Greening cities has many environmental and social benefits, but it may also price out lower income individuals and bolster gentrification. Last month, two ENVS PhD graduates, Ashby Lavelle Sachs and Angela Boag, along with co-author, Austin Troy, published a study in the Journal of Urban Forestry & Urban Greening investigating this tension. Read the full study here. 

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ENVS PhD candidate, Emily Nocito, had a front row seat to the passage of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement earlier this week. The following is an account of her experience studying the negotiation and passage of BBNJ over the last 6 years, and her summary of the function of the treaty for ocean conservation. CU Boulder Today also featured Ms. Nocito's experience and the passage of the treaty in a piece, which can be found here.

"On 4 March 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC, a new Agreement for the high seas was reached. Areas beyond national jurisdiction, or the high seas as many call it, are governed through a piecemeal, fragmented system of governance. This agreement - often called the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement - provides a concise framework for countries to work towards protecting and conserving the high seas. The BBNJ Agreement outlines aspects such as area-based management tools, environmental impact assessments, marine genetic resources, capacity building and transfer of technology, and represents the first piece of international ocean governance in decades.

The BBNJ process has been ongoing for over 15 years, with negotiations disrupted by the global pandemic. The fifth and final meeting occurred in August 2022, but consensus on the text could not be reached. The fifth meeting resumed in late February, and the final hurdle saw delegations negotiating for over 30 hours straight to reach a treaty text.

The BBNJ Agreement still needs to be adopted and ratified by UN member states, but the hope is that once it is entered into force there will be a streamlined process for governance of oceans related to its protection and conservation of the marine environment and the use and benefit-sharing of marine genetic resources.

As a researcher attending and studying this process since the preparatory committee phase (2017), seeing this agreement finally come to fruition was amazing. The long hours and hard work over so many years, by so many people finally paid off. This feels like a huge win not just for the oceans, but for multilaterism and environmental governance as a whole, especially given the breakdown within and between country’s relationships, increasing polarization of science, and increased natural and human-induced disasters to our environment. The BBNJ Agreement and the effort that got us there feels like a beacon of light in an ongoing storm." 

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Congratulations to Sarah Becker, a first-yar PhD student in ENVS studying under Dr. Cassandra Brooks for being among those awarded the 2022 CIRES Graduate Student Research Award. 

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A trio of ENVS researchers were published in March in the journal Nature Sustainability, "showing mathematically why complexity makes win–wins elusive." PhD student, Margaret Hegwood, recent PhD graduate Ryan E. Langendorf, and professor Matt Burgess conducted the meta-analysis, which validates skepticism of real-world win-wins that practitioners can often have and gives guidance on how to evaluate tradeoffs. Full paper can be found  

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Help us congratulate ENVS PhD student, Devon Reynolds, and assistant professor, David Ciplet for publishing an article on Socially Responsible Investment in the Journal of Business Ethics, a global leader in in academic publishing in the field of ethics. The article proposes a framework to transform investment to be more just and sustainable. Link to the paper . 

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An ENVS graduating honor's student, Renae Marshall, was chosen as the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Undergraduate for Spring 2021. She was featured in the Colorado Arts and Sciences Magazine last week. Go here to read about Marshall's research on climate legislation in the United States.

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The Brink is a project of Assistant Professor David Ciplet’s graduate course Power, Justice and Climate Change in the Environmental Studies Program at CU Boulder, in partnership with KGNU and the Just Transition Collaborative. Student's of Ciplet's Spring graduates spearheaded this radio storytelling project. The Brink is a about what is needed to transition to a more just environment and society. From oil pipelines to prisons, homelessness to toxic contamination, fracking to immigration, The Brink tells stories of inequality, struggle and transformation. The word “brink” has dual meaning: that which exists at the margins and a critical turning point.

The Brink Radio Schedule

Wednesday, July 5: Assistant Professor David Ciplet who leads the Power, Justice and Climate Change course at CU, and students Tracy Kessner and Timothy Molnar spoke about The Brink on KGNU.

Monday July 10: "Rise Up" by Simone Domingue and Matthew Oliver. 
What the future holds in terms of a changing climate is certainly a worrisome topic. Furthermore, addressing climate change as a policy matter has seen its fare share of contention and setbacks. We talk to young activists who see climate change as a real threat to their future and are taking action into their own hands. They share their perspectives on fighting for change in this story called “Rise Up.”

Wednesday July 12: "Fracking, Democracy, and Activism" by Tracy Kessner.
Fracking is an issue that touches on a whole host of issues in Colorado: home-rule versus state rights, environmental and social justice issues, community versus corporate rights, and democracy vs plutocracy. How do we protect the health and safety of Coloradans when attempts to enact stricter regulations are blocked by legislators and oil and gas developers? Bella Romero, a middle school in Greeley, illustrates issues that all counties in Colorado may soon face.

Monday July 17: "Aspen's Underbelly: A Look at a Ski Town's Dirty Secret on Sustainability" by Timothy Molnar, Morgan Schacker and Kate Manzer:
The town of Aspen, CO touts itself as an international leader on sustainability. In fact, they procure 100% of their energy from renewable sources. A more holistic view of the town’s sustainability picture, however, provides a less rosy story. With average home prices in excess of $7 million, we explore where the community’s migrant work force calls home. And take a look into the town’s shortcomings in addressing these inequities.

Wednesday July 19: "The American DREAM... or Nightmare?" by Jacqueline Albert and Emily Shaldach

Monday July 24: "Homeless Under Fire" by Meredith Tyree and Katherine Wentz
As more and more wildfires blaze through Colorado, Boulder County residents are quick to blame the hundreds of homeless people camping in the national forests. In this story, we explore the opposing concerns of homeless camping versus the need for the homeless to find refuge, and try to find some common ground in the process.

Wednesday July 26: "Rocky Flats: The Future of Nuclear Guardianship" by Clare Stumpf
For almost forty years, the 176-acre site called Rocky Flats was the epicenter of nuclear weapons manufacturing for the United States. Following two chemical fires, illegal plutonium incineration, and a federal investigation, the site was officially closed in 1989. Now, amidst a proposal to open the site to the public as a recreational site, the challenge is to establish protections against the toxic chemicals left behind. The Boulder Valley School District recently passed a resolution to prohibit field trips to the proposed Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge in an effort to protect schoolchildren from exposure to the toxic legacy of Rocky Flats.

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