BROWN AND GREEN
A Quarterly Newsletter from the Brown Office of Sustainability
Summer Reflection
“Summertime is often a season of slowing down and enjoying the world around us. In today's times it is especially important to practice self-care and we remind ourselves of the healing power of spending quiet time connecting to the natural world and ourselves. I hope you find space in the outdoors this season and enjoy this edition of Brown & Green. We have missed our students and we look forward to the fall semester when our students can return to school - be it virtual or in-person."
Jessica Berry, Director, Office of Sustainability
Sustainability Events
Sustainability Showdown: Strategic Plan Edition
The Office of Sustainability will host its 2nd Sustainability Showdown panel this October. Join us virtually to learn about the next steps for Brown’s first Strategic Sustainability Plan. Date and time information will be published closer to the event on Today@Brown and Brown.edu/Sustainability.
NEWS @ BROWN
Sustainability Updates From Campus
Brown's Wind Turbines Go Operational
In 2019, Brown committed to developing its renewable energy portfolio as a part of its greenhouse gas reduction goals. Last month, Brown’s investment in renewables resulted in two wind turbines going operational in Texas. The turbines sit on a 419-megawatt wind farm and Brown’s two turbines are expected to produce 8-megawatts. The University will purchase renewable energy credits from the facility. According to Assistant Provost of Sustainability, Stephen Porter, “this partnership [with Clearway Energy Group and other funding organizations] is a key part of Brown University’s goal of getting to net-zero emissions by 2040. Power we purchase from [the wind farm] will offset about 30% of our campus electricity and will cut our net campus emissions by 15%.”
Greenhouse Gas Inventory To Guide Brown's Net-Zero Goal
To track towards its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals (75% reduction below FY18 levels by 2025 and net-zero by 2040), Brown must establish a sound baseline. The University has recently overhauled its greenhouse gas inventory methodology to ensure reliable and reproducible numbers year-over-year. Brown will report its emissions in accordance with The Climate Registry, which provides a rigorous international reporting standard. Brown’s emissions for FY18 and later will be verified by a third party to bolster accuracy and transparency. Also, Brown has expanded its greenhouse gas inventory boundary. The University’s scope now includes utilities consumed in real estate buildings, lab gases, fleet vehicles, refrigerants, and more, in addition to campus building utilities. Finally, the updated inventory will report a full spectrum of greenhouse gases, which not only includes carbon dioxide, but methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, HFCs, and PFCs. This foundational work will enable the University to report in a more transparent and timely way and to confidently track towards its climate goals.
BEYOND BROWN
Sustainability News You Might Have Missed!
What is Climate Change, Really?
Brown’s first strategic sustainability plan focuses heavily on issues that either exacerbate climate change or that have arisen due to the warming planet: greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient pollution, biodiversity loss, stormwater, and issues facing human health.
The New York Times recently published a guide to understanding climate change which covers 17 frequently asked questions. The Times answers common questions such as “climate change seems so overwhelming, what can I personally do about it”, and “what is the greenhouse effect, and how does it cause global warming?”
Click below to learn about the science and politics of climate change and what you can do.
Study Finds Social Media Can Impact Conservation Perceptions
The history of the wolf and human relationship has been fraught with misunderstanding, violence, and fear. Wolf populations have declined significantly throughout the western United States and come dangerously close to extinction. This is concerning for environmentalists as wolves are “essential for maintaining a diversity of species in a landscape and improving the health of populations they prey on.”
The University of North Carolina recently published a study that shows how our relationship with wolves could improve; and the answer is simple - Youtube. The study found that after watching positive videos of wolves on the platform, people were more likely to accept wolves and even take action to help their conservation.
SUSTAINABILITY TIPS
FOR EVERYDAY LIFE
How We Can Do Our Part!
Summer is a great time to try plant-based options such as salads as large, protein-rich meals can heat up your body.
Use heat-producing appliances such as irons, dryers, and if possible your stove, early in the morning or in the evening.
Make sure that your air conditioning unit’s (AC) filters stay clean so it can run as efficiently as possible.
Place your AC on the north side of the house, away from direct sunlight. A shaded AC uses up to 10% less energy to operate.
LOCAL VENDOR SPOTLIGHT:
AGRI-CYCLE
Last year, the Office of Sustainability began a partnership with Agri-Cycle, a local food waste collection service, to handle a portion of the University’s compost portfolio. The company transports Brown’s food waste to its headquarters -- a 5th generation dairy farm in Exeter, Maine. Agri-Cycle uses anaerobic digestion technology to create fertilizer and energy and heat that powers one hundred local homes annually. As a closed-loop system, the company uses all excess material, including recovered solid material for animal bedding and recycled liquid for fertilizer on the farm, and it even collects manure from the thousands of cows on the farm for use in its digestor. To date, Agri-Cycle has collected 83 tons of compost in addition to over 500 tons of compost that has been collected by our other hauler, The Compost Plant.
RESEARCH @ BROWN
Student Documentary Targets Global Food Waste and Danish Solution
Recent graduate and Environmental Studies and Film concentrator, Elise Dadourian, spent last summer in Denmark, learning how the country has taken the lead on food waste management. She documented the increasingly significant issue of food waste and Denmark’s solutions in a film she titled “The Global Food Waste Crisis and the Danish Solution.”
Environmental Justice Resources
Our country is currently consumed by two crises: the Coronavirus pandemic and the long-standing existence of systemic racism, perpetrated by (and beyond) our crime and justice institutions. At the nexus of these issues lies a failure of environmental and civil justice - our communities of color often lack health and wellness resources and they bear the brunt of climate change impacts and pollution.
In an article linked below, The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) explains the issues and history of environmental justice - in summary, “people who live, work and play in America’s most polluted environments are commonly people of color and the poor.” An example of this can be seen in this CDC report showing that hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 have been significantly higher for people of color. Furthermore, Harvard has linked an increased instance of death in areas with greater pollution.
"Black Nature is the first anthology to focus on nature writing by African American poets. Camille T. Dungy has selected 180 poems from 93 poets that provide unique perspectives on American social and literary history to broaden our concept of nature poetry and African American poetics."
Winner of the 2010 Northern California Book Award Special Recognition Award and nominee for the 2010 NAACP Image Award, Black Nature features poets who write about "slavery, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century African American poetic movements. Black Nature brings to the fore a neglected and vital means of considering poetry by African Americans and nature-related poetry as a whole."
Listen to NPR's Environment Podcast for "breaking news on the environment, climate change, pollution, and endangered species. Also featuring Climate Connections, a special series on climate change co-produced by NPR and National Geographic."
