The Rachel Carson Campus Network Takes Chicago by Storm

We started the Rachel Carson Campus Network in 2014 because we recognized that academia — students, faculty, campus organizations, and research centers— is a crucial arena for influencing environmental justice. Passionate students sound the alarm bell about the ever-entrenched role of the fossil fuel industry in funding education and greenwashing their extractive histories. Faculty teach their students to question assumptions we all have about change, progress, what is right and wrong, and even learning.

The Conditions That Led to the ‘Unprecedented’ Los Angeles County Fires

Flames from the devastating Palisades Fire—the largest of four fires currently impacting Los Angeles County—have engulfed nearly 16,000 acres as of Wednesday afternoon since it was first reported by Cal Fire on Tuesday. About 1,000 structures have been destroyed, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone confirmed during Wednesday’s press briefing.

The ‘weather whiplash’ Fueling the Los Angeles Fires is Becoming More Common

It’s supposed to be the rainy season in Southern California, but the last time Los Angeles measured more than a tenth-inch of rain was eight months ago, after the city logged one of the soggiest periods in its recorded history. Since then, bone-dry conditions have set the stage for the catastrophic wildfires now descending upon the metropolis from multiple directions.

Clark University Launches School of Climate, Environment, and Society and Names Inaugural Dean

School builds on decades of leadership and impact in addressing the world’s most complex and intractable challenges

In a vital effort to address our planet’s most profound and urgent challenges through a distinctive lens, Clark University has announced the establishment of the School of Climate, Environment, and Society, to open in Fall 2025.

Building a “Climate University”

Duke has been committed to building a culture of sustainability for decades, but the effort has taken on new urgency as the threat of climate change becomes more real. In 2024, the university reached carbon neutrality – no net greenhouse gas emissions. In 2025, it will convert to 50 percent solar power. The remodeling of campus infrastructure for greater efficiency will continue well into the coming decades, as Duke convenes broad-ranging discussions about the climate future and makes every degree program include climate awareness.

App State Receives Grant For Appalachian Heritage Garden Enhancements

Appalachian State University has received an AgSouth Farm Credit grant for enhancements to the Appalachian Heritage Garden.

The grant was part of 43, totaling nearly $200,000, awarded to local non-profit organizations for the 2024-2025 Growing Our Communities Grant program. The recipients were selected from 187 grant applications received across Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Protecting Monarch Butterflies

Monarch butterflies are among the most beloved insects in North America. They are brightly colored and unique, both as caterpillars and later as mature insects. Monarchs are found in every U.S. state except Alaska, so nearly everyone has seen a monarch flutter by on a warm day.

During their incredible yearly migration, monarchs travel each fall to a few forested areas in central Mexico and coastal California to overwinter. These are special places, cool enough that butterflies don’t burn too much energy, but warm enough that they don’t freeze.

‘For me, environmental justice goes deep’

Christina Gerhardt, Clark’s new Henry J. Leir Endowed Chair of Comparative Literature, recognizes that today’s college students face what a colleague has termed a “polycrisis,” the confluence of systemic tipping points in historical and economic inequities, and climate change. Yet, as she prepares to teach Introduction to Environmental Humanities this spring, Gerhardt does not plan to deliver the “doom-and-gloom narrative” that dominates many university courses and media covering climate change.

Science Is Revealing the Social Disparities at the Root of Urban Ecosystems

When it comes to biodiversity, research shows not all neighborhoods are created equal. They’re defined by injustices past and present. On a cloudy September morning in Prospect Park, a massive swath of greenery amid Brooklyn’s concrete sprawl, the fall migrants are flying fast and furious. A group of birders spin excitedly in a clearing, calling out as new species appear. “What a hotspot,” says Valentina Alaasam as she scribbles down each name in rapid succession.

Climate Change Threatens the Mental Well-being of Youths. Here’s How to Help Them Cope.

A 2022 poll of 1,500 U.S. teenagers found that 89 percent of them regularly think about the environment, “with the majority feeling more worried than hopeful.”

We’ve all read the stories and seen the images: The life-threatening heat waves. The wildfires of unprecedented ferocity. The record-breaking storms washing away entire neighborhoods. The melting glaciers, the rising sea levels, the coastal flooding.

A Generation in Crisis

Why are an unprecedented number of college students reporting mental health issues? A psychiatrist who treats them has some ideas.

"I don’t understand it—she’s always been a confident, cheerful kid,” my friend says over lunch, soon after both our children have started college. She’s worried about her daughter, a varsity athlete who has been benched for episodes of heart racing and faintness on the field that were recently diagnosed as panic attacks.

California Colleges Confront Loss as L.A. Burns

Although colleges in Los Angeles escaped serious fire damage, leaders say they face a long road ahead as hundreds of students and faculty were displaced.

The past week has been a blur for Fred Farina, the California Institute of Technology’s chief innovation officer, who lost his home in the fires still tearing through Los Angeles.

To Reduce its Carbon Footprint, UNC Could Burn Pellets Composed of Paper and Plastic

While burning the pellets would reduce greenhouse gases from the university’s physical plant, it would increase harmful levels of nitrogen oxides, lead, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds. On a Friday afternoon in mid-January, college students hugged themselves as they lumbered through the University of North Carolina campus. Temperatures teetered just above freezing. Snow would soon skitter in from the west.

Here’s How Trump May Reshape Higher Education in His First 100 Days

President-elect Donald Trump may very well spend his first 100 days in office reversing Biden-era higher education policies.

Donald Trump will soon assert control over the Department of Education (ED) again, promising to enact changes sure to shake up the U.S. higher education system. The president-elect didn’t often highlight his higher education agenda on the campaign trail, but his actions during his first term in office hint at possible plans to come.

Biden Administration Reaches Historic Milestone: Over 5 Million Americans Receive Student Loan Forgiveness

The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that more than 5 million Americans have been approved for student loan forgiveness under the Biden-Harris Administration, with total debt relief reaching $183.6 billion through 28 separate debt relief initiatives.

Monday's announcement details three major components of relief.

Report: A Growing Number of Faculty Feel Censored

A growing number of faculty say that they find it difficult to have an open and honest conversation on campus about at least one hot button political topic and fear being disciplined for their teaching, research, academic discussions, or off-campus speech. That’s some of the findings from a newly released report titled, “Silence in the Classroom: The 2024 FIRE Faculty Survey Report,” by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

Historians Condemn ‘Scholasticide’ in Gaza at Conference

American Historical Association members attending the group’s annual conference voted 428 to 88 Sunday to approve a resolution opposing “scholasticide” in Gaza and the U.S. government’s funding of Israel’s war.

The move makes the American Historical Association the latest scholarly group to express a stance on the war in Gaza— despite conservative criticism, reaching all the way up to the president-elect, of pro-Palestinian advocacy in academe.

Tracking Higher Ed’s Dismantling of DEI

The Chronicle is tracking higher ed’s dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. As colleges make changes in response to anti-DEI legislation and mounting political pressure, an inconsistent and confusing landscape has emerged. This resource aims to document the changes and help readers better understand how the campaign against DEI has actually reshaped campuses. This tracker collects changes that public colleges have made to offices, jobs, training, diversity statements, and other DEI-related activities as the result of bills, executive orders, system mandates, and other state-level actions.

Florida Bill Would Block Undocumented Students From Selective Public Colleges

The proposal comes the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis called for a special legislative session focused on implementing tougher immigration policies.

Fine is among the Florida lawmakers who have taken a strong stance against immigration. He also introduced a bill last month to reverse a state law that allows certain undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at Florida’s public colleges.

Scientists Cite Disease “epidemic” in Launch of New “Center to End Corporate Harm”

Citing an “industrial epidemic of disease,” a group of scientists have launched an organization aimed at tracking and preventing diseases tied to pollution and products pushed by influential companies. The new “Center to End Corporate Harm” is based at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and will bring together scientists to develop strategies “to counter the destructive influence of polluters and poisoners.”

Ynés Mexía: Redefining Botany and Conservation

Ynés Enriquetta Julietta Mexía was one of the most successful female plant collectors of her time. As a botanist, activist, and conservationist, she shattered stereotypes and opened new pathways in science and preservation. Starting her career at the age of 55, Mexía spent 13 remarkable years collecting and categorizing over 145,000 plant specimens. Defying Expectations: Born in Washington, D.C., in 1870, Ynés Mexía faced a tumultuous early life marked by loss and upheaval.

Fossil Fuel Racism and Coal Ash in Alabama

A 56-foot statue of Vulcan, the Roman god of blacksmithing, watches from a ridge above Birmingham. From the 1880s to early 1900s, the “Magic City” erupted as a significant industrial center for the southern US. It was one of the few places on earth to contain iron, limestone, and coal, all three resources necessary to produce steel. The city’s population boomed with the sudden need for factory workers; mines sprouted across Alabama to feed the blast furnaces in Birmingham. The steel and coal-mining industries quickly replaced Alabama’s agricultural economy.

Hurricane Helene and Unnatural Disasters

Our Carolina coasts have gotten heartbreakingly used to being in the eye of the storm. Supplies are stockpiled, sandbags ready, plywood and generators at hand, and webs of shelters, first responders, and early warning systems in place. We carry generations of knowledge on how to survive the once-in-a-lifetime storms that now seem to come every year. We have evacuation protocols, we’re well-versed in emergency preparedness. There are supplies stockpiled, sandbags on hand, plywood and generators and webs of shelters.

We’re Alive and We Have the Power to Breathe

In early January, clouds of smoke changed the air quality in Los Angeles. Breathing outside without a special mask ran the risk of the intake of thousands of tiny, but toxic, cancer-causing particulates. People in the area have been warned not to breathe their air — the air from which millions of Angelenos took their first breaths, the air that gives them life. The sight of blood orange and the sound of embers crackling remained on my mind after I scrolled endlessly through videos of the multiple wildfires ravaging the shrubbed hills of LA County.

When Leaders Fail, Communities Rise

This past November, hundreds of politicians, leaders, organizations, and activists from around the globe gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan for COP29. The COP, or Conference of the Parties, has met every year since 1995 to make decisions about solving the world’s most pressing issues related to climate change. Just outside the halls of the climate summit, hundreds of protestors came together. Among their demands was a greater allocation of funds for climate finance, which calls on wealthy nations to provide lower-income countries in the Global South with funds to adapt to climate change.

The Green Divide: The Unequal Access to Parks and Green Spaces

I grew up living on the York Road Corridor in northeast Baltimore. York Road, which eventually becomes Greenmount Avenue as you head south towards downtown serves as a historic dividing line between race and class. In the “Predominant Race” map shown, the harsh, straight line that separates predominantly Black census tracts from predominantly White ones is York Road/Greenmount.

Twilight of the Fireflies

Nestled in a bed of smooth, speckled stones, I peered through the meticulously arranged shrubs that framed the top of my hidden refuge. All clear, I thought, crouching back down, careful not to crush the tiny flowers brushing against my knees. The cool summer night carried an air of familiar excitement as my neighborhood friends and I gathered for our cherished tradition—Ultimate Hide and Seek. Our entire cul-de-sac transformed into an expansive playground, where one person would stand at the center of the asphalt and count down from 180 while the rest of us scattered to find the most ingenious hiding spots.

Could “Finding Nemo” Become a Fantastical Movie?

The opening scene of the movie, Finding Nemo, begins with clownfish hatching in the sea anemone of a coral reef. More specifically the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia, which expands for 1,429 miles and is teeming with more than 9,000 species. But I must wonder if the natural beauty that exists today will even be here in a matter of decades. The Great Barrier Reef has been on my bucket list since I was a child because of my fascination with the ocean, which stems from spending family reunions on the South Shore of Massachusetts.

Nature as Infrastructure: Exploring Nature-Based Solutions in Chicago

Communities everywhere must adapt to a changing climate. Today, cities are built using highly engineered ‘gray infrastructure’ that falls short in the face of extreme weather and other climate disruptions. Green infrastructure offers an alternative opportunity to rebuild natural connections and solve complex urban challenges.

What is green infrastructure?

Green infrastructure can be defined in many ways.

We Degrade; It Warns

The hellbender is the largest North American salamander with two subspecies, the Ozark and Eastern hellbenders. The slimy, spotted amphibian is characterized by a flattened head and small eyes. At maturity, they grow up to be many feet long and live as long as thirty years. Hellbenders are primarily nocturnal and walk on stream bottoms, occasionally swimming short distances to avoid predators. Their camouflaged complexion and tendency to hide beneath large, flat rocks and small stones disguises them from predators.

Climate Change and Seasonal Affective Disorder

The craving for reinvention seems to suck all of the life out of January. Weight Watchers ads work in tandem with gym promotions to shame Americans into “getting healthier.” Individuals set new regimens, hoping to sleep more and spend less time on their screens. How can people possibly have any fun with so many new standards implemented in their lives at once?

Reminiscing About the D.C. Streetcars and the Georgetown Circulator

In 2019, on the final day of my junior year of high school, a friend and I skipped school and paid two euros for a bus to take us to downtown Kaiserslautern, Germany. I was no expert at taking public transportation, but it was easy, cheap, and reliable enough to figure out. We walked along the cobblestone streets, went to the mall, ate pasta, and drank wine; it was the perfect way to welcome our last year and for me to say goodbye. That summer I moved to the United States from Germany and completed my degree in Virginia.