By Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office The Pac-12 Sustainability Conference gathered at the University of Utah this week for its first in-person event since 2019. The gathering, which was originally scheduled for summer 2020 and postponed due to COVID-19, brought together Pac-12 member universities to discuss and plan sustainability action in their college athletics departments. “After […]
Read MoreBy Sarah Buening, Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund Intern The COVID-19 vaccine marked a turning point in the pandemic and offered a glimmer of hope for many people, including University of Utah anesthesiologist Dr. Emily Hagn. Exhausted by the collective loss and continuous struggle of COVID-19, Hagn decided to keep her vaccine vial as a hopeful […]
Read MoreBy Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office “When it comes to health, our zip code matters more than our genetic code,” says Dr. Andy Hong, assistant professor in the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning and director of the Healthy Aging and Resilient Places Lab at the University of Utah. The built environment plays a significant role […]
Read MoreBy Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office The Clean Water Act is nearing its 50th anniversary, but the courts still have not agreed on how to interpret it—specifically, how to determine its scope and which bodies of water it regulates. On Tuesday, April 5 at 4:00 p.m., Robert Adler, distinguished professor in the College of Law […]
Read MoreBy Anders Hart, Active Transportation Intern Thank you to everyone who participated in Winter Bike Day! Despite 14-degree temperatures, we welcomed over 50 people, including 12 cyclists. The University Police gave free U locks to cyclists who registered their bikes, and Commuter Services provided Campus Bike Shop services. We also gave out much-needed hot chocolate […]
Read MoreBy Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office Dr. Jennifer Follstad Shah grew up in northern Wisconsin where she loved spending time near the water with her family. “Rivers and lakes are near and dear to my heart,” she says. “I have always been drawn to the outdoors, which is why I became an ecologist.” Follstad Shah, who […]
Read MoreBy Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office. Photo credit: Dave Titensor/University of Utah When Dr. Lazarus Adua read a book about “super polluters”—or major powerplants that account for a large chunk of global carbon emissions—he was inspired with a new research idea. “I was thinking—could the same thing apply at the household level?” Adua says. “I wanted […]
Read MoreThis article was originally written by Kate Whitbeck and published in @theu on Feb. 5, 2020. It was updated in 2022 by Maria Archibald. Want to stay warm this winter while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions? Consider participating in our program “Heat People, Not Spaces!” If you are a U faculty, staff, or intern, you […]
Read MoreBy Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office “Baja California, for me is a siren song,” says Dr. Shane Macfarlan. “I went there once. And I listened to the song. And it drew me in.” Macfarlan, a cultural anthropologist who researches kinship, social networks, and natural resource use in rural ranching communities on the Baja California Peninsula, will […]
Read MoreBy Maria Archibald, Sustainability Office Salt Lake City is famous for its winter inversions, which often cause residents to hunker down indoors, turn on their air filters, and avoid the dark cloud of smog hanging above the city. As climate change intensifies, residual wildfire smoke often makes summer air unsafe to breathe, too. On Tuesday, […]
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