January 26, 2012
George Basile is Senior Sustainability Scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability and an Associate Professor at the School of Sustainability.
For any sustainability graduate or new practitioner, there exists a tale of two narratives. The first reflects the reality of a historically horrendous job market, a new field with relatively unknown aca- demic degrees, and an abundance of competition from seasoned professionals. The other reflects the reality of being at the leading edge of a pio- neering wave with the opportunity and promise of discovery and forging one’s own future given a more complete understanding of the reality humanity finds itself in. Both narratives paint a picture of transition and both are true. So, what is one to do?
January 24, 2012
This word cloud visually represents the number of species in each category that was discovered and officially described in calendar year 2009. In this design, the larger the word means a greater number of species in that category. Beetles dominate the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009, according to the 2011 State of Observed Species (SOS) report released Jan. 18, 2012, by the International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University. More at http://species.asu.edu. Photo by: International Institute for Species Exploration/Arizona State University
More than half of the 19,232 species newly known to science in 2009 – the most recent calendar year of compilation – were insects. According to the 2011 State of Observed Species (SOS) report released Jan. 18 by the International Institute for Species Exploration at ASU, insects comprised 9,738 of the year’s new species, or 50.6 percent.
The second largest group in the 2009 report was vascular plants, totaling 2,184 or 11.3 percent. Of the 19,232 in the total count, seven were birds, 41 were mammals and 1,487 were arachnids – spiders and mites.
And, according to this latest report, there was a 5.6 percent increase in new living species discovered in 2009, compared to 2008.
The annual SOS report card on the status of human knowledge of Earth’s species summarizes what is known about global flora and fauna. The 19,232 species described as “new” or newly discovered during 2009 represent about twice as many species as were known in the lifetime of Carolus Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist who initiated the modern system of plant and animal names and classifications more than 250 years ago, said the report’s author, Quentin Wheeler, an ASU entomologist and founding director of the species institute.
“The cumulative knowledge of species since 1758 when Linnaeus was alive is nearly 2 million, but much remains to be done,” Wheeler said. “A reasonable guess is that 10 million additional plant and animal species await discovery by scientists and amateur species explorers.”
January 11, 2012
Online certificate custom-designed to meet US Army, Army National Guard, Army Reserve readiness objectivesThe design and establishment of an online graduate certificate in sustainability leadership at Arizona State University for soldiers and civilians in the U.S. Army, Army National Guard and Army Reserve was inaugurated Jan. 6 during a signing ceremony.
Participating in the event at the Army National Guard Bureau headquarters in Arlington, Va., were ASU President Michael M. Crow; Brig. Gen. Daniel J. Nelan, assistant to the director, Army National Guard; and Richard G. Kidd IV, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for energy and sustainability.
January 4, 2012
Metropolitan Phoenix has the largest set of wild land preserves of any major metropolitan area in the United States, including the largest city park in the country, South Mountain Park. Mountain preserves are treasures in our own backyard, yet the pressures of urbanization, invasive species and overuse of certain parks threaten their long-term integrity.
Arizona State University’s Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) program in the Global Institute of Sustainability and ASU’s Ecosystem Conservation and Resilience Initiative (ECRI) in the School of Life Sciences are part of a new initiative to address the future of these mountain park preserves.
December 21, 2011
Students at Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability get the opportunity to tackle real-life issues in their community as a part of their studies. For Dr. Hallie Eakin’s students in the Fall 2011 undergraduate course, “Sustainable Food and Farms,” this meant conducting research to analyze ASU’s food sourcing decisions and come up with suggestions for improvements.
Through the research for this class, the students concluded that ASU is moving in the right direction in identifying and supporting sustainable food supplies. The student researchers noted, however, that they had several concerns regarding aspects of waste management, ecological impact, education, and transparency in the food system, among other issues.
Established in 2007, the School of Sustainability brings together multiple disciplines and leaders to create and share knowledge, train a new generation of scholars and practitioners, and develop practical solutions to the most pressing environmental, economic, and social challenges of sustainability - especially as they relate to urban areas.
