Momentum in Manhattan: Deepening Partnerships at NYU

In the vibrant streets of Greenwich Village, New York University (NYU) continues to prove what climate leadership can look like in the heart of a dense, fast-moving city. With a long-term commitment to carbon neutrality by 2040, NYU has paired ambitious goals with tangible action—investing in energy efficiency upgrades, renewable energy purchases, and campus-wide waste reduction efforts.

Building Environmental Leadership in Richmond

In the heart of Virginia’s capital, the University of Richmond sits along the James River, the longest river in the Commonwealth, flowing from the Appalachian Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay. Like the river itself, the University is shaped by movement, connection, and stewardship, blending sustainability-focused learning and programming with student leadership and a growing commitment to environmental responsibility. Across campus, Richmond is building clear pathways for students to connect academic work with tangible impact in their communities.

Environmental Sciences Professor Honored With Outstanding Teacher Award

Megan Lupek, an associate teaching professor of forestry and environmental resources in the College of Natural Resources, has been selected as a recipient of North Carolina State University’s 2025-26 Outstanding Teacher Award. The Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes NC State faculty for exceptional teaching and contributions to student learning; recipients are members of the Academy of Outstanding Teachers for the duration of their tenure.

New Concurrent Degree Programs With Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke Divinity School

The Nicholas School of the Environment and Duke Divinity School have announced two new concurrent degree programs at the intersection of theological studies and environmental issues. The Master of Theological Studies/Master of Environmental Management or Master of Forestry (MTS/MEM or MF) and the Master of Divinity/Master of Environmental Management or Master of Forestry (M.Div./MEM or MF).

Institute for Ocean Conservation Science Receives $1.6 Million Gift to Support Research

The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science (IOCS) at the State University of New York at Stony Brook has received a $1.6 million gift to establish a research fund that will further the institute’s excellence through innovative and environmentally responsible aquatic research. Founded in 2003 with a clear mission to advance ocean conservation through science, the IOCS is a vital contributor to the university’s mission of leveraging innovative research and education to create a better future for the global community.

Yale Bird-Friendly Building Initiative Wins International Excellence Award

Yale University’s Bird-Friendly Building Initiative, a project that aims to accelerate the adoption of bird-friendly design in the built environment, has been recognized with a 2025 Excellence Award by the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN). Yale won in the Partnerships for Progress category, which honors collaborations that engage external partners—from nonprofits to government to private industry—to disseminate knowledge, research, and best practices in ways that will benefit the communities they serve.

Grants, Gifts Help Keep the Miami University Natural Areas Open For All

A $5,300 grant from the Greater Oxford Community Foundation will support bridge and trail improvements in the Miami University Natural Areas, a 1,000 acre greenbelt that provides 22 miles of trails for students and community members. 

 The Natural Areas also recently received a donation of $15,000 from an area resident who wishes to remain anonymous.

How NYU Students Are Expanding Access to Sustainable Fashion

From mending denim to learning machine sewing, students are rethinking fashion through repair and reuse. In a typical week at NYU, a classroom on 370 Jay St. is filled with students threading sewing needles, patching worn denim and learning how to use sewing machines for the first time. The workshops are part of Future Fashion Frontier, a student-led initiative launched by NYU’s sustainable fashion club Future Fashion Group that highlights sustainable practices by diverting waste from landfills, promoting reuse and expanding education.

Trump Administration Drops Appeal Over Its $1.2B Demand From UC System

The federal government agreed to no longer challenge an injunction that blocked its mass grant cancellations and hefty payment demand. Dropping the appeal represents another legal setback for the administration as it targets high-profile colleges under civil rights laws, a strategy that has elsewhere — including at Columbia and Northwestern universities — resulted in deals with monetary penalties and policy changes attached.

Justice Department Sues Harvard For Data as It Investigates How Race Factors Into Admissions

The Trump administration is suing Harvard University, saying it has refused to provide admissions records that the Justice Department demanded to ensure the Ivy League school stopped using affirmative action in admissions. In a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Massachusetts, the Justice Department said Harvard has “thwarted” efforts to investigate potential discrimination. It accused Harvard of refusing to comply with a federal investigation and asked a judge to order the university to turn over the records.

Education Department to Nix Race-based Criteria For McNair Program

The Education Department’s plans to overhaul the eligibility criteria for the program mark the latest move by the Trump administration to stamp out race-based scholarships and programs in higher education. 

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a legal memo declaring that several of the Education Department’s grant programs for underrepresented students and minority-serving institutions were unconstitutional because of their racial or ethnic criteria.

Medical Researchers Win Permanent Restoration of Research on Federal Website

Nearly a year after their scholarly research about endometriosis, suicide risk, and patient safety was removed from a government-hosted website because it included references to the LGBTQ+ community, two university researchers have secured a binding agreement requiring the government to maintain the court-ordered restoration of their and others’ work. The agreement prohibits the federal government from removing more research from the website in the future for the same ideological reasons.

Professors Claim Academic Freedom is Under Threat. What Is It?

As state and federal government leaders seek to reform higher education, it has reignited a debate about the constitutionality of these efforts and protections under the First Amendment. Indiana lawmakers have passed a handful of contentious laws in the past two years regarding higher education in the state. This includes mandating "intellectual diversity" on campus, a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, new tenure productivity standards and a mass consolidation of low-enrolling degree programs.

Warren, Sanders Want GAO to Investigate Education Department Dismantling

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are petitioning the Government Accountability Office to investigate the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. In a letter first obtained by ABC News, the two senators call for nonpartisan congressional watchdog to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the department winding down its functions and transferring offices to other agencies.

Congress Has Passed an Education Budget. See How Key Programs Are Affected

After more than a year of uncertainty over how a Republican-controlled Congress under President Donald Trump would change federal education funding, lawmakers on Tuesday approved a fiscal 2026 budget that maintains level funding for virtually every existing K-12 program. The House voted 217-214 on Feb. 3 to approve a package of five spending bills the Senate had already voted to support, including for the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

Solar Panels Are on the Horizon For WVU Evansdale Campus Thanks to Student Efforts

A student-led effort to add solar power to the West Virginia University campus has been making headway in recent years, and it’s closer than ever to becoming a reality. The project is being spearheaded by  Student Government Association president Colin Street, a junior in the  Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources majoring in political science, environmental energy resources management, and multidisciplinary studies.

GW Meets 2025 Fossil Fuel Divestment Goal, Set to Hit Interim Carbon-neutrality Target By Year-end

Officials met their pledge to phase out fossil fuel investments in GW’s endowment and plan to reach their interim carbon-neutrality target by the end of 2025. A Monday sustainability announcement provided an update on GW’s 2020 commitments, which officials made after years of student protests, including divesting from fossil fuel companies by 2025, achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.

Historic Ocean Treaty Underpinned by Oregon State University Science Takes Effect Jan. 17

Less than two years after OSU scientists led the publication of a landmark marine protected area guide in Science, the United Nations in June 2023 adopted the text of the treaty. The treaty’s aim is to safeguard and sustainably use the high seas, the two-thirds of the ocean not under individual nations’ control. Known officially as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, the treaty was under discussion for more than two decades.

George Washington Carver: Soil, Science, and the Power of Restoration

Born into slavery in the final years of the Civil War, George Washington Carver would go on to become one of the most influential agricultural scientists in American history. Raised during Reconstruction and educated against extraordinary odds, Carver devoted his life to understanding plants not simply as commodities, but as partners in restoring land and livelihoods.

A Comic is Worth A Million Words: RCC Leads Art-Advocacy Workshop at St. Mary’s College of Maryland

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a comic worth? On February 12th, Rachel Carson Council Director of Policy and Strategic Development Joy Reeves led a second climate cartooning workshop at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Students learned about the intersections of art and advocacy and spent the second half of class trying it out for themselves in an interactive ideation and drawing session (gallery attached).

Young Rachel Carson

This sketch of a young Rachel Carson was created by Katie Lindsay, a student at Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton, North Carolina. Drawing inspiration from a historical photograph of Carson, Katie’s work reimagines the early years of a writer and scientist whose courage reshaped environmental awareness in America.

The portrait reminds us that leadership begins somewhere, often with curiosity, observation, and a willingness to speak truth when it matters most.

Seaver College Student Belle Li Awarded Rachel Carson Council National Environmental Leadership Fellowship

Seaver College senior Belle Li has been awarded the Rachel Carson Council National Environmental Leadership Fellow (RCC NELF) for the 2025–26 year. The prestigious program, in namesake of American marine scientist and influential writer Rachel Carson, recognizes college students nationwide with a passion for environmentalism who have made tangible and valuable contributions in stewardship of our natural world and its citizens.

RCC Alumni Spotlight: Chiara Grimes Fights for the Rights of Nature

This is the first installment in a Q&A series highlighting the accomplishments of recent RCC fellowship alumni. The series explores where former RCC fellows are today and how their time with the Rachel Carson Council influenced their career paths. We sat down with Chiara Grimes, a master’s degree student at George Mason University, to discuss her ongoing work, current passions, and future plans.

Living Lichen

I dare you to look down. Not down at your screen but further, to where a bundle of color blooms flat on a rock. Or on a tree, or paving stone. Welcome to the world of lichen. Here, several millimeters over a barren surface, something thrives. Lichen is not a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it kind of thing. Lichen is not any one thing at all. Unlike mosses, which are an ancient phylum of plants, lichens don’t fit neatly into any category we have for life forms because lichen is not one thing but instead a symbiotic interaction.

Reviving Our Rivers

The South River was once a free-flowing tidal estuary, stretching just 15 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Massachusetts. In 1640, the South River became the centerpiece of the newly established town of Marshfield. Around this same time, a dam was constructed on the river to power a gristmill for local farmers. From this point on, the natural flow of the South River was blocked. Over the next few hundred years, the dam eventually became a sawmill that operated from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.

Change, the Dreaded Constant: Conserving Point Reyes National Seashore

Clutching the carpeted seat beneath me, focused on slow deep breaths, and straining my neck to get a clear view of the road ahead of me, I wasn’t sure my destination was worth the car sickness. When we stopped to eat bagged lunches at the Golden Gate Bridge, the journey from Santa Cruz to Point Reyes seemed to be moving at a glacial, torturous pace. The crisp autumn air in the foggy mystique surrounding the bridge at least began to calm my stomach.

The Smithsonian’s $69 Million Dollar Exhibit

The Smithsonian’s new Bird House is an impressive scientific space, designed to educate visitors about bird migration, conservation, and the ecological roles of birds across the Americas. For first-time visitors, it is clear that immense care went into creating immersive habitats, sustainability upgrades, and bilingual educational signage. But for those who remember the old Bird House that closed in 2017, the experience is unmistakably different.

Home Amongst Herring Gulls

This uninhabited island is not so uninhabited. Penikese Island sits at the edge of the chain of Elizabeth Islands scattered off the coast of Massachusetts. On clear nights you can see New Bedford twinkling in the north, the blinking red lights of offshore wind farms in the south, and the Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse casting its white beam across the water every six seconds with the precision of a metronome.

In the Quiet After Storms: Still Humming

Just before Jamaica wakes, while hills hold their breath and the world hovers between night and morning, the Doctor Bird is already in motion. The Red-billed Streamertail (Trochilus polytmus) is endemic to the island, found nowhere else on earth. The males, with their long tail streamers trailing like silk ribbons, often dominate our national imagination, personifying the phrase “likke but tallawah”. But every bird, male and female alike, plays a quieter role in keeping this place alive.

Climate Change: The Ultimate Human Rights Violation

I missed my last day of high school because of climate change. After spending my freshman and sophomore years largely on Zoom due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I was looking forward to a normal senior year in person. I was especially excited for the end of the year awards ceremony held in front of the whole school, where I hoped to cheer on my friends and maybe win an award or two myself. However, the week before my final day of high school, the sky turned red.

The Hidden Cost of American Consumption

Across the United States, Republic Services, a multi billion dollar waste management company, has exhibited recurring landfill failures. This has included PFAS water contamination, methane leaks, air pollution, and mounting lawsuits, which all point to systemic regulatory and corporate shortcomings. These failures have resulted in localized environmental degradation and serious human health concerns.

The Cranes of Decatur

The first thing I noticed was the noise. It was as if the world had started to hum. The sounds of the wind, the rustling of the grass, the laughter and footfalls of families walking on the paths, all of this was obscured, replaced by the trills and chatters and caws of the cranes.

“It’s so loud.” I turned to my friends. But, of course, they couldn’t hear me. “Let’s go see them!” I repeated, louder now, and we followed the crowds of people heading towards the viewing center.

From Mermaids to Marine Debris

Growing up, Ariel was my favorite Disney princess. None of the others came close. What could be better than being part human and part fish? Watching The Little Mermaid, I laughed hysterically when Ariel, eager to imitate the humans, mistakenly used a discarded fork as a hairbrush.

During the iconic song “Part of Your World,” she sings about her fascination with the various man-made “gadgets and gizmos” that end up in her underwater oasis.

Strawberry Fields Forever…With Pesticides

It’s hard not to feel pessimistic when it seems like there are never-ending amounts of chemicals being mixed to make more pesticides.

People like Rachel Carson, with Silent Spring, and Dolores Huerta, with the UFW, fought to ban DDT and forever chemicals. Yet, we still see communities suffering like in Watsonville, California, surrounded by fields full of pesticides.

Beyond Polarization: Choosing the Planet Without Choosing Sides

In January 2026, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services released the 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a document that shapes everything from school lunches to federal nutrition programs.

While the guidelines were informed by years of scientific review from an independent advisory committee, the final version contradicted in notable ways from that science.