Tag: climate change (Page 1 of 5)

Tufts Community Resilience Building Workshop

In 2016, Tufts University’s President Anthony Monaco signed the Second Nature Climate Commitment on behalf of the university. The Commitment integrates two critical components of climate leadership: carbon neutrality and climate resilience. One stipulation of the Commitment is for the university to complete a campus-community resilience assessment.

While climate change mitigation strategies aimed to reduce carbon emissions are often emphasized, it is equally important to consider how communities can plan for the predicted impacts of climate change.  In addition, due to recent events such as Tropical Storm Irene and Sandy, there is a heightened sense of urgency within our local and regional communities to increase resilience and adapt to extreme weather events.

In order to advance the Climate Commitment goals and address concerns that the Tufts community has regarding natural and climate-related hazards, Tufts University hosted a Community Resilience Building Workshop for the Medford/Somerville campus. The workshop took place on May 3rd, and was facilitated by The Nature Conservancy.

Picture from the resilience building workshop, attendees listening to speaker

Source: Adam Whelchel/TNC

Community Resilience Building workshops help municipalities and institutions create an opportunity for their community to to gather and plan proactively for potential emergencies. This is an important step towards climate adaptation and community capacity-building to deal with a changing climate.

The Tufts University Core Team that helped prepare for and organize this workshop included Tina Woolston from the Office of Sustainability, Geoff Bartlett and Matt Hart from the Department of Public and Environmental Safety Emergency Management Unit, as well as two Tufts students, Emma Conroy and Sophie Lehrenbaum.

Around 60 Tufts and surrounding community members attended the workshop, including representatives from various Tufts groups such as Facilities, Finance, Health Services, Construction, Public and Environmental Health and Safety, as well as undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, representatives from the City of Medford’s Office of Energy and Environment and Office of Public Health, the City of Somerville’s Office of Sustainability and Environment, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency were also present.

The full day event started with an overview of climate change impacts in the Northeast, the top 4 potential climate related hazards as identified during a recent Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment undertaken by the Department of Public and Environmental Health and Safety, and an introduction to the resources that would be discussed during the next portion of the event. These resources included maps of the campus, the existing hazard mitigation plan, information on the number of days over 90 degrees and flooding, as well as maps depicting natural disasters that have affected the area.

Source: Adam Whelchel/TNC

Attendees were then broken up into five groups, and through a facilitated process, discussed the existing vulnerabilities and strengths of the campus, and prioritized concrete actions that could be taken. As a part of this process, each group illustrated where they thought vulnerable areas and potential hazards were located on top of a base map of the university.

One group’s illustration of hazards on the Medford/Somerville campus (Source: Adam Whelchel/TNC)

While all groups recognized that Tufts, along with its host cities, already has many strengths and assets that will help in emergency situations, many recommendations were made on how Tufts could better prepare for such events through longer term, comprehensive planning.

Some of the top priorities for action by the Medford/Somerville campus community that came out of the workshop were:

  1. Human Welfare – supporting students and employees during an emergency
  2. Infrastructure – utilities, stormwater, and continuity planning and upgrades
  3. Food – food supply, distribution, and storage during an emergency

Community-based actions towards adapting to the predicted impacts of climate change can lead to planning and preparation that meets the specific needs of the community and the local landscape. In addition, it helps empower community members to take charge and prepare for some of the climate-related challenges we currently face as a society that may not be within our individual control to avoid.

Adam Whelchel, the lead facilitator of the workshop, commented, “the Nature Conservancy is proud to have played a part in helping Tufts University take a significant step towards enhanced resilience via the Community Resilience Building process. Tufts now joins an elite group of universities around the globe that have proactively embraced resilience as an opportunity to find a more vibrant future for their faculty, staff, students, and the surrounding community.”

Similar Community Resilience Building Workshops will be coming to the Boston and Grafton campuses soon, stay tuned!

 

Put A Price On It Summer 2018 Fellowship, Our Climate (multiple locations)

Put A Price On It and Our Climate is a national campaign that mobilizes young people to advocate for strong and fair carbon pricing policies at the state and national level. By putting a price on carbon, we will hold polluters accountable and transition our economy to a clean energy future. Fellows will work closely with Our Climate staff to achieve mutually agreed upon goals. Fellows will spend 5-10 hours a week on related activities. This educational and supportive arrangement is designed to build the strong and diverse coalition of leaders needed to pass fair and effective climate policy. In order to strategically pass equitable and science-based policy, Summer Fellows will be based in regions where there is currently policy being considered, specifically Washington state and the Northeast. Fellows will be trained to conduct public outreach on the local and state level.

 

Application Deadline:  June 1st, Future deadlines for Fall and Spring Fellows
Apply: Fill out online application, and find more information on the position and future positions here.

Hazard Mitigation Community Forums

Don’t miss the upcoming Tufts Hazard Mitigation Community Forums on 9/27 and 9/28:

Over the past few weeks, several institutions of higher education have been impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Come contribute to Tufts’ own plan to prepare for future disasters and adapt to the impacts of #climatechange. Learn about hazard mitigation strategies that have been identified to make each Tufts campus more resilient to disaster and provide input on how the university can best ensure its resilience in the years and decades to come.

What is hazard mitigation?
Hazard mitigation is defined as any sustained action taken to reduce or eliminate the long-term risk to life and property from hazard events. It is an on-going process that occurs before, during, and after disasters and serves to break the cycle of damage and repair in hazardous areas.

Wednesday, September 27
Medford/Somerville (students): 12:15-1:15 PM (Terrace Room, Paige Hall)
Medford/Somerville (faculty/staff): 3:00-4:00 PM (Austin Conference Room, Tisch Library)

Thursday, September 28
Boston Health Sciences: 10:00-11:00 AM (Rachel’s Amphitheater, Room 1414, 35 Kneeland Street)
SMFA: 12:30-1:30 PM (Conference Room B201)
Grafton: 3:00-4:00 PM (Dean’s Conference Room, Jean Mayer Administration Building)

Faculty, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School (Boston, MA)

Faculty-Climate Change and Sustainability of Food Production

Open Rank-Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor Tenure-Track or Tenured Research and Teaching Appointment in Climate Change and Sustainability of Food Production

The Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University seeks internationally recognized leaders as candidates for a tenure-track or tenured faculty position at the level of Associate or Full Professor in food systems, sustainability, and climate change. The rank will commensurate with experience and accomplishments. Candidates must possess a doctoral degree in a relevant field (biological or agricultural sciences, economics, nutrition, public health, epidemiology, or a related field), and demonstrated interest and accomplishment in sustainability of the food system, resilience, and climate change impacts on food and nutrition.

Position Type:
Faculty

Participants needed for a video piece about climate change!

As part of a video piece, the Tufts Observer is looking to conduct 15-minute interviews with students about climate change and environmental injustice in relation to one’s personal definition of home.

film

Interviews will be conducted on Thursday, December 1st through Sunday, December 4th. If you are interested and would like to share how climate change and/or human impact on the environment has damaged your definition of home, please email anastasia.antonova@tufts.edu or complete the sign up form here: https://homeandenvironmentalinjustice.youcanbook.me/

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