Highwire Earth

Dear Highwire readers,

I am pleased to announce the new Editorial Board at Highwire Earth. Ying-Chiang Jeffrey Lee will be our new President and Editor. Shashank Kumar Anand, Kaylie Cohanim, and Sam Ditkovsky will be our new Associate Editors. You can read more about the Editorial Board at the following link:
http://highwire.princeton.edu/about-us/editorial-board/

We look forward to a new year at Highwire with Jeffrey, Shashank, Kaylie, and Sam!

Sincerely,
Emily Wei-Hsin Sun
Outgoing Editor-in-Chief

The Editorial Board Ying-Chiang Jeffrey Lee | President and Editor Jeffrey is a fourth year PhD candidate in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University in the Donia Lab. He has an MPH focusing on Glob…

Can university food procurement contribute to social and environmental justice? This new Highwire article looks at the relationship between universities, consumer food certifications, and environmental justice:

“University food procurement is a massive enterprise with a large societal impact. It has been suggested that this purchasing power be wielded for good: sustainability is a frequently cited aim for alimentary purchasing; social and environmental justice, while still relevant, are less commonly considered in this context. Social justice aims to eliminate inequities between discrete demographics. Environmental justice (EJ) falls under the wider umbrella of social justice: EJ is the notion that specific ecological burdens of society (like pollution and presence of hazardous pesticides) should be shared equitably across communities. Social and environmental justice are the cousins of sustainability; all three are a prerequisite to ethical spending. Both forms of justice can be difficult to quantify, making it difficult for institutions to gauge just spending habits. Some consumer certifications are touted as informative tools for doing so. We examine four major certifications: two which focus on sustainability, USDA Organic, and the Non-GMO Project, and two which focus on EJ, Fair Trade USA and the Rainforest Alliance. This article reveals potential blind spots in the certification process that should be considered as administrators attempt to improve social and environmental justice at the farm level. We conclude with advice for ethical university food purchasing.”

Assessing the Utility of Food Certifications in Advancing Environmental Justice Written by Shashank Anand, Hezekiah Grayer II, Anna Jacobson, and Harrison Watson Sustainability is the notion that we should consume with caution, as the Earth is a delicately balanced ecosystem w…

Revisit Prof. Laurel Mei-Singh’s article on environmental justice.

Yesterday, a federal judge in Michigan gave preliminary approval to a $641 million partial settlement of lawsuits filed by victims of the Flint water crisis. Last week, former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder was charged with two counts of willful neglect. U.S. District Judge Judith Levy wrote in yesterday’s court opinion, “there may be no amount of money that would fully recognize the harm the residents of Flint have experienced.” This settlement will be one step on a long road towards justice for the community.

From Prof. Mei-Singh’s article: “I recount this history to show that, when tackling environmental racism in Trenton, a narrow focus on the intentional decisions of racist individual policymakers cannot possibly address the myriad environmental injustices that the people of Trenton face. Rather, the issue of lead poisoning and the failure of those with political power to address this problem cannot be separated from long and overlapping histories of racism, capitalist restructuring, and careless development plans literally built into the environment. Addressing this issue requires first and foremost an awareness of the many processes that have historically produced the organized abandonment of the city.”

Full article at the link in bio!

Submit an article of your own by emailing us at [email protected] or visiting the link in our bio!

Pieces can be synopses, analyses, opinions, or creative writing related to sustainable development. It can draw from your research, your extracurricular activities, or talks you’ve attended! For inspiration, take a look at the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Pieces can be anywhere from around 300 to 2000 words. Feel free to email us with any questions!

There are also opportunities to join our team!

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started building coastal flood protection over 60 years ago, they weren’t thinking about climate change, but a PhD student at Princeton University shows that old Army Corps projects may hold valuable insights for future climate adaptation efforts.

What can climate adaptation learn from what’s in Grandpa’s garage? A historical tale of two flood protection megastructures When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started building coastal flood protection over 60 years ago, they weren’t thinking about climate change, but a PhD student at Princeton University shows that o…

Wondering how to give more effectively this holiday season? Check out Tim Treuer's guide to carbon offsetting!

Offsetting your greenhouse gas emissions can impact more than just your carbon footprint By Tim Treuer This Giving Tuesday, I decided to offset my 2020 carbon footprint. And help protect endangered biodiversity. And help eliminate poverty. And improve air, water, and soil quality. And …

Check out our latest piece on cowboys and climate change. Ashford King compares American and Mexican country music and finds two different stances towards the environment.

Sustainability: That Ain’t Country? Written by Ashford King In the US, the fight against climate change often looks more like a fight to achieve the public recognition that climate change is real. Flat out denial of science by the do…

We're now on Instagram, follow us for the latest!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGGTkTtlWV0/

Highwire Earth, a Princeton University sustainable development blog, is now on Instagram! We’ll keep you updated on the campus community’s work, events, and interests related to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The platform was created to foster discussion and share relevant research. We welcome your thoughts and contributions, and would love to help publicize your work! Submit your writing to [email protected] in 300-1800 words. If you’re interested in joining our team as an editor, let us know! #sustainabledevelopment #SDGs #UN #princeton

While thinking about investments aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, revisit the Highwire article on mass incarceration and prison teaching by Kaia Tombak below.

Sustainable development encompasses access to justice for all (SDG 16) and requires commitments to address root causes of inequality.

For resources on divestment from the Prison-Industrial Complex, see: http://princetonspear.com/prison-divestment-2020

https://highwire.princeton.edu/2016/02/01/americans-are-paying-too-much-for-mass-incarceration-prison-education-programs-provide-a-way-out/

Americans Are Paying Too Much for Mass Incarceration: Prison education programs provide a way out Written by Kaia Tombak Some names in this blog post have been changed to protect the privacy of those mentioned. Jack greeted me cheerfully as he strolled into class, asking me how things are going…

What do university investments say about the overarching goals of the institution? Ryan Warsing of Divest Princeton outlines the group's push for divestment from fossil fuels in the article below.

It’s Past Time for Princeton to Divest from Fossil Fuels Written by Ryan Warsing of Divest Princeton If you’re reading this, you probably don’t need to be persuaded that the planet is on fire, and we need to do something to put it out fast.  We…

Last Spring, Highwire Earth collaborated with Climate Central and Princeton University Writing Center to offer a free scientific communication workshop. John Upton, Partnerships Journalism Editor at Climate Central, walked us through some writing and reporting guidelines for scientific journalism with stories from his experiences in the field. Then Judy Swan, Associate Director for Writing in Science and Engineering at the Princeton Writing Program helped workshop our attendees' pieces and article ideas. Thank you John and Judy!

We also thank Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University Graduate School, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for the support and funding to cater this event.

Look out for more events like these in the future!