Many Americans hear the word “economics” and quite literally start to talk business: bulls and bears, stocks and bonds, revenues and profits—you know the drill. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, though, economics is “a social science concerned chiefly with description and analysis of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.” For Dr. Sam Stolper, this meaning rings especially true when it comes to distribution. Sam is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan’s School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS), where he researches and lectures on the intersecting issues of economics and environmental justice, particularly as they apply to how the impacts of energy use and production are distributed. Continue reading Justice, Economics, and the Environment Walk into a Bar… A Conversation with Dr. Sam Stolper→
Ever wonder what actually goes on at an annual international climate change conference? Alexa White doesn’t. That’s because she’s attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties (UNFCCC-COP) not once, but twice. She attended the 2015 talks in Paris, France and the ones that were held this month in Katowice, Poland. White is a second-year Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Ph.D. student. She was sent as a representative of the University of Michigan’s student delegation, organized by SEAS Professor Avik Basu. Continue reading Inside COP 24 with Alexa White→
Catherine Garton is not only a microbiology, applied statistics, and energy science & policy buff. She’s also the founder of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) chapter at the University of Michigan. The student group is part of a larger nonpartisan grassroots organization that aims to “build the political will for a livable world” by advocating for climate change solutions. Specifically, they support the implementation of a Carbon Fee and Dividend policy. Garton, a sophomore, founded the campus chapter only recently, but the umbrella organization has been active for over a decade and oversees 1,300+ chapters internationally. This week, co-hosts Logan and Heena talked with Catherine Garton and Lena Swirczek, another CCL student activist who is also involved in the University of Michigan’s Sustainable Living Experience, a sustainability-focused community at Oxford Houses on campus. Continue reading Young, Strong Voices from the Citizens’ Climate Lobby→
