By Pam McElwee & Marjorie Kaplan Rutgers hosted the first ever Summer School in Sustainability Governance, led by RCEI Affiliates Pam McElwee and Rachael Shwom of Rutgers Department of Human Ecology as part of the RCEI signature initiative to build a Center for Sustainability and Governance in the Anthropocene (C-SAGA). Twenty-nine attendees from Rutgers plus 19 other institutions across the …

RCEI affiliate Alexander Gates’ article “Climate change is a pollution problem, and countries have stopped similar threats before – think DDT and acid rain” was published on The Conversation to coincide with the UN conference this week. This article discusses how climate change, driven by carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, mirrors past environmental challenges that humanity has successfully tackled, …

On September 9, RCEI affiliate Oscar Schofield, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences (DMCS), was officially named Fellow of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), one of highest accolades an MTS member can achieve. Schofield, who chairs DMCS, is also a Life Member of MTS. Schofield is a visionary whose work has transformed ocean observation. With a …

Since 2011, enormous seaweed blooms have spread across the Atlantic Ocean, spanning over 5,000 miles from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico.   Known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, the leviathan — visible from space — has wreaked havoc on environments and economies throughout the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, where unprecedented quantities of seaweed routinely break away from …

RCEI affiliate and PI Shishir Chundawat will lead a team of researchers to develop integrated technologies for conversion of cellulosic biomass and biomass-derived CO2 to fuels/chemicals. The project was selected for funding by the Northeast SunGrant program at Pennsylvania State University and supported directly by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). For this project Chundawat will collaborate closely with …

A Rutgers-led study shows diminished crop yield is globally common but low yields could be addressed by increasing the number of pollinators A team of researchers led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists has analyzed crop yields of more than 1,500 fields on six continents, and found that production worldwide of important, nutritionally dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and …

Rutgers researchers examined particulate matter from a June 2023 fire that triggered advisories for more than 100 million Americans in the Northeast. Climate-driven wildfire events are rapidly transferring harmful particulate matter containing toxic chemicals over long distances, compromising air quality in the New Jersey and New York City areas, according to Rutgers Health research. Published in Environmental Science & Technology and to …

University researchers to lead green infrastructure, community engagement, K-12 education and planning initiatives as part of a $72.5 million federal grant Rutgers University researchers will lead several components of a $72.5 million federal initiative to fortify New Jersey’s coast against climate change and extreme weather events. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the grant to the New Jersey Department …

RCEI affiliate Alexander Gates, Distinguished Service Professor of Earth and Environmental Science, Rutgers-Newark, has authored “Reclaiming Our Planet: How Environmental History Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis.” Professor Gates explores past environmental crises that humanity has faced and successfully addressed to encourage readers that slowing and preventing climate change is possible. Gates also analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of renewable …

By Marjorie Kaplan RCEI Affiliates Anthony Broccoli and Lisa Auermuller testified at a joint hearing of the New Jersey Assembly Environment, Natural Resources, and Solid Waste and Senate Environment and Energy Committees in Toms River, New Jersey on August 1, 2024.   The committees  met to hear from invited speakers on the topics of beach replenishment, climate resiliency along the …