UMass Amherst Sustainability

11/07/2020

A message from Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy:

With the results of this most contentious presidential campaign finally clarified, albeit pending states’ certification of vote tallies, I again want to acknowledge the significance of this election as a testament to the power of participatory democracy. We witnessed a historic voter turnout in the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic, and many barriers erected to suppress voter participation, demonstrating the strength of the American people’s determination to ensure their rightful say in the future direction of our nation.

While there can be legitimate disagreements on policy matters, there is no denying that the personal style and rhetoric of the incumbent president contributed to a climate in which the interests of partisan politics were prioritized over the important work of governing. Nowhere was that more apparent than in the federal approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, systemic racism and immigration policy, all of which have had a direct impact on our campus community.

By embracing reason and advancing knowledge, we at UMass, along with colleges and universities nationwide, can contribute to an educated populace that values facts and truth over opinion and dogma. And through research, scholarship and expanding access to education, we can play a vital role in helping to meet the incredible challenges we face as a society. Among them are shortening the length and lessening the public health and economic toll of the pandemic, addressing racial inequity, confronting the threat of climate change, improving media literacy, and redesigning policies and practices that contribute to economic inequality and health disparities.

We offer our congratulations to President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, and pledge to do our part to help unite the American public for the common good. I want to restate our campus’s commitment to the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism. We are continuously striving for a campus environment, and a broader society, that celebrates the differences among us and fosters dignity and respect for all.

I am hopeful that, while striving for truth and understanding, all of us stay engaged and do our part to contribute to the formation of a more perfect union.

Full message here: https://www.umass.edu/newsoffice/article/message-about-presidential-election

10/29/2020

Yesterday, our sustainability fellows Lilly and Jesse took a tour of the Waste Recovery Transfer Facility at UMass! Jesse created these graphics to help teach you all about where your waste goes. Special thanks to Mike Dufresne for showing Jesse and Lilly around, and thanks to all the amazing staff at the Office of Waste Management who work so hard every day for our campus! 🙂 https://www.instagram.com/p/CG5btjlhYGo/?igshid=yll8ojc3f2lf

10/27/2020

Thanks for creating these Election Day resources, UMass Amherst Libraries!

Check out our list of workshops on such topics as Creative Commons, Zotero, Adobe After Effects, and Copyright and Information Policy. All free and online!

10/23/2020

Did you know we have an email listserv? Use it to announce and receive info about sustainability-related events, programs, courses, projects, opportunities, etc. at UMass Amherst and beyond. Open to all. Sign up to receive emails on the listserv here and join the community:

This list is used to announce sustainability-related events, programs, courses, projects, opportunities, etc. at UMass Amherst and beyond. Open to all.

10/19/2020

Informational webinar about BRiDGE Program
Monday Oct. 26 10-11AM

Over the past few years, BRiDGE, an organization founded by graduate students at UMass Amherst, and supported in part by the Institute of Diversity Sciences, has been working hard to help increase the representation and visibility of early career scientists from underrepresented groups within our respective fields. To date, BRiDGE has hosted 13scholars to the UMass campus, with each scholar presenting not only on their science, but also on their community impacts and academic mentorship.

BRiDGE’s mission feels more important than ever as we navigate conversations around White supremacy, anti-racism, and DEI within our departments and across our colleges and the campus more broadly. For this reason, BRiDGE is hosting a virtual webinar on Monday Oct. 26 to:
1) raise awareness about BRiDGE’s history and current work
2) answer questions about the program
3) expand the program’s reach to new departments.

Interested in learning more about BRiDGE, joining, or expanding to your department seminar? Please join us!

For more information see: https://blogs.umass.edu/bridge/upcoming-scholar/, and spread the word! The event is open and encouraged for all UMass community members.

Event registration (helpful for our records if you can register beforehand): https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_i0Td3QMXQr-JqV4tFkHtBA
When: Monday, October 26th, 10-11 am
Where: Zoom meeting ID: 995 7493 0371

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Bridge Panel. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

10/19/2020

Fri. Oct. 23 11:00am – 12:30pm Climate Group Seminar on ZOOM: "For the IDS October Climate Group Seminar, we welcome Paige Warren (Environmental Conservation) & Nathan Chan (Resource Economics) and Nigel Golden (Environmental Conservation). Warren & Chan will be speaking about "racial and income disparities associated with biased sampling in a large-scale community science project." Golden will be speaking about "modeling the effects of climate change on the distribution and abundance of a tundra alpine indicator species in Denali National Park and Preserve, AK." Discussion will follow."
RSVP by October 20th:

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: October IDS Climate Change, Diversities & Disparities Research Group Online Seminar. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

10/19/2020

Thurs. 10/22 4-5pm: The Implications of City, State, and Business Climate Leadership in the United States. Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc569LCG4OqKmOtuSqI_aNdVNnFrPOct3DLvoYJmuGKUO96Xw/viewform

This seminar by Leon Clarke, University of Maryland, discusses a new study on the implications of an emerging movement for subnational leadership on climate in the United States, and its implications for global climate change action. Questions? Contact Jody Lally [email protected]

Please indicate which of the seminars below you will be attending. A Zoom link will be sent the day of the event to the email you provide.

10/19/2020

Wed. 10/21 7-8:15pm: iCons Fall Workshop - Social Justice in the Energy Transition. Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtFp1D3eLl0Ys-U78UqyoeqEoxCT3nC-ZAjjrvxxSM3hsetw/viewform

This is an interactive workshop presented by a diverse STEM panel from academia, government, and industry. Participants are asked to read four articles in advance:
- Innu Nation Suing Hydro-Quebec over flooding of ancestral lands (link)
- Fates of Coal Workers in the fracking boom
- Racially-disparate benefits of residential solar energy
- A Conversation about "Just Energy Transition"
Participants should also come prepared to discuss the engagement question: Is Carbon Neutrality the right target for UMass Amherst in the coming decade?

Panelists are Prof. Christine Crago in Resource Econ.; Dr. Peter Green, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Dr. Ljiljana Rajic, Elateq. Questions? Contact [email protected]

UMass iCons (Integrated Concentration in Science) is delighted to invite you to the annual event – The UMass iCons Fall Workshop – that brings the UMass iCons community together, virtually this year, around a critical issue – Social Justice in the Energy Transition. We are pleased to present a...

10/19/2020

Wed. 10/21 4-5pm: Environmental Justice for Engineers. Registration: https://umass-amherst.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P2IEAIRCSvi1M63YGj5TJw?_x_zm_rtaid=bdzOvK_yQ7eHB-V3KLDg3Q.1603130482524.dc778a06bb5a789e2c9265d97ef89fdd&_x_zm_rhtaid=73

This panel will introduce some of the key concepts of environmental justice and discuss how they are relevant to engineering students and practitioners. The discussion is geared toward engineers but all are welcome. Panelists include Armanthia Duncan of Sociology; Christian Guzman of Environmental Engineering; Justin Richardson of Geoscience; and Michael Ash of Economics. Questions? Contact Erin Baker [email protected]

The environmental justice movement focusses on the disproportionate environmental harms that afflict minority and low-income communities. Engineers play an important role in designing the built environment and the facilities that impact communities; and they often hold key decision-making positions....