CHANGE News - January, 2009

One of the objectives of the CHANGE program is to train graduate students to work on environmental problems as a group. As part of their training, students are encouraged to expand their collaborative efforts beyond the classroom through client-based project work and academic publications. Although CHANGE has only been training students since the fall 2007 semester, its students already have a strong record of collaborative publication and project work.

2007-8 CHANGE Cohort
The 6 students in the 2007 CHANGE cohort contributed to or produced the following jointly-authored publications (CHANGE student names are in bold, CHANGE-IGERT Fellows are marked with an asterisk *):

Miller, T.R., T.D. Baird, C.M. Littlefield, G. Kofinas, F. Chapin, III, and C. L. Redman. 2008. Epistemological pluralism: reorganizing interdisciplinary research. Ecology and Society 13(2): 46. (Article)

Littlefield, C., A. Mahlstedt, A. Popp*, N. Trautmann, “Review of Neoliberal Environments: false promises and unnatural consequences, edited by N. Heynen, J. McCarthy, S Prudham, P Robbins; Routledge, London, 2007.” Environment and Planning A 2008, volume 40, pp. 2028-2030.

Baumgartner, J, N. Trautmann, “Black Carbon From Indoor Air Pollution in Rural Yunnan: Turning a Double-Exposure into a Double Dividend.” China Environment Forum Series 2009 Woodrow Wilson International Center (forthcoming).

Madden, E.*, M. Raby*, A. Shudy Palmer, “Review of Weathering Risk in Rural Mexico: Climatic Institutional and Economic Change by Hallie Eakin, The University of Arizona Press, Tuscon, 2006.” Society and Natural Resources (forthcoming).

In addition to these publications, the 2007 cohort produced two collaborative capstone projects.

Working for a client in the marketing department of the Madison-based Findorff Construction company, three students conducted research on how Findorff might reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from cement. They also helped their client think about whether these innovations could legitimately be used to market Findorff as a more “green” construction firm. They packaged their research into a presentation report that was delivered to officers of the company at the end of the fall 2008 semester. These students also wrote a reflective analysis of their consulting experience.

In an email thanking them for their work, the client praised the students “obvious expertise, creativity, attentiveness and enthusiasm” and noted: “Cement is an obscure topic, CO2 in cement is beyond obscure, but your students took up our challenge and by the end of the semester became more knowledgeable and articulate about these topics than the vast majority of the people in my industry. Findorff and I will always appreciate their efforts, and if these students are typical of the caliber of students emerging from the U W, then you are training individuals with the skill sets necessary to tackle some of the most difficult challenges facing our world.”

A second group of three students analyzed three disparate cases of sustainability projects that had been initiated by central governments (US victory gardens during WW II, Chinese rural biogas digesters, and Zambian efforts to promote the use of insecticide treated bednets to control malaria). They used these cases to try to identify the elements that might allow such top-down environmental sustainability initiatives to be successfully implemented and maintained. The criteria that they identified highlight the social factors that need to be addressed for governmental sustainability efforts to be successful. They are currently revising this project for submission to an academic journal.

2008-9 CHANGE Cohort
The 2008 CHANGE cohort has completed one semester of course work, but they have already embarked on an ambitious group-generated project. The project (tentatively titled “We Can Get There”) intends to produce a book, web site, or other product that challenges conventional left/right political dichotomies surrounding environmentalism. Between six and eight of the 10-person 2008 CHANGE cohort are participating in this project.