Episode 40: Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal with Alex Barron and Aaron Strong

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Alexander Barron (left) and Aaron Strong (right)

Guests:
Alexander Barron, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Policy
Smith College
LinkedIn | Bio

Aaron Strong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Hamilton College
LinkedIn | Bio

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Director of Energy and Sustainability at Brailsford & Dunlavey, Inc.

In this episode we interview two professors and researchers discussing a recently published paper in the peer-reviewed journal One Earth entitled: “Carbon neutrality should not be the end goal: Lessons for institutional climate action from U.S. Higher education.” You’ll hear lead author Alex Barron of Smith College and co-author Aaron Strong from Hamilton College discuss their study of U.S. schools that have announced that they have achieved carbon neutrality. This work was co-authored with Maya Domeshek and Lucy Metz (recent Smith College graduates who worked on the paper) and Laura Drauker (formerly of Amherst College, now at the Boston-based non-profit Ceres), and reflects feedback and input from many other sustainability practitioners.

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Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here: Otter Transcript

You can find a text-only version of the transcript here: Episode 40 Transcript

Episode 28: Twenty Years of Sustainability with Anne Eskridge at the University of Washington

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Anne Eskridge, Director of Transportation Services, University of Washington

Anne Eskridge, Director of Transportation Services, University of Washington

Guests:

Anne Eskridge
Director of Transportation Services, University of Washington

Host:

Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

If you travel by car to visit the University of Washington, your transportation choice will be a minority of those on campus. About 81 percent of the university community travels by transit, by foot, by bike and by carpooling. Even with a high number of people taking sustainable transportation, director of transportation services Anne Eskridge has big hopes for an even more sustainable future at the university. 

In this episode, host Dave Karlsgodt interviews Anne about her more than twenty years of sustainability experience. Anne reflects on waste, water, electric vehicles, electric bikes and regional transportation partnerships. She discusses how to benefit both the planet and the pocketbook and gives advice to future sustainability leaders. She shares not only her sustainability knowledge, but entertaining and powerful anecdotes about her father’s experiences with salmon fishing in the Puget Sound, the role of psychology in the field of sustainability and her background as an auctioneer (listen all the way to the end of the episode to get a sample of her auctioneering talent).

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Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:

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Episode 28: Twenty Years of Sustainability with Anne Eskridge at the University of Washington - Transcript

Episode 27: To Electric Vehicles and Beyond - Low-carbon transportation with Arjun Sarkar

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Arjun Sarkar, Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, University of California, Santa Barbara

Arjun Sarkar, Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, University of California, Santa Barbara

Guests:

Arjun Sarkar
Sustainable Transportation Coordinator, University of California, Santa Barbara

Host:

Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

The United State’s transportation sector lays claim to 29 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Cars, buses, trucks and airplanes, used as a part of daily life, present sustainability challenges that college and university sustainability officials feel poised to tackle.

In this episode, host Dave Karlsgodt sits down with Arjun Sarkar, Sustainable Transportation Coordinator for the University of California, Santa Barbara, to discuss low-carbon alternatives for transportation. In California, transportation accounts for 41 percent of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions. The discussion ranges from electric vehicles and renewable fuels to the economics of alternative fuel vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell technology. Arjun speaks specifically of UCSB and California as well as themes with national scope.

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Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:

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https://www.campusenergypodcast.com/episode-27-transcript

Episode 16: One Lab’s Trash is Another Lab’s Treasure: Reducing Waste and Increasing Reuse at Northwestern University

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Julie Cahillane (left) Garry Cooper (right)

Julie Cahillane (left) Garry Cooper (right)

Guests:
Julie Cahillane
Sustainability Associate Director
Northwestern University

Garry Cooper, PhD
Co-founder/CEO
Rheaply, Inc.

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Production Assistance:
Kaia Findlay and Animesh Bapat

Any kindergartener can recite the lesson that ‘sharing is caring.’ For youngsters, this just means it’s nice to let someone else play with their favorite toy. But for Garry Cooper, sharing plays a crucial role in caring for the planet and finding solutions for waste reduction and efficient resource use.

Inspired by the copious amounts of wasted lab equipment he encountered as a Ph.D. student, Cooper founded Rheaply, Inc., a startup that now helps universities and other institutions across the world reuse and recycle by sharing unused and unwanted lab equipment with other labs. From glassware to antibodies, you’ll learn some of the logistics behind trading world class research equipment all with a focus on sustainability.

The success of Rheaply, Inc.’s pilot at Northwestern University is framed by Julie Cahillane, Sustainability Associate Director at Northwestern University. Her breakdown of the waste produced by research institutions showcases the important role of sustainability in labs across the nation. She’ll go into what it takes to institutionalize sustainability at the university level and teach you how your institution can empower people like Garry Cooper on your campus.

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Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:

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Episode 16: One Lab's Trash is Another Lab's Treasure: Reducing Waste and Increasing Reuse at Northwestern University - Transcript

Episode 15: Landfill-gas flaring project at Central College of Pella, Iowa

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Brian Campbell (left) Rob McKenna (right)

Brian Campbell (left)
Rob McKenna (right)

Guest: Brian Campbell
Director of Sustainability Education
Central College of Pella, Iowa

Special Guest and Co-host: Rob McKenna
Principal, Fovea, LLC

Host: Dave Karlsgodt
Principal, Fovea, LLC

In this episode you’ll hear an interview with Brian Campbell, Director of Sustainability Education at Central College in Pella Iowa. We discuss Central College’s recent climate action plan with a focus on a unique landfill-gas flaring project that came out of that planning effort. Rob McKenna, a principal at Fovea and the consultant who lead this climate action planning effort, joins both as guest and co-host.

Fovea would like to give a special shout out to Energy Strategies and MEP Associates who were our partners and collaborators on this project.

Resources:

Second Nature Carbon Commitment Signatory Distribution

During this podcast, Rob McKenna discusses how Central College with roughly 10,000 MTCO2e / year has a typical emissions profile among signatories to the Second Nature Carbon Commitment.

Episode Transcript:

The following is an automated transcription of this episode which will include errors and omissions. You can listen and follow along with the text here:

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Episode 15: Landfill-gas flaring project at Central College of Pella, Iowa - Transcript