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Fall 2021 Sustainability Bulletin Volume 2 1
Inside this Issue 3-4 ………….…………………………...…...Curriculum
5 ……………………………………..…..…..…Operations 6-7 ..………………..………………...…….…….Research 8 ..………………………..…………….….….Engagement 9 ..……...…………………….……..Community Events 10 ………………………………………..……...Leadership 11 .....…………..…Sustainability Alumni Spotlight Interested in supporting the Green Scene programming by giving to the Sustainability Fund? Click here. @UAlbanyGreenScn
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Wildlife Ecology Dr. Steven Campbell is a full time lecturer at University at Albany in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences. He shares some of his passion through his course titled Wildlife Ecology and Management: AENV480
What are some of the topics that you cover in your course? The course focuses on the application of ecological principles to the management and conservation of wildlife populations and their habitats. Topics will include population ecology, habitat use, animal behavior, competition and predation, abundance estimation, theories and techniques of management, endangered species conservation, and identification of local wildlife.
Dr. Steven Campbell
What interested you about teaching a course about wildlife ecology and management? The planet is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis of our own making. Although species typically considered "wildlife" are only a small subset of biodiversity, for most people these species are the most identifiable and relatable portion of biodiversity. I offer this course because I want to increase interest and knowledge in wildlife ecology and management and instill a sense of responsibility for conserving wildlife populations and their habitats. Hopefully, a better understanding of wildlife conservation will also lead to an increased professional and personal interest in the wider issue of biodiversity conservation.
Curriculum
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Wildlife Ecology (continued) Environmental Justice in the Arts Do you have any specific sustainability learning objectives for this course? Although there are no specific learning objectives directly related to sustainability, many of the threats to wildlife populations and their habitats result from a lack of sustainability of resource use (e.g., fossil fuel consumption, pollution, deforestation, overgrazing, overhunting). As such, addressing these sustainability issues plays an important role in wildlife conservation efforts. Namely, if threats to wildlife are to be ameliorated, humans will need to find a way to balance their needs with those of the wildlife species with which they share the planet. How do you measure if students have increased their knowledge with regards to sustainability literacy? My primary goal is for students to come away from the class with an increased knowledge of the needs of wildlife and the importance of the conservation and management of their populations and habitats. I also hope they better understand the responsibility that humans have as environmental stewards, and the roles that they themselves, as scientists and citizens, can play in conserving wildlife. If I succeed in those goals, given the overlap between building a sustainable future for humans and conserving wildlife then I will have increased their sustainability literacy. Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals do you feel are addressed most in your course? Given that people and wildlife both require healthy, functioning ecosystems to persist, many of the U.N. sustainability goals for people overlap considerably with the goals of wildlife conservation. These include clean water, clean energy, sustainable resource production and consumption, addressing climate change, sustainable management of natural resources, and halting biodiversity loss. Is there anything else you want students to know about this course? An important step in developing a connection to wildlife and an appreciation of its diversity is being able to identify the species that you encounter. As such, part of the course is devoted to identification of birds, mammals, amphibian, and reptiles of New York State.
Curriculum
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SolarEnergy Panel Installation in Progress Campaign Weather Forecasting Tool forIntern, New York Grace Hammond, the Sustainability Data Analysis explains the details behind those Energy Campaign email notices. Can you explain what the energy campaign is? The Energy Campaign promotes the reduction of electricity and water use on campus over a four week period. Every week during that time, the Office of Sustainability sent out notices about our progress that is understandable and accessible to the public. I work in the Office of Energy Management where we calculated the baseline use and measured how much change is occurring on campus in order to determine if there has been a savings.
You mentioned doing work on setting the baseline for our energy and water use in dorms, can you go in-depth on how you’ve been doing that? Yeah! We did an analysis based on the past few years. We went back to 2017 to get a sense of how much water and electricity had been used on average over the years. It was tricky to create a baseline because of COVID—all the numbers were skewed lower. If we look at all the data it is constant for the most part from 2017 to 2019, and then from 2020 to 2021 there is a huge decrease. A main factor is that less students were on campus during that time due to COVID, but we were able to established the average use pre-COVID. We took data from the water and electric meters each week during the campaign to determine the percent decrease or increase in use. After we determined that information, we would forward it to the Office of Sustainability who would highlight the buildings that saw the largest decrease. Note: The buildings with the biggest savings will be recognized at our Climate Heroes Ceremony on November 19th at 3 pm in the Campus Center.
Operations
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Climate Change and Emerging Infectio Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Keyel, a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (DAES) and the NYSDOH Wadsworth Center., spoke to us about a recent publication regarding West Nile Virus in NY.
What the main objectives of the project? West Nile virus (WNV) has caused more than 46,000 diagnosed cases in the United States, with over 2000 human deaths (1999–2016) according to the CDC. When we think of diseases transmitted by mosquitos it is important to realize that climate and other environmental factors affect the abundance of mosquitos and the percentage of the mosquitos infected with a virus like the West Nile Virus. Mosquito traps have been deployed to monitor the spread of WNV in mosquito populations throughout the state of New York and Connecticut since 2000. The number of human cases has also been monitored and recorded by the state Department of Health since the first cases were identified in NY in 1999. We are analyzing data in connection with climate data to quantify the relationship between temperature and hydroclimatic conditions (e.g. rainfall and soil moisture). Novel machine learning data analysis methods play a large role in our research. The data and statistical methods allow us to study year-to-year fluctuations in the occurrences of human WNV cases and identify relationships between climate and other environmental factors. Our ultimate objective in this study was to develop predictive models that give us estimates how the numbers of human WNV disease cases are going to change in a warmer future climate. What made you interested in researching this topic? In 2015, a group of faculty members from the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Science and the scientists at the Wadsworth Center (who are faculty members of the School of Public Health) met to discuss opportunities for collaborations on the question how climate change is going to affect spread of infectious diseases the Northeast US. I was interested in this type of interdisciplinary research, because as a climate scientist I have been studying regional impacts of climate change in terms of changes in temperature and precipitation for the Hawaiian Islands. And for that region I had also opportunity to collaborate with ecologists and epidemiologists to investigate the future changes in native bird populations in connection with avian malaria (malaria virus that, unfortunately, is projected to decimate a large fraction of the endemic bird population in Hawaii). Seeing how important it is to provide climate change scenario data and to communicate the uncertainty in the scenarios to the ecologists/ epidemiologists reminded me of the importance to learn to communicate my climate research results across scientific
Research
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ous Diseases— West Nile Virus in NY disciplines. In that process I was learning about the biological processes and I was actually surprised how challenging it is to understand cause-effect relations in these complex natural systems. Now with the human health component included, things got even more complicated; but as scientists we like new complicated puzzles and try to put a few pieces together that fit and give us some more insight into the full system. What were the main outcomes of the project? One lesson I learned during this research is that the complex processes that determine the reproduction of the virus, the infection rates in the mosquitos, and contact rates between mosquitos and humans all this results in a narrow optimal temperature range where the WNV can be most ‘effectively’ transmitted and cause human infections. Some regions of NY and CT are already close to the optimal conditions in the present climate. Future warming is going to increase the summer temperatures to levels above this optimum temperature range. In short, in some regions it’s likely getting too warm for the mosquitos and the virus and it can lead to a reduced WNV risk. Our model predicts that the counties at present with the highest WNV case numbers will see lower numbers in future. On the other hand, many of the counties in NY and CT with currently low WNV cases are likely to experience climatic conditions in future that are more conducive for the spread of WNV. For those regions we expect a higher risk for WNV infections. It should be pointed out that we are ignoring the changes in population density, landscape, human behavior in these scenarios. Planning for and adaption in connection with future climate change should therefore also pay attention to changes in infectious diseases like WNV. Which of the UN Sustainable Development Goals do you feel are most addressed? Most directly our research addresses Goal 3 Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all with relevance to Goal 15 Life on Land (Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss) and Goal 13 Climate Action (since it reveals potential harmful impacts of climate change).
Research
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Around the Operation Weatherize Albany This past month the Office of Sustainability, in
partnership with the City of Albany Sustainability Advisory Committee, launched the Albany Clean Energy Conservation Corps. This group of volunteers were trained in energy conservation and basic weatherization skills. The program is designed to create educational outreach material on clean energy options to homeowners and renters, reduce energy use and provide hands on experience for area students to prepare the next generation of sustainably conscious citizens. Techniques learned include: weather stripping, caulking, installing spray foam, window covers, outlet/light switch insulators, door sweeps and energy efficient light bulbs. Weatherizing homes can save up to 25-40 percent on heating and cooling expenses. It also contributes to the reduction of global greenhouse gases. Volunteers completed trainings in October with service days – aka Operation Weatherize Albany happening the first three Saturdays in November. If you are interested in participating in next year’s event contact Program Manager Jenina Guzman at gogreen@albany.edu
Engagement
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Community Around the Community Zero Waste Capital District Meeting via conference call Monday, November 22, 6:30pm – 8:00pm via conference call Zero Waste Capital District is a coalition of non-profit organizations and individuals committed to reducing waste in the Capital District. It provides education and outreach about proper recycling, composting, food waste reduction and food rescue. Please RSVP prior to the meeting. For more info or to RSVP, contact Tina Lieberman at tlieberm1@gmail.com or Mary Beilby at Mary Beilby at mary.beilby@gmail.com.
Radix Ecological Sustainability Center Open House Sunday, November 28, 1:00 pm, 153 Grand Street, Albany Radix is an urban farm and education center in Albany. You will have the opportunity to tour their grounds, hold a chicken and ask questions.
Five Rivers Guided Hike Saturday, December 4, 2:00pm, 56 Game Farm Road, Delmar Get outside on beautiful Larch Lane, adjacent to the North Loop Trail, and visit the lesserknown Jay’s Home Run trail with a naturalist. This is a 1.5-mile hike over some of the more secretive trails at Five Rivers. Friends of Five Rivers rent snowshoes for $5 a pair in the exciting event of deep snow. Space is limited. Call 518-475-0291 by December 1 to register.
Oakwood Soul Cafe Monday, December 13, 6:00pm, 313 10th Street, Troy A “pay-what-you-can” community meal prepared by volunteer chefs. Come enjoy a low cost, nutritious meal.
Events
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Be a Zero Waste Advocate Are you looking to promote zero waste on campus or in the community? Campus advocates can sign up for our zero waste training and events by filling out this form. If you'd like to get involved in the City of Albany’s efforts, then Zero Waste Capital District has what you are looking for. This group meets every 4th Monday on zoom, and are currently working on promoting the Albany Composting program and research Food Rescue opportunities. Their next meeting is November 22nd. To contact them email: info@zerowastecd.org. This group also works closely with the City of Albany’s Sustainability Committee. This committee has several subcommittees and welcomes members of the campus community to join. The committees’ next meeting is on December 2nd at 6 pm and can be viewed live via the Albany Office of Energy and Sustainability Facebook page.
Support Sustainability! Each year, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving has been designated Giving Tuesday. It is a time when people can consider donating to the causes they feel most strongly about. UAlbany Sustainability is no exception. We have established a Sustainability Fund that supports our Eco-Rep peer educators program and Operation Weatherize (see related story on page 8). If you’d like to support these efforts, you can do so by visiting this website.
Leadership
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Sustainability Alumni Spotlight Radha Urribarri 1. What year did you graduate? I graduated in 2017 with my bachelor’s degree and then in 2019 with my masters degree.
2. What was your major/minor? I majored in environmental science with a concentration in biology and minored in public health, and geography. I received my master’s degree in public health with a concentration in environmental health sciences.
3. What was your co-curricular and student organization involvement on campus? During my college years, I was involved in various program and organizations at separate times and sometimes all at once. I was involved with educational opportunities program (EOP), living learning community of the world of environmental health and sustainability, residential life at colonial quad, UAlbany sustainability club, UAlbany grow green club, Albany student dining advisory committee (ASDAC), Sodexo as the wellness intern, Albany running exchange club (ARE), office of sustainability as the Farm to SUNY intern, and UAlbany women’s rugby team. I was also involved with Global Student Embassy (GSE), where I got the opportunity to travel to Ecuador and Nicaragua doing environmental conservation work. I enjoyed being involved in so many programs because I loved learning about different topics, meeting new people, and discovering new passions.
4. What are you doing now? Where do you live? I recently got hired at NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) as industrial hygienist. I live in Queens, New York. During my free time I enjoy exercising like running, riding my bicycle, and walking in my favorite park Kissena Park.
5. How have you applied your experience with the sustainability movement on campus and involvement with the Office of Sustainability into your post-college life and career? I have applied my experiences from my involvement on campus and with the office of sustainability by being open minded to new experience and opportunities. I was involved in the Health Department’s COVID-19 Vaccine hubs helping New Yorkers receive vaccines. I continue to be open to learning and being involved in new opportunities. I practice sustainability by commuting to work by using MTA subway, using recycling receptacles, and using the agency’s electric vehicles when needed. I continue to exercise sustainable practices and look for new ways to bring sustainability in my workplace.
The Office of Sustainability is proud of the successes of our alumni! They were essential in the early stages of the sustainability movement at UAlbany and have shaped where it is now. 11
