To highlight some of Project Cities star students, we sat down to interview Kasi Darnell, an ASU graduate with a Master of Sustainability Leadership. With Project Cities, she worked on community engagement component as part of the sustainability action planning public outreach project for the City of Peoria. As part of this project, Kasi focused on community engagement collecting resident feedback for the Sustainability Action Plan 3.0. Kasi’s primary role focused on collecting public input, including community surveys and listening sessions, in addition to devising a dissemination strategy for the surveys. The following dialogue and summary come from an interview with Kasi about her experience in the Project Cities program.

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Student Focus Post: Written by students from the Global Locust Initiative Lab to share their research and experience.

My name is Maddie Magrino and I am a senior at ASU studying Earth and Environmental Studies with a minor in Sustainability. I was first introduced to the Global Locust Initiative (GLI) upon taking Dr. Arianne Cease’s Sustainable Ecosystems course in Fall of 2019. I was immediately interested in the projects Dr. Cease was working on and was eager to join the GLI team to help their research. I was fortunate enough to be offered to work on a remote project comparing the media coverage of the desert locust outbreak in 2004/2005 and the outbreak in 2019/2020 alongside Clara Therville and Marie Chandelier.

Understanding the differences in media coverage over time is essential to determining how the media is able to influence the public’s perception of current events. The coverage of desert locust outbreaks in 2004/2005 and 2019/2020 differed immensely in numbers (see figure 1), but did it differ in content, verbiage and tone? Using a research database, Factiva, we collected about 150 articles from the New York Times, BBC and The Guardian, from the time periods 2000-2009 and 2010-2020.

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Doctors Elizabeth Cook, David Iwaniec, Lelani Mannetti, and Tischa Muñoz-Erickson join Robert Lloyd to talk about the production of scenarios for future city transformations. Scenarios provide potential goals for practitioners in city government and other actors to work towards in efforts to ensure greater sustainability, resilience, and equity. Co-production of knowledge, limits of future visions, and the challenges to realizing scenarios are among the topics discussed.

Learn more about our guests:

Elizabeth Cook (@e_m_cook): https://envsci.barnard.edu/profiles/elizabeth-m-cook

David Iwaniec (@SustFutures): https://urbaninstitute.gsu.edu/profile/david-iwaniec-2/

Lelani Mannetti (@LelaniM): https://urbaninstitute.gsu.edu/profile/lelani-mannetti/

Tischa Muñoz-Erickson (@tmunozerickson): https://www.fs.fed.us/research/people/profile.php?alias=tamunozerickson

Access their recently published book here: https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030631307.

Listen on iTunes, StitcherGoogle Podcasts, Spotify, or Buzzsprout.

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.

As the 2020-21 school year comes to an end we want to appreciate and celebrate the contributions that our team of student workers has made to the Swette Center. The Swette Center has been made stronger thanks to each of their contributions, creativity, and good humor. We’ll miss them in our weekly team meetings, and wish them the best on what comes next in their academic careers! 

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On April 15, 2021, ASU Project Cities hosted its third student showcase with the Town of Clarkdale. Students, faculty, and partners convened to learn more about this semester’s student projects, with video presentations from students. The floor was then opened for a Q/A session, presenting students with the opportunity to expand on their recommendations and connect with Clarkdale staff.

A video recording of the event will be posted to our YouTube channel, subscribe here.

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It’s not uncommon for friends, family, and neighbors to ask sustainability scientist Ryan Cornell about his home’s solar power. And he loves most of the questions. It’s a chance to talk about a subject he enjoys, while encouraging people to think about adding solar to their own homes. Most questions are pretty straightforward: How much energy does it produce? Does it produce enough electricity to power your cars? What happens when it is cloudy?

The fact that it is possible to power an entire house and two cars with today’s technology seems to intrigue most people. It also inevitably leads to another question. The question that drives Cornell a little bit crazy: When will the roof pay for itself?

"It is a completely valid question," says Cornell, "and while there are problems with the question itself, I still understand why someone wants to know. The problem with the question is that it is a gross oversimplification."

Read the article in Slate to see what Cornell says about fossil fuels, human health and peer pressure.

The World Academy of Art & Science regional event Perspectives on Post Pandemic is being organized to examine different perspectives on social, economic, political, educational and environmental matters, taking into account the plurality of realities in Latin America. View the agenda and register.

Despite the sizable number of studies and analysis inspired by the deepening of the COVID-19 pandemic, we still face several major uncertainties. This event aims to discuss ways for a humanitarian recovery that ensures environmental sustainability. WAAS believes that the integration of sciences and arts within a humanistic framework and with deference to the environment and cultural diversity can effectively give rise to public policies leading to global recovery and social transformation. This event will include visions and perspectives of Latin American WAAS members, and invited speakers from the rest of the world. The need to build social and political systems that are more resilient and less susceptible to future crises makes imperative the promotion and encouragement of wide-ranging dialogues. This meeting will be an opportunity to exchange ideas among peers, and identify ways to better understand the reality that we are currently experiencing.

Water both nurtures and erodes our land. Changes in the land affect our water quality and supply.

Any story about watersheds is a story about both water and land. This story map connects our water supply to the landscapes we depend on, both natural and built environments. It drills down into the complex relationships between land and water by examining forest health, wildfires, climate change, and our state's amazing biodiversity.

Kyl Center for Water Policy at Morrison Institute, the University of Arizona's Project WET (Water Education for Teachers), and the National Forest Foundation developed this story map on watershed function and health so that teachers and students, interested community members, and water users can better understand Arizona's forest-water connection.

A new open access book, Resilient Urban Futures, addresses the way in which urban and urbanizing regions profoundly impact and are impacted by climate change. Editors include Urban Resilience to Extremes SRN members Zoé Hamstead, sustainability fellow David Iwaniac, Timon McPhearson, Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Elizabeth Cook and School of Sustainability adjunct faculty member Tischa Munoz-Erickson.

The editors and authors show why cities must wage simultaneous battles to curb global climate change trends while adapting and transforming to address local climate impacts. This book addresses how cities develop anticipatory and long-range planning capacities for more resilient futures, earnest collaboration across disciplines, and radical reconfigurations of the power regimes that have institutionalized the disenfranchisement of minority groups.

Although planning processes consider visions for the future, the editors highlight a more ambitious long-term positive visioning approach that accounts for unpredictability, system dynamics and equity in decision-making.

This volume brings the science of urban transformation together with practices of professionals who govern and manage our social, ecological and technological systems to design processes by which cities may achieve resilient urban futures in the face of climate change.

TSC Summit 2021 gathers TSC members, partners and invited guests to bring big ideas, on-the-ground solutions and deep dives into transparency to tackle the path towards more sustainable consumer products. Through a mix of global content covering major issues in supply chains and scalable system changes, TSC tackles what it means to be resilient, together, in the face of worsening climate change and increasing pressure from consumers on brands and retailers.

This event is free to anyone from ASU: select "Arizona State University" from the Company Name drop-down. View the schedule and register.

Attendance for every day except Tuesday, May 11th will be restricted to TSC members and invited guests only. Because this event is virtual, there is no limit on TSC member registrations. All TSC members attend for free. TSC Summit will be presented virtually on the Pathable platform.

On April 14, 2021, ASU Project Cities hosted its spring virtual student showcase for the City of Peoria student projects. Students, ASU staff, and Peoria staff gathered to learn about this semester’s student findings and answer additional questions. Following the presentations, participants split into virtual poster Q/A sessions to talk directly with the students and ask additional questions.

A video recording of the event will be posted to our YouTube channel, subscribe here!

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Two of the planet's leading ocean biologists, Greg Asner and Haunani Kane from the Global Futures Laboratory's Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science, joined ASU vice president and vice provost for Global Futures, Peter Schlosser, for an extensive conversation as part of a celebration of the 52nd annual Earth Day. In addition to providing a glimpse into one of the center's newest tools, the Allen Coral Atlas, Asner and Kane spoke extensively about the importance of indigenous perspectives and knowledge in understanding the greater biodynamics of our oceans' biomes such as coral reefs.

"I think a lot of my experiences on the canoe (as navigator with the Polynesian Voyaging Society) allowed me to develop a relationship with my work as a scientist," said Kane, who joined ASU as an assistant professor and researcher this year. "Coming upon an island and seeing the island first by the color of the clouds, the reflection of the lagoon and then the tips of the coconut trees, and then spending time with the people there, it really helped me to shape my understanding of how islands and reef island systems are impacted by changes in climate."

Watch the entire conversation.

With sustainability long held as a core value across the entire university and home to the nation's first comprehensive Global Futures Laboratory, ASU was again ranked by Time Higher Education as the top US institution when it comes impacts made addressing 17 specific goals aimed at achieving a better world for 2030, known as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ASU also retained a top-ten international ranking, tied at #9 with last year's top ranked-institution globally, University of Auckland in New Zealand.

ASU scored a total of 95.8 points out of 100, with highest scores pertaining to goals for Sustainable Cities and Communities (93.4, second overall globally); Responsible Consumption and Production (89.7, fourth); Eradicating Poverty (87.1, third); Clean Sanitation and Water (82.3, fifth); Climate Action (81.8, fourth); and Life Below Water (89.5, seventh). Each SDG includes a set of targets and indicators designed by the United Nations and adopted in 2015 to provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

Learn more

Ten Arizona Mayors pledged to partake in a statewide celebration of Earth Day this April. Their video message, as well as an extensive list of Earth Day events and activities, can be found at EarthDayAZ.org. In partnership and as participants of ASU’s Sustainable Cities Network (SCN), the Mayors and their respective cities are working to advance local and regional sustainability and resilience measures all year long.

Exciting and creative events are taking place across the state, both virtually and safely in person. In northern Arizona, Flagstaff is hosting virtual engagements through social media videos that highlights an outline for climate change and call to action.

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Our April newsletter features the announcement of our new, free online course, Intermediate CDP Reporting, an invitation to a webinar on How Government Can Lead the Way to a Low-Carbon Economy, inspiring articles about sustainability in business, and relevant events. Read about the ways Mario Kart can teach us how to reduce world poverty and improve sustainability.

View the full newsletter in your browser.

At the beginning of 2021, the Global Locust Network launched an online professional community using a software called Mobilize. The platform functions like a “LinkedIn for locusts” where Network members can connect directly and exchange information in a common space. The Global Locust Initiative sees this as a critical resource for the community to unify conversations and streamline opportunities for collaboration and information sharing across disciplines, sectors, and continents.

On Friday April 16th, the new online community reached 100 members, with representatives from 30 countries and over 75 areas of expertise. Members are research scientists, field technicians, non-profit professionals, students, professors, farmers, and officials from intergovernmental organizations like The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

In addition to providing a community hub website for sharing expertise, posting events, job opportunities, and updates, Mobilize works seamlessly with your email, making it easy for members to respond to messages and posts from the familiarity of their usual mailbox.

If you are interested in joining, the application is available here.

Press Release: April 19, 2021

Mayors Across Arizona Join Together to Celebrate Earth Day AZ

Ten Arizona mayors are joining together to celebrate Earth Day AZ, a new statewide collaboration celebrating the many ways Arizona communities support the Earth with the goal of inspiring residents to take action for Earth Day during the month of April and beyond.

As members of and in partnership with Arizona State University’s Sustainable Cities Network (SCN), Arizona mayors and communities are showing that there is power in unity and that we all have a role to play in ensuring our planet’s health now and in the future. Collectively, we can protect our precious and diverse natural resources and secure a thriving future for our state and world.

“It is impressive and encouraging to see so many Arizona communities and mayors celebrating the importance of Earth Day and highlighting the importance of local actions,” said Anne Reichman, Director of ASU’s SCN. “We’re both honored and thrilled to support this statewide partnership and look forward to the positive impact local communities will contribute to the long-term sustainability of Arizona.”

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When asked what infrastructure are supposed to do, responses of course vary dramatically from the mundane (for example, provide water and power) to the abstract (for example, facilitate improved well-being through the delivery of basic services). Of course, both are right on some level. But what is often lost is the perspective of the values that we use to design and operate infrastructure systems. In the third and final episode of the Infrastructure of the Anthropocene series, Professor Mikhail Chester (@mikhailchester) of Arizona State University interviews Professor Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy (@AdjoKennedy) of Georgia Tech about the need for value-focused thinking to guide how we think about restructuring infrastructure to ensure that infrastructure meets the needs of future populations in increasingly complex environments.

See the whole Infrastructure and the Anthropocene playlist on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvz_faOzavaSD40LmDr4RknZZxWAVqwGp

Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy at Georgia Tech – Center for Serve-Learn-Sustain (SLS)

Metis Center for Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering | Arizona State University: https://metis.asu.edu/

Convergence Resilience Research Project | http://convergence.urexsrn.net/.

Listen on iTunes, StitcherGoogle Podcasts, Spotify, or Buzzsprout.

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.

Faculty and students from the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and the Conservation Innovation Lab co-authorized a paper published yesterday in Frontiers in Marine Science, presenting their pilot study conducted last summer in Las Perlas Archipelago, Panama.

The publication, titled “Tourist Knowledge, Pro-Conservation Intentions, and Tourist Concern for the Impacts of Whale-Watching in Las Perlas Archipelago, Panama,” is a product of the ASU-Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute partnership and our collaboration with the University of San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador.

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Scientists from Arizona State University, who are a part of the Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog (SUBSEA) program, have pioneered a new approach to the scientific process of geochemical exploration for our Earth and beyond.

Sustainability scientist Everett Shock of ASU’s School of Earth and Space Exploration and former ASU postdoctoral scholar Vincent Milesi worked with teams onboard the Ocean Exploration Trust’s (OET) Exploration Vessel Nautilus to use deep-sea exploration on Earth as an analog for hydrothermal systems on other ocean worlds.

In so doing, they designed and tested a new concept of operations that could help change the paradigm of planetary exploration. Their new approach is detailed in a recent article, Forward geochemical modeling as a guiding tool during exploration of Sea Cliff hydrothermal field, Gorda Ridge, published in the journal Planetary and Space Science. The abstract follows. Read the full story on ASU News.

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