School of Natural Resources and Environment

Sustainability

Assistant Professor Ming Xu Speaks at Google Summit

School of Natural Resources and Environment Assistant Professor Ming Xu spoke at Google's "How Green is the Internet Summit" June 6. The Summit, held at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA was a one-day, invitation-only event where experts from industry, academia, government and NGOs explored emerging questions around the environmental impacts and benefits of the internet.

What is an ecovillage: Speaker talks about an experiment in sustainable living

Sustainability is not just a future goal. Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is doing it, now. One of the world's foremost experiments in real-world ecological living, it’s 70-plus residents have reduced their ecological impact on key metrics by over 90 percent in areas such as transportation, energy and water use. Creative, cooperative economic models and an entrepreneurial base support the economic sustainability of the village. Education and research are integral to Dancing Rabbit’s goals. It actively shares its ideas and discoveries through visitor programs, publications and other media.

SNRE student projects among those funded by Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund

Four substantial, student-led sustainability projects are gaining momentum on campus, thanks to financial support from the new Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund. Three of the four, focused on reusable takeout food containers, a sustainable food kiosk and a U-M campus farm, were developed by students at SNRE. Announced by President Mary Sue Coleman last fall as part of her larger campus sustainability address, the Planet Blue Student Innovation Fund offers grants of up to $50,000 annually for projects that reduce the university's environmental footprint and/or promote a culture of sustainability on campus.

Dow, U-M launch innovative program to develop sustainability leaders

Dow Chemical Company and the University of Michigan will bring together 300 students from all areas of study to help solve some of the world's most pressing sustainability challenges in a new and unprecedented fellowship program announced today. Andrew Liveris, chairman and chief executive officer of The Dow Chemical Company and U-M President Mary Sue Coleman told a Detroit Economic Club audience that Dow will provide a gift of $10 million over six years to support the Dow Sustainability Fellows Program at U-M. Business, environmental, civic and academic leaders and media attended the event at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit.

De Young discusses 'social sustainability' with Metro Times

In an interview with Metro Times, SNRE Associate Professor Raymond De Young talks about 'nature deficit disorder" and other aspects of environmental psychology. "You can think about environmental stewardship as sustaining our relationship with nature. But it also involves social sustainability — maintaining the sustainability of the neighborhood, our relations to our family, our relations to one another," De Young says in the interview with W. Kim Heron.

Dana Garden taking shape at east-side entrance

A transformation is under way on the east side of the Dana building. Based on input gathered from the SNRE community in the winter of 2011, the Dana Garden is being improved by SNRE students as part of a design/build class. The new garden will feature improved aesthetics, native plants, sustainable site design practices and increased seating opportunities.

Erb Institute key driver in Ross School's MBA ranking

Once again, the Michigan Ross School of Business is among the best business schools in the world for integrating environmental, social and ethical issues into its MBA program, according to the Aspen Institute's 2011-12 Beyond Grey Pinstripes report. The biennial survey and ranking of business schools placed the Ross School at No. 7 overall. Ross is the only U.S. school to make the Top 10 in every ranking since Beyond Grey Pinstripesbegan in 2001. Ross also was once again ranked highly in the relevance and business impact of course content and in peer-reviewed faculty research related to social and environmental responsibility.

SNRE awarded three new sustainability faculty under U-M initiative

Three new faculty positions have been added to SNRE. The positions are in the areas of sustainable food systems, sustainable energy and climate change impacts, and sustainability and behavior. SNRE received the positions from U-M as part of President Coleman's 2007 Interdisciplinary Faculty Initiative, a plan to add 100 tenure-track positions in emerging research areas across the university; as of 2010, 72 had been approved in 17 cross-disciplinary clusters.

U.S. and China collaborate on sustainable energy and resources

Developing sustainable societies is a major challenge for the 21st century. Policies developed by the United States and China will play an especially important role, since these two countries consume nearly one-third of the total world energy expenditure to power their economies and are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. Both countries have major industrial complexes, large urban population centers, and large expansive rural areas that require extensive water management.

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