Despite National Pushback, West Virginia Will Cut Faculty, Programs

A month of intense public and on-campus pressure did not dissuade the Board of Governors from siding with the administration to slash programs and positions.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Despite pleas from students, faculty members and academic organizations to change course, and despite student protesters disrupting its Friday meeting, the West Virginia University Board of Governors voted Friday to slash 143 faculty positions and 28 academic programs from its flagship Morgantown campus.

New York University Will Divest From Fossil Fuels in Win For Student Activists

One of largest private universities in US, with endowment of over $5bn, takes steps to address climate crisis after years of student protest

New York University plans to divest from fossil fuels, the Guardian has learned, following years of pressure from student activists. The move from one of the US’s largest private universities, whose endowment totals over $5bn, represents a significant win for the climate movement, organizers said.

New Documentary Sheds Light on CCNY Student Uprising of ‘69

The protests over Civil Rights and the Vietnam War that swept campuses in the 1960s are regarded as a high point in the history of youth activism, with extensive interest in the student demonstrations at institutions like Columbia University and the University of California, Berkeley. Less attention has been paid, however, to the 200 protests spearheaded by Black and other minoritized students over issues that directly affected their schools, which were some of the most impactful.

Erasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood

Sixty-plus years ago, the white leaders of Newport News, Virginia, seized the core of a thriving Black community to build a college. The school has been gobbling up the remaining houses ever since.

Katie Luck was sitting in her yard under a magnolia tree one afternoon in April when a school bus passed by. A white elementary school student shouted at her from a window, “You don’t belong here.”

Is the Political Climate in Southern States Driving a Faculty Exodus?

One-third of faculty in Florida, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina said they would pursue out-of-state jobs in the coming year, AAUP found.

Political interference in higher education and changes to tenure are significantly affecting faculty morale and retention in a handful of southern states, new survey findings from the American Association of University Professors suggest.

For Selective Institutions, Progress and Backsliding on Socioeconomic Diversity

New York Times database shows some colleges have gained in socioeconomic diversity, but many have declined.

Ten years ago, Washington University in St. Louis was among the least economically diverse selective colleges in the U.S. Only about 6 percent of first-year students were recipients of the Pell Grant, a federal, income-based form of financial aid.

Marine Lab Study Finds Microplastics Embedded in Tissues of Whales and Dolphins

Analysis indicates ingested microplastics migrate into whales’ fat and organs

BEAUFORT, N.C. – Microscopic plastic particles have been found in the fats and lungs of two-thirds of the marine mammals in a graduate student’s study of ocean microplastics. The presence of polymer particles and fibers in these animals suggests that microplastics can travel out of the digestive tract and lodge in the tissues.

Climate Change is Destroying Reefs, But the Effects Are More Than Ecological – Coral’s Been Woven Into Culture and Spirituality for Centuries

Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Aug. 30, 2023, bringing surging seas and winds over 100 mph. Meanwhile, another climate emergency has been unfolding along Florida’s coast this summer: a marine heat wave bleaching corals throughout the world’s third-largest barrier reef.

Petrels ‘little superheroes’ to Researcher Kate Sutherland

Researcher and island resident Kate Sutherland’s work studying the chemical isotopes of the feathers from black-capped petrels may lead to better understanding of the foraging habits — if not the varied physical appearance — of this difficult-to-study, endangered Gulf Stream bird species.

Sutherland is set to present her findings in October at a joint Waterbird Society and Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative conference in Florida.

Keeping Track: $220M for Ocean Observatories Initiative

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded a coalition of academic and oceanographic research organizations including Oregon State University a five-year, $220 million cooperative agreement to continue operating and maintaining the Ocean Observatories Initiative.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution leads the consortium, which also includes the University of Washington.

3 Questions: How Are Cities Managing Record-setting Temperatures?

MIT Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning David Hsu explains what municipal governments are doing as climate change accelerates.

July 2023 was the hottest month globally since humans began keeping records. People all over the U.S. experienced punishingly high temperatures this summer. In Phoenix, there were a record-setting 31 consecutive days with a high temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit or more.

Study Connects Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Polar Bear Population Declines, Enabling Greater Protections Under Endangered Species Act

New research from the University of Washington and Polar Bears International in Bozeman, Montana, quantifies the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and the survival of polar bear populations. The paper, published online Aug. 31 in Science, combines past research and new analysis to provide a quantitative link between greenhouse gas emissions and polar bear survival rates.

Institute Renamed to Reflect Holistic Approach to Energy, Environmental Research

The newly named Institute of Energy and the Environment has rebranded to better communicate its current structure and collaborative approach to solving energy and environmental challenges. Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023, the newly renamed Institute of Energy and the Environment — formerly the Institutes of Energy and the Environment — continues to advance energy and environmental research at Penn State by connecting and supporting interdisciplinary teams of researchers.

How Do We Dismantle Offshore Oil Structures Without Making the Public Pay?

As pressures build for the energy industry to move away from fossil fuels, two new reports examine the risk that fossil-fuel companies will default on future obligations to decommission offshore oil and gas infrastructure and pass the costs on to the public. The reports lay out recommendations to avoid such a scenario. They were just published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), as part of their broader Climate Law and Finance Initiative.

Student Research on Impacts of Pollution and Climate Change

Environmental Science students are working this summer to better understand forces harming ecosystems

From analyzing microplastics in our waterways to researching methane emissions in trees, American University’s Environmental Science graduate and undergraduate students are hard at work this summer, conducting research that has critical implications for better understanding how pollution and climate change are affecting our planet.

A Realization of Tomorrow: An RCC Fellow Reflects on the NYC March to End Fossil Fuels

On September 17, I joined an estimated 75,000 activists in a climate march through the streets of New York City to end fossil fuels. The morning of the March, I went to the gym at 7am for an arm workout, not realizing that my arms—not my legs—would soon be screaming in protest from four hours of waving a sign at the front of the Youth Hub. I donned my Rachel Carson Council t-shirt, a pair of walking shoes, and an edgy nose ring—not realizing I would end up on the front page of the New York Times.

Destruction and Resilience: Black Wall Street and Durham’s Struggle for Racial Justice and Food Security

Durham, North Carolina, is home to one of the most well-documented examples of a thriving, interconnected Black community in the twentieth-century American South. Named after the endless line of Black-owned businesses on West Parish Street, Durham’s Black Wall Street encapsulated the larger African-American community of Hayti, where residents could shop at Black-owned stores, worship in predominantly Black parishes, and apply for insurance from the nation’s first Black-owned insurance company, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Rooted in History, Branching into Activism: The Vanderbilt Divestment Movement

On November 13, 2022, the Vanderbilt University community was in mourning, not for a person, but for a tree. Vanderbilt’s Bicentennial Oak, estimated to be around 250 years old, fell on the evening of November 12. It was soon determined that the tree collapsed due to “age-related decay.” Saddened community members attended a candlelight vigil days later, laying flowers at the fallen tree and holding a 250-second moment of silence.

Greenwashers: Stop Trying to Recruit Gen-Z

It’s 2023, and in this year alone, Shell has paid influencers to show themselves filling cars with gas, BP has dialed back on their climate pledge while simultaneously marketing net zero progress, and a $1 billion lawsuit was filed against Delta Airlines for misleading consumers with sustainability claims. While there has been a substantial increase in discussions around greenwashing in recent years, it’s important to note that there are other actors beyond corporations who are to blame for making false claims about sustainability.

What the Frack? How Does Fracking Work and Why is it an Environmental Justice Issue?

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly referred to as hydrofracturing, hydrofracking, or simply fracking, is a well-stimulation process used by fuel companies to increase the oil and/or natural gas flow to wells from petroleum-bearing rock formations. It is done in geologic layers with low permeability such as tight sandstone, shale, and certain coal beds where oil and natural gas are naturally found.

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG): Clean or Climate Injustice?

Across the country, divestment campaigns are fighting for universities, pension funds, and more to take their investments out of fossil fuels. As recently as earlier this month, activists at New York University won a decade-long fight to divest their university’s endowment from fossil fuel investments. But as these campaigns persist, it’s important to keep a close eye on the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to put profit over people. From coal mines to oil extraction and shale drilling, the fossil fuel industry has lived many lives.

How Can I Reduce My Carbon Footprint?

In 2017, when I was a third-year student at college, I had the privilege of taking a course on climate change. This was a discussion course, but I had to read scientific research papers which was not something I enjoyed. Nevertheless, I knew I had to make up my mind to read articles to avoid myself getting confused during the discussion session. One particular week, we were asked to read about carbon footprints and I started liking readings more than ever before since I found that a carbon footprint can be applicable to our daily lives.

Do Climate Conferences Matter?

The United Nations’ Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm Al-Sheik, Egypt was one of the most unifying moments in my year for engaging a diverse group of stakeholders, despite some of its flaws. I was fortunate enough to attend the first week of COP27 through the SustainUS delegation and meet youth, elders, activists, policymakers, business leaders, and more from all over the world. More than just listening to their perspective or work, I discussed, learned, and grew in my ways of thinking about what change looks like and what avenues are open to us to enact that progress.

Divestment at Wellesley College?

Since 2021, when Wellesley College agreed to divest from fossil fuels, there has been only silence. When the Board of Trustees agreed to divest, most people thought of the issue as completed. Yet, because of the increase in oil prices around the globe, Wellesley’s exposure to fossil fuel investments has actually increased from $95 million to $115 million in Fiscal Year 2022. Although it says on the Wellesley website that exposure to fossil fuel investments is expected to decline over the next several years as existing investments fully liquidate, data has been hard to find, and clear communication has been lacking.