Sustainability News

Recently-published work by four ASU researchers – sustainability scientists Ariane Middel, Nancy Selover, Nalini Chhetri, and Bjoern Hagen – helps pinpoint how people respond to shade in the desert. They asked, “What’s key to feeling comfortable in the desert, and how does shade contribute?” The varied environments on ASU's campus offered an ideal setting for the researchers to find answers to these questions.

"Arizona State University provides arguably the most comprehensive, transdisciplinary, solutions-focused sustainability education and research offerings in the U.S., and it continues to grow."

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced $2.2 million dollars in conservation grants given to 58 community-led wetland, stream and coastal restoration projects across the nation. One of those grants, in the amount of $43,422, was awarded to Senior Sustainability Scientist and New College Assistant Professor of environmental chemistry Beth Polidoro, whose project will monitor and conserve urban waterways and lakes in the Phoenix metro area.

Sustainability scientist Daniel Sarewitz argues that scientists shouldn't simply create more knowledge, but should address important, real-world problems.

In an August 2016 blog entry, School of Sustainability Dean Chris Boone examines the ways that ASU is an "all-in" university when it comes to sustainability.

“Can we have chocolate for breakfast” asked young students at the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) Learning Center? Miki Tomita, Director of Educational Programs at the PVS Learning Center, calmly tells the students to put the chocolate away and continue with their activities. Miki is one of the many voyaging crew members working to prepare these young children for the future of voyaging. We asked Miki to share with us the symbolism of voyaging and sustainability.

What sustainability issue would you want to solve in your lifetime?

If we invest time, energy, resources and love into education, then instead of solving one problem we can solve them all. Our children can help us to solve what we have not been able to in our generation. The most inspirational thing about this voyage is that education is the primary driver. We get to explore and uncover what people all around the world are doing to help educate the next generation to make the world a better place.

Can you share what the Worldwide Voyage entails?

The PVS Hawaiian voyaging canoes, Hōkūleʻa and Hikianalia, are on a five year, 60,000 nautical mile voyage to discover how local communities around the world are navigating toward a sustainable future. The Hawaiian name for this voyage, Mālama Honua, means “to care for our Earth.” Living on an island chain teaches us that our natural world is a gift with limits and that we must carefully steward this gift if we are to survive together.

What are the goals of the Worldwide Voyage?

One of the goals is continuing the traditions way finding, practicing Hawaiian values like mālama honua and aloha everywhere around the world.  Here in Hawaii we strive to live, breathe, and practice aloha everyday. Some know that they want to do something to care for our environment and resources, but haven’t found the pathway. Some people don’t yet fully understand their actions cause negative impacts. Nainoa Thompson, President of PVS and master navigator, believes the goal of the worldwide voyage is to help people find the inspiration to turn that aloha towards our planet; to launch 10,000 voyages for a healthier planet.

How do navigators prepare and get selected for a voyage?

PVS has over 400 volunteers who were identified as eligible to train as crew for the Worldwide Voyage. Whether you start as an apprentice to a navigator or volunteer, you might get asked to go on a short sail and then build your experience form there. Captains and other leaders select from the pool of navigators based on voyage needs and local knowledge, while also ensuring different communities are represented.

One might feel fear, exhilaration, doubt or all three. Knowing that someone else on the crew or someone thousands of years before you may have stood on the deck, felt these same emotions and pushed through is profoundly transformational. You feel a connection with the people who were cultivating and practicing the spirit of voyaging for thousands of years. You feel a sense of “ohana” or family.

When you’re steering the canoe, it’s just as important to “back sight,” or turn around and look back. We follow the stars -- we look for signs in the environment that surrounds us. We have to physically turn around and look back to see the path that we’ve sailed. We can’t see ahead very well, but can see behind very well. We are sailing in the wake of the ancestors. The future is attempting to live in the wake of the ancestors.

Jack Kittinger, Senior Director of the Conservation International (CI) Hawaiʻi Program, works to protect Hawaiʻi’s natural resources for the benefit of the state’s communities. Today he’s taken a short break from the sun and the surf to meet with partners in Washington D.C. to advance this mission. We caught up with Jack for an interview as he navigated through the DC Metro System on his way to key meetings.

What have you learned about traditional knowledge in Hawaiʻi?

It’s extremely important to recognize that indigenous people are the first stewards – this is becoming globally recognized. People that have co-evolved with transformed ecosystems have developed amazing knowledge sets and practices, which ensured the survival and health of people and nature. The challenge we face is how to implement traditional knowledge in conventional management, in an ever-changing world where the scale of threats is shifting. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a forest, grasslands, or coral reefs – the single biggest challenge is getting a disparate set of community members to engage in collective action for mutual benefit. Traditional knowledge has much to offer in telling us how to adapt and evolve. This is both our biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity.

 Did you pick-up any Hawaiian phrases or sentiments that embody the culture of conservation?

Like most people that live and work in Hawaii, I have tremendous respect for the values and practices of Native Hawaiian culture. I am honored to have been invited to work with communities across the pae‘āina (the archipelago). The legacy of understanding and preserving cultural mores, values, and practices is shared in the incredible archives of scholars such as Mary Kawena Pukui, but also in the living traditions of communities, and in the evolving scholarship by Native Hawaiian writers and researchers. The repository of Native Hawaiian language newspapers, for example, is giving us guidance on very contemporary challenges such as climate change. This knowledge source is a gift from previous generations to ours.

One of my favorite mo‘olelo (proverbs) that comes to mind when applying traditional knowledge to conservation is “I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope,” which loosely translates to “we look to the past as a guide to the future.” This proverb embodies the Hawaiian perspective on experience and time – that the past is in front of you and the future is behind you. We may not be able to see the future, but we can see and learn from the past.

Can you tell us about a recent partnership between CI and Arizona State University?

After meeting with ASU President Michael Crow, it was clear that CI embraces many of the same values that ASU and the President shares. We are working together to make a difference. We share a common vision for success – to create a real-world positive impact in our communities. We are laser focused on this work and will showcase our vision for collective impact at the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi this year.

ASU and CI will host a joint workshop entitled “Coordinating Conservation and Development for Collective Impact: An Introduction” on September 3, 2016 from 11 am – 1 pm. Continued improvement of human well-being is only possible with healthy ecosystems to depend upon. IUCN attendees are encouraged to join this session and learn how to develop a framework to address challenges and opportunities of integrating biodiversity with sustainable human development.

What would it take to promote human prosperity and well-being for all, while protecting and enhancing the Earth’s life support systems? Hundreds of community members and leaders gathered at the second biennial Big Ideas on the Big Island Conversations to tackle this question by shining a light on the role of culture, values, and business in creating a sustainable future. Hosted at the Hualālai Resort in March 2016, this two-day event showcased two inspiring and engaging panel discussions entitled “Values, Sustainability, and Solutions” and “Business, Sustainability, and the Bottom Line.”

Chris Boone, Dean of the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU), kicked off the first day with the panel on “Values, Sustainability, and Solutions.” Four panelists explored how diverse cultures and values can be useful for designing strategies for sustainability.

Greg Chun from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa specializes in mediating difficult conversations especially when culture and traditions clash with development and change. Chun believes “the sustainability challenge before us is really more an issue of values than it is about science and technology.”

Bryan Brayboy, Special Advisor to the ASU President on American Indian Affairs and Director of the ASU Center for Indian Education, shared the importance of integrating indigenous knowledge, culture, and values with other discourses. “We can elevate the sustainability of indigenous populations around the world by embracing the intersection of culture, societal norms, and new discoveries,” Brayboy said. Higher education provides opportunities for life-long learners to promote prosperity for all while remaining grounded in cultural traditions.

Miki Tomita, Director of the Learning Center for the Polynesian Voyaging Society, described the significance of the Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage, which seeks to engage communities worldwide on practicing how to live sustainably, while sharing Polynesian culture. By learning from the past and each other and creating global relationships, we can inspire action to care for Island Earth and discover wonders if Island Earth.

Prasad Boradkar, Co-Director of the Biomimicry Center at ASU, where students in design, business, engineering and sustainability partner with corporations to develop biologically inspired product concepts that benefit society and minimize environmental impacts. Boradkar stated that biomimicry embraces the Hawaiian concept of Aloha 'Āina, which means love of the land.

Following on the heels of an inspiring first session, Gary Dirks, Director of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, kicked of the second day by leading a panel discussion on “Business, Sustainability, and the Bottom Line.” Representatives from the private sector discussed their views on how business engages, innovates, invests, trains, and develops towards a prosperous future.

Bruno Sarda, former Director of Social Responsibility at Dell Inc., shared resourceful solutions for improving sustainability throughout Dell’s supply chain. Dell partners with organizations around the world to identify materials that can be repurposed for technology components. Since 2015, Dell has partnered with supplier SABIC to incorporate recycled carbon fiber in their products with the goal of removing 820,000 pounds of it from the landfill.

Sheila Bonini, Executive Director of The Sustainability Consortium, took the audience further up the supply chain and described efforts to trace the sustainability of thousands of consumer goods.

Jacqui Hoover, Executive Director of the Hawaiʻi Island Economic Development Board, discussed the role of public-private partnerships and community involvement in advancing sustainability.

Jin Yong-Cai, former President of the International Finance Corporation, discussed the importance of finance in making or breaking alternative energy decisions.

At the conclusion of both panel discussions, members of the audience showed their support with a series of standing ovations. We hope that participants share this message and do their part so our collective action can lead to prosperity for our planet and our people.

About the Big Ideas on the Big Island Conversations

Fostered by Co-Chairs Julie Ann Wrigley, Jacquie Dorrance, Bennett Dorrance, Jr., and John DeFries, the Big Ideas on the Big Island Conversations is a collaborative opportunity for people from all walks of life to work together on new solutions to ensure a sustainable and prosperous future. Following the inaugural event in 2014, the Big Ideas network in Hawaiʻi has expanded to over 300 partners, stakeholders, and friends who are committed to advancing sustainability in Hawaiʻi and across the globe. Check out the Hawaiʻi Sizzle Reel for more information.

David Abbott, associate professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, received not one, but two distinguishing awards this summer for his archaeological work in Arizona: the Arizona Archaeological Society’s 2016 Professional Archaeologist Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Governor’s Archaeological Advisory Commission.

The question of how to improve communication between the the science community and emergency managers was a major focus of a Climate and Risk Management Workshop held at DEMA on July 13, 2016.

Nalini Chhetri, a Sr. Sustainability Scientist at the Wrigley Institute, was one of five lead investigators whose job was to help improve how climate science data—and the extremes it portends—is presented so as to inspire increased investment in risk mitigation and planning for severe weather events.

Senior Sustainability Scientist Kiril Hristovski is honored by Gjorge Ivanov, president of Macedonia, for his invaluable contribution to the preservation and affirmation of Macedonia's historical, cultural and spiritual traditions and values. 22 years ago, Hristovski was honored by then-US-president George Bush for academic achievement.

In a July 2016 commentary in The World Post, Fron Nahzi – global business development director for the Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives' – describes the status of Kosovo's energy transition. He explains that though clean energy is seen as an attractive alternative to the current coal-powered system in that country, the cost of new infrastructure presents a challenge.

ASU's Zero Waste Program has created a Blue Bag Recycling Program that extends cross all four of their campuses. These bags are available to any community member and with 540 blue bags placed in 77 buildings across the campuses, 2,500 pounds of waste was prevented from going to the landfill.

Christine Vogt, Director of the Center for Sustainable Tourism at Arizona States' College of Public Service and Community Solutions, provides 7 tips on how to enjoy a sustainable vacation.

Narayanan Neithalath’s strides in research to improve the design and development of sustainable infrastructure and construction materials have been earning international attention in his field.

The latest recognition for the professor in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University comes from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), which has awarded him a Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize.

Amber Wutich and Alexandra Brewis-Slade

Wutich and Brewis-Slade created the "Global Ethnohydrology Study (GES)" that engages undergraduates students by having them carry out cross-cultural research pertaining to water, among four different countries. Their goal was to understand how cultural beliefs and practices contribute to people's access to water.

They found that interactional justice plays a key role in these culture's ability to access water. Additionally, they found that lower income families have a more difficult time gaining and securing access to water.

Jeffrey Jennings was named among the 2016 GreenBiz "30 Under 30" for his leadership in the sustainability field.

Zachary Holman 

Holman is a part of a research team that received a $2.19 million grant towards the creation of single panned window films that would increase their thermal energy and thus, their energy efficiency. He found that by using an aerosol process rather then a chemical process currently used in manufacturing that the thermal energy, strength against condensation and sound barrier of the window would be improved.

ASU students across all campuses "Ditch the Dumpster" by donating their unwanted items from campus residence halls instead of throwing them away. Sun Devils have participated in he donation event - which continued through May  2016- every year since 2008.