6.22
Sustainability
Design travels to South Carolina to plan more protective urban coastlines
Design travels to South Carolina to plan more protective urban coastlines
A Weitzman School team is working with the city of Charleston on an urban seawall plan that combines natural elements with structural systems that respond to the local conditions of the city’s shoreline.
Supporting agriculture and a safe food supply
Supporting agriculture and a safe food supply
Essential workers in the School of Veterinary Medicine are caring for livestock, keeping track of disease, ensuring product consistency, and communicating with farmers to ensure that farms can continue providing a reliable food supply for the community.
Nature as a refuge in unsettling times
Nature as a refuge in unsettling times
Even before the pandemic, campus initiatives like NatureRx@Penn and the 30x30 Challenge encouraged time outside. These efforts are continuing, now that restorative outlets are more important than ever.
Urban planning for biodiversity after bushfires
Urban planning for biodiversity after bushfires
The Weitzman School’s Richard Weller visited Sydney for a two-week intensive on critical urban challenges and converting a parkland into an incubator for wildlife.
Amazing cows hold promise in pioneering sustainable food systems
Amazing cows hold promise in pioneering sustainable food systems
Researchers at Penn Vet are discovering that cows and other livestock found in animal agriculture are critical partners in developing sustainable, regenerative agro-food systems.
‘An Atlas for the Green New Deal’
‘An Atlas for the Green New Deal’
The McHarg Center releases a new collection of maps and datascapes capturing the spatial consequences of climate change in support of a coordinated national response.
Side gigs for good, part two
Side gigs for good, part two
In a second installment of “side gigs” stories, meet four more Penn employees whose after-work endeavors go above and beyond.
As good as new at Penn Closet
As good as new at Penn Closet
The student-run thrift shop on the ground floor of Williams Hall gives clothes and other items a second life, plus offers donators and shoppers a simple way to practice sustainability.
Immersive stories to spur action on climate
Immersive stories to spur action on climate
Organized by the Penn Program in Environmental Humanities (PPEH), a two-day festival, “Environmental Storytelling and Virtual Reality” begins Friday, and will explore how virtual reality and other immersive storytelling might inspire action on climate change.
A second life for leaves
A second life for leaves
Taking a scientific approach to managing campus land, Facilities and Real Estate Services is partnering with soil scientists and ecologists to study how mulching plots with leaves fares for soil health and biodiversity.
In the News
The Guardian
Revealed: millions of Americans can’t afford water as bills rise 80% in a decade
Howard Neukrug of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the rising cost of water in the U.S. “High-cost low-quality water is a national issue. The federal government is clearly not playing the role it needs to play,” he said.
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The New York Times
Shuttered Philadelphia refinery may get new life after fire
Mark Alan Hughes of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy spoke about the possibility of converting the old Philadelphia refinery into a hybrid plant that also produces renewable fuels. “They’re predicting a steadily declining place for things like the refinery that was,” he said. “The kind of mix that tries to lower the profile of fossil fuel activity is, I think, the most likely outcome.”
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WHYY (Philadelphia)
A thousand new homes are planned next to Graffiti Pier
Dan Garofalo of the sustainability office commented on a proposal for a new housing development near Port Richmond. The project has been critiqued for the stark appearance of its proposed ground-floor parking garages. However, Garofalo notes, the garages’ walls currently are set to face a row of warehouses. “Maybe in 10 years we’ll see a developer come in, take these old warehouses, and put something else there. It’s incumbent upon you to think of the future.”
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