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The UO’s Environment Initiative, after three foundational and pathbreaking years of work, is transitioning to a new, sustainable model. This new endeavor, known as UO Environment, will leverage institutional expertise in education, research, and impact on the major environmental issues facing our world.

Through UO Environment, the College of Arts and Sciences will work with other colleges and schools to carry forward curricular and other work begun under the initiative to grow educational and research opportunities at UO. In addition, the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation is working with faculty leaders to explore the creation of a new center on climate change solutions policy, as well as a number of other areas of research. This web site will serve as a communications hub for news and events across the entire campus.

 

CURRICULUM

The College of Arts and Sciences will continue the transdisciplinary curricular work begun under the initiative in conjunction with other colleges and schools.

POLICY

The exploration of a new center under OVPRI is underway, intended to work with communities on climate solutions, policies, and research.

RESEARCH

Learn about the work UO faculty are conducting that is making an impact in the world.

NEWS & EVENTS

See the noteworthy environment-related updates and events happening on campus and in the community.

Events

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Book talk | ¡Juntes por la justicia climática! Together for Climate Justice!
Join SCR Associate Dr. Catalina De Onís this month when she will lecture on her SCR Small Grant Program funded bilingual children's book “¡Juntes por la justicia climática! Together for Climate Justice!". During her book talk and signing she will describe the role of her student coauthors and the importance of teaching climate justice to new generations.
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BE Passionate with Steph Littlebird
Join the SAB Arts & Culture team as we welcome Steph Littlebird for her free dinner presentation BE Passionate in the EMU Ballroom on November 21st. Doors & Dinner: 5:00pm Presentation: 6pm-7:00pm followed by Q&A 7-7:30pm
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Oregon Wildfire Resilience Hoopathon
Meet community fire organizations and local artisans, shoot free throws, and support wildfire resilience and Indigenous land management! Open to students, faculty, staff, community members, and more.

Faculty Excellence

See the work that University of Oregon faculty are producing to make an impact on the world »

A researcher working with students in virtual reality

Danny Pimentel

Pimentel's work in virtual reality seeks to make a global problem like climate change into something you can experience on a personal level.

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Greg Dotson

Dotson will work towards situating the Environment Initiative in the community of researchers, policy advocates and policymakers who are focused on climate mitigation in the energy sector.

marsha weisiger

Marsha Weisiger

Weisiger will advance several projects focused on environmental history that analyze and interpret the ways humans and nonhuman nature have shaped each other over time.

 

News

A polar bear stands at a distance and faces the camera. The bear is surrounded by snow and ice.
The polar bear became an 'accidental icon' of climate change. Is it time to rethink that?
CBC, Canada: Kari Marie Norgaard, professor of sociology at University of Oregon, provides expert commentary. 
The capitol building is shown against a blue sky with a few wispy clouds.
The IRA and its Clean Energy Implications with Jody Freeman and Greg Dotson
CleanLaw Podcast: Harvard professor Jody Freeman speaks with Greg Dotson, an associate professor at University of Oregon School of Law and recent Democratic chief counsel to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, about the climate and clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act. 
A blue and orange natural fractal is shown up close. Blue and orange feathers from the fractal's center while slightly blurry blue, orange, and white circles of light dance around the fractal's perimeter.
Ready to Chill Out? Look No Further Than Nature's Fractals
Sierra Magazine: Research from Richard Taylor, professor of physics at the University of Oregon, is featured. 
Smiling with the sun illuminating the left of his face, Jason Younker stands against a blue sky wearing Coquille regalia.
A Conversation with New Coquille Indian Tribe Chief Jason Younker
University of Oregon alumnus and tribal liaison and the new Chief for the Coquille Indian Tribe, Jason Younker looks to preserve and restore Coquille culture for future generations. 
A young person holding a tree seedling and wearing a red hard hat looks to the left and smiles slightly. In the background, several others are congregating near a truck loaded with hay. Further back sits the Oregon State Capitol building.
A Grassroots Anti-Environmentalist Movement Grows in Oregon
The New Republic: Steve Beda, assistant professor of history at the University of Oregon, provides expert commentary.
A person relaxes on a white mattress that is resting on a wooden bed frame. The mattress and frame are the foreground to a dreamy, blue background featuring the silhouette of a mountain range, the silhouette of the moon, and several stylized stars.
Top-rated organic, natural and eco-friendly mattresses
NBC News Select: Kiersten Muenchinger, associate professor of product design at the University of Oregon, provides expert commentary. 
A stylized illustration shows a woman holding a coffee cup and looking out at the scenery from the rooftop of a house. Standing nearby, a man in a baseball cap wearing a backpack looks in the opposite direction, toward a city that reaches out to grassy fields. Mountains, a river, and blue sky populate the background.
Oregon's unique growth rules have preserved open space but also led to new fights
Rebecca Lewis, associate professor of planning, public policy, and management at the University of Oregon, provides expert commentary. 
A hand holding a blue dinner plate hovers above a dishwashing machine full of white and blue plates.
How to wash your dishes sustainably, according to experts
Jim Hutchinson (senior associate vice president) and Lorry Lokey (Chair) in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at University of Oregon, provide expert commentary. 
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New tools can operationalize equity in 239 e-scooter and bike share programs across the US
Report is led by Anne Brown, assistant professor of planning, public policy and management, and Amanda Howell, research assistant for the Sustainable Cities Initiative, University of Oregon.
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Cameras help Oregon Dept. of Forestry spot wildfire starts across the state
ALERTWildfire program and Doug Toomey, professor of earth sciences at the University of Oregon, are featured.