The Climate Team within the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Environmental Studies, with the support of I-CARES, has been working to build a “Climate on Campus” database that details all the opportunities for research, education and action at Washington University to address climate change and its consequences. The master list will showcase WashU classes, research, faculty, student groups, and university organizations. Assembling this information will enable the WashU Community to understand what we are doing to increase sustainable practices on campus, what is being researched concerning climate change and its implications, how the university is educating the student body about climate consequences and policy, and more.
A fundamental goal of the database is to foster networks across disciplines and across undergraduate/graduate/faculty/community lines so that the university can determine new ways to effectively tackle climate issues. Furthermore, the master list aims to increase awareness among the student body and community about how WashU is tackling these issues while also identifying areas where there are opportunities to do more.
Recently, a list of courses relating to climate has been compiled. This list can be found via the Office of Sustainability’s list of sustainable courses found here by looking for courses coded with a “C” under “Concentration.” This notation, like the “EJ” notation that marks courses related to environmental justice concerns, is intended to help students see what courses they may enroll in to learn more about climate change. Climate courses have been identified in all Washington University schools, including Arts & Sciences, Architecture, Law, Engineering, and University College.
The Climate Team wants to hear from you! Students, professors, researchers, and community member are encouraged to connect with the project team ensure that their work and interests are included in the database, and to be sure that the database is designed to meet user needs. Please contact the climate team: martin@wustl.edu, emmawaltman@wustl.edu, and/or sethblum4@gmail.com.
This article was written by our Climate Student Associates Emma Waltman and Seth Blum.