Episode 23: Social Justice and Sustainability - with Mary Annaïse Heglar

Mary Annaïse Heglar, director of publications at the National Resources Defense Council, & Nick McCreary, sustainability coordinator at Indiana State University

Guest: Mary Annaïse Heglar
Director of Publications, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Guest Host: Nicholas McCreary
Sustainability Coordinator, Indiana State University

Turn off lights when you’re not using them. Take shorter showers. Bike to work. These three actions are all recommendations for people trying to make sustainable decisions. But why not also volunteer for a human rights organizations, or go to a protest?

In this episode, guest host Nicholas McCreary, sustainability coordinator for Indiana State University, talks with Mary Annaïse Heglar, director of publications at the National Resources Defense Council, about why it’s important to move sustainability conversations beyond recycling and conserving water and into the realm of social justice. They discuss the similarities between the roots of climate change and racial injustice, climate change disproportionately impacts minority communities and how the climate movement can move forward by embracing a climate justice approach.

We hope this episode will challenge you to think about why climate issues exist and deeper your understanding of the social pillar of sustainability.

Resources:

• Mary Annaïse Heglar on Medium, Twitter: https://medium.com/@maryheglar // https://twitter.com/MaryHeglar

• National Resources Defense Council: https://www.nrdc.org/

• Book and Reading Recommendations by Mary Annaïse Heglar

  • Letters from a Birmingham Jail, by Martin Luther King, Jr. - https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

  • Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler

  • If Beale Street Could Talk, by James Baldwin

Production Team:

• Kaia Findlay

• Dave Karlsgodt

Episode Transcript:

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Episode 23: Social Justice and Sustainability - Transcript

Episode 22: Renewable Fuels Drive Education and an Artistic Revolution in Jackson County

Timm Muth, Director of the Jackson County Green Energy Park

Guests:

Timm Muth
Director, Jackson County Green Energy Park
Dillsboro, North Carolina

Host: Sarah Barr
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In this episode, we’ll travel to rural Dillsboro, North Carolina nestled in the southern Appalachian Mountains, where a small county landfill and a passionate engineer are transforming the community’s perspective on waste. They’re using methane to power the Jackson County Green Energy Park, an arts facility offering glassblowing, metalworking, and ceramics classes and studio spaces. From reducing greenhouse gas emissions, to revitalizing heritage arts and stimulating tourism, to offering educational opportunities for children, college students, and even retirees, the Jackson County Green Energy Park is truly a centerpiece of its community. Join myself and guest Timm Muth this episode as we explore a variety of ways small communities and college campuses can make the most their waste resources, simultaneously achieving environmental, educational, and social equity goals.

Cole Johnson blowing glass.

Brock Martin metalworking.

Judy McManus glassblowing.

Resources:

• Timm Muth: tmuth@jacksonnc.org

• Jackson County Green Energy Park: https://www.jcgep.org/

• University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Biogas Systems: https://uwosh.edu/biogas/

• EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP): https://www.epa.gov/lmop

Episode Transcript:

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Episode 22: Renewable Fuels Drive Education and an Artistic Revolution in Jackson County - Transcript

Episode 21: Institutionalizing Sustainability for Real Change - Live at CHESC 2019

(top) Jillian Buckholz, Mackenzie Crigger
(bottom) Nurit Katz, Joseph Fullerton

Guests:

Jillian Buckholz
Director of Sustainability
California State University — East Bay
Mackenzie Crigger
Energy Conservation and Sustainability Manager
Chapman University
Nurit Katz
Chief Sustainability Officer
University of California — Los Angeles
Joseph Fullerton
Energy and Sustainability Manager
San Mateo County Community College District

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Production Assistant: Kaia Findlay
Intern, Campus Energy and Sustainability Podcast

In this episode, you'll hear a live recording of a panel discussion at the California Higher Education Sustainability Conference, which took place earlier this summer at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  It was great to be back at this conference again. Regular listens may remember Episode 13 which we recorded at CHESC in 2018. While that episode focused on Aggressive Climate Action,  this year, we focused on the idea of institutionalizing sustainability. We tried to deconstruct some of the tactics, traits and tricks that our panelists, who are all rock star sustainability professionals, use to move beyond running pilot projects and underfunded awareness campaigns to leveraging the full power of the world-class institutions that they work within.

Resources:

• California Higher Education Sustainability Conference: https://chesc.org/

• Sustainability at CSU-East Bay: http://www.csueastbay.edu/sustainability/

• Sustainability at UCLA: https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/

• Sustainability at SMCCCD: https://sites.google.com/my.smccd.edu/smcccdsustainability/home

• Sustainability at Chapman University: https://www.chapman.edu/campus-services/sustainability/index.aspx

• Second Nature Climate Leadership Commitments (mentioned by Jillian Buckholz): https://secondnature.org/signatory-handbook/the-commitments/

Episode Transcript:

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Episode 21: Institutionalizing Sustainability for Real Change - Live at CHESC 2019 - Transcript

Episode 20: Streamlining Sustainability Reporting with AASHE STARS

Julian Dautremont

Guest: Julian Dautremont
Director of Programs, AASHE

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Production Assistant: Sarah Barr

From energy use to purchasing decisions, waste management to community engagement, it’s no secret that sustainability is a notoriously broad and difficult to measure concept.

Creating a comprehensive sustainability rating system was exactly the challenge guest Julian Dautremont and colleagues from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) were tackling when the STARS program was born. STARS is short for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System and is the most widely used sustainability reporting system among colleges and universities in the United States. (It’s also the primary metric used to determine the Sierra Club’s “Cool Schools” ranking each year, in case you were wondering).

If STARS still stumps you or if you’re simply curious about how a broad concept like sustainability can possibly be quantified and compared, join us this episode as Julian guides us through STARS’ creation, current function and challenges, and goals for the future.

Resources:

• The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE): https://www.aashe.org/

  • Conference and Expo, Workshops: https://www.aashe.org/events-education/

  • Membership: https://www.aashe.org/membership/

• STARS, Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System: https://stars.aashe.org/

  • Register: https://stars.aashe.org/participate/

  • Reports: https://stars.aashe.org/reports-data/

  • Help: https://stars.aashe.org/resources-support/

• Sierra Club “Cool Schools”: https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/cool-schools-2018/top-20-coolest-schools-2018

• STARS 2.2 is Live! https://stars.aashe.org/news/stars-2-2-released/?_zs=GHG7a&_zl=nOin1

Episode Transcript:

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Episode 20: Streamlining Sustainability Reporting with AASHE STARS - Transcript

Episode 15: Landfill-gas flaring project at Central College of Pella, Iowa

Brian Campbell (left)
Rob McKenna (right)

Guest: Brian Campbell
Director of Sustainability Education
Central College of Pella, Iowa

Special Guest and Co-host: Rob McKenna
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

In this episode you’ll hear an interview with Brian Campbell, Director of Sustainability Education at Central College in Pella Iowa. We discuss Central College’s recent climate action plan with a focus on a unique landfill-gas flaring project that came out of that planning effort. Rob McKenna, a principal at Fovea and the consultant who lead this climate action planning effort, joins both as guest and co-host.

Fovea would like to give a special shout out to Energy Strategies and MEP Associates who were our partners and collaborators on this project.

Resources:

• Central College website: https://central.edu/sustainability

• Contact Brian: campbellb@central.edu

Second Nature Carbon Commitment Signatory Distribution

During this podcast, Rob McKenna discusses how Central College with roughly 10,000 MTCO2e / year has a typical emissions profile among signatories to the Second Nature Carbon Commitment.

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Episode Transcript:

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Episode 15: Landfill-gas flaring project at Central College of Pella, Iowa - Transcript