Sustainability Office Returns to AASHE Conference and Expo 2018

Last week, the Office of Sustainability was proud to travel to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to represent the University of Houston at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE) national conference and expo. With approximately 2,000 participants, AASHE's annual conference is the largest stage in North America to exchange effective models, policies, research, collaborations and transformative actions that advance sustainability in higher education and surrounding communities.

This year the Office presented a poster detailing campus dining halls' commitment to sustainably sourced food and drastic waste reduction. As detailed on the poster, campus dining facilities are now committed to producing zero waste by 2020, maintaining Green Restaurant Certification, expanding vegan options, and many other great goals to help campus food be more sustainable.

AASHE is also the agency that oversees the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), which UH reports to every 3 years. Presently the university holds a Gold rating and the above dining commitments will help improve this score even further, in addition to providing success stories for other campuses looking to reduce food waste.

Sustainability in the news

October Sustainability Meetup - Air Alliance Houston
Tuesday October 9th, 2018 marked the continuation of the Sustainability Meetup series presented by the University of Houston Office of Sustainability. With the mission of making it "easier for people interested in sustainability issues to connect with each other and learn", this Meetup was focused on bringing people together with shared concern over Houston's air quality.

A long time champion for clean air in Houston, Air Alliance Houston, was the featured partner and their Director of Operations Paige Powell provided a wonderful lecture on Air Pollution, Public Health, and Environmental Justice. Paige has been a life-long advocate for public health, education, and the environment. She is a Certified Public Manager, and received a bachelor's degree in economics from our own University of Houston. Her work has brought her to the nexus of Houston's energy economy and air pollution for surrounding communities.

How Will Climate Change Affect Plants, Soil Microbes?
Scientists know plant growth is affected by microbes in the soil. How that will change as the climate warms and rainfall patterns shift raises questions about future plant diversity and the potential risk to native plants, wildlife and even agriculture. Kerri M. Crawford, assistant professor of biology and biochemistry at the University of Houston's College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, has received a $647,023 grant from the National Science Foundation to determine how interactions between plants and soil microbes will influence plant growth and health in a warming climate.

"We are asking if a changing environment will shift the interaction in ways that will change plant survival," Crawford said. "If we understand the basic science of how climate change influences that interaction, then perhaps we can better prepare for and mitigate any changes."

Energy and Sustainability Minor Announces First Class of Equinor Scholars
Equinor, formerly Statoil, will be sponsoring a pilot scholarship and mentorship program in the 2018-2019 academic year for select students pursuing the Energy and Sustainability minor. This program, which will pair each scholarship recipient with an Equinor employee working in a field related to the student's academic major, presents an opportunity for students to learn directly from professionals in the energy industry.

The Energy & Sustainability minor, administered by the Honors College, welcomes UH students of all majors to take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of sustainable energy. In courses spanning a variety of fields, including business, engineering, the natural sciences, architecture, economics, political science, and history, students consider issues such as energy security, environmental stewardship, the environmental impacts of energy use on air, water, and land, and the global challenges of climate change.

Negative Emissions Technologies: Has Their Time Arrived?
Amid the partisan rancor paralyzing U.S. politics and climate change policy, a surprising atoll of bipartisan consensus emerged earlier this year on carbon tax credits. On Feb. 9, Congress passed the FUTURE Act (the Furthering carbon capture, Utilization, Technology, Underground storage, and Reduced Emissions Act), which President Trump quickly signed into law. This statute essentially provides a tax credit to incentivize carbon capture, storage and utilization. The Act more than doubles the tax credits available for capturing and permanently storing carbon dioxide (CO2) in geological formations and for CO2-enabled enhanced oil recovery (EOR), and it extends the same support to industries that reuse carbon in other forms, including cement, chemicals, plastics and fuels.