Sustainability Office

Explore Sustainability at the U

Are you up for the challenge?

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The inversions that occur annually in many of Utah’s valleys are a natural outcome of our topography. However, the pollutants emitted into the air aren’t natural. In fact, they are dictated by our decisions and actions. No one wants bad air, but unfortunately our lifestyles and transportation choices add particulate matter to the inversion, resulting […]

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Australia on fire: What are the impacts?

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This article, originally published in @theu, January 16, 2020, was written by Lisa Potter, science writer, University of Utah Communications Charred koalas, acres of burning forest, families hiding in the ocean—images of the Australian bushfires are disturbing. The latest estimates say that over 25 million acres have burned. For context, the famous “Black Saturday” bushfires […]

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Taking action to improve air quality

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This article, originally published in @theu, January 7, 2020, was written by Nick Thiriot, communications director, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute The Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute has released a breakthrough report designed to inform Utah’s efforts to improve air quality and address a changing climate. The report, called “The Utah Roadmap,” was requested by […]

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The Intersection of Tribal and Environmental Law

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by Amber Aumiller, graduate assistant, Sustainability Office While many of us are aware of some of the federal environmental protections that became law and policy in 1970 thanks to pressure from an increasingly aware and concerned citizen population, as well as the recent rollbacks of environmental protections attempted under the Trump administration, not many people […]

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Building Climate Change Resilience

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by Amber Aumiller, graduate assistant, Sustainability Office Growing our climate literacy empowers us to take steps to help ourselves, help others, and broaden our impact toward sustaining our world, but learning about the complex multitude of mounting problems can also tumble us into deep feelings of stress, fear, anxiety, and grief.  A growing part of […]

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Is your New Year’s Resolution to get more exercise?

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Do you want to improve your health by getting more exercise in the new year? Is it difficult to find the time to exercise during your busy day? Activate your commute and you’ll do both! Make walking or biking a part of your commute to the U and your physical health will improve – and […]

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The role of youth in renewable energy

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This article, originally published in @theu, December 5, 2019, was written by Onsoo Kim, assistant director of PR & marketing, University of Utah Asia Campus. On Oct. 21-25, 2019, urban ecology students at the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) presented to international leaders at the Global Green Growth Institute’s flagship conference. The aim of the […]

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Is climate change good for plants?

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This article, originally published in @theu, November 25, 2019, was written by Paul Gabrielsen, science writer, University of Utah Communications. In a world of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, plants should be happy, right? Experiments have shown that, yes, increased carbon dioxide does allow plants to photosynthesize more and use less water. But the […]

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What’s waste got to do with climate change?

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This article, originally published in @theu, November 13, 2019, was written by Kate Whitbeck, communications, sustainability department. Did you know that one of the easiest low cost and most effective ways to impact climate change is to change our consumption habits? An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded study indicates that more than 40% of our […]

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Humans of the U: Piper Christian

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This article was originally published in@theu on November 14, 2019. “At the age of 16, I had the opportunity to travel to Paris during the COP 21 climate accords. As a junior correspondent for a Utah news station, I was tasked with reporting the events of the accords back to my home state. I wanted […]

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