Christopher X J. Jensen
Professor, Pratt Institute

Why socially-progressive scientists should not make bets…

Posted 25 Jan 2014 / 0

NPR Morning Edition “A Bet, Five Metals And The Future Of The Planet” This is an excellent piece that encapsulates the argument between “population pessimists” and “technological optimists”, an argument that seems to have been won by the technologists. It is frustrating how much damage has been done by people like Paul Ehrlich. His overconfidence Read More

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Carrying Capacity, Conservation Biology, Economic sustainability, Economics, Ecosystem Services, Population Growth, Population Pressure, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Sociology, Sustainability

Nice infographic on global and domestic food waste

Posted 07 Jan 2014 / 0

KQED The Lowdown “Rot and Rubbish: The Rancid Truth About How Much Food We Waste“

A Minor Post, Composting, Ethics, Food, Information Design, Political Science, Pollution, Public Outreach, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Science in Art & Design, Sustainability, Web

US EPA’s EnviroAtlas project promises to give researchers, students new insights into the geography of ecosystem services

Posted 13 Aug 2013 / 0

At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, I first learned about a really interesting initiative of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project –now dubbed EnviroAtlas — is dedicated to creating a free, interactive online tool for exploring the geography of ecosystem services. I had the opportunity to check out a beta version Read More

A Major Post, Biodiversity Loss, Biomes, Bogs & Wetlands, Climate Change, Computer Science, Conservation Biology, Deserts, Ecology, Ecology Education, Ecosystem Services, Educational Software and Apps, Environmental Justice, Freshwater Ecosystems, Geography, Grasslands, Habitat Destruction, Information Design, Invasive Species, Pollution, Ponds & Lakes, Population Pressure, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Rivers & Streams, Sociology, Sustainability, Teaching, Teaching Tools, Temperate Forest, Temperate Rainforest, Terrestrial, Tropical Forest, Water Supply, Web

Great NPR piece on how simple it would be for us to reduce carbon emissions

Posted 28 Jun 2013 / 0

NPR Planet Money “Economists Have A One-Page Solution To Climate Change” I love this piece because it effectively captures the importance of an across-the-board carbon solution. The carbon tax would be relatively easy to enforce, could be used to wean ourselves from carbon-based fuels in a calculated and deliberate manner, and would hurt only those Read More

A Minor Post, Climate Change, Economics, Political Science, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

Envirolutions asks the Pratt community to identify where there is “room for improvement”

Posted 29 Mar 2013 / 0

During this year’s Green Week celebration, Envirolutions club members brought their Room for Improvement campaign to the campus, asking members of the Pratt community to identify where the campus has the most “room to improve” in terms of sustainability. Two enticements incentivized participation: those who filled out a survey could grab a snack and pick out their own Envirolutions button to Read More

A Major Post, Envirolutions, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

Charlotte Douglas International Airport employs worms to close the loop on airport waste

Posted 18 Dec 2012 / 0

NPR All Things Considered “One Airport’s Trash Is 2 Million Worms’ Treasure“

A Minor Post, Closed Loop Systems, Composting, Decomposition, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Sustainability

Fracking study retracted after the discovery of a massive conflict of interest

Posted 07 Dec 2012 / 0

All Things Considered “Positive Fracking Study Was Funded By Gas Company” 1.5 million dollars is a lot to receive from a corporation with interest in your research! Scientists can be bought, and transparency is the only thing that prevents profit-driven scientific fraud.

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Ethics, Pollution, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Scientific Fraud, Sustainable Energy, Water Supply

Freakonomics takes the quantitative knife to how we produce and consume food

Posted 25 Nov 2012 / 0

Freakonomics Radio “You Eat What You Are” This piece delivers a much needed kick in the self-righteous pants to the locavore movement. It systematically disassembles the assumptions of the local food movement, ending by discussing the minimal quantitative ecological benefits of using the “I only eat local” rule. It pulls apart belief from reality, and Read More

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Belief, Carrying Capacity, Climate Change, Cultural Anthropology, Cultural Evolution, Ecological Footprinting, Economics, Ethics, Food, Greenwashing, Hunger, Hypothesis Testing, Life Cycle Analysis, Philosophy, Population Growth, Public Policy, Quantitative Analysis, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Subsistence, Sustainability, Sustainable Agriculture, Vegetarianism

Pratt Envirolutions Students Bring Recycling Bins to Campus

Posted 07 Nov 2012 / 0

Culminating over three semesters of work, Pratt’s Envirolutions student club chose Election Day to celebrate the launch of eleven new recycling bins on the Brooklyn campus grounds. President Schutte joined students to cut the ribbons on the new bins, which were purchased by the 2011-2012 Student Government Association (SGA). A good-sized crowd of students, faculty, Read More

A Major Post, Center for Sustainable Design Studies, Envirolutions, Greenwashing, Pratt Institute, Resource Consumption, Sustainability

Envirolutions students release Trash Tetris video to promote recycling bin launch

Posted 01 Nov 2012 / 0

The students in the Pratt Envirolutions club have worked tirelessly to get a set of recycling bins placed on campus. Please join these students and President Schutte for a ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 6, 2012 in front of the Engineering Building lawn @ 4 PM. Free food provided by CulinArt!

A Minor Post, Closed Loop Systems, Envirolutions, Pratt Institute, Resource Consumption, Sustainability