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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

ElephantMicahPhotobyJadeWilson
Joseph O'Connell of Elephant Micah Talks Climate Change, Bears, and the 2006 Alaskan Tour That Shaped his New Album
Existential worry about the future is threaded throughout Elephant Micah’s extensive body of work, but equal concern is found looking in the rearview mirror and recognizing the stories that we tell about ourselves. In that woozy mirror, they fall quietly behind.
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Adjusting interactions help some California's wild bee populations survive
A research team led by University of Oregon biologist Lauren C. Ponisio identified 1,150 network interactions involving 157 wild bee species and 152 plant species at 63 sites spread across three counties. The findings emerged from observations of adult bees from 31 species whose pollination activities with at least five plants overlapped during multiple crop-growing seasons.
Sheila Watt-Cloutier
Environmental justice summit helps students work toward a better future
Beyond Toxics, a Eugene-based non-profit, and the NAACP Eugene-Springfield chapter will host the Environment Justice Pathways Summit on April 9-10, a two-day virtual event beginning Friday. The summit will feature renowned speakers and foster discussions, workshops and organizational meetings that will address environmental topics, including the right to clean air, the right to a healthy workplace and Tribal water justice.
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Food Justice Files. The Interview: Michael Fakhri
The newly appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food believes that trade reform may be the key to solving world hunger. Michael Fakhri took up his post as UN Special Rapporteur in May 2020, just as a global pandemic turned into a hunger crisis and three months before wildfires ripped through his home state of Oregon, US.
Cassandra Moseley
UO's Cass Moseley Testifies Before Congress
Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Cass Moseley testified in a virtual hearing before the US House Natural Resources’ subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife today. The hearing is titled “Building Back Better: Building Resilience for the Economy, Climate and Ecosystems.” This is the subcommittee’s first hearing of the new Congress. Watch her testimony below.
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Earthquake early warning now available to Oregon public
University of Oregon researchers are playing a pivotal role in the science, development and rollout of the technology, which detects earthquakes using about 400 seismic sensors spread across the Pacific Northwest and more than a thousand up and down the West Coast. The system will eventually span the entire West Coast. It launched in California in 2019, and Washington will launch ShakeAlert in May.
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Chazandra Kern designs with, not for, communities
Chazandra Kern, the Northern California native and University of Oregon graduate assists Angelenos in navigating city permitting, designing, building and leasing said ADUs in their own backyards to low-income tenants. The replicable process has, in turn, inspired community organizations in other cities to follow suit for their neighbors.
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UO’s new institute fighting the common roots of racial and environmental injustice
The University of Oregon is starting a new institute to look at the intersection of racial and climate justice. It’s a collaboration with the University of Idaho and Whitman College in eastern Washington to fund research, publications, community engagement and to expand access to higher education for historically underrepresented communities.
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Hayward Field sensors to advance UO wildfire smoke initiative
New sensors installed recently at Hayward Field in advance of an international track and field event will help both athletes and UO researchers cut through some of the haze around air quality and wildfire smoke. The sensors are part of a broader initiative at the UO to use the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 as a catalyzing event to advance research and practice around wildfire smoke.
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UO earns gold status for having a bicycle-friendly campus
The University of Oregon has earned Gold level Bicycle Friendly University status from the League of American Bicyclists. The Bicycle Friendly University status is an independent third-party accreditation process. The review covers many fields, including bicycle advocacy, planning, infrastructure, education, promotion, support, equity, achievements and future plans.