Featured article

Leading in climate and sustainability efforts

By Ken Bikoff

_{IUPUI students tend to a garden on campus near downtown Indianapolis.}

Shaw co-authors update to The Lancet Planetary Health Report

Joseph Shaw, the associate dean for research and an associate professor at the O’Neill School, contributed to The Lancet Planetary Health Report that showed that pollution was responsible for more than 9 million deaths in 2019—equivalent to 1-in-6 deaths worldwide.

The report—an update to The Lancet Commission on pollution and health report published in 2017—states that although researchers have seen decreases in the number of deaths from pollution sources associated with extreme poverty, such as indoor air pollution and water pollution, these reductions are offset by increased deaths attributable to industrial pollution, such as ambient air pollution and chemical pollution. The result is a number virtually unchanged since the last analysis. This atrocity is compounded by the fact that more than 90% of pollution’s impact is felt in low- and middle-income countries.

Shaw is an expert on toxic chemical pollution and is helping develop precision toxicology approaches as part of a consortium of U.S. and European organizations called PrecisionTox. Those approaches can help reduce deaths from modern pollution by improving methods for identifying and mapping toxic chemicals in
the environment.

Our update makes it clear that the world desperately needs solutions.

“The initial report in 2017 was a game-changer in terms of raising awareness about the magnitude of the health and humanitarian crisis caused by pollution,” Shaw said. “Our update makes it clear that the world desperately needs solutions that take into account the way the various sources of pollution make an impact on the health of humans around the world or else gains in one area will continue to be offset by tragedies in others.”

Just Energy podcast

The focus on the future of energy tends to center on new technologies or ways resources can be used more efficiently. But the Just Energy podcast, hosted by O’Neill School Professor Sanya Carley, expands beyond the how and what of energy to look at the human dimensions of the future of energy.

The nine-episode podcast, which was recorded in collaboration with Master of Public Affairs students last spring, explores topics that include energy injustice, its racial and social dimensions, and how to make future energy policy more inclusive by design. Guests include leaders and scholars who have devoted their careers to studying and improving the energy conditions facing marginalized and underrepresented groups as well as experts conducting cutting-edge research in the field, and speaks to issues of social equity, racism, and public health.

“While we like to think about the winners produced by our energy systems, such as those who install new solar panels, the sources of loss, specifically the people who bear the burden of loss, are often ignored,” said Carley. “Our energy systems are built on the backbone of vulnerable populations, including those who work in legacy fossil fuel industries, such as coal miners, and those who reside next to power plants. There is an immense need to highlight their stories and discuss how to improve energy conditions for these vulnerable populations, and that’s what Just Energy is all about.”

To listen to the show, search for Just Energy on your favorite podcast app.

O’Neill faculty part of IU’s new Climate Action Planning Committee

Indiana University has established a Climate Action Planning Committee tasked with developing comprehensive recommendations to identify short- and long-term opportunities to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from its various campuses and units, and the O’Neill School will play a critical role in shaping the committee’s plans.

Students work in field with Indy skyline in back.

IUPUI’s new degree in sustainability practice and policy

The O’Neill School at IUPUI has introduced three new undergraduate majors for fall 2022, including a BSPA in Sustainability Practice and Policy.

Students studying sustainability will gain foundational knowledge and understanding of sustainable management, environmental policy, and urban affairs. Sustainability electives in the curriculum will allow students to take classes with other schools at IUPUI. They’ll examine the latest sustainability topics from all angles and learn from industry experts and scholars while earning credentials to immediately make an impact in our communities.

Jessica Davis, MPA’16, IU interim university director of sustainability and director of IUPUI Sustainability, was a key member of the team that designed the curriculum.

“I’m thrilled that the O’Neill School will not only teach these real-world skills but also excited to know that students will be mentored and empowered to leave a legacy of sustainability right here on campus,” said Davis, who will serve as an adjunct faculty member for the degree. “Some of IUPUI’s best sustainability initiatives come from our students.”

Read about the degrees

Three faculty members—Dean Siân Mooney, Associate Professor James Farmer, and Clinical Associate Professor Sarah Mincey—will join Bloomington MPA student Alana Maria Davincino and IUPUI BSPA student Aspen Grieshaber on the committee to identify strategies that will continue carbon emission reduction. During the past decade, IU Bloomington has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 38%, and much of this progress has been related to investments in renovation and rehabilitation of existing infrastructure. It also is a result of an established commitment to building design standards set forward by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification system, known as LEED.

Beyond facilities, the new committee will look for opportunities for the university to improve in areas such as energy use and production, space planning and management, use of university vehicles and transportation, woodland campus planning, retro-commissioning of buildings and infrastructure, exploration of renewable energy and other new technologies, and several other areas.

White House Climate Change Roundtable

When it comes to countering the arguments for delaying action on climate change, the O’Neill School has a seat at the table at the highest levels of government.

Literally.

Associate Professor Shahzeen Attari was part of a group of 17 climate and social scientists, engineers, and economists to participate in the White House Climate Science Roundtable, a first-of-its-kind virtual gathering that brought together experts to discuss the topic of “climate delayism” and its associated planetary, financial, and societal risks and costs. The event, hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, focused on strategies to accelerate effective actions that can combat climate change.

Attari presented research on the ideological divides surrounding the issue of climate changes, including a shift away from fossil fuels.

“Our prior work finds that conservatives and liberals have a shared vision for a decarbonized energy mix for the year 2050, but they do not agree on the policy pathways of getting there,” Attari said. “Given these results, we need to identify narratives for climate action and solutions that will appeal to conservatives to foster swift decarbonization today.”

Featured article

Leading in climate and sustainability efforts

By Ken Bikoff

Shaw co-authors update to The Lancet Planetary Health Report

IUPUI’s new degree in sustainability practice and policy

O’Neill magazine social media channels