Category: Climate/Global Change Page 1 of 11

Bridging the Classroom and the Real World

On May 27, 2025

In Behavior/Psychology, Climate/Global Change, Data, Global Health, Space

What if some of the most innovative academic contributions this year didn’t come from tenured professors but students still working toward their degrees? Though often treated as a novel or even surprising idea, student researchers are producing work that challenges these assumptions and pushes the boundaries of work within their fields. Their contributions are not limited to classroom assignments but have transformed into real academic research with tangible impacts.

Nowhere is this more evident than at Duke’s Bass Connections showcase, where student researchers present the results of their year-long interdisciplinary projects. This past month, student researchers across all disciplines gathered together in Penn Pavilion to share work spanning fields from space policy to criminal justice. The showcase revealed how students are not only contributing to research efforts but instead actively shaping its future. Attending the showcase offered me a firsthand look at the creativity, depth, and relevance of these projects. Each one I encountered revealed a unique blend of academic rigor and public purpose that deserves to be highlighted:

Future Space Settlements: Lessons from History

One of the standout projects that I encountered was “Future Space Settlements: Lessons from History.” During the showcase, I had the pleasure of speaking to Simran Pandey (‘27), Lawrence Wu (‘27), and Nikhil Methi (‘27), who were part of the Future Space Settlements team. Their work explored how the legal, political, economic, and social histories of terrestrial colonization might inform future efforts to establish human settlements beyond Earth. Grounded in a policy-oriented framework, the team drew on historical case studies to both model and caution against potential approaches to space expansion

Group from L to R: Lawrence Wu, Simran Pandey, and Nikhil Methi

Over the summer, the team conducted extensive archival research and created a comprehensive database of treaties, documents, and records to anchor their analysis. Throughout the academic year, subteams focused on space settlements from different angles, including legal precedents, historical analogies, and speculative design. Additionally, the team met with experts within the fields of space and policy.

This level of coordination did not come without challenges. The researchers explained how, despite their ambitious scope, finding sources that bridged centuries of terrestrial history with their respective disciplines proved to be difficult. Pandey, Wu, and Methi explained how managing multiple disciplines in conjunction with a scarcity of sources made it difficult to produce a cohesive output. Reflecting on the experience, the team emphasized the importance of narrowing the project scope and aligning deliverables with capacity. As Methi noted, they “began with lofty ambitions,” but future years would benefit from a tighter focus to ensure depth over breadth.

Crisis Pregnancy Centers Post Roe v. Wade: Correlates of State Variation in Anti-Abortion Fake Clinics

Another compelling project I learned about during the showcase was Crisis Pregnancy Centers Post Roe v. Wade: Correlates of State Variation in Anti-Abortion Fake Clinics. For this, I spoke to Anushri Saxena (‘25), who based her thesis on this research. Saxena explained how while on the team, she examined the rise and distribution of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) across the United States. CPCs are anti abortion organizations that often present themselves as legitimate abortion providers, intending to dissuade people from seeking abortion care. While they exist in all 50 states, the group’s research aimed to understand why some states host significantly more CPC’s per capita than others.

Anushri Saxena at the Bass Connections Showcase

To do this, Saxena personally used regression modeling by conducting a quantitative analysis of state-level policy. She used demographic factors such as Republican alignment, proportion of evangelical populations, and the restrictiveness of state abortion laws to identify key drivers of CPC density. The process involved conducting a literature review to identify relevant variables, building hypotheses, and learning statistical methods to execute her analysis.

One major challenge Saxena described was the volatile nature of reproductive healthcare policy, as significant legal shifts occurred even during the course of her writing. While reflecting on the limitations of state-level data, she expanded her work this semester to produce a more granular analysis of North Carolina, exploring how CPC’s are concentrated in census tracts marked by education levels, higher poverty rates, and more single-parent households. Her work provides not only a broader understanding of antiabortion mobilization but also a need for local community-specific policy responses in a post-Roe America.

Mental Health and the Justice System in Durham County

“Mental Health and the Justice System in Durham County” also stood out to me during this showcase. From this team, I was able to speak to Miranda Li (‘27) and Jacqueline Dinh (‘27). This project aimed to examine the intersection between incarceration and mental health outcomes, with a specific focus on Durham County.

From L to R: Miranda Li, and Jacqueline Dinh

To tackle these complexities, the team was divided into four sub-projects: two quantitative and two qualitative. On the quantitative side, one team explored how sociodemographic and spatial data influenced an individual’s likelihood of being rebooked, while another team worked to validate and analyze newly acquired jail service data, such as psychiatric visits and mental health interventions. On the qualitative side, one group led focused group-based interviews with formerly incarcerated individuals to assess whether existing jail services were effective in promoting recovery. Another subteam focused more on the experiences of family members of incarcerated individuals, highlighting the emotional burden that they carry and the importance of community support networks.

While Dinh and Li reflected on the freedom to shape their own qualitative approach, they also described the difficulty of managing an overwhelming influx of raw data and the importance of starting from ground zero to ensure validity. One of the biggest challenges that they struggled with as a group was a wide-open research structure. Although the autonomy was truly empowering, it sometimes led to uncertainty about direction and deliverables. Looking ahead, both researchers emphasized the value of continued collaboration with community stakeholders to better align the research with local needs and strengthen the actionable outcomes.

Together, these three projects spanning space policy, reproductive rights, and criminal justice highlight the depth of student-led research today. Each project showed not only academic rigor but also a clear commitment to addressing real-world issues through thoughtful, interdisciplinary inquiry. Their contributions serve as a powerful reminder that meaningful research is not solely limited to faculty but can also be a space where students lead with curiosity, creativity, and purpose.

Post by Gabrielle Douglas, Class of 2027

These Student Entrepreneurs Are Taking Climate Solutions Beyond the Classroom

By Crystal Han

On May 7, 2025

In Chemistry, Climate/Global Change, Entrepreneurship, Environment/Sustainability

Like many students, those enrolled in the Design Climate two-course sequence recently held final presentations. However, their pitches on April 18 reflected not just one semester of work, but rather an entire year’s worth of planning, experimenting, and revising creative environmental solutions.

These courses are a tinkering space, so it shouldn’t have surprised me how much some of the projects had transformed in concept since they were pitched at the Energy Week Innovation Showcase in November. The team Connexus, which recently become incorporated, aims to bring more people into solar installation and weatherization jobs via an unlikely tool: virtual reality.

An earlier version of this project focused more narrowly on bringing jobs and energy security to Enfield, North Carolina via microloans and financial literacy. In this rural town, many live below the poverty line and suffer from high energy rates. When the team began exploring the concept of building solar infrastructure in Enfield, they found this had been tried before to little avail.

So instead, they focused on how to bridge people to the jobs needed in the field.

Duke students Samson Bienstock, Karimah Preston, and Tyler Rahe–all graduate students with engineering backgrounds–emphasized that with the increased number of people entering college, there’s a growing gap to be filled in the trades.

“There’s students who are looking to get into jobs that don’t require college, and there’s also companies that are looking to hire them, but they’re not exactly sure where they meet in the middle,” said Preston. Connexus essentially plans to be middle man, accelerating job placement by training graduating high school students.

*Tyler Rahe demonstrates what a user sees while completing the VR training modules*

They differentiate themselves from other recruiting companies with VR. Through virtual training modules, high schoolers that might otherwise not consider these careers can experience what it might be like to work as a solar installer or in another trade. This training is “gamified to help engage them and…interact with what they’d be doing on the real job site,” said Rahe. “We would then assess them and screen them based on their job readiness, to see where they would be a great fit and place them directly into these companies…”

Beyond prompting interest, the benefit of using VR is that potential employees can receive training before ever stepping foot on the actual job. Connexus believes that because of this, businesses that utilize their services would likely see better retention rates in workers.

At the UNC Cleantech Summit, Rahe said they surveyed people on “how compelling and clear our ideas are and what what the need actually is…We were testing that assumption. Is this need actually there, or are these just stats [sic]?” According to him, they received promising results: “high recommendations from investors, from educational institutes, [and] from companies that require skilled trades.”

So while Connexus were originally inspired by Enfield, their solution isn’t specialized to only serve one community. They plan to offer services throughout the Carolinas, partnering with colleges and high schools. “Environmentally, we’re hoping to fuel great infrastructure development and support the energy transition,” Preston said.

Meanwhile, Andrew Johnson, Eesha Yaqub, Adiya Jumagaliyeva, Claire Qiu, Mark Lamendola, and Joey Offen are working with chemistry professor Jie Liu on reducing the environmental impact of creating fertilizer. The last time I spoke to Lamendola, a graduate student at the Nicholas School of the Environment, his team was looking to upscale a carbon neutral method for producing synthetic methane. Since then, the group has slightly pivoted, becoming LightSyn Labs.

“In the first semester we looked at the sort of the carbon dioxide to methane pathway, and we still think that’s a viable commercialization opportunity,” Lamendola said. However, the group decided to make the change after speaking to the Luol Deng Foundation. Founded by its Duke basketball alum namesake, it’s based in South Sudan, a largely rural country that relies on agriculture.

That’s important, because their new focus is on using a less carbon intensive process to create ammonia, the main ingredient in most fertilizers. Currently, almost all ammonia production occurs through the Haber-Bosch process, in which hydrogen and nitrogen react to form ammonia. While its discovery greatly improved agricultural returns, the Haber process also requires a lot of energy.

LightSyn Labs is looking to replace it with a method called plasmonic catalysis, developed at Duke by Jie Liu and his colleagues. “It’s activated by light,” Lamendola said. Unlike the Haber process, “it doesn’t rely on high pressure and temperature to drive the reaction.” That means less energy is required and as a result, lower greenhouse emissions and lower costs for farmers, all without disrupting food security. As a “system that requires no heavy infrastructure,” this type of green ammonia production can also occur locally instead of relying on global supply chains, increasing self-sufficiency among South Sudanese farmers.

In a way, everything leading up to this presentation is a warm up for a much larger pitch. This team has been chosen to compete for cash prizes in the EnergyTech Up University Prize Challenge, hosted by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Transitions. Looking even further than that, they predict they’ll need four years–and some strategic partnerships–for LightSyn Labs to fully launch.

The spirit of the Design Climate program is one rooted in entrepreneurship and real-world feasibility. This far from the end for these teams–in fact, this stage is just the beginning.

By Crystal Han, Class of 2028

Roots and Resilience: Students Document Climate Change in Durham

By Sarah Pusser

On April 21, 2025

In Climate/Global Change, Environment/Sustainability, History, Humanities, Policy, Students

On Thursday, April 17, students from Duke’s course Climate, Culture and Identity held a screening for their documentary shorts focusing on how climate change has been impacting Durham and nearby communities. Led by Duke professors Saskia Cornes and Lauren Henschel, the class produced intellectually stimulating and inspirational documentary shorts.

Students in Climate, Culture and Identity. *Photo Credit: Shaun King, Duke*

“These are people who have never made films before,” said Cornes, an assistant professor of the practice of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute and program director of the Duke Campus Farm. “They’ve spent a lot of time thinking with really complicated texts, with works of poetry, a lot of really heavy critical theory, films, and documentaries,” pointing to the rows of both butterfly-bellied and proud students waiting to share their work with us.

Henschel, Instructor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, director of Doc+ at Duke Center for Documentary Studies and a Duke alumna, added that “These films are more than assignments. They are meaningful contributions to an ongoing conversation. They expand what it means to do climate work by bringing academic ideas into dialogue with real lives, real communities and real urgency.” She also said, “Just 14 weeks ago, the students didn’t even know they’d be making a film in this course” for which they used nothing but their own phones and the help of their professors.

From left to right: Lauren Henschel and Saskia Cornes. *Photo Credit: Shaun King*, *Duke*

The four films featured in the screening were “The Roots of Environmental Justice: Legacy & Origins in Warren County,” made by students Laura Cai, Durga Sreenivasan and Audie Waller; “Where Justice Grows: Food, Care, and Collective Sustainability,” made by students Alayna Binder, Annie Carey and Bella Vieser; “Sowing Seeds of Conversation: Navigating the History of the Duke Campus Farm,” made by students Hunter Habersaat, Ilakkiya Senthilkumar and Jennifer Yoon, and “From the Holler to the Sea, I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me,” made by students Reesey du Pont, Lilah Gorfain and Beatrice Ghosn. Two films stood out to me.

Audience watching student film, “The Roots of Environmental Justice: Legacy & Origins in Warren County.” *Photo Credit: Shaun King, Duke*

“Sowing Seeds of Conversation: Navigating the History of the Duke Campus Farm”

Shot at the Duke Campus Farm, this documentary short seeks to stitch together the joy of caring for the land at the Duke Campus Farm, and the muddied past of the area where the farm sits, in order to paint a complete picture of what the Duke Campus Farm means to its community. The students who created the film brought multiple perspectives forward, including conservationists, student volunteers, and Duke professors, intertwining these interviews with shots capturing the beauty of the farm.

The Duke Campus Farm is a place for many volunteers and workers to find peace and joy from nourishing. However, it is unclear if the farm sits upon land that once was plantation land where enslaved peoples were forced to work. As a result, the farm offers Duke students a chance to tend to soil marked by generations of violence, while also recognizing their place within a broader institution that has historically harmed marginalized communities. “That is what we want to highlight in our film, that you are doing something by being an active member of your community, and it matters,” said Yoon, who is studying biology at Duke. “You might just think this film is just a class project, but it’s really not because it’s making people’s voices heard and telling the story of the farm and how that affects people in Durham and whoever goes to volunteer.”

From left to right: Jennifer Yoon, Hunter Habersaat, and Ilakkiya Senthilkumar. *Photo Credit: Shaun King, Duke*

It is clear that these students were not afraid to tackle difficult topics, emphasizing the need to research the land’s unclear history so that Duke can acknowledge and implement it into the story of the Duke Campus Farm.

“From the Holler to the Sea, I’ve Got You and You’ve Got Me“

This documentary short focuses on Triangle Mutual Aid, a Research Triangle-based community-led initiative that supported Western North Carolina after the horrific destruction of Hurricane Helene.

Triangle Mutual Aid was quick to offer support, organizing the collection and delivery of supplies just days after the hurricane hit. However, none of this would have been possible without the caring people of Durham, who were promptly donating what they could to Triangle Mutual Aid’s drop-off locations.

The short emphasizes the difference between Mutual Aid and charity work. For one, Mutual Aid does not rely on a hierarchical power; anyone who wants to volunteer is appreciated, respected, and welcome to the community. Additionally, Triangle Mutual Aid prioritizes the relationships between those involved and the community, contributing to a better world, all while relying on the needs and desires of a community and the extent of help the volunteers can provide.

“I think a lot of times when you see pieces in the news after the devastation of hurricane Helene, or environmental disasters, you might see the words and maybe you start to absorb the words of folks, but to see them [the volunteers] on screen has a different effect for you as a viewer,” said Duke student Reesey du Pont, who is studying International Comparative Studies and Public Policy.

From left to right: Beatrice Ghosn, Lilah Gorfain, Reesey du Pont, and Lauren Henschel. *Photo Credit: Shaun King, Duke*

As someone from Asheville who saw the devastation of Helene affect my own community, family, and friends, getting to see the faces of those in the Durham community who were so responsive in the wake of the destruction made me feel grateful to be a part of this giving community.

Getting the opportunity to watch all four amazing documentary shorts was truly a pleasure. The students wove together the STEM world of environmental science and conservation and the humanities world of culture and documentary studies seamlessly, showing their true dedication to telling the stories of those involved in the Durham community. It is also clear how much the students look up to their professors, Saskia Cornes and Lauren Henschel, thanking them many times for all their help and guidance throughout the semester.

I hope that we all can learn from these documentary shorts and approach our lives as Durham residents differently, integrating ourselves into the generous community more while acknowledging the history of where we stand.

Sarah Pusser Class of 2028

Meet the Scientists Conserving Sharks & Sea Turtles in Latin America

By Crystal Han

On April 8, 2025

In Animals, Biology, Climate/Global Change, Data, Environment/Sustainability, Field Research

I had just spent the weekend at the Duke Marine Lab, listening to my classmates discuss solutions to the shrinking population of a critically endangered porpoise species. So when I attended the March 25 Oceans Week panel immediately after, marine megafauna were already at the forefront of my mind.

Organized by Duke’s Working Group for the Environment in Latin America, the panel brought together several experts, comparing and contrasting their challenges across countries and species.

*Image from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0*

The open and interconnected nature of the ocean already presents unique conservation issues compared to terrestrial ecosystems, but it’s even more difficult to work on policies for marine megafauna that regularly traverse oceans. Countries establishing coastal estuaries or coral reefs as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) can be effective for inhabitants like reef sharks that have limited ranges. However, protecting highly migratory animals like whale sharks and blue whales often requires international agreements and collaboration between countries.

To better protect these species, Dr. César Peñaherrera launched the nonprofit MigraMar, which researches them through extensive tagging in the Eastern Pacific and partners with a large network to share and aggregate data. They’ve tagged 642 hammerhead sharks so far, according to their website, and this is just one of the migratory species they work with. Peñaherrera, whose background is in quantitative marine science, spends much of his time when he isn’t in the field making sense of the vast sets of data points. One of MigraMar’s main goals is to provide evidence for greater connectivity between Marine Protected Areas. Think wildlife corridors, but underwater. By mapping out the most predictable migration routes for marine megafauna, they can inform the best routes for these “Swimways.”

*Peñaherrera shared an image of a diver approaching hammerhead sharks with a pole spear, which helps them attach an acoustic tag to a shark.*

Conserving sea turtles is a little different than other species–they face different threats throughout life as they go from land to sea and back to land to lay eggs. Carlos Diez, who researches turtles extensively at the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, outlined four “unresolved” main threats within terrestrial ecosystems: coastal development, light pollution, exotic species, and conflicts over habitat use.

Climate change also poses a potential threat, since sex determination in sea turtles is dependent on temperatures. As many parts of their range warm, the sex ratio of turtles in some locations has leaned increasingly female. That’s one area that Diez has conducted research in: determining when, where, and how much the balance of turtle sexes is changing.

While collecting accurate data on wildlife is necessary, the complexity of marine conservation hinges as much on the behavior of people as it does wildlife.

Perhaps that’s why shark researcher, science communicator and Puerto Rican native Melissa Cristina Márquez said one of her focuses is on the “human dimensions of shark conservation.”

Deep connection to the inhabitants of the oceans leads to more active conservation. Indigenous cultures, for example, have fished sustainably for ages. Márquez, who is currently based in Australia, said, “We’ve seen that a lot in Fiji, in Papua, New Guinea, with sharks and their cultural connection to sharks, and how that kind of spurred forward a bit more protection of those animals.”

“The cultural, historic and political contexts in conservation… these factors really shape the value placed on marine biodiversity, the policies that are developed and the resources that are allocated for conservation efforts,” she said.

As a fisheries officer for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Carlos Fuentevilla has a more specific focus when it comes to the human dimension: reconciling sustainable management with the need to feed people.

“We currently now eat around 20.7 kilograms per capita per day of food,” said Fuentevilla, pointing out that the world would have to ramp up production if this rate is to remain the same at 2050. “So it’s not a question of we have to eat less… It’s a question that we have to produce more–how can we do it sustainably?”

Much of it will have to come down to how we manage our fisheries. While most fish aren’t technically megafauna, Fuentevilla pointed out that marine megafauna regularly interact with, and are affected by, our fishing activities.

Fishery scientists will tell you they don’t manage fish, they manage people.

Scientists like Fuentevilla and those in government use ecosystem based management, which considers the species in an area as well as the stakeholders and competing interests that affect them, including fishermen and coastal developers. “You know, fishery scientists will tell you they don’t manage fish, they manage people, and that’s right,” Fuentevilla said.

The overarching theme is that the ocean is an open system, and nothing in marine conservation occurs in a vacuum. Fulfilling this work means having to go beyond national policy to international frameworks and understanding the other key players in sea and on land.

By Crystal Han, Class of 2028

So Much More Than Growing Plants: Gardening as a Practice of Reclamation, Identity and Legacy

By Gabrielle Douglas

On April 7, 2025

In Climate/Global Change, Environment/Sustainability, History

“The Garden is a healer… that’s just a fact.”

“When people come into my garden they see me.”

“The people in charge are not the ones that look like us.”

These were just a few of the powerful truths shared during the African American Legacy in Gardening and Horticulture Symposium on Saturday, March 29. In a space filled with stories, resistance and regeneration, I witnessed how gardening is much more than cultivation– it’s reclamation, identity and legacy.

Organized by the North Carolina Botanical Gardens, Durham County Library, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, and other community partners, the symposium brought together community members, horticulturalists, scholars, leaders and activists to exchange knowledge and experience. The day featured three rich sessions, each exploring different aspects of African American connections to land history and healing.

The Wisdom of Trees: Urban Forestry and Black Land Ownership in the Subaltern South

The first session explored the deeply rooted issues of Black land ownership, forestry, and land expression in the South. Moderated by Darrell Stover of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University, the panel featured a series of powerful and passionate leaders and practitioners: Alton Perry, Director of the Roanoke Cooperative’s Sustaining Forestry and Land retention Project; Tyrone Williams, a third-generation landowner and nationally recognized tree farmer; and Michael Gibson, an internationally recognized topiary and property artist.

Gibson kicked off the discussion by reflecting on his personal relationship with nature. Beginning with simple yard work at just seven years old, he described how “what [he] thought was just a chore turned into a passion.” His words echoed a common theme among the panelists– many found healing and direction through their connection to forestry and the land.

Perry soon turned the conversation in a structural direction, detailing what it was like to be among the mere 4% of men in forestry who are African American. He explained how it was this disparity that motivated his work to support other Black landowners in managing their forest land and to “give them the empowerment to know their land matters.”

Williams shared similar sentiments as he described his journey towards making a name for himself within the field. He spoke of the significance of being part of the African American Tree Farm System and the importance of awareness within the community. “Everyone deserves to have beautiful stands of trees on their property,” he said, underscoring the need for both visibility and access in environmental spaces.

(From L to R: Darrell Stover, Michael Gibson, Tyrone Williams, and Alton Perry)

Black Roots in Gardening and Horticulture

The second session shifted from land to legacy, highlighting the power of storytelling, passion, and tradition in gardening and horticulture. In this conversation, gardens went beyond physical spaces and served as personal and cultural archives.

This session was moderated by Grammy Award-winning vocalist and founding member of the Earthseed Land Cooperative, Justin Robinson. The session brought together a group of incredibly talented and dynamic voices including: Wambui Ippolito, founding principal of Wambui designs; Derek Haynes, affectionately known as the “Chocolate Botanist,” a botanist with a vibrant social media presence; and Teri Speight, the author of the “Urban Garden” and “Black Flora.”

The conversation was heavily centered on African American influences in gardening and horticulture. Speight began the conversation, detailing her initial inspiration for gardening. She explained how the hydrangea served as a manifestation of a love for nature and work in the gardens, instilled by her parents. She further explained how the “bloom is endless,” amplifying the ways in which gardening spans across generations.

Following this, the conversation shifted into the inspirations held in gardening. Ippolito said what inspires her is “anything unspoiled by human hands.” She went on to explain how we often forget the ways that we are innately wired to perceive and appreciate natural landscapes—something she believes we must consciously reconnect with.

Haynes shared a key lesson that gardening has taught him: patience. He acknowledged how failure sometimes is inevitable, but clarified that patience allows him to recognize that his efforts “weren’t in vain.” Instead, he views each setback as a chance to “learn and process” making growth–both personal and botanical–possible.

(From L to R Justin Robinson, Wambui Ippolito, Derek Haynes, and Teri Speight)

Reclaiming Our Narratives: Amplifying Black Voices in Environmental Literature and Media

The final session shifted to focus on the deeply rooted relationship between African Americans and the natural world– despite long-standing narratives suggesting otherwise. This session was moderated by Dr. Zelda Lockhart, a writer, musician, and teacher. The session brought together a powerful group of thinkers and creators such as Dr. Jarvis McInnis, an Associate Professor of English at Duke University, and Dr. Chérie Rivers, an Associate Professor of Geography and Environment at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

The conversation was centered on reclamation—of memory, space, and identity. Professor Rivers offered powerful insight that drew from Ross Gay’s “Inciting Joy” to reflect on the role of stories as seeds carried by our ancestors through every path of life. She described how we each hold stories someone saved for us, meant to nourish and grow our narratives again and again. She emphasized how these narratives are rooted in love and reflected through storytelling and conversation. For Rivers, education expands the repertoire of what we are capable of loving, and it is through education that she sees the most potential for transmitting and sharing these vital stories. “If we believe we are in a garden to sustain life then we will enact truth,” Rivers said.

McInnis challenged the notion that Black communities are disconnected from nature, emphasizing how stories and landscapes serve as bridges between past and present. He described this by pointing to literary traditions that capture Black ecological thought, reminding us that “it’s about beauty.” For McInnis, reclaiming the therapeutic nature of the land is deeply personal. He spoke of the desire to touch soil, to feel deeply connected, and to follow one’s intuition—acts that affirm both presence and belonging in the natural world.

(From L to R: Dr. Zelda Lockhart, Dr. Chérie Rivers, and Dr. Jarvis McInnis)

In tracing the land, legacy and storytelling, these conversations highlight how gardening goes beyond its physical act– it is a cultural practice, a form of resistance, and a path towards healing. For many African Americans, reclaiming connections to the Earth is not simply about growing plants, but nurturing memory, identity and community. Through these narratives, we are able to see that a garden is not only a site of cultivation, but also of restoration, power, and possibility.

How Churches and Communities Are Teaming Up for Climate Resilience

By Noor Nazir

On April 5, 2025

In Climate/Global Change, Religion

As record-breaking heat waves spread across the nation, a new movement is rising.

Houses of worship have long served as anchors during times of crisis. Now, they’re becoming hubs for climate resilience.

At a March 27 gathering in Duke’s Goodson Chapel, faith leaders, organizers, and energy advocates—Pastor Neil Bernard (New Wine Christian Fellowship), Angella Dunston (Warren County Environmental Action Team), and Reverend Leo Woodberry (Kingdom Living Temple and New Alpha Community Development)—came together to discuss powerful initiatives, from solar-powered sanctuaries in Louisiana to grassroots environmental justice campaigns in North Carolina.

The message was clear: no one can do this alone. But together, we can do everything.

Bernard, pastor of a congregation in Louisiana’s St. John the Baptist Parish—one of the most disaster-prone areas in the U.S., opened the evening with urgency and vision. He recalled when Hurricane Ida hit the Bayou State in 2021, and reflected on the death toll from extreme heat. But then he spoke of hope: Community Lighthouses—solar-powered hubs anchored in houses of worship, built to offer electricity and refuge in times of need.

“Right now, we have 19. But the goal is one in every vulnerable community,” Bernard said, his voice rising. “When everyone has power—we have power.” His words weren’t just about electricity. They were about collective strength. Heads nodded. The room hummed in agreement.

These lighthouses didn’t materialize from one church alone—they were born from partnerships across city agencies, utilities, organizers, and faith groups. That’s the model. He said, “The power of teamwork is what makes the dream work.”

Duke’s Ashley Ward (L to R) hosts a panel with Pastor Neil Bernard (New Wine Christian Fellowship), Angella Dunston (Warren County Environmental Action Team), and Reverend Leo Woodberry (Kingdom Living Temple and New Alpha Community Development). Photo by Ashley Stephenson

Woodberry reminded the audience, his voice echoing through the chapel, “Jesus said, I give you power.” He added, “The most common way people give up their power is by believing they don’t have any.” These lighthouses are more than climate infrastructure—they are spiritual anchors grounded in the belief that resilience is holy work.

He argued that religious institutions are America’s greatest untapped asset. “They own land, buildings, communication tools—and they reach more people than any NGO,” he said. “If we fail to activate them, we leave the door open for exploitation.”

These institutions already know how to organize. They’ve been here before.

Dunston, an energy cooperative leader and longtime community advocate, brought the room back to the 1980s in Warren County, North Carolina. When state officials decided to dump toxic soil in her majority-Black neighborhood, the fight started not in courtrooms—but in her church.

“It was the women of our church who stood up,” she said, her voice ringing clear. “We don’t get the acknowledgment, but we do it anyway.”

Faith-based organizations have long played a vital role in responding to crises in our region, experts say. The conversation was part of Duke’s Cooling Communities project advancing community-driven solutions to extreme heat. Photo by Ashley Stephenson

The landfill closed permanently in 2003, but the damage—rising illness, distrust—remains. Still, Dunston has never stopped advocating. Today, she fights utility bills as high as $800 a month in the same communities. Her faith grounds her work, but she also knows that faith alone isn’t enough.

“If policy isn’t working for us, how do we organize our churches and communities?” she asked. “We must fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.”

Dunston stressed the need for partnerships—with government, scientists, and especially universities. Duke University students, for example, have supported advocacy efforts in Warren County. But she noted that faith communities won’t accept help from institutions they don’t trust. “Build relationships before the next crisis,” she urged. “We need data, yes—but we need trust more. Move at the speed of trust.”

The panel left me with an urge to offer this as a call to action: If you’re part of a faith institution, ask yourself—is your house of worship ready to become a community lighthouse? According to them, the climate crisis isn’t coming—it’s here. And the time to act, together, is now.

Farmers, Crops…and Computers?

By Gabrielle Douglas

On December 2, 2024

In Climate/Global Change, Computers/Technology, Engineering, Environment/Sustainability

In Hanjie the rules are simple. In this game of logic and creativity, the players, often working on medium-sized grids of 225 squares, use numbers on the rows and columns as clues to determine which boxes to shade. At first, the prospect of seeing a beautiful picture seems almost unfathomable. However, through patience and collaboration from every corner of the page, these small seemingly random squares gradually come together to reveal a masterpiece—one square at a time.

In a sense the efforts of Duke’s Climate Commitment are no different. The issue of climate change has proven to be a multifaceted one. One in which many parties play a role. However, with initiatives such as Duke’s Forever Learning Institute, the probability of tackling these issues becomes much clearer.

*The logo of Duke’s Forever Learning Institute retrieved from their website.*

Recently Duke’s Forever Learning Institute, an interdisciplinary educational program for Duke alumni, hosted Professors Norbert Wilson and Maiken Mikkelson for a compelling session on the impact of climate change on food and agriculture. Wilson, an agricultural economist and the Director of the World Food Policy Center at Duke, specializes in addressing critical issues related to food access, nutrition, and food security. Mikkelsen, a distinguished expert in physics, electrical, and computer engineering, explores the potential of nanomaterials to revolutionize agricultural processes, paving the way for innovative solutions in the field. Together, they explained how advancements in nanomaterials can improve food security and sustainability.

Throughout the session, Wilson emphasized the concept of food security. He began by clarifying the difference between “food loss” and “food waste.” Food loss occurs at the agricultural level. It refers to food that is produced but never reaches consumers, often due to challenges such as poor harvesting seasons, labor shortages for harvesting, or other natural factors. He describes the ways in which loss occurs across the board but disproportionately affects less developed countries. Wilson also explained how food waste occurs at the consumer level. He details how it goes beyond the waste of a product but is also a waste of the resources used to create that product.

Picture of Professor Norbert Wilson. Photo retrieved from Duke Divinity School.

Wilson illustrated the significance of these issues by drawing out the larger issue of food insecurity. Food insecurity describes an inability to access food or concerns about accessing food. In the United States 13.5 percent of citizens struggle with accessing food. This can lead to a number of negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular issues and diabetes. Food insecurity can also lead to behavioral and performance issues, particularly in young children.

*Infographic about food insecurity retrieved from ECOMERGE.*

This is where Mikkelson comes in. She described a term known as Precision Agriculture. In this, researchers observe and measure agriculture fields and extra data to see what resources such as water, and fertilizer is needed at each part. In this, they hope to retrieve good information through wavelengths as a means of getting a spectral fingerprint that supplies information about the crops. Mikkelsen describes her interest in leveraging nanomaterials to create lightweight, cost-effective hyperspectral cameras capable of capturing detailed spectral fingerprints of crops. She hopes that these materials can be employed around the world, and low resource settings to increase crop yields. The greatest roadblock in this would be the price and issues with widespread application. However, once applied it would hold the ability to detect key characteristics such as nutrient deficiencies, water stress, or disease presence.

Duke Researchers working with Nanotechnology. Image retrieved from Duke Pratt School of Engineering.

Our world is wildly affected by climate change. Climate change and agricultural production hold a very dependent relationship and fixing one side holds the ability to correct the other. This is what makes the work and research of those such as Wilson and Mikelson all the more important. Their efforts show how we can utilize technology to not only enact social change but also reverse our climate issues. Their research highlights not only the urgency of addressing food security and agricultural sustainability but also the transformative potential of interdisciplinary approaches.

Just as the game of Hanjie reveals its masterpiece one square at a time, tackling climate change requires collective effort and patience. Each initiative, whether through advanced nanotechnology or policy-driven solutions, brings us closer to a sustainable future. Duke’s Forever Learning Institute serves as a platform to connect these ideas, inspiring action and innovation that can shape a better tomorrow—one step at a time.

‘Design Climate’ Students Pitch Solutions at Energy Week 2024

By Crystal Han

On November 26, 2024

In Climate/Global Change, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Environment/Sustainability, Students

Amid the constant drumbeat of campus events, much of the conversation turned toward the challenges we face in energy policy, security and transitions during Duke’s annual Energy Week, held Nov. 11-15.

On the second day, the Innovation Showcase featured not only startups making their pitches for clean energy and sustainable tech products, but students doing so as well.

Currently in its second year, Duke Design Climate is a new initiative between the Pratt School of Engineering and the Nicholas School of the Environment. It functions as a two-course sequence, in which students form groups to prototype and promote climate solutions after conducting market research.

As I made my rounds to the teams, I met a mix of graduate students and undergraduates with academic backgrounds ranging from engineering to economics to environmental science. The ideas they have aren’t purely theoretical: all are looking for sponsors or partners to help implement their solutions into real-world use. Here were some of the highlights:

Team ReefCycle is building from plants: Our first stop is named after the company whose product they intend to scale up. Initially, Mary Lempres founded ReefCycle to develop sustainable material for artificial reefs. Regular industrial production for cement requires intensive heating– burning of fossil fuels–releasing tons of carbon dioxide. ReefCycle sought to reduce this climate impact with a different method: their cement is plant-based and enzymatic, meaning it’s essentially grown using enzymes from beans. Testing in the New York Harbor yielded some promise: the cement appeared to resist corrosion, while becoming home for some oysters. The Design Climate team is now trying to bring it to more widespread use on land, while targeting up to a 90% reduction in carbon emissions across all scopes.

Team Enfield is uplifting a local community: Design Climate, evidently, is by no means limited to science. Instead, these team members intend to address an environmental justice issue close to home: energy inequality. Around 30-35% of Enfield residents live below the poverty line, and yet suffer from some of the highest energy bills in the larger area. Located a ninety minute drive east of Durham, this rural town is one of the poorest in North Carolina. Historic redlining and unfavorable urban planning are responsible for its lack of development, but now this team aims to bring back commerce to the area through microfinance. Once enough funding is gathered from investors and grants, the team hopes to provide microloans and financial literacy to spur and empower businesses.

Team Methamatic promotes a pragmatic e-methane solution: This team is harnessing the power of sunlight to drive fuel production. Synthetic methane, commonly referred to as e-methane, is produced by reacting green hydrogen and carbon dioxide. “Currently, the power-to-gas process can be carbon neutral,” said team member Eesha Yaqub, a senior. “Sourcing the recycled carbon dioxide from a carbon capture facility essentially cancels out the emissions from burning methane.” However, this power-to-gas (P2G) process is an intensive one requiring high heat, energy, and pressure–hoops that might not have to be jumped through if an alternative process could break through the market. Professor Jie Liu and the Department of Chemistry have been working on developing a reactor that would conduct this same reaction without those obstacles. “[Utilizing] the energy from ultraviolet light, which is absorbed by a catalyst …makes the process less energy intensive,” Yaqub said.

Right now, the team has a small prototype, but one used for commercial generation would appear much larger and cost between $15,000 to $20,000. Their intended customers? Oil and gas companies under pressure to shift away from fossil fuels. If successfully scaled up, they predict this process would produce e-methane at a price of $5 per kilogram.

Analyzing living shorelines through Team Coastal Connect: If “Coastal Connect” sounds more like an app than a project name, that’s because it is one. This group is designing what one member dubbed a “fitbit for shorelines”: a monitoring system that brings data from ocean buoys to the phones of local landowners. While measurements in salinity and water level aren’t always telling for the average person, the app would contextualize these into more useful phrases. Is it currently safe to swim? It’ll let you know.

Moreover, it would also allow for the long-term monitoring of living shorelines. While we know this nature-based solution offers resilience to natural disasters and presents erosion, short-term fixes like seawalls are often built instead to continue allowing development up to the edge of beaches. The team hopes that ideally, providing concrete data on living shorelines would allow us to demonstrate their benefits and promote their implementation.

By Crystal Han, Class of 2028

Rethinking the Mutual Relationship Between Science and Justice

By Sarah Pusser

On November 16, 2024

In Climate/Global Change, Environment/Sustainability, Faculty, Field Research, History, Policy

When you think of environmental science, what comes to mind? Studies? Analyses? Hypotheses?

What about environmental justice? Clean air? Restoring forests?

Ryan Emanuel, an associate professor of Hydrology in the Nicholas School of the Environment, redefines these two concepts of environmental science — or shall I say, combines these two concepts. He appeared in person and on Zoom in the Trent Center for Bioethics series recently, presenting his new-ish book: “On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice.”

Through three compelling anecdotes, Emanuel showed us how environmental science and environmental justice can be viewed as a bidirectional relationship.

Story one:
After earning his degree in hydrology from Duke in the 90s, Emanuel pursued advanced studies in evaporation and carbon cycling. With an education, Emanuel began fieldwork — conducting studies and climbing tall towers (all the fun sciencey stuff). However, as a person from North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe, he noticed the disconnect between his work and his community. He was acutely aware of a cultural emphasis on education –the expectation that you will use your education to give back to your community. He didn’t feel his work in hydrology was serving the Lumbee tribe’s interest, so he decided to change that.

Sean Jones from the Lumbee Tribe (photo by News & Record Final)

During his talk, Emanuel emphasized the significance of “accountability” and “motivation.”

“Examining our motivation can allow us to better understand who we are accountable to in our work… We are all accountable somehow, and we can be accountable in different ways to different groups.”

Understanding that his work had to be accountable for the Lumbee tribe, Emanuel became an ambassador for STEM in higher education. This new path enabled him to mentor youth with tribal backgrounds, prepare them for higher education, and even form strong relationships with them.

Story two:

The EPA says environmental justice is “fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people in environmental decision-making.”

Emanuel recognized that governments should be accountable for including the voices and opinions of marginalized groups — ‘all people’ — within their environmental decision-making. But Emanuel said there was a dissonance between these promises and reality. One example is the placement of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) where livestock are raised in confinement for agricultural purposes.

CAFOs in North Carolina are disproportionately located in communities of minority groups. Many issues arise from this, such as the pollution produced from CAFOs (air and water).

I was shocked to see the many ways that smaller, marginalized communities are affected. These issues are often relatively hidden — not surprising given that mainstream media usually focuses on large (easily observable) community-based discrimination.

Map of locations of CAFOs in North Carolina (photo by Jiyoung Son)

Emanuel began to look at the interplay between environmental science (observation, analysis, testing) and environmental justice (lived experience, regulations, fairness). He let go of the previous idea that environmental science only seeks to provide data and support to drive change in environmental justice. He began to ask, “How can environmental justice improve environmental science?”

Story 3:
Combining his accountability for the Lumbee tribe with his hypothesis about the bidirectional relationship of environmental science and environmental justice, Ryan Emanuel began looking into the observably negative impacts of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). Spanning over 600 miles, this gas pipeline will provide many benefits for North Carolina communities, such as lower costs, new jobs, and less pollution, according to Duke Energy.

Emanuel saw that the pipeline route went right through Lumbee territory, which could mean devastating effects for the community, such as health impacts and declining property values.

Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline route (photo by SAS Blogs)

The crux of the issue lay in the negligence of project developers who failed to connect with the marginalized communities the pipeline would run through (such as the Lumbee). Tribal voices and input were completely ignored.

Emanuel helped prepare tribal leaders for meetings with corporate representatives and wrote a commentary on the need for the federal government to collaborate with the tribes they would be affecting.

Eventually, after years of lawsuits, the companies in charge of the project abandoned the ACP project. When I searched “Why was the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project canceled?” Duke Energy claimed the cancellation was because of “ongoing delays and increasing cost uncertainty, which threaten(ed) the economic viability of the project.” Other sources provide details on the legal challenges and criticism the project faced.

After the companies dropped the plan, they were quick to purchase forest land near the Lumbee tribe and begin the development of natural gas infrastructures that would allow for the storage of gas when the demand was low and the ability to release the gas when prices went up.

I found it quite impressive that Ryan was able to attend many meetings between the Lumbee Tribe and the company, without saying a word. The tribal council had asked him to only observe and not speak. During one meeting, a representative from the company that purchased the forest land said that they wanted to clarify that “pipelines are not disproportionately located in marginalized communities — they are everywhere.”

Emanuel began testing this hypothesis, eventually gathering enough evidence to statistically prove that there is a “spatial correlation between social vulnerability and pipeline density.” His findings gathered significant media attention and have even been expanded on to show the need for change and increased safety within pipeline communities.

Emanuel concluded by explaining that the principles of environmental justice can show us what questions we should be asking, who we should be asking them of, and who we should be keeping in mind when conducting research.

The statement Emanuel made that stuck with me the most was, “If we value examining problems from all angles, we have to pay attention to which perspectives are missing.”

Ryan Emanuel’s book (photo by The Magazine of the Sierra Club)

After Emanuel’s talk, I was surprised that I had never been introduced to this way of thinking before. It seems like common knowledge that focusing on justice and equity can improve how we investigate problems scientifically. However, it is not completely surprising that this information is not common sense, given the systematic issues within our country.

Emanuel’s book, “On the Swamp: Fighting for Indigenous Environmental Justice,” dives deeper into these concepts about the relationship between environmental justice and environmental science. I believe this book would bring nuance to our world today, where there is a clear need for change and the uplifting of voices that have been quieted for so long.

By Sarah Pusser Class of 2028

Climate of Care: Addressing the Health Impacts of Climate Change

By Gabrielle Douglas

On November 15, 2024

In Climate/Global Change, Global Health, Medicine

In an increasingly polarizing world, the discussion surrounding human rights remains at the forefront of all that we do as a society. People are becoming more aware, as, these days, violations are displayed right before our eyes. With a click of a button or a swipe of the thumb, people are able to see travesties occurring throughout all parts of the world. Developments in technology help us remain knowledgeable about such issues, but what about the offenses that we don’t see—the silent killers that we chalk up to poor fate, to chance? What about the violations in which we ourselves play a major role? These are urgent questions that researchers at the Duke School of Medicine are working to answer, with a specific focus on the deadly impacts of climate change.

In times of crisis, the most disadvantaged communities bear the greatest burden. The researchers recognize that climate change is no different and have strategized ways to reverse these effects. They presented their research in a recent talk, titled Climate Change and Human Health: Creating a Strategic Plan for Duke’s School of Medicine. Associate Professor and lung disease expert Dr. Robert Tighe led the conversation.

*A photo of Dr. Robert Tighe. Courtesy of Duke’s Department of Medicine Website.*

While presenting his research, Tighe identified a major shift in sea surface temperature trends, noting that the trend has deviated greatly from the statistical norm. Although the reasons behind this shift are not fully understood, it is believed to have serious implications, as excess heat poses risks to human health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, increasing temperatures and carbon dioxide have the potential to impact water quality, air pollution, allergens, and severe weather conditions. These conditions, in turn, bring forth respiratory allergies, cholera, malnutrition, and cardiovascular disease, to name a few. Tighe’s research goes beyond the general effects of these issues; it delves into how they disproportionately impact the most vulnerable members of society: children, the elderly, low-income communities, and communities of color.

*A chart containing information about the most vulnerable parts of population to the effects of climate change. Courtesy of Biological Science.*

On a local scale, Tighe highlights that many in these vulnerable positions often lack access to the healthcare necessary to mitigate these impacts. For instance, low-income citizens are often unable to afford the costs associated with repairing the physical damage climate change inflicts on their homes, leaving them exposed to pollutants and the effects of environmental toxins. The elderly also find themselves in similarly precarious scenarios, as many of these situations require evacuation—something not always feasible for those in fragile health. Consequently, they too are left exposed to pollutants and dietary challenges exacerbated by climate change.

On a global scale, these issues heavily impact countries in vulnerable positions. The United States, China, India, the European Union, and Russia are among the largest contributors to carbon emissions. However, the consequences of this burden fall disproportionately on countries like Bangladesh, Haiti, Mozambique, small island nations, and others. Due to their geographic locations, climate change brings far more than just hotter days—it brings devastating hurricanes, tsunamis, cyclones, and widespread malnutrition. The limited financial resources in these nations make rebuilding and mitigating these impacts extraordinarily challenging, especially as many climate effects are recurring. This disparity is particularly frustrating, as these countries contribute only a fraction of the world’s carbon emissions.

*A map of the global climate risks. Courtesy of the New York Times.*

This is precisely what Tighe’s work aims to address. He is working to connect the science on climate change effects, researched by those in the School of Medicine, with that of the Nicholas School of the Environment. Referring to this as an interdisciplinary issue, Tighe believes that the place to begin is within the community. He emphasizes the importance of starting with the people of Durham: What do they need? How can we best help them? How does this affect our own backyard? He stresses the importance of outreach, educating the community on how climate has long-term impacts on their health. Tighe also underscores the need to view this as an opportunity to combine diverse strengths to address the crisis from every angle.

In the face of a climate crisis that goes beyond borders and affects the most vulnerable among us, Tighe’s and his fellow researchers’ work is a call to action. By fostering collaboration between scientific fields and engaging directly with local communities, he develops an approach that is both comprehensive and compassionate. His work reminds us that addressing climate change isn’t just a scientific or political issue—it’s a deeply human one, demanding a united effort for the wellbeing of all under the sun.