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Immersive stories to spur action on climate
Person wearing a virtual reality headset looks to the side, standing next to a statue facing the same direction

In one of four virtual reality pop-up stations around campus this week, sophomore Katie Collier of Orlando takes in a vignette from “The Altering Shores,” which will premier at the PPEH Environmental Storytelling and Virtual Reality festival on Saturday. (Image: Roderick Coover)

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

A second life for leaves
Two researchers stand in a roped-off area of land, backlit by the rising sun. A study site marked with pink flags is at their feet.

Eliza Nobles, a Morris Arboretum intern, and Jessie Buckner, an ecologist with Applied Ecological Services, set up the first plots at Penn Park on a sunny morning in October. Their study will examine how using leaf mulch or allowing fallen leaves to remain on a site impacts soil health and ecology.

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.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Campus orchard grows, with help from the community
emptying dirt from wheelbarrow with city in the background

Campus orchard grows, with help from the community

Now five years old, the Penn Park Orchard is expanding, literally and figuratively. With shovels and sweat equity, members of the University contributed to those efforts at a workday.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Carbon-neutral by 2042: CSAP 3.0’s most ambitious plan
Anne Papageorge, Craig Carnaroli, and Baktiar Choudhury at University Council on Oct. 23

Anne Papageorge, Craig Carnaroli, and Baktiar Choudhury at University Council on Oct. 23

Carbon-neutral by 2042: CSAP 3.0’s most ambitious plan

At the University Council meeting on Oct. 23, Craig Carnaroli and Anne Papageorge highlighted the current successes and future plans of Penn’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan 3.0. with an ambitious goal—to be 100% carbon neutral by 2042.
Leading the way in the field of energy policy
Mark Alan Hughes at his desk standing and talking with associates by windows in the sunlight.

Hughes (second from left) with the Kleinman Center team, including from left to right, Angela Pachon, Bill Cohen, Mollie Simon, Cornelia Colijn, and Kimberle Szczurowski.

Leading the way in the field of energy policy

During two decades at Penn, Mark Alan Hughes has made the University a leader in the field of energy policy—and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

Michele W. Berger, Lindsey Samahon

A road map for climate action and sustainability
view above campus looking east

The Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 3.0 outlines the University’s goals from 2019-2024 around seven initiatives: academics, utilities and operations, physical environment, waste minimization and recycling, purchasing, transportation, and outreach and engagement.

A road map for climate action and sustainability

Ten years after releasing its original Climate Action Plan, the University of Pennsylvania has launched the Climate & Sustainability Action Plan 3.0, outlining Penn’s goals for improved environmental performance from 2019 to 2024.
Weighing the environmental impacts of a byproduct of biofuel combustion: plant skeletons
Pile of shredded straw from Miscanthus sinensis, Chinese silver grass

Chinese silver grass, Miscanthus sinensis, is a common source of biomass, burned to produce electricity or heat in power plants. Each piece is roughly 2-3 centimeters in length. (Image: Reto Gieré)

Weighing the environmental impacts of a byproduct of biofuel combustion: plant skeletons

The School of Arts and Sciences’ Reto Gieré and Ruggero Vigliaturo and colleagues found that phytoliths—small, silica-containing deposits present in many plant species—are emitted during biofuel combustion.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Lauder College House named
William and Ronald Lauder assist President Amy Gutmann in the revealing of the Lauder College House name.

Lauder College House named

The new name was revealed at a ceremony celebrating the house’s first cohort of fourth-year residents, along with incoming Class of 2023 and second- and third-year residents.
Climate lecture series will call for ‘unprecedented action,’ 1.5 minutes at a time
Wide-angle view of a heavily mined landscape with a refinery or energy facility in the background.

Climate lecture series will call for ‘unprecedented action,’ 1.5 minutes at a time

With a nod to the stated goal of the Paris Agreement of keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the worst effects of climate change, a new 90-second lecture series kicks off today to give faculty and students a platform to briefly share how their work addresses climate change, and what we can do to help.

Katherine Unger Baillie

Minding the gap between mass transit and ride-hailing apps
Person holding a cellphone with a lit up image of a car emanating from it.

As Uber and Lyft become more widely available, researchers zero in on how these ride-hailing services are affecting urban development and the environment.

Minding the gap between mass transit and ride-hailing apps

With support from the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, doctoral students Caitlin Gorback and Summer Dong are researching how services like Uber and Lyft are changing our transport habits, cities, and environments.

Gina Vitale Michele W. Berger