ASU receives $6.36M grant to launch Pacific Island Research Center

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has announced a five-year, $6.36 million research grant that will launch the Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (Pacific RISA) program as a research center at ASU within the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory.

Distinguished Global Futures Scientist Osvaldo Sala has been nominated by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to serve a three-year term on the Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

ASU Global Futures Laboratory and Thunderbird School of Global Management have partnered with the organization, Competent Boards, to educate board members on climate issues ahead of COP26.

In July 2021, Osvaldo Sala, founding director of the Global Drylands Center and Julie A. Wrigley Chair, Regents’ and Foundation Professor, was nominated by the National Academies of Science, Engineering,

Bryan Leonard says laws regarding natural resources on public land are antiquated and prevent voluntary conservation. “Use-it-or-lose-it requirements ... can preclude environmental groups from participating in markets for natural resources," he said.

Sustainability scholars Iveta Silova and Adriene Jenik believe our future survival depends on a paradigm shift in our relationship with nature. They will present climate action and ecological justice flashcards for education futures at the UN conference in Glasgow this November.

Sustainability scientist David Hondula was quoted in a June 17 New York Times article that has seen readership over 36 million, with more than 7,000 social media shares. ASU faculty, staff and students can read the article with a free subscription via ASU Libraries.

As it drafts its next decadal strategic plan, the U.S. Global Change Research Program should shift its focus to providing insights that help society prepare for and avoid the worst potential consequences of climate change, while protecting the most vulnerable, says the March report.

To better prepare for an ever-warming world in which heat waves are increasingly common, sustainability scientist Jennifer Vanos and co-authors are calling attention to the physiological variables and complexities of how humans react to the heat.

The topic of the panel was the Paris Climate Agreement and what happens now that the U.S. has rejoined. The State of the World conference was hosted by Florida International University and ASU's McCain Institute for International Leadership.

Solve Climate by 2030 is a nationwide effort to spark Earth Month conversations on the challenge of rapid decarbonization across the country. Join us for a discussion on the ambitious, yet feasible actions that will spur a just, green recovery in Arizona.

Dave White, deputy director of ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, was featured March 8 on the KAET news and current affairs program Horizon, where he discussed the dependability of electricity, gas and water in times of extreme and/or unexpected weather.