASU’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society, Decision Center for a Desert City, and Central Arizona—Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research project.

What event triggered your focus on sustainability?

As a graduate student in philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, I attended an event that featured a replay of 12-year-old Severn Suzuki’s courageous speech to the 1992 UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In that speech she said, “I have no hidden agenda. I am fighting for my future.” Right then I decided it was time to get involved in addressing the challenges of sustainability, and since that time I have devoted my career to sustainability research and education.

What is your most important sustainability-related research project?

I am co-leading a long-term project to craft coordinated strategies for urban sustainability in Phoenix from the city to the neighborhood level. To reach this goal, we are developing “sustainable anticipatory governance,” a new concept that applies visioning, complex system analysis, and future scenario construction to create adaptive governance strategies that will lead to transformative change.

Our project team works interactively with the Phoenix Planning Department, as well as with stakeholders from government, administration, business, and civil society across the city. The research engages numerous faculty and student collaborators from diverse academic fields and includes running a studio-like workshop course for ASU students from public affairs, urban planning, sustainability, and other programs.

How does your research affect decisions in the “real world”?

My research engages decision-makers in high levels of interactivity when it comes to conducting research, challenging basic assumptions, and analyzing claims and value positions. We have been able to clearly demonstrate that such interactive research on sustainability issues improves institutional and civil capacity and decision-making for sustainability.

What world sustainability challenge concerns you most?

We must address the “triangle of collective failure”: complexity, capacity, and change. The gap is widening between the increasing complexity of our society and our limited cognitive, emotional, and organizational capacity. To bridge this gap, we need to fundamentally change our ways of consumption, production, trade, mobility, education, and cooperation and become the responsible leaders, engaged citizens, and change agents we promise to future generations.

February 26, 2010

CAP LTER co-director and lead primary investigator Nancy B. Grimm has been awarded the ASU Faculty Achievement Award for Research. This award, which recognizes Dr. Grimm’s contributions to the field of urban ecology, will be bestowed on February 24, 2010 at the annual Founders’ Day Awards Dinner.

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