University of Wisconsin–Madison

Tag: Climate Change

Her historic snowfall: when will it be the last in her lifetime?

This essay, by Hailey Sewell, is one of three winners of the 2023 Sustainability Writing Awards hosted by the Office of Sustainability. You can read more about Hailey here.  During the winter of 2007-8, there was a total snowfall of more than 100 inches in the city of Madison. The biggest storm occurred just before the turn …

With research on carbon capture, Rob Anex works to halt the “overflow” of global warming

This article, by Matilyn Bindl, is part of a series highlighting members of the Office of Sustainability’s Experts Database. In a collaboration with instructor Madeline Fisher’s course, LSC 561: Writing Science for the Public, students interviewed campus sustainability experts and produced short feature stories.   In the eyes of UW–Madison Biological Systems Engineering professor Rob Anex, …

Fool’s Spring Survival Guide: Expert Tips for a Thriving Midwest Garden

Advice on topics ranging from beginning gardens, using herbicides, attracting pollinators, combatting the effects of climate change, and maintaining hope in that fickle, challenging, and inspiring practice known as gardening.

At the UW–Madison Sustainability Symposium, presenters address “a potential existential crisis”

At the inaugural UW-Madison Sustainability Symposium, Josh Arnold presented a major pilot project that could allow UW–Madison to generate more renewable energy. “Our students, staff, faculty, and alumni—including many in this room—are demanding bold climate action now,” said Arnold, the Campus Energy Advisor for the Office of Sustainability. “Producing electricity using renewable energy such as …

“So we can hold each other accountable”: sounding off and setting goals at the first Student Sustainability Leaders Meeting

The first Student Sustainability Leaders Meeting took place on October 10, 2022 at The Crossing on the UW–Madison campus. The event was hosted by Angelina Mico, the co-executive director of Slow Food UW; Jacob Breit, the sustainability chair for the Associated Students of Madison; and Melina Nguyen, Ben Yang, and Maya Barwick, students affiliated with …

Progress after dismay: a vertiginous summer for climate activists

At the start of the summer, the Supreme Court delivered a blow to the EPA’s ability to limit greenhouse gas emissions. By August, however, Congress swung back. UW–Madison students and professors process the back-and-forth and look to what it means for future climate action in the city and state. 350 Wisconsin, a Madison-based organization that …

On Bill Nye and our search for a savior against climate change

We learned to love his character. He was Bill Nye the Science Guy, dressed in a bowtie and cornflower blue lab coat, telling jokes, playing out skits, parodying songs, putting on demonstrations and at-home experiments. He spoke to our love of discovery in the world and in ourselves, and it was impossible not to sit …

“Who killed the truth?” Archon Fung speaks on climate change, COVID, and democracy

Archon Fung began this semester’s final installment of the Weston Roundtable Lecture Series with what he called  “a whodunit.” “Who killed the truth?” he asked. Fung is the Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Democracy at the Harvard Kennedy School, which works to “improve public policy and leadership so people can live in societies …

Global Health Symposium celebrates interdisciplinary approaches to climate change and health

On Tuesday, April 19, the Global Health Institute (GHI) partnered with the Office of Global Health to host the 2022 Global Health Symposium, “Making Connections: Health, Climate & Equity.” The event celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the GHI. Since its inception, it has introduced an undergraduate major in global health and undergraduate, graduate, and professional …

Diving into divestment: panel discussion at UW–Madison probes a tricky topic

“Fossil Fuel Divestment: Climate Action or Climate Distraction?” was one of the major events of UW–Madison’s fifth annual Earth Week, which was held from April 18-24, 2022. Divestment means selling shares invested in fossil fuel companies. It is at the center of impassioned debates at college campuses across the country: students are calling for institutional …