Each year, the University of Colorado recognizes outstanding individuals and departments who demonstrate a sincere commitment to reducing the burden that CU-Boulder places on the environment with the Campus Sustainability Awards.

Outstanding efforts make CU’s successful and challenging approaches to attaining sustainability possible, and awardees exemplify CU’s continuing efforts to become a sustainable institution. They set the example for environmental stewardship and responsibility.

Some of the awardees have made groundbreaking efforts that will change the overall way CU operates, and others make an impact on the community and campus environment with their everyday actions.  All in all, the campus community is contributing toward a sustainable future, thanks to the dedication and collaboration of its members.

The campus sustainability awards program was established in 1997 to recognize outstanding individuals and departments demonstrating strong commitments to reducing CU-Boulder’s impact on the environment.

Presenting the 2014 Campus Sustainability Awardees

• Max Boykoff, Green Faculty
• Mark Lapham, Individual Achievement
• Megan McGrath, Individual Achievement
• OIT Academic Technology Services, Departmental Achievement
• Miranda Redmond, Student Leadership
• Matt Ribarich, Student Leadership
• Virginia Schultz, Individual Achievement
• Nii Armah Sowah, Civic Achievement

Special recognition certificates are awarded to:

• Center for Community Garden, Partnership for Sustainability
• Closed Loop Film Plastics Program, Partnership for Sustainability
• Population Conversation Program, Civic Achievement
• Jacqueline Richardson, Individual Achievement

More information.

Ogmius, the newsletter of CSTPR, Issue 38 is out:

Ogmius Exchange
STePPS: Science, Technology, Policy and Politics of Sport by Roger Pielke, Jr.

Excerpt: Here at the CIRES Policy Center we’ve started up a new research program focused on the governance of sport. The program has been in the works over the past several years after I discovered how closely related many questions of sports governance are to more common topics found within the field of science and technology policy.

A few years ago when teaching a seminar on science and technology studies, I developed two units that used sports as a context for exploring some difficult topics. One case focused on technological augmentation of the human body. We looked at the case of Oscar Pistorious and the policies which governed how athletes who use prosthetics would be eligible to participate in the Olympics, competing against athletes who did not use prosthetics. The case raised challenging questions about what it means to be human, what it means to be augmented, and the role of technologies in our lives. Ultimately, the case came around to policies – what rules should govern technological augmentation in sport? Read more …

Research Highlight
The Dynamics Of Vulnerability: Rethinking Our Approach To Drought In The Face Of Climate Change by Dan Zietlow

Much of eastern Australia is currently in the midst of some of the driest months on record. Similarly, wintertime droughts are becoming increasingly common for the Mediterranean region. Closer to home, California posted its driest documented year in 2013. These regions of the world, as well as many others, successfully mitigated short-term effects of drought in the past by implementing “no regrets” strategies. Such policies are arguably good for the preservation of our environment regardless of climate change, with common solutions including mandatory water restrictions and more efficient methods of water conservation (e.g., low-flow toilets or xeriscaping). With increased knowledge of anthropogenic-induced climate change, we must also begin to ask: do “no regrets” solutions reduce water system vulnerability in conditions of long-term climate change? Lisa Dilling, a scientist with the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Colorado, and her colleagues are beginning to ask such a question.

Dilling is the principal investigator for the Interactions of Drought and Climate Adaption for Urban Water (IDCA) project. Her work aims to understand the dynamic nature of vulnerability to identify drought management policies that are effective across the timescales on which climate change operates. Vulnerability (i.e., susceptibility to harms like drought) is a function of one’s exposure and sensitivity to that vulnerability, as well as society’s capacity to adapt. With this in mind, it is often asserted that actions taken to reduce vulnerability to current climate variability will help in adapting to climate change (the “no regrets” solutions discussed earlier). Evidence suggests, though, that ignoring the spatial and temporal dynamic of exposure to vulnerability may solve the problem in the short-term, but may shift vulnerability to other parts of the system or limit our future ability to adapt. In the case of drought, there are concerns that restructuring urban water systems to permanently conserve water might limit flexibility to cut back on water usage during future drought. Read more …

View full issue.

On April 15, Max Boykoff participated as a judge for University of Colorado’s Graduate Teacher Program’s Public Speaking Project 2014 “Communicating Complex Ideas”.

About the program

The Graduate Teacher Program solicited proposals from graduate students in both Arts & Humanities and STEM for a new project on public speaking. Graduate students develop their dissertations using complex language and models, which may be incomprehensible to those outside their disciplines. This project allows future academic leaders to receive assistance in translating and presenting the content of their work for a lay audience. Selected graduate students will receive a $500 grant for their participation in the project.

Graduate students attended three group meetings during fall semester and will attend three during spring semester to work on their projects, receive individual public speaking guidance, and practice with filming their presentations. Participants will present their work and be filmed at the Capstone event on April 15 in the Abrams Lounge at the Center for Community on the Boulder campus. They will be evaluated for an award and will also have the opportunity to disseminate their work via the CU Boulder Graduate Teacher Program YouTube channel, which will be promoted through current GTP social media platforms. Also, through our contacts, some participants may have the opportunity to have aspects of their work featured beyond the campus. Awardees are working with GTP staff, faculty from the Program in Journalism & Mass Media, and from the Department of Communication, the Department of Film Studies, and staff from PBS to develop their projects. The project mentors provide professional support to help participants express concepts and ideas from their work in language that is understandable and compelling, thus expanding their ability to educate effectively. Awardees may create a brief video/media project, a written piece (such as an op ed piece, a letter to the editor, or a blog), or an oral presentation. More information.

Emily Pugach, one of two winners of the American Association for the Advancement of Science “Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering” Workshop Student Competition recently attended the workshop and provided this report:

“The workshop truly exceeded my expectations, and those of all the participants. As a graduate student who relies on federal dollars with little knowledge of the process and mechanisms by which these dollars are allocated, it was eye opening to learn more about these procedures and what I can do to advocate for my own research and that of the University. Truly I cannot say enough good things about the specific workshops, the people I met from AAAS, and the individuals we met within our congressmen’s offices. I sincerely hope AAAS makes the CASE workshop an annual event and that CU can continue to participate.”

Photo: Chris Schaefbauer, Jared Polis and Emily Pugach at the American Association for the Advancement of Science “Catalyzing Advocacy in Science and Engineering” Workshop.