Sustainability News

During an inaugural Army Reserve Mission Resilience and Sustainability conference hosted by ASU, over 150 military personnel, Department of the Army civilians and contractors were given the mandate to change the “sustainability DNA” of their organizations. The conference – which took place in November 2017 – brought together experts in the areas of energy security, water security, solid waste diversion and environmental quality from across the Army Reserve, encouraging collaboration and fostering innovation.

Joe Knott, an ASU doctoral candidate in the School of Sustainability and retired Army lieutenant colonel, helped to facilitate the partnership between ASU and ARMRS. He points out that today's young people are better versed in subjects like sustainability and climate change. In that sense, if the Army does not develop a strong sustainability culture, it may have trouble with retention.

“They expect sustainability and doing the right thing in addition to serving their country,” Knott says. “They say ‘what are you as a military organization going to allow me to do to make this earth sustainable for my kids and grandkids?’”

Phosphorus is a basic element found in all living things and is a key component of most fertilizers – enabling modern agriculture. On the flip side, phosphorus runoff contaminates rivers, lakes and streams, providing an overabundance of nutrients that leads to toxic algal blooms.

That's why the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance, a unit of the ASU Wrigley Institute, continues to grow – to take on the phosphorus problem in the global food system. Following a five-year National Science Foundation grant, the alliance received a second round of funding from the OCP Group – a Moroccan mining company that owns the largest deposits of phosphate rock in the world.

The alliance grew out of industry interest in phosphorus sustainability and recycling during the original NSF grant period, which brought together dozens of researchers from around the world. In 2017, the alliance grew to nine member organizations representing different stages of the phosphorus value chain.

Not everyone in our highly-connected world is a text or tweet away. For those in off-grid locales like Samoa, lack of information access means fewer educational opportunities.

That’s where ASU’s SolarSPELL comes in. The digital library, developed by Senior Sustainability Scientist Laura Hosman, is both portable and solar-powered. With its own Wi-Fi hotspot, it functions without electricity or existing internet connectivity.

In October 2017, volunteers came to ASU’s Polytechnic campus and built 150 SolarSPELLs in one day! Hosman’s innovative device received one of the inaugural PLuS Alliance Prizes at the 2017 Times Higher Education World Academic Summit in London.

While interning at paper giant Kimberly Clark, undergraduate School of Sustainability student Junkee Justin Ahn noticed that the company had a nitrile glove recycling program. He recognized the need for a similar program at ASU, where countless gloves are used in labs across its campuses each week, and began collecting information.

By bringing the program – called RightCycle – to ASU, Ahn is helping gloves from the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses reach recycling centers where they are turned into plastic materials. He presented his work at the nation’s biggest higher-education sustainability conference, held by the the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in San Antonio, in October 2017.

The Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, led by ASU sustainability scientists Nancy Grimm and Chuck Redman, is among 38 recipients of the National Science Foundation's 2017 Smart & Connected Communities grant.

The S&CC grant seeks to harness smart technologies for the enhancement of communities – in terms of economic opportunity and growth, safety and security, health and wellness, and overall quality of life. After observing how these technologies contribute to disaster relief – the social media fundraisers and re-build events after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and María, for example – UREx recognized an opportunity.

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With an exclusive invite, School of Sustainability undergraduate Yann Raymond and his thesis partner attended the 2017 Clinton Global Initiative University in Boston, Mass. The team’s “commitment to action” – a CGI U requirement – was to address the Valley’s lack of convenient, nutritious food.

“We’re doing this by growing fresh food aeroponically, using 90% less water and space and zero chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” said Raymond. “The concept relies on harvesting the herbs and vegetables the very morning that they go to market.”

The team later pitched their idea to Changemaker Central and Venture Devils, amassing $4,000 in start-up funds.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) announced Katja Brundiers and Arnim Wiek, both professors in ASU's School of Sustainability, as recipients of a Campus Sustainability Research award for their outstanding achievements and progress toward sustainability.

AASHE bestows its prestigious awards on institutions and individuals that are helping to lead higher education to a sustainable future. This year, AASHE received 230 entries that resulted in 10 winners announced in three campus sustainability categories –  leadership, achievement and research.

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What we put on our plates affects our overall health, from our individual bodies to the planet as a whole. Christopher Wharton – director of the Food Systems Transformation Initiative (FSTI) – and other researchers from the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability are studying the long-term effects of our diets on happiness, sustainability and ethics.

One ongoing FSTI study is examining food and fulfillment, gauging the motivators and barriers of adopting and maintaining plant-based diets. Though results are not yet in, researchers expect a correlation with long-term happiness because of the knowledge that there are positive health, environmental and other sustainability benefits to adopting a strictly or primarily plant-based diet.

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On August 30, 2017, over 130 ASU students and faculty from multiple disciplines filed into the Apache Junction Multi-Generational Center.

The draw? A kick-off event marking a partnership between ASU’s Project Cities program and the City of Apache Junction – one that plugs students into projects that make Apache Junction a better place to live.

Not only did students get to hear more about these projects from Project Cities and Apache Junction staff, the kick-off event included networking with the Apache Junction mayor, city council, board commissioners and staff – not to mention a bus tour of the city. Breakout sessions allowed students to ask city project leaders questions, learn about community history and brainstorm possible solutions to local challenges.

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The National Science Foundation has awarded scientists from five academic institutions, including professor Marco Janssen of ASU's School of Sustainability, a $1.5 million grant to investigate how ecological and social elements shape recreational fisheries in northern Wisconsin.

Recreational fishing is a major industry in the U.S., with 30 million fishers generating over $15 billion a year. As many fisheries around the country collapse due to environmental and social issues, the goal of this study is to understand how to properly sustain good fishing conditions.

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At the second in a series of resilience and sustainability workshops with the City of Tempe, municipal executives and leaders discussed possible visions of Tempe in 2040 – from recreation to shade structures.

The event, hosted by the School of Sustainability's Executive and Professional Education program, centered on a new and innovative game called AudaCITY. Created by Senior Sustainability Scientist Lauren Withycombe Keeler of the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, the game enables participants to set sustainability goals and develop strategies to achieve them.

ASU will host a third resilience workshop for the City of Tempe later in fall 2017.

For ASU sustainability senior Hailey Baker, three countries plus three universities plus three weeks adds up to one unforgettable experience.

Baker and 31 other students – representing ASU, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and National Taipei University – traveled to three cities in Southern China for their summer studies, part of a program supported by the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, the ASU Wrigley Institute and the ASU Study Abroad Office.

During the three-week course on sustainable urban development, Baker and her peers experienced field trips and lectures in three cities: Guangzhou, China; Taipei, Taiwan; and Hong Kong. Then, working in teams with students from each participating university, each group completed a final solutions-focused project, including the development of sustainability plans for a new district in Hong Kong.

The course was co-taught by Rob Melnick – presidential professor of practice in ASU’s School of Sustainability – and sustainability doctoral candidate Joe Knott, along with faculty from the two partner universities.

Sustainability Scientist Martin Pasqualetti is one of three editors on a book now out from Routledge titled The Routledge Research Companion to Energy Geographies.

The book provides a pathway toward international cooperation and sustainability by offering a framework that portrays the interdependence between geography, energy and our society – such as security, space and place, planning, environmental science, economics and political science. Recognizing that debates over location and energy flow often lack substantial consideration of geographical networks, the book illustrates and explains the importance of distribution of fuels and services around the world and how energy affects our decisions.

Pasqualetti is a professor at the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, and co-director of ASU’s Energy Policy Innovation Council.

New ideas on how to build more resilient cities focus on working with nature, rather than trying to master it, says Charles Redman – founding director of ASU’s School of Sustainability.

Redman now leads a group of researchers from 15 institutions in a National Science Foundation-sponsored project called the Urban Resilience to Extreme Weather Related Events Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN), which focuses on ways to make cities more resilient to natural calamities. This entails building infrastructure systems that are safe-to-fail, rather than fail-safe, and recognizing that cities should be able to take advantage of natural features of the land.

"The overarching problem with cities like Houston is that they have built over the natural landscape with impervious surfaces, and with impediments to the natural flow of surface runoff," says Redman. "A more effective approach may be to implement infrastructure systems that work with the land to facilitate runoff rather than try to control it, but acknowledge and plan that if a specific threshold is exceeded and the system 'fails' in some sense there are backup plans in place that minimize the adverse impacts."

Nestled at the foot of the Superstition Mountains, Apache Junction is strategically positioned as the eastern gateway into the Greater Phoenix metro area and the western entry to the Tonto National Forest’s recreation venues. This geography, coupled with a western atmosphere, make the city appealing to residents and visitors alike.

Along with its many attractive qualities, the city of Apache Junction – like most communities – faces unique sustainability challenges as it continues to grow. It is these challenges that form the basis of a partnership with Arizona State University’s Project Cities program.

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Inspired by the river walk in San Antonio, U.S. Senator John McCain plans to transform the entire Salt River bottom with help from ASU.

Rio Salado 2.0 will run through metro Phoenix and serve as an urban and environmental amenity. It will use ASU expertise in areas like hydrology, biology, architecture, planning, finance and sustainability – but not without community input.

“The university will be a convener of community interests and key stakeholders to make sure all voices are heard and reflected in the work to be done,” said Senior Sustainability Scientist Duke Reiter.

ASU's reputation for sustainability leadership continues to grow, corroborated by its standing in Sierra magazine's latest “Cool Schools” ranking of North America’s greenest colleges and universities.

Named first among institutions with more than 10,000 students — up from second in that category last year — ASU sits in seventh place overall, according to the listing. It was compiled using surveys from a record-breaking 227 schools, as well as a customized scoring system based on universities' commitment to upholding high environmental standards.

This is the third consecutive year ASU has scored in the top 20. The 2017 ranking does not yet reflect the impact of the Red Rock Solar Plant, dedicated in January 2017. Over the course of its first full year in operation, Red Rock will reduce ASU’s total carbon footprint by more than 10 percent.

GreenLight Solutions – a consulting organization started by ASU School of Sustainability students – has partnered with nonprofit Build Us HOPE to assist those experiencing homelessness.

In August 2017, members of GreenLight Solutions joined Build Us HOPE volunteers and people currently experiencing homelessness to break ground at Micro on Madison – a project that provides tiny houses to homeless veterans in the Valley. The 300-to-450-foot houses are sustainable, cost-effective and easy to replicate. Currently funded by donations, the houses will be paid for in part by future tenants with adequate funds.

“We’re just trying to get it done instead of talking about it,” said Kevin Keleher, a School of Sustainability alumnus and the executive director of Greenlight Solutions. “It’s a really exciting time.”

Albert Kyi is entering the 11th grade this fall at Grace Church High School in New York City, NY, and has demonstrated a passion for innovation and sustainability far beyond his age.

His desire to find solutions that address climate change started in 4th grade when he was part of a team that tried to cut down on the school’s energy usage. Since then, Kyi has been actively learning about technologies that reduce carbon emissions and the effects of climate change.

Kyi’s journey building a Direct Air Capture (DAC) machine began last year during 10th grade, when students were given a budget and six months to complete a big project. Kyi knew he wanted to do something related to climate change.

Inspired by his dean Mr. Reilly, who told his students to always “dream big,” Kyi wanted to create a technology that could slow down global warming. When he came across DAC technology through his online research, he knew it would be perfect for his project, so he contacted Dr. Klaus Lackner and Mr. Allen Wright.

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The Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences announce the launch of the Global Drylands Center at Arizona State University. Led by Julie A. Wrigley Professor Osvaldo Sala, GDC will engage key actors of dryland stewardship in developing use-inspired research, training and solutions for arid ecosystems around the world.

While working with multiple global partners – from Ben-Gurion University to the University of New South Wales and King’s College London – GDC endeavors to establish ASU as a leader in crosscutting research and education pertaining to drylands. The center will focus on a broad array of issues, including the impacts of climate and land-use change, the ecology of desertification, and the societal dimensions of productive ecosystems and healthy lives in drylands.

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