Sustainability News by Date
April 2022
04-04-2022
Last week, as Bard College students gathered with faculty and staff to talk about climate solutions, they joined tens of thousands of students worldwide doing the same. The Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice brought together climate-concerned educators and students at universities and high schools from Liberia to Colombia, Taiwan to Vienna, and Florida to Alaska, for bottom-up conversations about changing the future.
Bard alum Karianne Canfield ’20 helped facilitate a teach-in session on “Dealing with Climate Depression.” Following the discussion, a student said that this was the first time they had felt empowered to address their deep anxiety about the planet heating up, and what it meant for their future.
Dr. Eban Goodstein at Bard, one of the directors of the global teach-in, said, “We are living at a moment of extraordinary agency, with the tools at hand to solve the energy half of climate change by 2030. The teach-in is moving young people from despair about climate change to engagement.” He added: “As voters, volunteers, interns and in their career choices as artists, activists, scientists, or business people, young people are working to stop climate change.”
The Bard College headline event began with a “low-carbon” dinner and a dance performance. Over the next three hours, 25 faculty from multiple disciplines joined students in discussions including “Climate and Justice,” “Climate Stories and Songs,” “Climate Science: What You Need to Know,” and “Food Systems and Climate Solutions.” Students also learned about New York State’s ambitious climate law, and were invited to provide public comment.
In the Philippines, there were teach-ins at eight different locations. Adrienne Hangad, who helped organize an event at the Open University in Manila, was most engaged with the discussion about women and climate solutions. Prompted by a pre-teach-in discussion noting the absence of a climate change “anthem,” a team of Filipino organizers composed a powerful song, “Change Climate Change,” that was played at the event.
In Kyrgyzstan, climate workshops were held at 15 sites across the capital city of Bishkek. And from April 20 to 21, there will be an Africa-wide teach-in based in dozens of cities and towns, organized by the African Network of Young Leaders for Peace and Sustainable Development.
Commenting on her teach-in experience, Sofía Gómez, a student from Bogotá, Colombia, said, “I'm a strong believer in a mandatory class on climate change in schools and universities. This information allows us to open our eyes to how close we are to the climate crisis.” Khadija Ghanizada, a Bard student, added, “The teach-in was a window of hope for students. Most students I interact with are scared of climate change but also skeptical of the authorities and the work they are doing to mitigate it. We talked about how to push those in power to do their job in combating climate change.”
Building on a foundation of more than 300 participating organizations this year, the teach-in organizers hope to engage 1,000 colleges, universities, and other institutions next year, targeting at least 100,000 participants. “There are tens of thousands of climate-concerned educators around the world,” said Project Director Goodstein. “The teach-in provides a global platform for us to work together, to equip the rising generation with the tools and mindset to solve the climate crisis.”
The Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice, and Bard’s flagship event, is a project of the Graduate Programs in Sustainability (GPS) at Bard College, with support from the Open Society University Network. GPS degree programs include MS degrees in Environmental Policy and Climate Science and Policy; the MEd in Environmental Education, and the MBA in Sustainability, ranked the #1 Green MBA for 2021 and 2022, and among the top 10 MBAs nationwide for Nonprofit Management for both years by the Princeton Review.
Bard alum Karianne Canfield ’20 helped facilitate a teach-in session on “Dealing with Climate Depression.” Following the discussion, a student said that this was the first time they had felt empowered to address their deep anxiety about the planet heating up, and what it meant for their future.

Bard College students enjoy a low-carbon dinner ahead of the Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice
Dr. Eban Goodstein at Bard, one of the directors of the global teach-in, said, “We are living at a moment of extraordinary agency, with the tools at hand to solve the energy half of climate change by 2030. The teach-in is moving young people from despair about climate change to engagement.” He added: “As voters, volunteers, interns and in their career choices as artists, activists, scientists, or business people, young people are working to stop climate change.”
The Bard College headline event began with a “low-carbon” dinner and a dance performance. Over the next three hours, 25 faculty from multiple disciplines joined students in discussions including “Climate and Justice,” “Climate Stories and Songs,” “Climate Science: What You Need to Know,” and “Food Systems and Climate Solutions.” Students also learned about New York State’s ambitious climate law, and were invited to provide public comment.

Project Director Eban Goodstein addresses the audience.
In the Philippines, there were teach-ins at eight different locations. Adrienne Hangad, who helped organize an event at the Open University in Manila, was most engaged with the discussion about women and climate solutions. Prompted by a pre-teach-in discussion noting the absence of a climate change “anthem,” a team of Filipino organizers composed a powerful song, “Change Climate Change,” that was played at the event.
In Kyrgyzstan, climate workshops were held at 15 sites across the capital city of Bishkek. And from April 20 to 21, there will be an Africa-wide teach-in based in dozens of cities and towns, organized by the African Network of Young Leaders for Peace and Sustainable Development.

Associate Professor of Music Whitney Slaten speaks with a group during one of the break-out sessions.
Commenting on her teach-in experience, Sofía Gómez, a student from Bogotá, Colombia, said, “I'm a strong believer in a mandatory class on climate change in schools and universities. This information allows us to open our eyes to how close we are to the climate crisis.” Khadija Ghanizada, a Bard student, added, “The teach-in was a window of hope for students. Most students I interact with are scared of climate change but also skeptical of the authorities and the work they are doing to mitigate it. We talked about how to push those in power to do their job in combating climate change.”
Building on a foundation of more than 300 participating organizations this year, the teach-in organizers hope to engage 1,000 colleges, universities, and other institutions next year, targeting at least 100,000 participants. “There are tens of thousands of climate-concerned educators around the world,” said Project Director Goodstein. “The teach-in provides a global platform for us to work together, to equip the rising generation with the tools and mindset to solve the climate crisis.”
The Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice, and Bard’s flagship event, is a project of the Graduate Programs in Sustainability (GPS) at Bard College, with support from the Open Society University Network. GPS degree programs include MS degrees in Environmental Policy and Climate Science and Policy; the MEd in Environmental Education, and the MBA in Sustainability, ranked the #1 Green MBA for 2021 and 2022, and among the top 10 MBAs nationwide for Nonprofit Management for both years by the Princeton Review.
Photo: Photos by AnnAnn Puttithanasorn ’23
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy,Bard MBA in Sustainability,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement,OSUN |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy,Bard MBA in Sustainability,Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement,OSUN |
February 2022
02-22-2022
Tyson Foods utilizes between nine and 10m acres of farmland – an area almost twice the size of New Jersey – to produce corn and soybeans to feed the more than 2 billion animals it processes every year in the US alone, according to new research. Speaking with the Guardian, Bard EUS Research Professor Gidon Eshel said the scale of farming needed to produce animal feed contributes to many of the environmental problems of large-scale agriculture. These issues include changes to soil and the natural flow of water, the way solar energy relates to the earth, and disruption of plants and animals. Pollution from fertilizers and pesticides are another big concern, and the risks of contaminating drinking water and harming ecosystems. There is a significant opportunity cost in growing feed crops. “If you produce 100lbs of corn and feed it to beef, you get 3lbs of edible beef. Because of this, using land to grow feed crops instead of food [for humans] is incredibly questionable – it’s wasteful,” he said.
Photo: Gidon Eshel.
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
02-15-2022
Bard College has received a $150,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust to acquire an upgraded gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer in order to support the continuity and growth of ongoing curricular and research projects within the Division of Science, Mathematics, and Computing at Bard. This new instrument, with its expanded analytical capabilities, is an essential component of the five-year infrastructure and instrumentation plan created by the Chemistry and Biochemistry Program.
“We are so grateful to have this support from the Alden Trust. Continuing the essential analytical capacity of our labs is important. And with this funding, we are able to expand the range of experiments that are possible, providing many more opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and research at Bard,” said Associate Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Chemistry Emily McLaughlin.
Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) provides the technology to separate mixtures, and to identify and quantify pure compounds and individual components of mixtures for applications ranging across scientific disciplines. At Bard, this type of instrument has been central to the science curriculum for over 25 years. The acquisition of an upgraded gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer impacts the undergraduate teaching and learning experience in substantial ways—including in research and curricular work in chemistry, biology, environmental studies, and Bard’s Citizen Science Program, in which all first-year students take part.
The enhanced capabilities of the new GCMS will facilitate ongoing and new collaborations among faculty and students, including the ability effectively sample aqueous environmental samples for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The GCMS has been a central part of analytical chemistry at the College, resulting in work presented at local, regional, and national conferences and manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals.
“We are so grateful to have this support from the Alden Trust. Continuing the essential analytical capacity of our labs is important. And with this funding, we are able to expand the range of experiments that are possible, providing many more opportunities for interdisciplinary teaching and research at Bard,” said Associate Dean of the College and Associate Professor of Chemistry Emily McLaughlin.
Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GCMS) provides the technology to separate mixtures, and to identify and quantify pure compounds and individual components of mixtures for applications ranging across scientific disciplines. At Bard, this type of instrument has been central to the science curriculum for over 25 years. The acquisition of an upgraded gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer impacts the undergraduate teaching and learning experience in substantial ways—including in research and curricular work in chemistry, biology, environmental studies, and Bard’s Citizen Science Program, in which all first-year students take part.
The enhanced capabilities of the new GCMS will facilitate ongoing and new collaborations among faculty and students, including the ability effectively sample aqueous environmental samples for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The GCMS has been a central part of analytical chemistry at the College, resulting in work presented at local, regional, and national conferences and manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals.
Photo: Maddie Nye ’19 working on an instrument similar to a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer in Bard’s Chemistry Program. Photo by Pete Mauney ’93 MFA ’00
Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Academics,Biology Program,Chemistry Program,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental/Sustainability,Grants | Institutes(s): Citizen Science |
Meta: Type(s): General | Subject(s): Academics,Biology Program,Chemistry Program,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental/Sustainability,Grants | Institutes(s): Citizen Science |
January 2022
01-18-2022
To celebrate the College’s 12th Annual Martin Luther King Day of Engagement, more than 250 Bard students participated in volunteer opportunities, campus projects, workshops, and panels over the holiday weekend. Most students were on campus for the Citizen Science Program; they were joined by Upper College student leaders.
Students chose from a dozen engagement opportunities on campus on Saturday, January 15. They included creating compost stations for residence halls—a new project by the Bard Office of Sustainability and part of a comprehensive campus effort to reduce waste. Student volunteers also assembled PECS boards (Picture Exchange Communication System) for Ramapo for Children, a local community partner. PECS boards are an essential tool for nonverbal students and their instructors at Ramapo. Other efforts included planting microgreens, sorting donations at the campus FreeUse store, and deep cleaning the Sawkill Coffee House so that Red Hook Responds can use it to distribute meals to those in need this winter.
On Monday, the College hosted virtual conference panels and workshops responding to Martin Luther King’s legacy of activism and social justice. More than 220 students attended panels on social entrepreneurship with Bard alumni/ae and guests from Bard’s international partner campuses who have turned their activism into civically engaged careers. In the afternoon, students joined several workshops on a range of topics, including defending student voting rights, literacy and justice, advocating for farm workers rights, and disability justice in the health care system.
Students chose from a dozen engagement opportunities on campus on Saturday, January 15. They included creating compost stations for residence halls—a new project by the Bard Office of Sustainability and part of a comprehensive campus effort to reduce waste. Student volunteers also assembled PECS boards (Picture Exchange Communication System) for Ramapo for Children, a local community partner. PECS boards are an essential tool for nonverbal students and their instructors at Ramapo. Other efforts included planting microgreens, sorting donations at the campus FreeUse store, and deep cleaning the Sawkill Coffee House so that Red Hook Responds can use it to distribute meals to those in need this winter.
On Monday, the College hosted virtual conference panels and workshops responding to Martin Luther King’s legacy of activism and social justice. More than 220 students attended panels on social entrepreneurship with Bard alumni/ae and guests from Bard’s international partner campuses who have turned their activism into civically engaged careers. In the afternoon, students joined several workshops on a range of topics, including defending student voting rights, literacy and justice, advocating for farm workers rights, and disability justice in the health care system.
Photo: The microgreens workshop during the MLK Day of Engagement. Photo by Jonathan Asiedu ’24
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
December 2021
12-15-2021
The Bard MBA in Sustainability Program has once again been ranked as the best green MBA program (out of 224 US business schools) in the Princeton Review’s 2022 Best Business Schools rankings. The Bard MBA was also listed again in the top 10 MBAs for Nonprofit Management along with programs at Harvard, Stanford, and Columbia.
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
12-14-2021
McDonald’s business, so heavily reliant on beef, is “fundamentally at odds with the Earth’s integrity,” says Gidon Eshel, environmental and urban studies research professor, in an interview with the Guardian. The company, which has announced sustainability initiatives in recent years, would need to commit to dramatically reducing the amount of beef it serves, according to climate experts. Food systems account for one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent study, which experts argue calls for immediate and substantive action. “No fig leaf, however persuasive or covering it is, can change that fact,” Eshel says.
Full Story in the Guardian
Full Story in the Guardian
Photo: Bard Professor Gidon Eshel.
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
12-10-2021
CleanPalCo, a company created by students at Al-Quds Bard, has won the award for Best Student Company for 2021 in a regional competition throughout the Arab world. Ahmad Hijawi AQB ’23 and several colleagues launched the company, which produces sustainable building materials, after developing the concept in the Open Society University Network collaborative course Social Entrepreneurship. The course is cotaught by Alejandro Crawford and Eliza Edge MBA ’20 of the Bard MBA Program.
CleanPalCo addresses the problems of pollution and a lack of building supplies in Palestine by using discarded rubber tires, stone waste, and water to produce useful household products such as bricks, tiles, and rubber flooring for Palestinian municipalities.
CleanPalCo addresses the problems of pollution and a lack of building supplies in Palestine by using discarded rubber tires, stone waste, and water to produce useful household products such as bricks, tiles, and rubber flooring for Palestinian municipalities.
Photo: Ahmad Hijawi AQB ’23 (left) and members of CleanPalCo after winning the Best Student Company award from INJAZ.
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Center for Civic Engagement |
12-07-2021
Gen Z is taking to Twitter and “EcoTok” to mobilize and educate around climate change. Professor Eban Goodstein, director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Bard MBA in Sustainability, believes this new generation of activists could change the equation on climate action. “I work with young people who have decided that this is the life they want to lead. And there’s no place I’d rather be,” Goodstein says. “This is an extraordinary moment in which we’re living, where people all across the world have tremendous agency to influence the course of the planet, the future of humanity, and millions of species on the earth.” Undaunted by partisan divides and political gridlock, Goodstein believes youth activists have an integral role to play in climate action.
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy,Bard MBA in Sustainability |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy,Bard MBA in Sustainability |
October 2021
10-03-2021
Bard College and the University of Waterloo teamed up to win a Swift Grant award from Lever for Change. With this support, the two universities will expand their online Worldwide Teach-In on Climate and Justice in March to engage students and faculty members from all disciplines in countries in Africa. The collaborative project aims to reach more than a million students from all over the globe to learn about climate change, climate solutions, and climate justice.
The Worldwide Teach-In is a project of the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College in conjunction with partners worldwide and the Open Society University Network’s Solve Climate by 2030 Project. For the past three years, OSUN’s Solve Climate by 2030 has been supporting globally coordinated education about the climate crisis. The project has engaged hundreds of colleges, universities and high schools– from Malaysia to Minnesota, and from Austria to Alabama– in discussions of climate solutions, across the curriculum. Targeting participation by a million students across the planet, the Worldwide Teach-in on Climate and Justice event on March 30, 2022 is perhaps the most ambitious component of the project yet, advancing a three-hour teach-in model that maximizes student involvement through faculty leadership.
“As educators, there is nothing more important than engaging students across our campuses in this extraordinary moment in which we are living,” says Eban Goodstein, director of Bard Center for Environmental Policy and director/faculty of Bard's Graduate Programs in Sustainability.
Lever for Change is a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation affiliate, whose mission is to unlock significant philanthropic capital and accelerate social change around the world’s most pressing challenges. In May 2021, Lever for Change introduced the Swift Grants fund, aimed to provide small grants to Bold Solutions Network members for collaborative projects. This fund provided an outlet for the world’s top problem solvers to leverage expertise and join forces to find creative solutions in their fields.
Lever for Change received proposals for innovative, collaborative projects addressing climate, health, and refugee support. In total, they selected five projects. Over the next year, each team will use their $25,000 Swift Grants to implement their respective projects.
The Worldwide Teach-In is a project of the Graduate Programs in Sustainability at Bard College in conjunction with partners worldwide and the Open Society University Network’s Solve Climate by 2030 Project. For the past three years, OSUN’s Solve Climate by 2030 has been supporting globally coordinated education about the climate crisis. The project has engaged hundreds of colleges, universities and high schools– from Malaysia to Minnesota, and from Austria to Alabama– in discussions of climate solutions, across the curriculum. Targeting participation by a million students across the planet, the Worldwide Teach-in on Climate and Justice event on March 30, 2022 is perhaps the most ambitious component of the project yet, advancing a three-hour teach-in model that maximizes student involvement through faculty leadership.
“As educators, there is nothing more important than engaging students across our campuses in this extraordinary moment in which we are living,” says Eban Goodstein, director of Bard Center for Environmental Policy and director/faculty of Bard's Graduate Programs in Sustainability.
Lever for Change is a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation affiliate, whose mission is to unlock significant philanthropic capital and accelerate social change around the world’s most pressing challenges. In May 2021, Lever for Change introduced the Swift Grants fund, aimed to provide small grants to Bold Solutions Network members for collaborative projects. This fund provided an outlet for the world’s top problem solvers to leverage expertise and join forces to find creative solutions in their fields.
Lever for Change received proposals for innovative, collaborative projects addressing climate, health, and refugee support. In total, they selected five projects. Over the next year, each team will use their $25,000 Swift Grants to implement their respective projects.
Photo: Bard College solar array.
Meta: Subject(s): Awards,Bard Graduate Programs,Bard Network,Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability,Grants | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy,Bard MBA in Sustainability,Center for Civic Engagement,OSUN |
Meta: Subject(s): Awards,Bard Graduate Programs,Bard Network,Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability,Grants | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy,Bard MBA in Sustainability,Center for Civic Engagement,OSUN |
September 2021
09-19-2021
Research Professor Gidon Eshel, who teaches primarily in the Environmental and Urban Studies Program at Bard College, has coauthored a paper in Nature that provides the most comprehensive estimate to date of the environmental performance of blue food (fish and other aquatic foods) and for the first time, compares stressors across the diversity of farmed and wild aquatic species. The study reveals which species are already performing well in terms of emissions, freshwater and land use, and identifies opportunities for further reducing environmental footprints.
Read the Paper in Nature
Nature Story on Blue Foods
Learn More about Blue Food Assessment
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Division of Social Studies,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Read the Paper in Nature
Nature Story on Blue Foods
Learn More about Blue Food Assessment
Meta: Subject(s): Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Division of Social Studies,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
August 2021
08-28-2021
“Since the evidence is by now overwhelming that long-term human activity is accelerating the emergence of novel pathogens and increasing the risk of pandemics, the question investigators should really be asking is: did some recent, one-off event such as a lab accident exacerbate the already high and growing risk of spillover of a virus with pandemic potential caused by a decades-long shift towards industrialised farming and the wildlife trade?” writes Laura Spinney in the Guardian, citing Keesing’s April 2021 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) paper.
Photo: Photo by Evan Vucci/AP
Meta: Type(s): Article,Faculty | Subject(s): Biology Program,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Article,Faculty | Subject(s): Biology Program,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs |
July 2021
07-29-2021
Smoke from large wildfires burning in the western United States and Canada led to potentially dangerous air quality conditions in the Hudson Valley in late July, according to the Kingston Air Quality Initiative (KAQI), a collaboration between the Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air, and Water and the City of Kingston. Sensors on the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway in Kingston—and confirmed by street-level monitoring in Kingston and on the Bard campus—showed significantly elevated levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for several hours on July 20 and July 26. Although the levels didn’t exceed the 24-hour EPA standard of 35 ug/m^3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air), readings were found to be as high as 70 ug/m^3 for several hours at multiple locations. New York State issued air quality warnings for the entire state that week.
“Being able to track real-time effects of climate change-related disasters on local air quality is a powerful tool supporting Kingston's efforts to become a sustainable and climate-adapted community,” said M. Elias Dueker, assistant professor of environmental and urban studies at Bard College and director of the Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air, and Water. “While wildfires are predicted to continue in the West, and we may not be able to prevent the smoke heading our way, we can do work to limit our own contributions to poor air quality locally, including car exhaust and wood burning. These actions are not just good for the planet, but good for ourselves and our neighbors. Our Hudson Valley air is precious and we must protect it.”
PM2.5 is made up of microscopic particles that are the products of burning fuel, and is released into the air through exhausts from oil burners, gas burners, automobiles, cooking, grilling, and both indoor and outdoor woodburning. PM2.5 particles are so tiny they stay suspended in the air for long periods of time, allowing them to travel long distances before depositing. When these particles are inhaled, they can enter the bloodstream through the lungs, creating or exacerbating health issues. Several studies have shown that PM2.5 produced by wildfires or by burning wood is more dangerous to human health than that produced, for example, by vehicle emissions. A study from UC San Diego Scripps Institute was released very recently showing the PM2.5 emitted by wildfire smoke results in up to 10 percent more respiratory admissions to hospitals than other sources of PM2.5.
KAQI’s monitoring efforts over the past year and a half have focused on a regional assessment of air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as measured from the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway in Kingston. While KAQI’s first year of monitoring found that levels of PM2.5 rarely reached dangerous thresholds as regulated by the EPA, this summer has been a different story, going beyond local fuel combustion. Smoke plumes from the fires raging out west have been travelling across the continent over the past few weeks, resulting in hazy skies and prompting several air quality alerts in the midwest and northeast. As wind and temperatures pick up out west and worsen fire conditions, the effects will likely continue to be felt in the Hudson Valley as air packets over burning areas travel east and eventually deposit from the upper to lower troposphere, affecting the air quality at ground level. Dueker said that wider-scale community and neighborhood-level monitoring are on the horizon.
The Kingston Air Quality Initiative began in January 2020 as a partnership between Bard’s Community Science Lab and the City of Kingston Conservation Advisory Council’s Air Quality Subcommittee to conduct a first-ever Kingston-centered air quality study. Since then, Kingston residents and Bard College students, staff, and faculty have conducted air quality monitoring in both indoor and outdoor environments. Bard’s air quality monitoring program is supported by the Open Society University Network Community Science Coalition, which works to bridge the gaps between climate-adapting communities and academic institutions. For more information on KAQI and specific details on the wildfire monitoring, please visit landairwater.bard.edu/projects/kaqi or kingston-ny.gov/wildfires. To get involved, please contact Eli Dueker at [email protected].
About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
“Being able to track real-time effects of climate change-related disasters on local air quality is a powerful tool supporting Kingston's efforts to become a sustainable and climate-adapted community,” said M. Elias Dueker, assistant professor of environmental and urban studies at Bard College and director of the Bard Center for the Study of Land, Air, and Water. “While wildfires are predicted to continue in the West, and we may not be able to prevent the smoke heading our way, we can do work to limit our own contributions to poor air quality locally, including car exhaust and wood burning. These actions are not just good for the planet, but good for ourselves and our neighbors. Our Hudson Valley air is precious and we must protect it.”
PM2.5 is made up of microscopic particles that are the products of burning fuel, and is released into the air through exhausts from oil burners, gas burners, automobiles, cooking, grilling, and both indoor and outdoor woodburning. PM2.5 particles are so tiny they stay suspended in the air for long periods of time, allowing them to travel long distances before depositing. When these particles are inhaled, they can enter the bloodstream through the lungs, creating or exacerbating health issues. Several studies have shown that PM2.5 produced by wildfires or by burning wood is more dangerous to human health than that produced, for example, by vehicle emissions. A study from UC San Diego Scripps Institute was released very recently showing the PM2.5 emitted by wildfire smoke results in up to 10 percent more respiratory admissions to hospitals than other sources of PM2.5.
KAQI’s monitoring efforts over the past year and a half have focused on a regional assessment of air pollution from fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as measured from the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway in Kingston. While KAQI’s first year of monitoring found that levels of PM2.5 rarely reached dangerous thresholds as regulated by the EPA, this summer has been a different story, going beyond local fuel combustion. Smoke plumes from the fires raging out west have been travelling across the continent over the past few weeks, resulting in hazy skies and prompting several air quality alerts in the midwest and northeast. As wind and temperatures pick up out west and worsen fire conditions, the effects will likely continue to be felt in the Hudson Valley as air packets over burning areas travel east and eventually deposit from the upper to lower troposphere, affecting the air quality at ground level. Dueker said that wider-scale community and neighborhood-level monitoring are on the horizon.
The Kingston Air Quality Initiative began in January 2020 as a partnership between Bard’s Community Science Lab and the City of Kingston Conservation Advisory Council’s Air Quality Subcommittee to conduct a first-ever Kingston-centered air quality study. Since then, Kingston residents and Bard College students, staff, and faculty have conducted air quality monitoring in both indoor and outdoor environments. Bard’s air quality monitoring program is supported by the Open Society University Network Community Science Coalition, which works to bridge the gaps between climate-adapting communities and academic institutions. For more information on KAQI and specific details on the wildfire monitoring, please visit landairwater.bard.edu/projects/kaqi or kingston-ny.gov/wildfires. To get involved, please contact Eli Dueker at [email protected].
About Bard College
Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City. With the addition of the Montgomery Place estate, Bard’s campus consists of nearly 1,000 parklike acres in the Hudson River Valley. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with majors in nearly 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; eight early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on its 161-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College has expanded its mission as a private institution acting in the public interest across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to liberal arts education. The undergraduate program at our main campus in upstate New York has a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. For more information about Bard College, visit bard.edu.
# # #
(8/3/21)
Photo: Image of the sun taken on July 20 off a boat on the Hudson River just south of Kingston, N.Y. Photo courtesy Ilana Berger
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability,Faculty | Institutes(s): Center for Civic Engagement,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability,Faculty | Institutes(s): Center for Civic Engagement,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |
June 2021
06-23-2021
On June 28, members of the Open Society University Network’s Solve Climate by 2030 initiative will participate in an international panel during the opening plenary of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS) 2021 virtual conference on “Community, Commitment, Collaboration: Moving Toward a Just Future.” Led by Eban Goodstein, director of the Bard College Center for Environmental Policy, Solve Climate by 2030 is focused on globally coordinated climate education. The project creates and promotes templates for educational initiatives, highlighting local and regional climate solutions, and ways in which students and other citizens can engage with communities to support these solutions.
Photo: Photo courtesy AESS
Meta: Type(s): Event,Faculty | Subject(s): Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): OSUN |
Meta: Type(s): Event,Faculty | Subject(s): Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): OSUN |
06-04-2021
“You’ve got an industry that is, in a sense, managing its decline. It’s going to be ugly,” Hipple tells the New York Times. “When profits are getting squeezed, cash flows are getting squeezed . . . the safety protocols, the pollution, don’t get attended to the way they should.”
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
May 2021
05-18-2021
Hunter Lovins, faculty member in Bard’s MBA in Sustainability Program, and Andrew Winston, sustainable business expert and author, write about the impact of a rapidly changing energy sector on those whose jobs are becoming obsolete. As we work to create new green energy jobs and retrain workers, Lovins and Winston offer a solution to bridge the gap: direct financial assistance to people losing fossil fuel jobs.
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
05-04-2021
“Simply put, the Biden doctrine holds that geopolitical competition must not be allowed to drive world history,” writes Mead, James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities at Bard College, in the Wall Street Journal. “Competition with China is real and must be vigorously pursued, but the essential goal of American foreign policy is to construct a values-based world order that can tackle humanity’s common problems in an organized and even collegial way.”
Photo: Walter Russell Mead, James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities
Meta: Type(s): Article,Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Environmental/Sustainability,Global and International Studies,Political Studies Program,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
Meta: Type(s): Article,Faculty | Subject(s): Division of Social Studies,Environmental/Sustainability,Global and International Studies,Political Studies Program,Politics and International Affairs | Institutes(s): Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program,Bard Undergraduate Programs |
April 2021
04-28-2021
Bard Center for Environmental Policy faculty Dr. Robyn Smyth and Dr. Monique Segarra, along with Bard College alumna Uroosa Fatima MS ’18, are the lead authors of an article published in a special issue of Environmental Development focusing on interdisciplinary research on global change across the Americas, funded by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. The article, “Engaging stakeholders across a socio-environmentally diverse network of water research sites in North and South America,” describes the approaches used and challenges faced by research teams aiming to advance integrated and inclusive understanding of climate risks to water resources at a continental scale.
This research is part of the Sensing the Americas’ Freshwater Ecosystem Risk (SAFER) project and supported by a supplemental grant awarded by the National Science Foundation’s Science Across Virtual Institutes (SAVI) to Dr. Tom Harmon of the University of California Merced. “It's important to keep changing your perspective on hard, socio-environmental problems,” says Dr. Harmon. “When we started the SAFER project, we placed a lot of emphasis on creating sensing systems to monitor freshwater systems and help understand the risk of losing these ecosystems to pollution. Having good data is important, but equally if not more important is the stakeholders’ perception about the risk and how to manage it.”

BCEP alumna, researcher Uroosa Fatima MS ’18 (L)
Photo: Robyn Smyth, Continuing Associate Professor of Environmental and Urban Studies at Bard College and BCEP faculty
Meta: Type(s): Alumni,Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy |
Meta: Type(s): Alumni,Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Center for Environmental Policy |
04-28-2021
Solve Climate by 2030 is a coordinated climate education initiative across the Open Society University Network and beyond. It organizes educators to dedicate the first Wednesday in April as a day for global, coordinated education on climate solutions, creating and promoting templates for ways in which students and other citizens can engage with communities to support these solutions. The April 6 launch of the initiative’s webinar series drew over 10,000 viewers, who engaged in more than 100 university-hosted global dialogues on the topics of green recovery, alternative policies, and just transitions at the local and regional levels.
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): OSUN |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): OSUN |
04-12-2021
BardEATS is paving the way for more equitable and sustainable food systems on campus. Leading the program are Bard senior Melina Roise and junior Olivia Tencer, with help from fellow students, management from Bard Dining, and support from Bard faculty and staff.
BardEATS promotes food security and accessibility on campus, as well as throughout the greater Dutchess County community, with a particular focus on racial equity. The program recently concluded an Earth Week lecture series titled “A Start to Healing through Land, Food, and Seed,” which brought more than 100 members of the greater Bard community together to learn about local initiatives toward food sovereignty.
The program’s commitment to antiracism and food sovereignty centers on supporting farms owned by people of color. BardEATS has partnered with the Bard Office of Sustainability, Bard TLS, the Center for Civic Engagement, the Red Hook Community Center, and the Kingston Land Trust on a mask fundraiser called “Land In Black Hands.” This initiative aims to raise $3,000 for farms owned by people of color by selling handmade masks. The masks are sold using a sliding scale system, which allows buyers to purchase masks by paying any amount; with a suggested price of $10 to $20. Join the fundraiser here.
BardEATS is also forming a campus working group focused on antiracism and food sovereignty with the goal of learning, unlearning, and relearning in order to better serve the campus and community. Each week, the group will learn from the work of experts and engage with reflection questions. Once a month, we will gather to reflect as a group and discuss how to take what we learned into our work on campus. Learn more and sign-up here. Come for one meeting or join for them all!
BardEATS promotes food security and accessibility on campus, as well as throughout the greater Dutchess County community, with a particular focus on racial equity. The program recently concluded an Earth Week lecture series titled “A Start to Healing through Land, Food, and Seed,” which brought more than 100 members of the greater Bard community together to learn about local initiatives toward food sovereignty.
The program’s commitment to antiracism and food sovereignty centers on supporting farms owned by people of color. BardEATS has partnered with the Bard Office of Sustainability, Bard TLS, the Center for Civic Engagement, the Red Hook Community Center, and the Kingston Land Trust on a mask fundraiser called “Land In Black Hands.” This initiative aims to raise $3,000 for farms owned by people of color by selling handmade masks. The masks are sold using a sliding scale system, which allows buyers to purchase masks by paying any amount; with a suggested price of $10 to $20. Join the fundraiser here.
BardEATS is also forming a campus working group focused on antiracism and food sovereignty with the goal of learning, unlearning, and relearning in order to better serve the campus and community. Each week, the group will learn from the work of experts and engage with reflection questions. Once a month, we will gather to reflect as a group and discuss how to take what we learned into our work on campus. Learn more and sign-up here. Come for one meeting or join for them all!
Photo: BardEATS student leaders Olivia Tencer ’22 and Melina Roise ’21 (L-R). Photo by Khadija Ghanizada ’23, courtesy @bardeats on Instagram
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability,Inclusive Excellence | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental/Sustainability,Inclusive Excellence | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement |
March 2021
03-19-2021
A year ago, the City of Kingston and the Center for the Study of Land, Air, and Water at Bard College began monitoring the city’s air quality. The initial findings show that air pollution is relatively low, yet even during 2020, when vehicle emissions were down due to the pandemic, the city still saw the impact of burning fossil fuels.
Photo: The City of Kingston, New York.
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |