Sustainability is a strategic initiative in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Below are the most current stories showcasing our college's sustainability efforts.
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DOE-funded project investigates climate change effects on low-income housing
10/13/2022
10/13/2022
Coastal cities such as Baltimore expect to see increased impacts of climate change, such as severe flooding, heat stress and increased energy consumption, particularly in low-income communities.
Philanthropy helps Penn State and Penn Staters to impact the world
10/13/2022
10/13/2022
Students like Akhdan Mir, an energy engineering major and Millennium Scholar, are among the many taking on important challenges like the global need for safe, secure and abundant resources thanks to philanthropy through the impact of 'A Greater Penn State.'
University Libraries to host virtual Open Access Week panel on climate justice
10/12/2022
10/12/2022
Penn State University Libraries will participate in the 14th annual global observation of Open Access Week, Oct. 24–30, by hosting a virtual panel of Penn State faculty at noon Tuesday, Oct. 25.
EarthTalks lecture to discuss large-scale solar trends, impacts and implications
10/12/2022
10/12/2022
Tom Murphy, director of the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research at Penn State, will give the talk "Utility Scale Solar and Pennsylvania – Trends, Impacts, and Implications" at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in 112 Walker Building at University Park.
Saltier sea water may predict heavy summer rains in the U.S. corn belt
10/10/2022
10/10/2022
Farmers in the Midwest should care about the saltiness of ocean water thousands of miles from their fields, according to a team of scientists.
EarthTalks lecture to discuss solar and agriculture land use competition
10/05/2022
10/05/2022
Kaitlyn Spangler, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Geography at Penn State, will deliver the talk "Towards solar justice in Pennsylvania: tensions of land, farming, and power" at 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 10.
Scientists improve process for turning hard-to-recycle plastic waste into fuel
09/28/2022
09/28/2022
Turning plastic waste into useful products through chemical recycling is one strategy for addressing Earth's growing plastic pollution problem. A new study may improve the ability of one method, called pyrolysis, to process hard-to-recycle mixed plastics — like multilayer food packaging — and generate fuel as a byproduct, the scientists said.
New grant continues Arctic research addressing climate change and communities
09/21/2022
09/21/2022
Climate change in the Arctic is evident as temperatures rise and Alaskan coastal Indigenous communities face severe, urgent, and complex social and infrastructural challenges. A collection of Penn State research in the region, being driven by social sciences and in collaboration with engineering and natural sciences, will address these challenges.
EarthTalks: Allen Landis to provide snapshot of Pennsylvania’s solar sector
09/21/2022
09/21/2022
Allen Landis, executive director of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Energy Department Authority, will deliver the talk "Snapshot of Pennsylvania’s Solar Sector — and Programs and Policies to Grow It" at 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 26.
Research links shale gas, legacy energy development to groundwater contamination
09/20/2022
09/20/2022
Fracking for natural gas in parts of Pennsylvania with a legacy of energy extraction may increase the risk of groundwater contamination, according to a team led by Penn State scientists.