A native of Columbus, Ohio, Arizona State University sophomore Jackson Schiefelbein has always been driven to help others. So when he discovered the School of sustainability and ASU invited him to visit, he jumped at the chance and the rest is history.

"Upon learning of the School of Sustainability and the diversity of its offerings beyond environmental science, I knew this was the place for me," Schiefelbein said. "Thanks to ASU's generosity in inviting me to visit and providing significant support through scholarships and other resources, I was able to commit to making the move to ASU."

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On October 28, 2019 the Healthy Urban Environments (HUE) initiative held its Fall 2019 Solutions Workshop. This workshop served to formally convene the HUE Network of Concerned Parties — a diverse working group focused on collaboratively working towards advancing urban heat and air quality mitigation solutions. Going forward, the Network will support working groups engaged in planning and action around specific intervention opportunities, communicating best practices, and training future practitioners.

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When we talk about climate change, we usually discuss its impact on the environment and our food supply. It is too often considered “just an environmental issue,” and so most people don’t realize it has other wide ranging effects — like the compromise of our national security.

In a lecture cosponsored by the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, the American Security Project and senior business leaders concerned about long-term planning of our national security interests, retired Air Force leader Lt. Gen. Dirk Jameson shed light on the connection between these two seemingly unrelated concepts. Jameson, who previously served as deputy commander in chief and chief of U.S. Strategic Command and retired after more than three decades of active service, mentioned that the military sees two main threats in climate change: the fact that it is an “accelerant of instability” and the fact that it puts 500 installations (about 300,000 buildings) worldwide at risk.

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To create the inclusive, diverse and resilient food systems of the future, we need bold and knowledgeable change agents to transform public policy.

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By Kathleen Merrigan, executive director of the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University

We’re thrilled to share that on Wednesday, Dec, 4, the brand-new Whole Foods Market Tempe store’s 5% Community Giving Day will benefit the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems. The funds will support our inaugural food policy and sustainability leadership class tour across Arizona.

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Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, Chairman of the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, visited Arizona State University on Oct. 24 to kick off the Global KAITEKI Center's activities. This center is a partnership between ASU and the KAITEKI Institute, MCHC’s think tank and research institute. Kaiteki is “the sustainable well-being of people, society and planet Earth."

At the launch event, Kobayashi and ASU President Michael Crow shared their visions for a sustainable future, and the two organizations pledged to work together to advance these goals. In a new Q&A in ASU Now, Kobayashi explained how kaiteki became a driving principle for MCHC, how kaiteki can be applied in business management and why partnerships between industry and academia are essential to achieving this ambitious vision.

Other resources:

• Oct. 24 program agenda
• The Management Codependent on Mother Earth, Dr. Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, Chairman, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation
• Designing and Shaping the Future, Michael C. Crow, President, Arizona State University

School of Sustainability assistant professor Jennifer Vanos was recently awarded Maricopa County's 2019 Climate and Health Champion award in the research category for her outstanding work in understanding the hazards and health outcomes associated with children's playspaces. Her work, which is supported by the Healthy Urban Environments (HUE) initiative, evaluates how playspace design mediates exposure to heat, radiation and air pollution impacts.

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“I’m passionate about the intersection of food and sustainability, as well as the beauty and fashion industries,” said Arizona State University student Kiana Mays. “The way we care for our bodies, on the inside and out, is truly a reflection of how we view and treat the outer world.”

Mays has manifested her interests in social responsibility, restaurants, food waste and wellness in a number of ways during her tenure at ASU, including a stint as a report writing assistant for the Project Cities program in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. As a former restaurant employee, she became aware of numerous social, environmental and economic issues that the industry faces on a daily basis.

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“Women’s equal economic participation in advanced economies can increase GDP by 10% and in developed countries by as much as 30%.” Egypt’s Minister for Tourism and former IMF official Her Excellency Rania Al-Mashat opened the high-level panel “When Women Lead” at the United Nations SDG Action Zone on September 25 by emphasizing the positive macro-economic impact of women’s economic engagement. “GDP growth leads to productivity growth and when productivity grows pay increases among both men and women. Egypt was the first country in 2017 to launch a national strategy for women for 2030,” Al-Mashat pointed out.

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By Darcy Nelson, Master’s student at Thunderbird School of Global Management

WE Empower UN SDG Challenge lead partner Vital Voices is in Phoenix this week to celebrate the 25 new fellows in their political leadership program VV Engage. The fellowship is geared to advance women’s public leadership and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The program is supported by Vital Voices' partnership with Freeport-McMoRan, the global mining company based here in Phoenix.

Tuesday evening, at ASU downtown Beus Center for Law and Society, Vital Voices hosted a public panel discussion featuring women political leaders from around the world. Included in the panel was VV Engage Fellows and politicians Isata Kabia of Sierra Leone and Seni Nabuou of Fiji, former Presidents Dalia Grybauskaitė of Lithuania and Laura Chinchilla Miranda of Costa Rica, and Freeport-McMoRan’s Tracy Bame, moderated by Vital Voices President and CEO Alyse Nelson, and introductions by Executive Director, Thunderbird for Good, ASU Kellie Kreiser.

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The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and Conservation International welcomed Assistant Research Professor Katie Cramer as part of the ASU-CI partnership.

Cramer is a marine conservation ecologist and an Oceans Science Fellow at CI. She is part of an international consortium of scientists working on the Reef Futures Project, an initiative funded by a €6 million grant from the Belmont Forum.

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ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes’ partner The Natural Capital Coalition has recently released The Natural Capital Commitment, which asks businesses to commit to conservation and sustainable decision-making within their organization.

In the past, our partnership with them led to the development of The Natural Capital Protocol for the Ocean. This protocol is a decision-making framework that helps organizations identify their direct impacts and dependencies on natural capital.

This commitment aims to enable businesses to act on their impacts, which will sufficiently restore their relationship with nature.

For more information, click here.

We're not the Mob but we here at Future Cities still care a lot about waste management! Co-host Jason Sauer talks with Dr. Erin Rivers (@soilandthecity) about how solid waste, AKA trash, is potentially exacerbating flood risk in cities by clogging up green and gray drainage infrastructure. We discuss trash reduction and removal efforts in Baltimore (Mr. Trash Wheel!) and beyond, and how a reframing of who is responsible for trash has benefits far beyond our work on green infrastructure and urban resilience. Apologies for in advance for the cuts at the beginning: I (Jason Sauer) was sick when I recorded this and had to cut out a lot of noise my sinuses were creating. TMI!

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.

Listen on iTunes, Stitcher or Buzzsprout.

ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes Founding Director Leah Gerber helped make strides in the recovery of the white abalone species through the White Abalone Restoration Consortium.

White abalones are sea snail herbivores. They were the first marine invertebrates added to the Endangered Species Act. Poaching, overfishing and disease have been the main threats to the species, causing them to become one of the most at-risk species in the world in 2001.

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The WE Empower UN SDG Challenge and Arizona State University Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and helped launch Target Gender Equality during the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019. Target Gender Equality is a program for companies participating in the UN Global Compact that is designed to accelerate gender equality by setting and reaching corporate targets for women’s representation and leadership in business.

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Beth Polidoro, ASU New College professor and Center for Biodiversity Outcomes associate center director of biodiversity valuation and assessments, was featured in an Arizona PBS special about her research on plastics in seafood.

Plastic pollution has been a trending topic in the news for its ecological impact and health implications for humans and animals. Within only the last couple of decades, scientists have discovered microplastics being retained by organisms.

“Plastics have been found in pretty much all types of fishes, oysters, mollusks, phytoplankton and zooplankton —the primary producers of the ocean— and many of it is coming from large amounts of garbage that’s coming into the oceans from river systems around the world,” said Polidoro.

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On October 24, 2019, the ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes partnered with the School of Life Sciences to host a Hugh Hanson Seminar by Professor Susana Cárdenas Díaz from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador.

Cárdenas Díaz directs the university’s Institute of Applied Ecology and is a professor in the College of Biology and Environmental Sciences.

During the presentation, which was attended by 25 people, Cárdenas Díaz discussed preference data from a survey of tourists in the Galapagos National Park and its Marine Reserve. Their research investigated tourists’ willingness to pay for the recovery of two marine endangered species—the hammerhead shark and green sea turtle—through visitor fees and donations.

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The Arizona State University School of Sustainability is introducing a new course in the Spring 2020 semester. View course flier (PDF).

“Lean Startup Problem Solving for Sustainability” (SOS 594) will present students with complex problems critical to the government and challenge them to generate solutions to fit real time U.S. Department of Defense needs. The issues in particular will revolve around cyber security, AI, national security and energy networks. Students will also be offered the opportunity to invent new technologies with a team of their colleagues.

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