Happy Earth Month! This is the sustainability community’s time to shine, and there are plenty of ways to celebrate across the university and beyond. For those interested in collaborative leadership opportunities, read on for the latest with the Sustainability Leadership Council; for those seeking opportunities to cultivate wellness habits, look out for upcoming nature yoga and Mindful Walks; and for those looking for their favorite new podcast on topics like the energy transition, check out our media recs.
We hope this newsletter sparks ideas for an active, empowered, and reflective Earth Day (and month), whenever and however you choose to celebrate!
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| Understanding EPA Regulation of "Forever Chemicals" In Water Systems with Professor Carsten Prasse |
The U.S. EPA announced the first-ever regulations that would limit chemicals known as PFAS in drinking water, a group of synthetic contaminants that leech from non-stick coatings, menstrual products, anti-stain treatments, and more. Carsten Prasse, WSE professor of Environmental Health and Engineering, talks through what mitigation efforts could look like, strengths and challenges for the proposed regulation, and actions consumers can take to reduce exposure.
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| Professor Jim Bellingham, on How AI Can Help Combat Climate Change |
Jim Bellingham, WSE Mechanical Engineering professor and executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Assured Autonomy, lays out the potential for AI to combat climate change: “Even if we don't think something is an AI problem today, it will be an AI problem next week or next month.” Read more for his thoughts on deploying AI-powered robots for data collection in the Arctic Basin and ocean, adapting climate models to AI, and more.
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| Free Food is Just a Text Away! |
Free Food Alert is back! Originally developed in 2017 by three Hopkins students, the program is available again on the Homewood Campus, with expanded access for all JHU campuses by fall. Sign up to receive alerts any time there is food leftover from a university event and enjoy a good meal while helping minimize food waste on campus. Or, if you’re planning any get-togethers, sign up to post and notify the community when your event has extras.
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Participate in Mayor's Spring Cleanup and Day of Service |
On Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, join Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Baltimore City Department of Public Works in a day of citywide service and spring cleaning. All residents, neighbors, and organizations are encouraged to take charge and clean up the walkways, alleyways, and curbsides in their communities—and JHU has been asked to give our support! Check out the city's webpage to learn more.
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Join the Sustainability Leadership Council: Apply by May 5
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All JHU students, faculty, and staff are invited to apply to join the Sustainability Leadership Council by May 5! Members collaborate to develop recommendations to university leaders and advance sustainability initiatives across JHU. SLC committees focus on a variety of topics including: research and academics, environmental justice, and campus operations—including topics such as waste, food/dining, transportation, green labs, and more. Council members are asked to commit about three hours per month starting in Fall of 2023.
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Sustainability Research Directory Available Now!
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Explore the new Sustainability Research Directory, developed by the Sustainability Leadership Council, an important resource highlighting faculty and researchers across JHU who are currently active in areas of sustainability research. This database was developed as part of the new JHU sustainability website and lets users search for researchers by areas of study. If you know of any JHU researchers that should be included, please email suggestions to sustainability@jhu.edu.
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| Sustainability Leadership Symposium: April 5
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Join sustainability research and practice leaders for an all-day symposium at Scotts-Bates Commons on April 5. Explore 12 talks and panel discussions on key sustainability topics such as transportation, energy, education, medicine, environmental justice, and more, as well as 20 sustainability research posters, 10 info tables, and plant-based breakfast, lunch, and refreshments. The full schedule, panel abstracts, and presenter details, and more are now available on the webpage.
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Celebrate with the Office of Sustainability!
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Enjoy Earth Week with the Office of Sustainability from April 16 to April 21! From movie nights and nature yoga, to a Picnic for the Planet event and culminating Earth Fest celebration—this week promises moments for relaxation, learning, and community action for the planet. Explore the Green Gatherings section below or the webpage for details on programs, dates, and times!
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| Calling All Artists and Environmentalists!
Design a Sticker for Earth Fest
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Show your spirit for sustainability by designing an Earth Fest sticker! Designs may be in any medium (digitally uploaded), in square or circle format, and say “Earth Fest 2023”. The winner will have their design printed and handed out at the Earth Fest Celebration on April 21. Submissions are due by Sunday, April 9th at 11:59 PM and should be emailed to sustainability@jhu.edu.
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Wondering Who is Behind the Office of Sustainability Earth Week Program?
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Meet our Earth Week Engagement Interns taking lead on planning!
Click each of their pictures to learn more about their work and inspiration.
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A look at car dependence and culture through and through, from Super Bowl ads to feminist urban design and climate impact.
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Questions about the net zero emission lifestyles and efforts, for the individual and collective, local and global scales.
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| Breaking down all things green tech, energy, and economics, from carbon capture to divestment strategies.
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Earth Works Rising
With Chadwick Allen
APR 4 | 6:00 PM | Gilman 50
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Sustainability Leadership Symposium: Leadership and Practice
Organized by the SLC
APR 5 | 9:00 AM | Scotts-Bates Commons
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Sachet Water: An Environmental Ed. Tool
Organized by the BSPH Alumni Network
APR 5 | 3:00 PM | Virtual
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“The Bitten Tongue” with Dr. Alyssa Trotz
Franklin W. Knight Lectures in Black Study
APR 5 - 7 | Times Vary | Remsen 233
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Spring Yard Sale
Organized by Marque Magazine
APR 7 | 11:00 AM | Levering Courtyard
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Mindful Walk
With Health Promotion and Well-Being
APR 7 | 11:00 AM | Levering Courtyard
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The Environmental Humanities
Research Initiative Spring Panel
With Jennifer Gosetti-Ferencei, Jane Bennett, Leonardo Lisi, and Marina Bedran
APR 11 | 5:30 PM | TBA
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Chemical Passports: Environmental Science, Information, and Regulation in the Trade of Toxic Substances
With Angela Creager
APR 13 | 3:00 PM | Gilman 300
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Fiction and Poetry Reading
With Chris Grillo and Claire Wahmanholm
APR 13| 6:00 PM | Gilman 50
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Panel on Workers’ Rights with
Chris Smalls, Unite Here, and TRU-UE
Organized by the Foreign Affairs Symposium
APR 13 | 7:00 AM | Hodson 110
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Nature, Nurture, and Leadership: A Weekend of Climate Action and Female Leadership
Organized by the Carey Business School
APR 14 - 16 | All Day | Thorpewood
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SHIP Greenweek
APR 16 - 22 | All Week
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2040 Movie Night
Office of Sustainability Earth Week Program
APR 16 | 8:00 PM | Mudd 26
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As Men do a-land: Claims and
Counterclaims Land Acquisition in
Rural India, with Benita Menezes
Anthropology Spring Colloquium
APR 18 | 4:00 PM | Mergenthaler 426
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Nature Yoga
Office of Sustainability Earth Week Program
APR 20 | 9:00 AM | Decker Gardens
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Picnic for the Planet
Organized by Hopkins Dining
APR 20 | 12:30 PM | Keyser Quad
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Mindful Walk
With Health Promotion and Well-Being
APR 21 | 12:00 PM | Rec Center
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JHU Earth Fest
Office of Sustainability Earth Week Program
APR 21 | 3:00 PM | Keyser Quad
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Greenweek Thrift Shop
Organized by SHIP, with Earth Fest
APR 21 | 3:00 PM | Keyser Quad
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Mayor Brandon Scott's Day of Service
With Baltimore City Public Works
APR 22 | 12:00 PM | 10 E. North Avenue
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Sovereignty and Biodiversity Conservation in Japan’s Ocean Borderlands
With Paul Kreitman
APR 27 | 3:00 PM | Gilman 300
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Dear Green Guide: Why do we celebrate Earth Day? Shouldn’t it be “Earth Day every day?” |
You’re right! It should be Earth Day every day, in the sense that our collective flourishing on this planet requires an everyday, ingrained commitment and attention to environmental action, impact, and justice. Earth Day's original organizer, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, would not argue any differently.
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The first Earth Day in 1970 came after decades of environmentally unregulated industrial growth, punctuated by public-facing disasters like fish kills in the Great Lakes, Ohio rivers on fire due to chemical dumping, and a 3-million-gallon oil spill in Santa Barbara. Inspired by the model of recent anti-war teach-ins, Earth Day was meant to be performative, to ignite a burst of energy and political impetus. With over 20 million participants, it catalyzed the “environmental decade” that birthed the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and a dozen other environmental protections in the years to follow. According to public opinion polls, only 1% of the American public cared about environmental issues in 1969; by 1971, it skyrocketed to 25%.
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As Senator Nelson wrote, it was about getting the American public to “show the political and opinion leadership of the country that the people cared…that the politicians had better get ready, too." |
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A University History of Sustainability |
From educating alumna like Rachel Carson, a pioneer of the environmental movement, to creating the global “Meatless Monday” campaign, JHU has a rich history of sustainability—making it Earth-Day-every-day here for decades. Behind the upcoming movie nights and mindful walks is a broader foundation of sustainability grounded in strategic planning and ambitious climate action, like reaching our goal of 51% carbon emissions reductions three years early! This progress is created every day in places like the Sustainability Leadership Council, the Office of Sustainability, the Center for a Livable Future, and countless other departments, centers, and initiatives—but also in moments like Earth Week and the Sustainability
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Leadership Symposium, designed to foster community and identify the ideas and outlooks that will shape the next iterations of Hopkins’s climate and sustainability commitments.
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In the spirit of the first Earth Day, think about this year as your chance to show up, whether you want to join in at Earth Fest, volunteer with friends and family, or find a different Earth Day event near you. Walk around in your earthiest t-shirt, share your thoughts on social media, organize a teach-in or open discussion, bug your local and federal representatives for climate action; whatever you participate in, make it collaborative, make it social, and make it impactful.
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