Sustainability News by Date
Results 41-60 of 427 
April 2022
04-07-2022
KAQI 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.
KAQI’s main monitoring efforts focus 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. PM 2.5 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 wood burning. PM 2.5 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. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that “Small particulate pollution has health impacts even at very low concentrations–indeed no threshold has been identified below which no damage to health is observed.”
After two full years of monitoring, KAQI found that while many signs point to Kingston’s overall air quality being decent, conditions do sometimes reach unhealthy levels for some individuals, and there is certainly room for improvement.
Two important measures of PM2.5 air quality are the annual mean standard and the 24-hour average standard. For the period of measurement, Kingston met both the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and the WHO’s annual mean standard. While the city was well below the EPA’s standard, it was much closer to the WHO’s stricter standard. For the 24-hour standard, Kingston met the EPA’s criteria, but was over the WHO’s 24-hour standard. For context, as of 2019, 99% of the world’s population was living in locations that do not meet the WHO’s air quality standards.
Long term trends can only really be evaluated on a multi-year time scale. These first two years of monitoring will provide a baseline for KAQI’s monitoring efforts in the next few years, and allow them to assess how Kingston particulate matter pollution levels are changing over time.
You can see these findings and more detail at the Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities website: https://cesh.bard.edu/kingston-air-quality-initiative-kaqi/.
The Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities at Bard College, in collaboration with KAQI, has developed a dashboard that allows Kingston residents to access real-time information about their city’s air quality. The current PM2.5 and PM10 conditions are shown and interpreted, and one can see the air quality sensor’s reading from the past 12 hours. A separate page allows users to explore the hourly readings of particulate matter from the whole Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center dataset.
The dashboard can be found at: https://tributary.shinyapps.io/AMNC_live/
“KAQI is an important model for ways that academic institutions can contribute concretely to the communities who surround and support them,” said Eli Dueker, Director of Bard’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities. “We are combining serious efforts to monitor long-term air quality in Kingston with tools that allow us to put the data in front of residents in real time and give them feedback about what is going on in their city today.”
“This Kingston Air Quality Initiative monitoring project is such an important step that Kingston is taking toward assuring that its residents will breathe clean air into the future. This project responds to the need for both regional and neighborhood monitoring so that all residents’ air quality is taken into account. That the initiative focuses on PM 2.5 is especially important,” said Judith Enck, former EPA Regional Administrator.
Emily Flynn, City of Kingston Director of Health and Wellness, added “As we know, air quality can have significant impacts for respiratory infections, heart disease, stroke and lung cancer, and more severely affects people who are already ill. We applaud the work of the Center for Environmental Science and Humanities at Bard and thank them for their work here in Kingston.”
“Through the Kingston Air Quality Initiative dashboard, the Bard Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities has provided a valuable tool to the City of Kingston and its residents: the ability to assess the health hazards posed by air pollution in real time. The long-term trend data recorded will be a resource for decision makers to see the patterns of air quality within the city and to understand the impacts of local changes on air quality.” said Nick Hvozda, Interim Director of the Ulster County Department of the Environment.
These figures demonstrate daily pm2.5 averages for 2020 and 2021. Each point represents a single day, with vertical lines representing the range of variation in hourly readings that day (if no vertical line visible, the variation was smaller than the graphic point). The blue line provides a smoothing line to give a sense of seasonal trends.
For more information or ways to get involved, visit https://kingston-ny.gov/airquality or https://cesh.bard.edu/kingston-air-quality-initiative-kaqi/
Photo: Dr. Eli Dueker installing a MetOne 212-2 particle profiler atop the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center in Midtown Kingston. Courtesy City of Kingston
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Community Engagement,Division of Science, Math, and Computing,Environmental and Urban Studies Program,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard Undergraduate Programs,Center for Civic Engagement,Center for Environmental Sciences and Humanities |
04-04-2022
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
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
“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
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
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
12-14-2021
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 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
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
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
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
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
“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.
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(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
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
Meta: Type(s): Faculty | Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
May 2021
05-18-2021
Meta: Subject(s): Bard Graduate Programs,Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): Bard MBA in Sustainability |
05-04-2021
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
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
Meta: Type(s): Student | Subject(s): Environmental/Sustainability | Institutes(s): OSUN |
04-12-2021
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 |
Results 41-60 of 427