By: Nicholas Apodaca, Graduate Assistant, Sustainability Office. The effects of climate change are already impacting individuals in the West. Drier seasons and regular droughts are affecting Utahns from farmers to snowboarders as changing precipitation patterns mean less rain and snow. Seth Arens, a research scientist with Western Water Assessment and an expert in Utah’s climate […]

Originally posted on @theU on October 1, 2018. By Vince Horiuchi, public relations associate, College of Engineering Air conditioning and heating systems are not only great for keeping a home cool or warm, but they also help clean the air of harmful pollutants. While home thermostats control HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems based […]

Originally posted on @theU on September 25, 2018. “When people think of health and well-being, they may think of medicine, pharmacy, nursing—I think of architecture and design. What drove my architectural career was visiting my grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease in a lockdown wing of a nursing home. Architects, designers and planners have a social responsibility […]

By: Nicholas Apodaca, Graduate Assistant, Sustainability Office. Driving into Salt Lake City from the west, the shady streets and verdant gardens can feel like an oasis at the edge of the desert. Yet the Salt Lake Valley was not always so green. As people settled the valley, they brought new plants to the landscape. Whether […]

Originally published in Continuum on September 17, 2018. Jessica Kemper, coordinator of the U’s Edible Campus Gardens, shows off produce from this season’s abundant harvest at their garden east of Pioneer Memorial Theatre. Kemper helps organize more than 75 student volunteers, who work shifts year round composting, trellising, weeding, planting, and harvesting at both the […]

Originally posted on @theU on September 17, 2018 By Paul Gabrielsen, science writer, University of Utah Communications University of Utah scientists know how to turn a challenge into an opportunity. Repeatedly, researchers at the U have developed innovative research solutions to some of the Salt Lake Valley’s most serious environmental issues. Light rail trains sample […]

Originally posted on @theU on September 10, 2018 By Brooke Adams, communications specialist, University of Utah Communications The newly opened Gardner Commons building, which replaced Orson Spencer Hall, was designed with sustainability at its core. Here are five of its green features: Looking out towards a carbon-neutral future Gardner Commons is designed to be 100 […]

By: Nicholas Apodaca, Graduate Assistant, Sustainability Office. As Utah residents know well, air quality can have a serious effect on our daily lives. Wildfires, inversions, dust, and pollution colliding with the complex geography of the Salt Lake region all contribute to the thick haze that can settle over the valley. However, the exact conditions and […]

Originally posted on @theU on August 27, 2018 By Ginger Cannon, active transportation manager, University of Utah The University of Utah is committed to reducing carbon emissions, as well as improving local air quality by reducing impacts from university operations and daily commute trips. Consequently, using sustainable modes of transportation to, from and around campus […]

Originally published on @theU on August 20, 2018. By Vince Horiuchi, public relations associate, College of Engineering Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico last September, which left nearly all the island’s 3.4 million residents without power, is one of the most frightening scenarios for a metropolis: A natural disaster or cyberattack wipes out a city’s […]