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The Implementer
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Higher Education Leading on Climate
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Produced by Second Nature
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May 2018
In this issue…
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American University Achieves Carbon Neutrality
Signatories Lead With Distinction
Cross-Sector Forums
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American University Achieves Carbon Neutrality
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How did they do it?
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This April, American University has announced and reported on reaching their carbon neutral goal. Congratulations, American is the first research University to achieve this goal.Through exciting renewable energy projects, innovative offset projects, and strong community leadership; they have accomplished their goals 2 years ahead of the 2020 date.
In addition, congratulations to Bowdoin College, for announcing they will meet their 2020 Carbon Neutral goal ahead of the schedule in 2018.
Both institutions are achieving their goals by partnering with other institutions on shared renewable energy purchases. Learn more about aggregated renewable energy purchasing.
Learn More
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Leading With Distinction
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New Initiative Regognizes Campus Progress
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In April, Second Nature launched the new Marks of Distinction initiative. More than 170 sigantory institutions received Marks of Distinction for setting high-performance goals, demonstrating and reporting measurable progress towards those goals, and for supporting Network activities.
Signatories worked hard to earn these Marks and have proudly shared their success with the public.
Now that the May reporting deadline is over, we have new data to evaluate, and more Marks of Distinctions to award. Get ready for round two in September!
Learn More
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Campuses Host Cross-Sector Forums
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The University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) schools are hosting climate change forums throughout the Spring and Summer of 2018 to bring together community and business leaders, elected officials and other local stakeholders.
These cross-sector meetings will be tailored to meet local and regional objectives shared across sectors and will aim to accelerate the implementation of research-driven climate policies and climate solutions. Visit our UC3 events page to learn more about forums that are happening near you!
Learn More
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June 25 - 26
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Net Positive for Higher Education Symposium at Hampshire College
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FEB 10-12, 2019
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Save the Date for the 2019 Higher Education Climate Leadership Summit
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RESOURCES
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3 Climate Myths
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By Meetings of the Mind
Think no one outside cities believes in climate change? Wrong! In fact, rural communities are acutely aware of changes in our natural systems. See how to dispel three myths about climate work outside of our biggest downtowns.
Learn More
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Cultivating Resilience Opportunity for Action
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By Island Press
A companion resource to the Community Resilience Reader. In this era of frequent and costly disasters—both natural and manmade—there is an urgent need to upgrade the resilience of the built environment. Planners and builders are stepping up to the challenge. To complement these efforts, various public- and private-sector groups have issued voluntary resilience standards in the hope of catalyzing a shift in building norms.
Download
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Climate Change Needs Behavior Change
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By Solution Search
Human behavior is the root cause of climate change. It can also be the solution. Do you have a successful strategy to help reduce carbon footprint through behavior change? Enter a contest now to win $25K.
Learn More
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FROM THE SECOND NATURE BLOG
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New Tool to Help Campuses Assess Resilience
By Mindy Blank, Executive Director of Community Resilience Organizations (CROs).
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What is the vision for resilience on your campus?
Resilience can be measured by learning from the past, examining the present, and envisioning and preparing for the future. Over the past few months CROs worked with Second Nature to develop a tool to help you zero in and evaluate where your campus is right now with its level of resilience and move toward your vision.
The Campus Evaluation of Resilience Dimensions is available online, and as a downloadable PDF.
Continue reading and get the PDF
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Resilience and Adaptation in New Orleans
By Thea Kindschuh, CRUX Portland Project Coordinator
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Last week I travelled to New Orleans to see what resilience and adaptation look like in a place ravaged time and again by natural and human-caused disasters. The visit was to attend the American Association of Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting alongside colleagues Tim Hitchins and Sachi Arakawa, who presented on a project funded in part through Climate Resilient Urban Campuses and Communities (CRUX), a Second Nature Program.
The week began with a tour of New Orleans’ adaptation and resilience to the area’s, which is located below-sea-level between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain. Since early white re-settlement, walls have been built to heighten the rim of the bowl and keep the water out. It was eerie to navigate these ecologically rich areas behind a wall, and to see where the city has blocked out nature and where it has been invited in, sometimes with devastating consequences.
Continue reading
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Welcome, Gina Stovall, our new Cross-Sector Climate Action Manager!
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Gina, is the Manager of Cross-Sector Climate Action where she manages the development of the University Climate Change Coalition (UC3) coalition and supports all of Second Nature’s collaborative cross-sector climate work. Gina’s work in academia, the public sector, and the not-for-profit world makes her particularly cognizant of the power of cross-sector engagement to prepare for and find solutions to climate change.
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