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There’s a great video that I include in my systems thinking resource that I developed for students, or anyone else who wants to learn about the topic. The video is about gender mainstreaming. The first example is how using gender mainstreaming identified problems with snow clearing policies in a city in Sweden. By changing the … Continue reading
Anyone else confused by the stamps on different types of plastics? You know the ones that look like a recycling symbol with a number inside? What about the idea that a plastic is biodegradable but only under certain conditions? Or perhaps which ones are going to breakdown into microplastics? I work into sustainability and about … Continue reading
I remember the multicultural day in school. For one day in the year, my classmates got to share parts of their culture and for the rest of the time we studied the Western science, grammar, music, art, and history. This day showed that we were better than many other countries because we embraced other cultures. … Continue reading
If you’ve been watching the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics you have likely heard about their use of artificial snow. The reality is that many places that once had pretty reliable snow conditions are suffering in the face of climate change. If I look around where I live, we had the best snow I think we’ve … Continue reading
I’ve worked with many different communities in the past, both communities made up of people who live near each other and those that are centered around common interests. Both types share common characteristics or interests among the members. The interesting thing is that there seem to be communities of interest that will rise up with … Continue reading
I teach a course on sustainability challenges. Students work in groups to help community partners with projects relating to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The students come from many different areas of study and collaborate on developing meaningful projects. According to a recent report by Cole et al (2022) working with diverse teams is … Continue reading
In one week this year I have skied at lower than -30°C and higher than 0°C. We have what I’m sure is the best snow base in years, but it’s layered with freezing rain. We’ve had record breaking cold. And this past summer we had record breaking heat. Even without there being a global pandemic … Continue reading
In the past few years I have changed my diet to be (mostly) a weekday vegetarian. If I’m honest this change was aided by also switching to one of the weekly meal kit boxes. I signed up for the vegetarian box and through it gained many delicious vegetarian recipes. Vegetarian on its own isn’t automatically … Continue reading
I hadn’t really given this question any thought if I’m honest. I assumed green infrastructure included things like street trees, parks, stormwater retention facilities, and probably green roofs. As it turns out, I’m a little more inclusive in my definition compared to many and I may have thought about it more than many US municipalities. … Continue reading
I’ve written before about the role of urban trees. They contribute to a number of positive outcomes. A newer area of research is whether the trees actually absorb air pollutants. Klingborn et al (2022) examined the levels of a specific type of pollutant in both deciduous (leafy) trees and coniferous (cone bearing) trees. They found … Continue reading
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