Private sector provides examples of how to LEED on climate change

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Leslie Wells

Written by: Doug Noonan, Paul H. O’Neill Professor

Addressing climate change is not only about finding viable, effective policies, it’s also about recognizing and addressing the myriad barriers on our path to solutions. Political gridlock, special interests, and policy whiplash whenever a polarized electorate flips party control all hold us back from finding ways to renew and sustain economic growth, curb wasteful and unfair government regulation, and foster new opportunities and innovation.

The challenges facing our society are simply too complex, too dispersed, and too localized to rely on crude, top-down fixes. As such, climate challenges do not imply one particular policy response. In fact, we can often look to the private sector to find complementary approaches to policy.

Case in point: The great success story in green building. The building environment accounts for 40% of total carbon emissions. As a result, the industry needed a renovation. Greening our buildings is a massive opportunity to usher in innovation, economic growth, and better performance.

(more…)

O’Neill’s Jerome Dumortier: War in Ukraine causing increased carbon emissions globally, higher food prices

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Leslie Wells

the sun sets over a wheat field in Ukraine with the Ukrainian flag flying in the foreground. — A new study from O’Neill’s Jerome Dumortier predicts the war in Ukraine will have global effects on food prices, food insecurity, and climate change.

Written by: Teresa Mackin and Leslie Wells

The disruption of crop production after the Russian invasion of Ukraine is expected to increase carbon emissions and food prices across the globe, without easing food insecurity.

New research published this week by Jerome Dumortier, associate professor at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at IUPUI, uses economic simulation models to predict the short-term and long-term effects of the war on climate change, crop prices, and food shortages.

(more…)

O’Neill students opt for Fall Break of service and learning

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Leslie Wells

Group of students stand in a field with the mountains behind them, holding an IUPUI flag. — Students can spend their Fall and Spring Breaks on service learning trips through the Alternative Break program.
Photo courtesy: Amber Greaney

Looking for a way to connect your Fall Break to service in your field of interest? IUPUI’s Alternative Break program gives students the chance to participate in a service-learning experience with community organizations.

For 2022, the Alternative Fall Break trip lasts from October 14 through October 18. This year’s program is titled The Great Derangement: Humans, Nature, and Future. The project focuses on how environmental sustainability and justice interact with social and economic development.

“With the rapid increase in population, urbanization, and global warming, the challenges cities face are also on the rise as limited resources must be shared with more people,” says Alternative Breaks Coordinator Medha Kulkarni. “This trip will focus on exploring several aspects of environmental sustainability, recycling, and factors impacting ecological barriers and justice on a local, state, and federal level.”

Dates: October 14–18
Cost: $30
Applications due: Monday, September 19 by 11:59 p.m.
Location: Urban Midwest setting outside Indiana

Details of the program’s exact location will be revealed during the first of two mandatory trip meetings on September 30 and October 7. You can learn more about the program and apply to attend at this link. The program will run another option in the spring during Spring Break.

Alternative breaks provide a particularly unique opportunity for O’Neill students, who often fill sustainability and social justice spaces.

As a student, O’Neill alum Amber Greaney (BSPA’20, MPA’21) traveled to Kentucky and Tennessee for a service project about land management and ecotourism. During her trip, the group helped build a section of the Cumberland Trail. Amber shared more from her experience and why she chose to participate:

(more…)

O’Neill assistant professor studies impact of nonfatal gun violence on survivors and families

Posted on August 29, 2022 by Leslie Wells

Woman puts her hand on a man's arm to console him.

When O’Neill Assistant Professor Lauren Magee meets with survivors of nonfatal shootings and their family members, she’s focused on their health and well-being.

“We don’t fully understand the ripple effects of the consequences of nonfatal shootings,” she explains.

Magee says that’s because there’s a lack of data and research on the topic—nearly 30 years of missing research, in fact, thanks to a 1996 amendment that stopped most federal research on gun violence and injuries.

She’s working to change that. In 2021, she was named an Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) KL2 Early Career Investigator awardee. She partnered with several colleagues from the IU School of Medicine to study nonfatal gun violence. They’ve found that survivors and their family members—particularly young family members—suffer both direct and indirect trauma after shootings.

Lauren Magee presents research at a city-county council meeting.
Photo via Councillor La Keisha Jackson (Twitter)

But getting help isn’t always easy. Magee says survivors and their families may not know about or may not be able to access necessary services that would help them heal physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“If we understand the mental health needs of survivors and family members, leaders can work to address the lingering trauma caused by nonfatal shootings,” Magee says. “We talk about health equity and wanting to build healthy communities, but that is not possible if gun violence is part of everyday life for any community.”

(more…)

O’Neill students work to expand composting program at IUPUI

Posted on August 22, 2022 by Leslie Wells

Woman in red IUPUI Sustainability shirts holds a composting bin as she helps another students put bananas in the bin. — Aspen Grieshaber helped launch a composting program on campus.

More students living on campus can now think twice about their environmental impact at home. And it’s thanks to a highly motivated team of faculty, staff, and O’Neill students at IUPUI’s Office of Sustainability who working in the present to make IUPUI more sustainable in the future.

They’re expanding the existing composting program from Riverwalk Apartments to the remaining residence halls of Ball Hall, North Hall, and University Tower. Students living in those buildings can sign up now to receive a free composting kit. The kit includes a small countertop container, waste bags, and information about composting.

The process is simple. Students collect organic waste—things like food scraps, plants, and even some forms of paper products—in the container, then place their compostable waste into a designated compost bin where it is picked up and composted off-site. From there, it returns to campus as compost soil that is reused in IUPUI’s Urban Gardens.

Aspen Grieshaber, an O’Neill Sustainability major, is one of them. As the Sustainable Waste Management Intern for IUPUI Sustainability, she worked on securing a grant that allowed for the expansion. When she took on the position, she also took over a program already under development from her predecessors-turned-alumni, Miranda Frausto and Amber Rose Greaney.

(more…)