[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | September 27, 2019
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | September 27, 2019
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | September 19, 2019
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]The Interfaces of Global Change IGEP is an innovative interdisciplinary program that address the multidimensional aspects of global change. In the capstone course for the IGC IGEP, students grapple with the role that science and scientists play informing public understanding.
How can you most productively engage with various stakeholders? In order to create the best environmental policies, how can you identify and involve the appropriate experts in the process? How do you encourage fruitful collaboration? And, when presenting to a diverse audience, what needs to be adapted?
Practicing effective communication of science is a top priority of the course, and today, IGC capstone students practiced condensing their research topics into a three-minute flash talk.
Check out a few snapshots from their outstanding speeches. Cheers to a job well done!
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From VT News | September 13, 2019
The 13th annual Sustainability Week, an interactive partnership among Virginia Tech Office of Sustainability, the Town of Blacksburg, and local citizens group Sustainable Blacksburg that highlights sustainability efforts in the community and on campus, is underway.
Sustainability Week 2019 kicked off on campus on Sept. 14 with Green Tailgating at the Virginia Tech Furman University football game. More than 20 events are scheduled through Sept. 22.
As part of Virginia Tech’s commitment to sustainability, the Game Day Green Team recycling initiative hands out green recycling bags to tailgaters during home games and strives to build awareness around recycling, waste reduction, and sustainability.
Some of the other events being held during Sustainability Week 2019 on campus and in the community include:
Click here to view the full schedule of Sustainability Week 2019 events.
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From VT News | September 12, 2019
On Sept. 16, the Virginia Tech College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Global Programs Office will host best-selling author Roger Thurow for a series of public events, as part of its Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative.
Thurow is an expert on agricultural development and speaks often on high-visibility platforms related to nutrition, hunger, and agriculture in the United States, Europe, and Africa. For 20 years, he was a foreign correspondent based in Europe and Africa. His coverage of global affairs spanned the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the release of Nelson Mandela, the end of apartheid, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the humanitarian crises of the first decade of this century – along with 10 Olympic Games.
In 2003, he and Wall Street Journal colleague Scott Kilman wrote a series of stories on famine in Africa that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. Their reporting on humanitarian and development issues was also honored by the United Nations. Thurow and Kilman are authors of the book, “ENOUGH: Why the World’s Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty.” In 2009, they were awarded Action Against Hunger’s Humanitarian Award.
He is also the author of “The Last Hunger Season: A Year in an African Farm Community on the Brink of Change,” and his most recent book, “The First 1,000 Days: A Crucial Time for Mothers and Children—and the World,” was published in May 2016. Thurow joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs as senior fellow on global food and agriculture in January 2010.
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Politics of Food Security and Nutrition: 9 – 10:30 a.m., Newman Library Multipurpose Room
The global food price crisis of 2007-08 was a wake-up call for the global community, demonstrating that the world is unprepared to sustainably produce enough nutritious food for a growing population.
Thurow will provide insights into how policymakers are addressing the complex environmental, economic, and human challenges to achieving food and nutrition security. He will also share stories about the people whose lives and livelihoods hang in the balance, including African smallholder farmers and undernourished mothers and children around the world.
This event is co-hosted by the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance and the Community Change Collaborative.
The Last Hunger Season: 12:30 – 2 p.m.,
Fralin Hall Auditorium
Africa’s small farmers are living and working essentially as they did in the 1930s. Without mechanized equipment, fertilizer, or irrigation; using primitive storage facilities, roads, and markets; they harvest only one-quarter the yields of Western farmers. In 2011, a group of farmers in Kenya came together to change their odds for success — and their families’ futures. Thurow spent a year following the progress of four women farmers in this community and recorded their struggles and aspirations in his book, “The Last Hunger Season.”
He will share the stories of these remarkable women and their determination to end the hunger season. His presentation will be followed by a panel discussion about the challenges and opportunities for smallholder farmers in Africa.
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]From Virginia Water Resources Research Center | September 12, 2019
The Center for Communicating Science is thrilled to welcome Sara Peach, climate journalist and speaker, to Blacksburg this month!
Peach, who holds a master’s degree in journalism and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from UNC-Chapel Hill, has been reporting on climate change and other environmental issues for nearly a decade. Her experience is vast, with work published in National Geographic, Scientific American, and Environmental Health News, among others.
[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Peach serves as the Senior Editor of Yale Climate Connections, a multimedia service providing daily reporting, commentary, and analysis on the issue of climate change. This is also where she writes the “Ask Sara” climate advice column.
On September 26 at 5:30 p.m., Peach will be joining us as our September Science on Tap speaker at Rising Silo Brewery, sharing her talk “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Climate Change.” At this event, Peach will share her insights on climate change, how it affects you, and what you can do about it. She will also share some of the interesting questions she’s addressed in her advice column, “Ask Sara,” and open the discussion to questions from the audience.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
Peach will also lead a lunchtime workshop, “The Humorous Side of the Climate Story: A workshop on the bizarre, unexpected, and delightfully weird side of climate change,” on September 27 at 12 p.m. Peach’s Friday workshop will allow her to share experiences from her years of communicating about climate change issues.
Peach will tell some of the stranger stories she’s encountered as a climate journalist – for example, did you know climate change could mess up homicide investigations? She will also discuss some new approaches to discussing climate change with friends and family.
Lunch will be provided at the Friday workshop; please RSVP here. The talk and lunch will be held in the Steger Hall Conference Center, 1015 Life Science Circle.
Peach’s visit to Virginia Tech is sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Center for Communicating Science, the School of Public and International Affairs/Urban Affairs and Planning, and Center for Humanities, with support from the Department of Communication, the Global Change Center, and Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society.
Both of these events are open to the public free of charge. We look forward to seeing you!
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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]From Virginia Water Resources Research Center | September 12, 2019
Congratulations to Interfaces of Global Change IGEP fellow Kristen Bretz, announced as the 2019 William R. Walker Graduate Research Fellow!
Kristen is a 2nd year PhD student in Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech studying stream biogeochemistry. Prior to starting her research at Virginia Tech, Kristen received her M.S. from UNC Chapel Hill where she studied arctic lake methane dynamics. She also worked for USDA for several years. She returned to freshwater research for the opportunity to study streams of her native Blue Ridge mountains, and she is currently investigating how changes in headwater network connectivity affect stream carbon processing.
Established to honor the late William Walker, the founding director of the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, this award has been given since 1999 to recognize and support graduate students in water resources who are pursuing work in a field different from their undergraduate study, or who have returned to school following a period of professional work. More information about this program is available HERE.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”24243″ img_size=”large”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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By Lauren Wind
Early on the morning of August 28th, twenty IGC fellows and friends met in the dense fog at the Eggleston Community Park to take part in an epic “Fall into the New” New River cleanup endeavor. ReNew the New, a group comprised of multiple local NGOs, outfitters, local government officials, and concerned citizens, focuses on the stewardship of 37 miles of the New River that run through Giles County, VA. They sponsor two major river cleanup events each year. his event also included cleanup of New River miles winding throughout the valley in Montgomery Co, Pulaski Co, Floyd Co, and Radford.
In an effort to keep the New River clean and pristine, we were charged with pairing up in canoes or solo trips in kayaks to retrieve as much trash as we could fit in our vessels along a four mile stretch in Giles Co. Before we embarked on our journey, ReNew the New founder Ann Geotte spoke words of wisdom to us: “Do not be upset if you don’t get a tire… this isn’t an Easter egg hunt!” From that moment on, the challenge was upon us IGC Fellows to collect the most tires. And we did not disappoint!
In total we collected 18 tires, one sleeping bag and pillow set, four cans of unopened beers, dozens of empty cans, a table, and countless other items. Shout out to Stephen Plont, who deemed himself the winner by finding… a Porta-Potty within the first half-mile stretch of the river. It was all hands-on deck to pull most of these items out of the water, and some of us had to leave our safe and dry vessels to retrieve sunken tires and trash. Our efforts were rewarded with internal bragging rights to each other on what we found, soaking up sunny rays on the river, and a lunch and t-shirt following the event.
Please visit ReNew the New’s Volunteer page to learn more about future volunteer events; and to view the statistics on how much trash collectively was retrieved throughout “Fall into the New” event this fall.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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Header image: A fossilized trail of the animal Yilingia spiciformis, dating back 550 million years. The trail was found in China by a team of scientists including Shuhai Xiao of the Virginia Tech College of Science.
VT NEWS | September 4, 2019
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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Current VT graduate students interested in joining the Interfaces of Global Change IGEP must apply before December 1st. Prior to applying, applicants must attend a number of informational meetings, including this first session with GCC Director, Dr. Bill Hopkins. Please join us, and sign up in advance here.
September 23rd, 2019
5pm-6pm
Latham 311[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]