In Our Nature

Winning pieces use art to spark conversations about waste

For the fifth year, artists from around the UW created dazzling art pieces in the annual Trash Art Contest.

UW Recycling received a record-number of submissions from UW students, faculty and staff. Eight winning pieces were selected in four categories. The artwork needed to be created from items normally thought of as trash or a written work about waste and sustainability. Artists were asked to express feelings or ideas about...

Today, around one third of food produced in the US ends up as waste. Unnecessarily and improperly disposed food waste can exacerbate the climate crisis. When thrown into landfills, food waste generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while also wasting the fuel and energy used for the product’s production and transportation. 

Most people throw away more food than they realize, for a variety of reasons. Luckily, some small changes can help you to keep track of what food you have at home...

We need your help to recognize the people and groups across the University of Washington who strive to advance sustainability, by submitting your nominations for the Husky Sustainability Awards.

Students, faculty and staff at all three UW campuses are eligible, and anyone in the UW community can submit a nomination. The Husky Sustainability Awards recognize individuals and teams across the university who have made an impact for sustainability. Contributions toward environmental or climate justice, environmental sustainability, equity and diversity, and other...

Energy and climate change feed off of each other, causing problems for all of us. The energy sector is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses - which cause warming temperatures. As the climate warms, it increases the demand for electrical-powered cooling, putting stress on our energy supply and leading to more emissions. 

In 2021 the United States accounted for 16% of the world’s energy use despite having less than 5% of the world’s population. Even though personal use only accounts for a portion...

UW EarthLab is holding its first UW Undergraduate Student Art Competition, calling for original pieces of art that answers the question: What does environmental and climate justice mean to you are your community?

Prizes are available to the top three entries, with $600 for the winner. The winning entries will also be exhibited in the EarthLab offices for a year. Submissions are due on May 1, 2024. Winners will be announced in mid-May 2024.

Students are invited to submit their artwork...

The National Sustainability Society (NSS) is hosting a national conference in Seattle this September to bring together academics, students, and practitioners within the field of sustainability to build consensus on the key principles, competencies, capacities, frameworks, and substance of sustainability as both a scholarly realm and as a rapidly expanding field of practice across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. 

This conference will be held at the University of Washington, September 9-12, 2024, and will...

Professor Sameer Shah is offering the course "Climate Justice" for the Spring 2024 quarter. This is a four-credit course cross-listed as SEFS 590 / ESRM 490 / ENVIR 495, held Tuesday/Thursday at 4-5:20 p.m.

The course description: "Climate crises are long-standing, differentiated, and experienced through compounding systems of settler-colonialism, racism, class and casteism, and patriarchy. Solutions that fail to address systems of oppression will not achieve climate justice. This course...

The Coalition for Climate Careers (C3) has openings for its Executive Steering Committee. The Coalition for Climate Careers was created through a partnership with King County, The Port of Seattle, and The City of Seattle. It works to create an inclusive, thriving green economy workforce in King County through collaboration among community organizations, employers, labor, and local government.

C3 is seeking passionate and dedicated individuals from diverse backgrounds to serve on the inaugural Executive Steering Committee and...

The University of Washington has released a new Greenhouse Gas Inventory, capturing the full scope of the University’s emissions for the first time.

This marks the UW’s first comprehensive inventory of its direct emissions since 2005 and the first time ever the University has quantified the emissions connected to our purchased goods and services. The report provides a new understanding of the full picture of the UW’s emissions, and will inform the University’s actions as it works toward emission reduction...

Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are known for our rainy weather, so it can feel like we have an unlimited supply of water year round. However, even our local water supply is under pressure from climate change - in the warmer months we rely on a strong snowpack to keep reservoirs full, and that snowpack will reduce as weather warms. To ensure that our water is being protected, we must use it consciously now.  

In the United States alone, the average household uses more than 300 gallons of water per day! By using water...