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November 2022 Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at the Office of Climate Action! We hope that you have a great holiday with your loved ones. To help make your holidays more climate friendly, we encourage you to check out the resources below. While individual actions are not enough on their own to tackle climate change, behavior changes are important to address scope 3 emissions, and they are a great opportunity to teach friends and family more about climate change and sustainability. To learn more about reducing food-related emissions on a larger scale, check out this month’s Climate 101 article. The article also includes resources for anyone facing food insecurity. |
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News and Updates |
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OCA Webinar: Transportation Climate Action Group |
| December 8, 12:00-1:00 pm Join us for this month’s edition of the Climate Action Group Webinar Series, featuring Transportation CAG co-chair Jon Carnegie. Learn more about Rutgers’ plans to electrify the bus system and promoting alternatives for commuters, such as walking, biking, public transit, and electric vehicles. | |
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Office of Climate Action Spring Internships |
Join us this spring as an intern with the Office of Climate Action! Interns will gain research and professional skills while helping with several key projects, including submitting Rutgers’ first AASHE STARS rating, developing a student ambassador program, and more. To enroll for credit, register for course 11:374:482. For more information, contact Associate Director Angie Oberg at angela.oberg@rutgers.edu. |
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“RU COOL Marks 30th Anniversary at the Forefront of Climate Change Research and Ocean Discovery” |
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Spotlight - Native American Acknowledgment Garden |
“Rutgers faculty and the director of Rutgers Gardens are collaborating with Indigenous communities in New Jersey to explore how they might install more native plants of cultural significance. The Our Land, Our Stories project brings together the Department of Landscape Architecture and the Ramapough Lunaape Nation to focus on environmental justice advocacy and curriculum development for Native American history and contemporary Indigenous land relations.” Read the full article. |
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Climate 101 |
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Scope 3 Emissions Tracking and Food |
By Andrew Saponara, Undergraduate Student, Rutgers—New Brunswick Last month in Climate 101, we discussed the different emission classifications, scopes 1, 2, and 3. Of these, scope 3, which includes commuting, business travel, and food emissions, is the most difficult to track. Tracking emissions is crucial in helping Rutgers meet its climate goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040. It will assess how much progress Rutgers has made toward achieving its goals and will help identify procedures that can be made more efficient. You may be wondering how we track food emissions. An important component of this calculation is food miles. Food miles measure the distance from where the food is produced to where it is consumed and the emissions created from this process. Other factors such as food type, if the food is locally sourced, associated food waste, and the resources required to produce the food contribute to food emissions as well. Continue Reading… |
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October Poll Results |
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If you are eating an apple this November in NJ, your food choice has the lowest climate impact out of the choices from last month’s poll. Generally, meat production has higher carbon emissions than growing fruits or vegetables. Although fruits and veggies can also have a hefty carbon footprint if they are shipped long distances and rack up “food miles”, like a pineapple would. Veggie burgers and chocolate both have additional processing steps that tack on higher emissions, and chocolate contains palm oil, an ingredient notorious for contributing to deforestation. Apple season recently wrapped up in NJ, and fresh locally grown apples are available across the state. Check out the NJ Agricultural Experiment Station to learn more about apple varieties grown here in New Jersey and look for the Jersey Fresh logo to find produce grown in NJ. Some farmers markets, such as the New Brunswick Community Farmers Market, are trying to make fresh local produce more affordable and are accepting SNAP/EBT card, WIC checks, or SFMNP checks. |
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Answer Today’s Climate 101 Poll Question! |
How well do you understand the recycling system at Rutgers? |
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Opportunities for Students |
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Events Around RU |
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In Case You Missed it… |
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OCA Webinar: Transportation Climate Action Group |
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