| |  | | | October 2022 October is campus sustainability month, and this year we are reflecting on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. Since the destructive superstorm made landfall, there have been many efforts across Rutgers and the state of New Jersey to protect our coastal communities and take action on climate change. Rutgers is contributing research, education, and service to help protect coastal communities and environments from the effects of sea level rise and future Sandy-level storms. Initiatives range from providing coastal resilience training through the NJ CCRC Climate Corps and the Coastal Climate Risk & Resilience graduate certificate program to creating “living shorelines” that protect beach habitats and dissipate wave energy. Additionally, the NJ Climate Change Resources Center, located at Rutgers, hosts and develops NJADAPT, a free suite of tools designed to provide data to planners, decision-makers, practitioners, and others addressing climate change in New Jersey. On our campuses, the new Adaptation Climate Action Group, led by Steven Kelemen and Jeffrey Issler from the Rutgers Office of Emergency Management, is working across campuses and engaging with our host communities to establish comprehensive plans for just and equitable climate adaptation. Despite this progress, the toll of Sandy remains for many. As the ten-year anniversary approaches, our communities and our state are honoring those who lost their lives or their livelihoods, and those who still haven’t been able to make it back home. | | News and Updates | | OCA Webinar: Land Use and Building Design CAG | | November 11, 1:00-2:00 pm Join us for this month’s edition of the Climate Action group Webinar Series, featuring Land Use and Buildings CAG co-chairs Laura Berman and Frank Wong. Learn more about the future of net-zero buildings on campus, sustainable meadows, and more. | |
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| | “10 Years After Hurricane Sandy: What’s Next for the Jersey Shore?” | In the immediate aftermath of hurricane Sandy, many communities rebuilt in place, often with added engineered protections such as home elevations, sea walls, and man-made dunes. In some locations, the added protections may only serve to buy communities additional time. With sea-level rising even further and storms becoming more intense, more communities will be facing the difficult decision to stay or go. Read the article. |
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| | Campus Sustainability Month | | Campus Sustainability Month, hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), is an international celebration of sustainability in higher education. To celebrate, we are hosting our Climate Action Group Webinar Series and working towards Rutgers’ first AASHE STARS report submission. Create an AASHE account using your Rutgers email address to get special access to member resources and events. |
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| | NJ Commits to 50% Increase in Offshore Wind Goals | September 21, 2022, Governor Murphy signed Executive Order #307, raising New Jersey’s offshore wind goal to 11,000 megawatts (MW) by 2040, a nearly 50% increase from the previous goal of 7,500 MW by 2035. The Board of Public Utilities (BPU) will also conduct a feasibility study to determine if the goal can be increased even further. These major steps for offshore wind power in NJ will help both the state and Rutgers to achieve our clean energy goals. Learn more. |
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| | Spotlight - PantryRUN | PantryRUN is increasing food accessibility for Rutgers–Newark students, while taking climate action and helping build a culture of sustainability on campus. The food pantry recently started a composting program in partnership with Java’s Compost. While collecting food scraps to send to Java’s, they will be sharing their progress and diversion rates on Instagram (@pantry_run) and hosting composting workshops. Hend El Buri, the director of PantryRUN, also serves as a member of the Newark Climate Action Group. | | | | Climate 101 | | Classifying Carbon Emissions: Scopes 1, 2, and 3 | In the September edition of Climate 101, we discussed Rutgers’ commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040. The first step in doing this is determining which emissions are attributed to Rutgers and how to track them. Greenhouse gas accounting uses the concept of ‘scopes’ to help organizations understand their emissions. There are three scopes, or level of responsibilities, for emissions – Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. Rutgers uses these scopes to help define, communicate, and track our emissions goals. How an organization chooses to define which emissions they are responsible for can dramatically change their net-zero calculations. Continue Reading… | | September Poll Results |  | | Answer Today’s Climate 101 Poll Question! | Which of the following foods has the lowest climate impact if you are eating it in NJ this November? Chocolate Apple Pineapple Steak Veggie Burger
| | | Events Around RU | | Rutgers Climate Symposium 2022: Climate Change & Biodiversity | Wednesday, November 9, 2022, Livingston Student Center The RCI Symposium fosters collaboration among natural and social science researchers and students interested in climate change from institutions in the greater NJ, NY, Philadelphia region. | |
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| | | | In Case You Missed it… | | OCA Webinar: Energy and Buildings CAG |  | | |
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