Identifying the Consumption Choices that Matter

Today we have a guest post from Robert Kutter PhD, a recent graduate of ASU’s School of Sustainability. Paper or Plastic? Most consumers used to think the environmentally friendly option at the grocery store checkout was paper bags. Paper bags are made out of natural materials after all, whereas plastic bags are made from non-renewable … Read more…

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Down the A/C rabbit hole

It’s the summer and air conditioning is in the news; generating a spat of articles from journalists mostly sniping at each other about whether it is a gift from God or from the Devil. A somewhat pretentious piece in the New York Times decrying our freezing buildings kicked it off, rebutted quite thoroughly only days … Read more…

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Word! Anthropocene on the rise

Anthropocene has made the leap out of the Ivory Tower and continues to rapidly gain popularity both in the public and academia. The term ‘Anthropocene’ is credited to Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer who proposed that it was necessary to distinguish a new geological epoch of human domination of the planet (PDF).1)Crutzen, P. J., and … Read more…

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Oreskes and Conway Leave No Doubt

In their 2010 book, Merchants of Doubt, historians of science Naomi Oreskes and Eric Conway expose in seemingly endless detail the sordid roots of today’s climate change denial. They trace its birth from early (and recently revived) attempts to discredit Rachael Carson and the dangers of DDT to wildlife, even if that first battle was … Read more…

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Water: why it’s no good for introducing Sustainability

When I tell people that I am working in Sustainability well over half the time they immediately bring up water (the probability increases if they know of my ties to Arizona). Yet I have come to believe that water is perhaps the worst topic with which to have an introductory discussion about Achieving Sustainability. The … Read more…

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SustainabLINKS April 14, 2015

This blog took a multi-month hiatus (admittedly a bad sign for such a new enterprise) as I moved between countries and had a baby (good enough excuses I think). But now I’m back and I won’t be stopped. Too much of interest has happened to list here but here are some of the more recent highlights:

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SustainabLINKS November 10, 2014

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SustainabLINKS November 2, 2014

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SustainabLINKS September 1, 2014

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A Paradox Grows into a Conundrum

In his 2011 book Conundrum, David Owen asks a fundamental question–can we commit to doing what is necessary to really Achieving Sustainability? Are we willing to make the necessary sacrifices, to reduce our consumption as both individuals and societies on a massive scale? As his subtitle points out Owen is really asking these questions about … Read more…

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