Office of Sustainability

The Weather is More than Small Talk: What I Learned from Climate Scientists on a Trip to the Southeast

By Sabrina De Los Santos Rodríguez Dark clouds over the Week's Bay boat. Photo credits: Sabrina De Los Santos Rodríguez On Sunday, August 7th, 2022 I was on a white van with seven other people - all climate science graduate students and professors with diverse specialties. We were leading the…

ContributorMarch 27, 2023

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Climate Change: An Issue of Climate Justice

by Ghanashyam Khanal and Nabin Bhandari While about two frenetic weeks of discussions and negotiations on climate change, damage and loss, and climate finance were going on at COP27 in Egypt, a documentary that depicted the impact of climate change on women and children in the Himalayan regions of Nepal…

ContributorMarch 13, 2023

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The Big and Small ways to Celebrate Earth Day

by Becki Retzlaff Every Earth Day I am reminded of two things. The first is when I was a teenager, and my friends and I volunteered to plant trees at a park near my home in Michigan. We labored all day to carefully plant little pine tree seedlings in long…

ContributorMarch 13, 2023

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The Song of the Taiwanese Trash Truck

by Jesse Teel Taiwan had the unfortunate nickname “Garbage Island.” Trash polluted the environment through littering and burning. Mountains of waste rotted in the streets. Taiwan initiated a waste management overhaul and the last two decades have seen a transformation to a clean, largely litter-free country. The waste and recycling…

ContributorJanuary 27, 2023

Guest Posts Updates

Student Sustainability Essay Award

Photo courtesy of Becki Retzlaff The Academic Sustainability Program and the Writing Center are sponsoring a sustainability essay award. The award recognizes an essay that reflects on the holistic nature of sustainability and analyzes the relationship between self and the physical environment. Winners will receive an award, a gift card…

ContributorJanuary 24, 2023

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It’s Electric! Read How to Make an Impact as an Energy Alabama Student Member

by Laurel Holmes Interested in sustainable energy? If so, connect with students like you across the state! Energy Alabama is offering free memberships to college students across the state. Joining as a student member offers the opportunity to connect with like-minded peers, industry experts, and professionals advocating for green energy…

ContributorJanuary 5, 2023

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The Importance of Planting Native Vegetation

by John Kush Anyone who has moved about Auburn in last few years has noticed the continued growth of our community. With this growth, we continue to lose valuable green space and tree canopy, which negatively impacts the ecological function of our local environment. Water filtration decreases with an increase…

ContributorJanuary 4, 2023

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The Case for Higher Parking Fees at Auburn

by Becki Retzlaff When I arrived on campus at Auburn 16 years ago, the campus green space and the location of what is now the Harold Melton Student Center was a giant parking lot. Since then, other former parking lots have also been transformed into beloved buildings and green spaces…

ContributorJanuary 2, 2023

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I never stopped thinking green…

by Jerald Crook Jerald as an Auburn Freshman, holding his teddy bear (Jay). Jay today. “Should I show them my sustainability-themed bear from when I worked at Build-a-Bear?” The three dots from my fellow Auburn band alum Becca’s (‘11) end of the iMessage chat popped up immediately. *bwoop* “Probably not.”…

ContributorNovember 14, 2022

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ALUMINUM IS A RECYCLING CHAMP

by Jesse Teel I started as the Waste Reduction and Recycling Department Coordinator for Auburn University in August. The learning curve is steep when you begin two weeks before the first football game. Gameday operations are a major focus for our department as we add hundreds of trash cans and…