“These earlier steps, which date back more than a decade, represent the apolitical, technology based cultivation that universities are best suited to carry out, usually behind the scenes,” Fink said.

Suntech announced its choice of the Phoenix metropolitan area for its first U.S. plant on Nov. 15 and cited several reasons, including the research strengths of ASU, Arizona’s statewide renewable energy policies and the favorable local business climate fostered by groups like the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. While Suntech will provide a modest initial commitment of about 75 new jobs and a facility of about 100,000 sq feet of space, it is the fact that they chose the Valley that has many people excited.

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Bodansky also has been named an Affiliated Faculty member in both the College of Law’s Center for Law and Global Affairs, and in the Global Institute of Sustainability’s School of Sustainability at ASU. His appointment is effective Aug. 1, 2010.

“The hiring of Dan Bodansky is a tremendously positive step for advancing ASU,” said ASU President Michael Crow. “On the law and sustainability front, Dan will bring us global thinking at the highest level. This is a great day for ASU.”

Bodansky, the Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Emily and Ernest Woodruff Chair in International Law at the University of Georgia School of Law, will be a key player in the development and operation of a new Program in Law and Sustainability at the College of Law. The program, which will be housed in the College’s Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology, is expected to be launched next fall. He will teach courses in international law and in law and sustainability.

“Dan Bodansky is the leading figure in international law and climate change,” Berman said. “He is a highly respected international law scholar, and his experience, both in government and policy circles with respect to climate change, is unsurpassed. When I became Dean, and we decided to launch both the new Program on Law and Global Affairs and our ambitious transdisciplinary Law and Sustainability Program, Dan was the first person I thought of. I could not be more thrilled that he will be joining us.”

Bodansky said Berman’s enthusiasm about establishing the College of Law as an innovative force in solving global challenges and Crow’s visionary leadership in sustainability convinced him to make the move.

“The law school is a very dynamic place with a real focus on international law, and there’s a synergy in the strong group of people who are doing interesting work there. That was particularly appealing to me,” Bodansky said. “And what Michael Crow is doing in sustainability, building it throughout the entire university — operations, curriculum and research — is very innovative and makes ASU an exciting place. I’m not sure I know of any other school that has that kind of focus.”

Rob Melnick, Executive Dean of the Global Institute of Sustainability, said Bodansky’s experience as climate change coordinator and attorney-advisor at the U.S. Department of State during the Clinton and Bush administrations will bring a new perspective to the Institute and to ASU.

“Dan is a world-class leader in environmental and sustainability law, especially in the international arena,” Melnick said. “He has an understanding of how the law on a global level affects, and is effected by, sustainability, and he has the added advantage of having operated in both federal and international policy spaces. His dual appointment is a tremendous asset for both the College of Law and the School of Sustainability.”

Bodansky began working in the global climate change arena nearly two decades ago, before it was trendy to do so. He has authored numerous papers for the Pew Center for Global Climate Change and is an influential voice in international conversations about the issue.

His forthcoming book, The Art and Craft of International Environmental Law (Harvard University Press, December 2009), explains the role international law plays in addressing global environmental challenges such as climate change, ozone depletion and the loss of biodiversity.

“Law is an important piece of the puzzle, but the problem with international environmental law has been that people either overwrite the importance of it, or they disregard it altogether,” Bodansky said. “One of the points of the book is to try to provide a more realistic picture of the contributions international law can make, but to convey that it’s not the only thing that’s involved.”

Bodansky attended the recent Climate Change Talks in Barcelona and will be in attendance at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. The Copenhagen meeting has been billed as the world’s last chance to stop temperature change before it passes the point of no return. Some have speculated a political agreement, not a legal agreement, will result from the summit.

“Yes, we should be striving ultimately for the legal agreement, but the difference between a political and legal agreement is incremental, not totally game shifting,” he said.

Peter French, Director of the ASU Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, said Bodansky is a welcome addition to a stellar group of Lincoln professors who work in a variety of disciplines at ASU.

“Dan’s appointment adds depth to our already outstanding line up of experts in various fields who are working in the ethics areas related to those fields,” French said. “We are looking forward to him bringing another dimension to the Lincoln Center and the Lincoln professors’ group, and we expect there will be a number of collaborative projects emerging from this relationship.”

Bodansky’s scholarship includes three books, 28 scholarly articles and book chapters, five book reviews and more than 40 papers and presentations. In addition to his work at the State Department, he has consulted for the United Nations in the areas of climate change and tobacco control. Bodansky is the recipient of a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, a Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs and a Jean Monnet Fellowship from the European University Institute in Florence.

He currently serves on the board of editors of the American Journal of International Law and is the U.S.-nominated arbitrator under the Antarctic Environment Protocol. In addition, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Society of International Law.
In 2002, Bodansky joined Georgia Law, where he teaches in the areas of public international law, international environmental law, and foreign affairs and the Constitution, and he was named associate dean for faculty development in 2006. From 1989 to 2002, he was a faculty member of the University of Washington School of Law, and he also has taught as an adjunct professor at the George Washington School of Law and the Georgetown University Law Center. Bodansky clerked for Judge Irving Goldberg of the 5th U.S. Court of Appeals.

Bodansky earned a Juris Doctor from Yale University, where he was a member of the Yale Law Journal, a master’s in the history and philosophy of science from Cambridge University and a bachelor’s magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1979.

About the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law

The Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, renamed for the retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice in 2006, is pursuing a bold and transformative model for public legal education in the 21st century, a model we call “legal education in the future tense.” This model re-imagines the law school as a multifaceted legal studies center serving law students, professionals from other fields, and undergraduates seeking broad-based exposure to legal issues. At the core of this expansion is a dedication to making the law school a valuable resource for addressing major regional, national, and international problems of law and public policy. The College is the leading law school in the Phoenix area, boasts an Indian Legal Program that is arguably the best in the nation, and houses the Center for the Study of Law, Science, & Technology, the oldest, largest and by far the most comprehensive law and science center in the country, and the new Center for Law and Global Affairs. Beyond the traditional J.D., the College offers several concurrent degrees, including a J.D./M.D. program with the Mayo Medical School, a J.D./M.B.A. with the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU, a J.D./Ph.D. in Law and Psychology with the ASU Department of Psychology, and a J.D./Ph.D. in Justice Studies with the ASU School of Social Transformation’s Justice and Social Inquiry Program. It also offers graduate degrees in Biotechnology and Genomics and in Tribal Policy, Law and Government. A Master of Legal Studies program gives non-lawyers an opportunity to develop needed legal skills to help students advance in their professional careers. For more information about the College of Law, visit www.law.asu.edu.

About the Global Institute of Sustainability

The Global Institute of Sustainability is the hub of ASU’s sustainability initiatives. The Institute advances research, education and business practices for an urbanizing world. Its School of Sustainability, the first of its kind in the US, offers transdisciplinary degree programs that advance practical solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges. For more information, visit the Global Institute of Sustainability at http://sustainability.asu.edu.

About the Lincoln Center for Applied Withs

The Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics is dedicated to emphasizing the essential role that morals and values play in the achievements and successes of individuals and organizations. Its mission is to improve the ethical awareness and understanding and, thereby, the ethical decision-making and behavior of the ASU community and extending to society at large. The Center’s goal is to create a university and community ethical culture by sponsoring, organizing and conducting an array of activities on ethics issues that occur in specific fields and professions as well as those of pressing importance in the community at large. For more information about the Lincoln Center, visit http://lincolncenter.asu.edu.

Janie Magruder, Associate Director of Communications, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, 480-727-9052, jane.magruder@asu.edu

Karen Leland, Director of Communications/Marketing, ASU Global Institute of Sustainability, 480-965-0013, karen.leland@asu.edu

The new survey of more than 700 Arizona households was designed and analyzed by faculty and students from the School of Health Management and Policy at the W. P. Carey School of Business, the Decision Theater at the Global Institute of Sustainability, and the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. The study was sponsored by the Arizona Department of Health Services and was conducted during the month of October. The results will be used by public information officials from various hospitals, public health agencies and related organizations to determine how to best communicate to the public about H1N1 influenza.

> Read more see “New H1N1 Survey Reveals Arizonans’ Flu Season Plans”

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TEMPE, Ariz. – To engage public dialogue about the mounting challenges that must be addressed to create a sustainable world, the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU) is announcing the 2009-2010 slate of distinguished speakers for its Wrigley Lecture Series on Sustainability.

Craig Cogut, Co-Managing Partner/Founder, Pegasus Capital Advisors
Monday, November 9, 2009 (12:30pm) at the Global Institute of Sustainability, Room 101
Copenhagen, Schwarzenegger, a Merchant Bank, and Pallets: What Do They Have in Common?
See flyer for more information on Craig Cogut

John Hofmeister, CEO/Founder, Citizens for Affordable Energy; (Retired President, Shell Oil Co.)
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (12:30pm) at the Global Institute of Sustainability, Room 101
Why We Hate the Oil Companies
See flyer for more information on John Hofmeister

Jason Clay, Senior Vice President of Market Transformations, World Wildlife Fund
Wednesday, January 20, 2010; time, location, and topic forthcoming

Frances Westley, J.W. McConnell Chair of Social Innovations, University of Waterloo, Canada
Tuesday, February 9, 2010; time, location, and topic forthcoming

Cynthia Rosenzweig, Senior Scientist, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University
Thursday, February 18, 2010; time, location, and topic forthcoming

The Wrigley Lecture Series brings renowned global thought leaders from academia, nongovernmental organizations, business, and government, to ASU to engage the community in discussions on the pressing challenges in sustainability.

Wrigley Lectures create provocative conversations and are “standing room only”; previous lecturers include: Sir Crispin Tickell (Oxford University); Janine Benyus (Biomimicry Institute); Jared Diamond (University of California-Los Angeles); Hunter Lovins (Natural Capitalism Solutions); and Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom (Indiana University, Bloomington and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, ASU).

“The Wrigley Lecture Series provides a remarkable opportunity to participate in conversations at the forefront of current thinking on sustainability issues and solutions. Each speaker in the Series is breaking new ground, often in controversial and unconventional ways,” said Rob Melnick, executive dean, Global Institute of Sustainability.

The Wrigley Lecture Series is funded through the generous support of Julie Ann Wrigley and hosted by ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. Receptions to follow lectures.

RSVP to:
Cogut Lecture: WrigleyLectureRSVP_Cogut@asu.edu

Hofmeister Lecture: WrigleyLectureRSVP_Hofmeister@asu.edu

About ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability
The Global Institute of Sustainability is the hub of ASU’s sustainability initiatives. The Institute advances research, education and business practices for an urbanizing world. Its School of Sustainability, the first of its kind in the US, offers transdisciplinary degree programs that advance practical solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges. For more information visit the Global Institute of Sustainability at http://sustainability.asu.edu .

Media Contacts:

Karen Leland, (480-965-0013 / karen.leland@asu.edu)
Michelle Schwartz, (480-965-9008 / michelle.schwartz@asu.edu)

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The university received A’s in administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, student involvement, and transportation. It received a B in endowment transparency, and a C in investment priorities.

ASU was listed as an “overall college sustainability leader” making it one of only 26 universities to earn that distinction, by scoring an average of an A- or better across all categories. ASU was also among 80 schools to be named “campus sustainability leaders,” for their high marks in the six campus-specific categories.

Among Pac-10 schools, only ASU, Stanford, and the University of Washington were awarded the highest grade of A-. ASU’s score this year is an improvement over a B+ in 2009, and a B- in 2008, ASU’s first year of participation.

“This is an accomplishment that recognizes both the university’s vision and breadth of effort to reach that vision. Nevertheless, we are aware there is still much to do and will continue to use honors such as the College Sustainability Report Card as a springboard to continue moving toward our goals,” said University Sustainability Operations Officer Ray Jensen.

The Report Card notes several of ASU’s outstanding administrative efforts, including President Michael Crow’s leadership in the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment, the on-campus leadership of the Global Institute of Sustainability, and the university’s green purchasing policy.

Highlighted climate change and energy efforts include ASU’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2025 and solar installations of 1.7 megawatts with planned expansion to 20 megawatts by 2011. The report recognizes ASU’s green building mandate that all new ASU buildings must meet at least LEED Silver standards.

Sustainability-related student events and services, as well as the new sustainable living community at Barrett, The Honors College, earned ASU an A in the student involvement category. High marks also went to transportation efforts such as the university-subsidized U-Pass, the bicycle co-op, and a vehicle fleet that includes an increasing number of electric and biodiesel-fueled vehicles.

The College Sustainability Report Card covers the colleges and universities with the 300 largest endowments in the United States and Canada, as well as 32 additional schools that applied for inclusion. It is the only independent evaluation of campus and endowment sustainability activities at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

The GreenReportCard.org website and the College Sustainability Report Card are both initiatives of the Sustainable Endowments Institute. The Institute is a nonprofit organization engaged in research and education to advance sustainability in campus operations and endowment practices. TheGreenReportCard.org allows universal access to sustainability data from higher education institutions.

“Building a sustainable campus effectively requires a holistic approach, for example, when you start a recycling program, you must also assess your trash program. Sustainability is about taking a long-term view and then putting efficient business practices in place, this is our approach at ASU,” said Bonny Bentzin, director of university sustainability practices.
About Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability
The Global Institute of Sustainability is the hub of ASU’s sustainability initiatives. The Institute advances research, education and business practices for an urbanizing world. Its School of Sustainability, the first of its kind in the US, offers transdisciplinary degree programs that advance practical solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges. For more information visit the Global Institute of Sustainability at http://sustainability.asu.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:

Karen Leland, 480-965-0013 / karen.leland@asu.edu
Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Michelle Schwartz, 480-965-9008 / michelle.schwartz@asu.edu
Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University

Heat discriminates. Phoenix’s sweltering summer inflicts the most misery and illness in poor neighborhoods, a new study shows, and among people least able to protect themselves from the elements. Conditions in those neighborhoods, with their sparse landscaping, high-density housing and converging freeways, create pockets of extreme heat that persist day and night. Inside, homeowners sometimes can’t afford to turn up - or even turn on - the air-conditioner.

Wealthier homeowners, meanwhile, often in neighborhoods just blocks away, maintain lush yards and trees that help cool the air more quickly at night, shortening the hours of the hottest heat waves. They can buy further relief with a nudge of the thermostat.
The disparities present threats more serious than just discomfort on a hot day, according to the study, produced by Arizona State University researchers. Prolonged exposure to heat can cause illness or even death. The densely developed nature of the hottest areas also means more of the people most vulnerable - the elderly, children, the homebound - live in the neighborhoods where the risk is greatest.

That link between money and the ability to cope with extreme weather emerged clearly in the research. Among the startling revelations: For every $10,000 an area’s income rises, the average outside temperature drops one-half degree Fahrenheit.

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