On Wednesday, October 21, 2020, 6:00-7:00 p.m. PST, ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber delivered a virtual talk titled “Knowledge to outcomes in global biodiversity conservation.” This talk was part of the New Mexico State University’s Climate Change Education Seminar Series.

About this talk

Global biodiversity loss is occurring at an unprecedented rate. Approximately 1 million species are threatened with extinction and many species have gone extinct in the past decade.

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) report offers an integrated overview of where the world stands in relation to key international goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

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“As women, we're very critical of ourselves and we like to have everything figured out before we start something… but if you’re a reluctant leader, if you’re not sure that you should be doing something, that doesn’t disqualify you, it just means that you understand the responsibility and the weight of the things that you're taking on.”

Ioana Bauer - President of eLiberare, Romania

2020 WE Empower Finalist, Europe, North America, & Other

Human trafficking is one of the world’s most horrific crimes, yet it still takes place even today in our modern age. Ioana Bauer is leading the fight against human trafficking and exploitation through eLiberare, a non-profit based in Romania that focuses on educating youth and first responders on the dangers of human trafficking and how to effectively counter it. WE Empower intern, Sidney McKee, interviewed Bauer and explains how eLiberare is making a difference in preventing human trafficking not only in Romania, but also around the world.

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Join us Friday, October 30, for the 2nd annual (virtual) workshop on accelerating sustainable energy transitions and ethical responses to climate change. SEEK (Sustainable Energy, Education and Knowledge-Sharing) is an action research project of the Spirituality and Sustainability Initiative and catalyzes connections between social values and effective action. SEEK is led by sustainability scientist Elisabeth Graffy, professor of practice in ASU's College of Global Futures.

This year's workshop will explore four themes: practical energy stewardship and the ethics of care, the science and ethics of direct climate intervention, pathways to solar: what you need to know, and cultivating community resilience during uncertain times. Registration is free.

In his newest book, “Future Rising: A Journey From the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow,” sustainability scientist Andrew Maynard embarks on a 14-billion-year historical journey to show readers how we started and what we are steering toward.

“As humans we have a profound ability to not only imagine new futures but to change them,” says Maynard, who is associate dean for curricula and student success in ASU's College of Global Futures. “That comes with a lot of responsibility. If we are doing things intended to change the future, we have to do so smartly.” 

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Nov. 13, ASU's School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment will host a research showcase to provide a high-level overview of research expertise by their new faculty. Faculty, students and others are invited to participate in this informative discussion of new research topics being undertaken by SEBE faculty.

The event will be webcast live via Zoom on Friday, November 13, from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. Arizona time. View the flyer to learn more about the presenters.

ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber recently published an academic article titled “Producing actionable science in conservation: Best practices for organizations and individuals.”

The publication was co-authored by ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society Graduate Research Associate Chris J. Barton, American Museum of Natural History Biodiversity Scientist Samantha H. Cheng and ASU School of Public Affairs Associate Professor Derrick Anderson.

The team interviewed 71 biodiversity researchers to identify and analyze these specific trends and came up with six best practices associated with actionable science or scientific data and models supported by conservation science.

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According to an October 22 article in the Washington Post, Tesla is forging ahead with new self-driving technology, despite skepticism among some safety advocates about whether Tesla’s technology is ready — and whether the rest of the world is ready for cars that drive themselves. Self-driving is lightly regulated in the United States, and Tesla does not need permission to launch the new feature.

Ted Pavlic, assistant professor in ASU's College of Global Futures, works with autonomous systems. Asked about whether driverless cars are truly possible, Pavlic said, "They say that it’s just around the corner, but you don’t realize that the effort to get just around the corner gets more and more and more [complicated] as you get closer to the corner."

A new study by CAP LTER sustainability scientists evaluated how Phoenix residents perceive and value urban ecological infrastructure (UEI). This research can help urban planners, landscape architects, etc., create UEI that people enjoy and that has biological value.

The authors included Jeffrey A. Brown, Kelli L. Larson, Susannah B. Lerman, Daniel L. Childers, Riley Andrade, Heather L. Bateman, Sharon J. Hall, Paige S. Warren and Abigail M. York. The paper, Influences of Environmental and Social Factors on Perceived Bio-Cultural Services and Disservices, was published October 22, 2020, in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

The abstract follows.

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The MCA offers an opportunity for scientists and engineers at the Associate Professor rank (or equivalent) to substantively enhance and advance their research program through synergistic and mutually beneficial partnerships, typically at an institution other than their home institution.

The MCA is the only cross-directorate NSF program specifically aimed at providing protected time and resources to established scientists and engineers at the mid-career stage. Projects that envision new insights on existing problems or identify new but related problems previously inaccessible without new methodology or expertise from other fields are encouraged.

Full proposals are due February 1, 2021. Read more about program solicitation 21-516.

Only eight countries have legislated full gender equality, according to the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law database. (No, the United States isn’t one of them.) And an estimated one in three women worldwide experience physical violence.

To accelerate the adoption of policies that empower women and ensure equal rights, Arizona State University’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and EdPlus partnered with global organizations — including the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the United Nations and the World Bank — on a unique video training series: SDG 5 Training for Parliamentarians and Global Changemakers.

This series will inform members of parliaments and other leaders on gender issues and trends, providing actionable steps they can take to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (UN Sustainable Development Goal 5) in their countries. Read more on ASU Now.

We are living in a transformative time and Covid-19 may be the impetus that leads investors to change their perspective on ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing. Companies have been shifting away from only focusing on the bottom line and are now considering the larger picture. Investment in sustainable funds saw a record increase during the first quarter of 2020. According to Morningstar, global sustainable funds saw inflows of $45.7 billion, while the broader fund universe had an outflow of $384.7 billion. During the second quarter of 2020, 56% of sustainable funds ranked in the top half of their Morningstar category. Year-to-date, that number jumps to 72%.

Whether blockchain becomes the tool to track, trace and verify CO2 emissions and carbon offsets remain to be seen. But whatever the technologies implemented investors and foundations must be assured that some risk is removed from investing in companies that are developing new technologies to combat the overall climate issues. One of the best ways to counter risk is to understand the overall market factors that will impact investment. The broad risk categories are outlined below and within each category, the specific investment risks.

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A State Press article detailed how the Healthy Urban Environments Initiative partners are working with Phoenix city officials to reduce temperatures across the Valley after a record-breaking summer.

Reducing temperatures for low-income communities and other efforts to make Phoenix a "HeatReady" city were among the topics discussed at the latest Urban Heat Island/Tree and Shade subcommittee meeting. "The closing of cooling areas was a move that largely affects the most vulnerable people who can't afford air conditioning, according to Charles Redman, a professor at the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, who said that heat is a 'real public threat.'"

Read more in the article, "Transforming Phoenix into an 'urban forest' to combat extreme heat."

BPRI is an NSF-funded virtual institute consisting of a group of like-minded teacher-scholars with diverse disciplinary expertise from six institutions. The Behavioral Plasticity Research Institute (BPRI) uses locust phase polyphenism as a model system to transform the way phenotypic plasticity is studied by linking sub-organismal processes to the whole organism, populations, and ecosystems, and ultimately to the tree of life.

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ASU to join six other universities to create an institute to better understand locust phase change.

As a formidable ecological force, locusts have a long history of devastating crops and causing food insecurity throughout history and around the world. A secret to their success—dubbed phase polyphenism—is a textbook case of phenotypic plasticity where an individual can modify its phenotype in response to a changing environment. Locusts can capitalize on times of plenty by altering their morphology, physiology, and behavior as they shift from a cryptic and solitary lifestyle to a mobile and gregarious one. This ultimately results in the dramatic outbreaks with swarms of billions of individuals we are seeing currently on multiple continents.

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Voices from the Future, a product of ASU's Narrative Storytelling Initative led by sustainability scholar Steven Beschloss, is a collection of stories based on the experiences and insights of survivors of extreme weather events on five continents. This project, both in its perspective and execution, represents the belief that personal stories have the potential to touch a wide cross-section of readers and constructively influence thinking and behavior.

Within these stories, you'll learn how people responded to disaster and how these experiences have affected their lives and visions of the future.

“I think there's been a failure to convince the public about the scale of the problem, the nature of potential responses and the science and the reality of climate change,” said Beschloss, who is also narratives lead of the Global Futures Laboratory. Read more about the series and its reach in this story on ASU Now.

Locusts are a major pest in many parts of the world, damaging plants and livelihoods. Senegal is one such place; farmers constantly battle migrating swarms of the local Senegalese grasshopper.

Led by Associate Professor Arianne Cease from the School of Sustainability and funded by USAID, the Global Locust Initiative went to Senegal — an area where they’ve been working since 2016 — to see if changing crops’ nutrients would deter locusts and to work with local communities and organizations to monitor and manage locust numbers.

The initiative, part of ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, is devoted to researching the complex problem of locusts and finding solutions alongside local collaborators.

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“You’re made of the same stuff I am. Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I can’t do this.”

Danielle Sharaf - CEO, Switch, Pakistan

2020 WE Empower Awardee, Greater MENA

When it comes to staying connected, Danielle Sharaf dedicates herself to ensuring that people receive the information they need to stay safe, educate themselves, and find work. Sharaf’s “Switch” keeps users up-to-date with SMS and audio alerts across Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe regarding critical healthcare services, gender equality, career services, and essential announcements. WE Empower intern, Sidney McKee, details how Switch benefits local communities and paves the way for a more interconnected and equitable tomorrow.

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Join ASU's Operational Excellence Community of Practice (OECoP) for this speed networking event. Registrations are limited for an optimal interactive experience. Participants will have the opportunity to make their elevator pitch and work on their professional conversational skills as they answer structured discussion prompts in small-group zoom break-out sessions. You will leave the event having practiced your skills, learned something about other areas in ASU, and expanded your network.

Sign up for this free, one-hour event on ASU Career EDGE. ASUrite login required.

Join the National Science Foundation (NSF) for their very first NSF Virtual Grants Conference to be held during the weeks of November 16 and November 30, 2020. Registration will be free of charge and opens on Thursday, October 29 at 12PM EST.

This event is designed to give faculty, researchers and administrators key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF. NSF staff will provide up-to-date information about the proposal and award process, specific funding opportunities and answering attendee questions.

Just like the in-person grants conferences, the NSF Virtual Grants Conference is a must, especially for new faculty, researchers and administrators.

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Join us via Zoom as sustainability scientist Mikhail Chester discusses the vulnerability of infrastructure to climate change and the challenges of designing systems for deep uncertainty. Sustainability scientist Margaret Garcia will moderate the audience Q & A following the presentation.

Mikhail Chester is the director of ASU's Metis Center for Infrastructure and Sustainable Engineering, where he maintains a research program focused on preparing infrastructure and their institutions for the challenges of the coming century. His work spans climate adaptation, disruptive technologies, innovative financing, transitions to agility and flexibility, and modernization of infrastructure management.

In his work as co-leader of the Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, Chester argues that we need to fundamentally reassess what our systems need to be able to deliver in circumstances that are changing faster and faster.