Episode 45: Transforming Data into Outcomes
Lessons from the Public Sector to Approach Sustainability
Read MoreEpisode 40: Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal with Alex Barron and Aaron Strong
Alexander Barron (left) and Aaron Strong (right)
Guests:
Alexander Barron, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy
Smith College
LinkedIn | Bio
Aaron Strong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Hamilton College
LinkedIn | Bio
Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Director of Energy and Sustainability at Brailsford & Dunlavey, Inc.
In this episode we interview two professors and researchers discussing a recently published paper in the peer-reviewed journal One Earth entitled: “Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal: Lessons for institutional climate action from U.S. Higher education.” You’ll hear lead author Alex Barron of Smith College and co-author Aaron Strong from Hamilton College discuss their study of U.S. schools that have announced that they have achieved carbon neutrality. This work was co-authored with Maya Domeshek and Lucy Metz (recent Smith College graduates who worked on the paper) and Laura Drauker (formerly of Amherst College, now at the Boston-based non-profit Ceres), and reflects feedback and input from many other sustainability practitioners.
Resources:
Link to the paper: https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(21)00472-3
Alexander R. Barron, et al. "Carbon Neutrality Should Not Be the End Goal: Lessons for Institutional Climate Action From U.S. Higher Education." One earth, v. 4 ,.9 pp. 1248-1258. doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2021.08.014
Drs. Barron and Strong along with Smith student Lucy Metz also summarized their findings for an op-ed "Five ways colleges should respond to the climate crisis" in Inside Higher Ed.
A different paper by Dr. Barron and others on internal carbon pricing in higher education that may be of interest to some listeners:
Barron, A.R., Parker, B.J., Sayre, S.S, Weisbord, D.J. and S.S. Weber. 2020. Carbon pricing approaches for climate decisions in U.S. higher education: Proxy carbon prices for deep decarbonization. Elementa.
Information about the Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitments.
Production Team:
Episode Transcript:
The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here: Otter TranscriptYou can find a text-only version of the transcript here: Episode 40 Transcript
Episode 28: Twenty Years of Sustainability with Anne Eskridge at the University of Washington
Anne Eskridge, Director of Transportation Services, University of Washington
Guests:
Anne Eskridge
Director of Transportation Services, University of Washington
Host:
Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC
If you travel by car to visit the University of Washington, your transportation choice will be a minority of those on campus. About 81 percent of the university community travels by transit, by foot, by bike and by carpooling. Even with a high number of people taking sustainable transportation, director of transportation services Anne Eskridge has big hopes for an even more sustainable future at the university.
In this episode, host Dave Karlsgodt interviews Anne about her more than twenty years of sustainability experience. Anne reflects on waste, water, electric vehicles, electric bikes and regional transportation partnerships. She discusses how to benefit both the planet and the pocketbook and gives advice to future sustainability leaders. She shares not only her sustainability knowledge, but entertaining and powerful anecdotes about her father’s experiences with salmon fishing in the Puget Sound, the role of psychology in the field of sustainability and her background as an auctioneer (listen all the way to the end of the episode to get a sample of her auctioneering talent).
Resources:
Transportation Services at the University of Washington: https://transportation.uw.edu/
Production Team:
Episode Transcript:
The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:https://otter.ai/s/9e3sEGPAS52ZcLoXhPUPmA
You can find a text-only version of the transcript here:
Episode 27: To Electric Vehicles and Beyond - Low-carbon transportation with Arjun Sarkar
Arjun Sarkar, Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, University of California, Santa Barbara
Guests:
Arjun Sarkar
Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, University of California, Santa Barbara
Host:
Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC
The United State’s transportation sector lays claim to 29 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Cars, buses, trucks and airplanes, used as a part of daily life, present sustainability challenges that college and university sustainability officials feel poised to tackle.
In this episode, host Dave Karlsgodt sits down with Arjun Sarkar, Sustainable Transportation Coordinator for the University of California, Santa Barbara, to discuss low-carbon alternatives for transportation. In California, transportation accounts for 41 percent of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The discussion ranges from electric vehicles and renewable fuels to the economics of alternative fuel vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Arjun speaks specifically of UCSB and California as well as themes with national scope.
Resources:
DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center: https://afdc.energy.gov/
Greenhouse gas inventory, emissions by sector
Contact Arjun by email: arjun.sarkar@ucsb.edu
Production Team:
Episode Transcript:
The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:https://otter.ai/s/vVan_gtTQmW4KxMhansNCQ
You can find a text-only version of the transcript here:
Episode 16: One Lab’s Trash is Another Lab’s Treasure: Reducing Waste and Increasing Reuse at Northwestern University
Julie Cahillane (left) Garry Cooper (right)
Guests:
Julie Cahillane
Sustainability Associate Director
Northwestern University
Garry Cooper, PhD
Co-founder/CEO
Rheaply, Inc.
Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC
Production Assistance:
Kaia Findlay and Animesh Bapat
Any kindergartener can recite the lesson that ‘sharing is caring.’ For youngsters, this just means it’s nice to let someone else play with their favorite toy. But for Garry Cooper, sharing plays a crucial role in caring for the planet and finding solutions for waste reduction and efficient resource use.
Inspired by the copious amounts of wasted lab equipment he encountered as a Ph.D. student, Cooper founded Rheaply, Inc., a startup that now helps universities and other institutions across the world reuse and recycle by sharing unused and unwanted lab equipment with other labs. From glassware to antibodies, you’ll learn some of the logistics behind trading world class research equipment all with a focus on sustainability.
The success of Rheaply, Inc.’s pilot at Northwestern University is framed by Julie Cahillane, Sustainability Associate Director at Northwestern University. Her breakdown of the waste produced by research institutions showcases the important role of sustainability in labs across the nation. She’ll go into what it takes to institutionalize sustainability at the university level and teach you how your institution can empower people like Garry Cooper on your campus.
Resources:
Rheaply:
Webite: https://www.rheaply.com/
Northwestern links:
Rheaply at Northwestern University (NU users only):
Episode Transcript:
The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:https://otter.ai/s/uqcZZPRQQF2XkmNwb1V9Fw
You can find a text-only version of the transcript here: