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Grappling with a watershed’s uncertain environmental future
Several people around a table, one holds a satellite map.

Grappling with a watershed’s uncertain environmental future

Artists supported by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities created tools for navigating unpredictable ecological challenges, then brought them to life in a series of public workshops at the Independence Seaport Museum.

Katherine Unger Baillie

The Supreme Court restricts the EPA’s power to curb climate change
Smoke from a power plant clouds out the sun's light

With the decision in West Virginia v. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Supreme Court ruled to limit the EPA’s capacity to regulate power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act. The move hamstrings efforts by the federal government to regulate a major contributor to climate change.

  • Q&A

    • The Supreme Court restricts the EPA’s power to curb climate change

    Shelley Welton, a new faculty member with Penn Carey Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, calls the decision “devastating,” even if expected. She explains the ruling and its implications for action on climate change.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Penn junior Ha-Nam Yoon named a Udall Scholar
    2022 Udall Scholar, Ha-Nam Yoon

    Ha-Nam Yoon, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a 2022 Udall Scholar by the Udall Foundation, recognized for leadership, public service, and a commitment to issues related to the environment.

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    Penn junior Ha-Nam Yoon named a Udall Scholar

    Ha-Nam Yoon, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been named a 2022 Udall Scholar by the Udall Foundation, recognized for leadership, public service, and a commitment to issues related to the environment.

    Louisa Shepard

    A multidisciplinary approach to considering the Earth’s changing systems
    view of earth from space

    (Homepage image) Touching on a broad range of topics from climate’s impact on national security to resilient building design to emissions related to food production, the course aimed to boost students’ understanding of earth systems and climate literacy. (Image: NASA)

    A multidisciplinary approach to considering the Earth’s changing systems

    Bringing expertise from each of their disciplines, the School of Arts & Sciences’ Kathleen Morrison and Joseph Francisco and the Environmental Innovations Initiative’s Melissa Brown Goodall infused chemistry, anthropology, policy, and more into an introductory course on climate and the environment.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    In the Galápagos, training community scientists to monitor water quality
    Group poses in a tropical marine landscape holding a sign that reads Allianza para la Educaion e Investigacion en Galapagos

    Under the umbrella of the Galápagos Education and Research Alliance, Penn Vet professor Daniel Beiting (far right) and others from Penn visited San Cristóbal Island in March, where they engaged students and scientists in water quality testing. (Image: Courtesy of Daniel Beiting)

    In the Galápagos, training community scientists to monitor water quality

    Both dense human populations and a plethora of wildlife can pose a challenge to marine and public health in the Galápagos Islands. With portable, user-friendly PCR technology, Penn faculty and students are training local scientists and school children to perform water quality research.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Islands on the climate front line
    Four people sit on a stage at Perry World House.

    Island ambassadors to the United Nations speak at the Perry World House Global Shifts Colloquium event moderated by Michael Weisberg (fourth from left).

    Islands on the climate front line

    Perry World House’s Global Shifts Colloquium looked at how islands can protect their people, build resilient communities, and safeguard their environment in the climate crisis.

    Kristen de Groot

    A farm-to-table meal at Penn, in photos
    The arms of two people over an industrial-sized kitchen warmer, which holds a pot of green puree, two pans of pasta, a cast iron skillet of mushrooms, another cast iron skillet of fish with a spatula on top, and a bowl of multi-colored carrots. A stack of bowls sits off to the left of the image.

    On a given night Quaker Kitchen serves as many as 200 meals like the Earth Week meal, which included pea puree, pasta carbonara, mushrooms, carrots, and sustainably sourced salmon. “The big message is, if you’re interested in climate change, the choice you make at your dinner table has a big impact,” says Barbara Lea-Kruger, director of communications and external relations for Penn’s Division of Business Services.

    A farm-to-table meal at Penn, in photos

    Honoring Earth Week, Penn Dining and the Penn Food and Wellness Collaborative teamed up to create a vegetable-forward menu for Quaker Kitchen, sourcing produce from local purveyors to highlight what’s currently growing on the quarter-acre Penn Park Farm.

    Michele W. Berger

    The Clean Water Act at 50
    ben franklin bridge at twilight with philly skyline

    Homepage image: Though a “revolutionary” piece of legislation, the Clean Water Act still has its shortcomings, Penn faculty, staff, and students note. More work is needed to make rivers like the Delaware fishable and swimmable.

    The Clean Water Act at 50

    Approaching the half-century mark of this landmark piece of environmental legislation, Penn students, staff, and faculty share their reflections on its legacy, both strengths and shortcomings.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia
    a hand-held device is used to measure lead levels in a soil sample

    Researchers used data on soil lead content to inform their analysis of the contributing factors to lead exposure risk around Philadelphia. Many samples were collected during Academically Based Community Service courses taught at Penn. (Image: Alex Schein)

    Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia

    Two studies identify factors that correlate with high blood-lead levels in children, pointing to ongoing environmental justice issues that disproportionately fall on children of color and poorer communities in the city.

    Katherine Unger Baillie

    Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC
    Side of a building. Some of the window spaces are covered with bars. Others are covered with plants and other options for greening the building.

    Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC

    The latest assessment offers both a harsh reality check and a path forward. Experts William Braham, Peter Psarras, and Michael Mann offer their thoughts.

    Michele W. Berger