Field Notes
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Urban development: be careful what you ask for. You might just get it. , articleAn eyesore for some and a home to many, Buenos Aires’ Villa 26 was one of several informal settlements peppered throughout the thriving metropolis that had to go as part of the city’s improvement plans. Center Director Michael Mortimer examines the often hidden complexities of urban development.
Date: Jul 15, 2020 -
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Hope is NOT a Sustainability Strategy , articleJeffrey Merritt, XMNR alum, discusses the global challenges people are facing in the Anthropocene (climate change, food insecurity, poverty, and more) and explores strategies to address these challenges that he has learned through his graduate school studies. Jeffrey is the Market Vice President in Roanoke, Virginia, where in addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations in the Roanoke Market, he also serves as executive sponsor for Virginia’s Cox Conserves program and is Virginia’s Incident Commander for Business Continuity.
Date: Jun 16, 2020 -
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Unplugged: Leading Online Students Beyond the Screen , articleHow many ZOOM meetings does it take to deliver a high-quality online learning experience to graduate students in environmental sustainability? Zero. Dr. Kieran Lindsey, Associate Director for Online Programs at CLiGS, talks about innovative teaching approaches our faculty have developed over the years to create a rich learning experience for students. “Once virtual educators, including Online MNR faculty, began to think outside the lecture-centric classroom box, they realized students don’t have to be looking at a screen to learn,” she says.
Date: May 05, 2020 -
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In Fact, Do Not Spill the Wine. Or the Water. Environmental Security in Mendoza, Argentina , articleGiven the vital role of water in human survival, it’s astonishing how inefficient and careless people around the world continue to be with this essential resource. Center Director Dr. Michael Mortimer examines the case of Mendoza province in Argentina, world-famous for its Malbecs, and also mostly desert. For sustainability professionals, Mendoza offers a fascinating case study in environmental security threats and opportunities.
Date: Apr 03, 2020 -
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Global Study, Part 3: How Egypt Changed My Sustainability Perspective , articleIn November 2019, Executive Master of Natural Resources Jerry Headley traveled to Egypt with his XMNR cohort to take an in-depth look at environmental sustainability issues in the Cairo and greater Nile River Valley regions. Egypt is an especially relevant country to study as it faces many sustainability challenges, including: overpopulation of urban areas, water scarcity, pollution, and an underdeveloped infrastructure, just to name a few. Students have been studying sustainability issues for months in their classrooms in Arlington, VA. Like the rest of his classmates, Jerry was excited to be in the country and attempt to couple a sense of experience with his newfound knowledge. Little did he know just how important this would prove to be.
Date: Feb 19, 2020 -
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Global Study, Egypt, Part 2: Traveling More Sustainably, a Beginner’s Guide , articleXMNR alum Jessi Savioli reflects on sustainability of travel and offers tips and ideas for the conscientious traveler. "There is nothing I enjoy more in this world than travel," she says. "Whether it is exploring the far-reaching wild spaces in my own country or getting lost in a foreign culture on another continent, I feel positively alive. But how do we, as sustainability professionals, do this in a way that doesn’t effectively 'cancel out' all of our efforts and hard work? How can we travel in a way that is as ethical and responsible? And how can we consider ourselves to be 'global citizens' when travel can cause so much damage?"
Date: Feb 12, 2020 -
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Global Study, Egypt, Part 1: Climate Change, Water, and Agriculture , articleNguyen Le works for the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a nonprofit grant-making organization focusing on the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In the fall of 2019, she visited Egypt as part of her XMNR cohort's Global Study, a standard module in all our graduate programs where students have an opportunity to apply academic knowledge to real-world global sustainability challenges. In this post, Nguyen reflects on her experiences in Egypt and the leadership capabilities and confidence she gained in the XMNR program.
Date: Feb 04, 2020 -
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Global Study Series, Part 3: The Old System Must Die! (Or Not): Drawing on the Past to Ensure a Future , articleThe idea that a new political philosophy, a new governing regime, or even just a new leader need undermine and delegitimize its predecessor is not a particularly new one. Walking through ancient Egyptian ruins, we can witness everywhere vandalism from thousands of years ago intended to erase the past.
Date: Dec 17, 2019 -
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Global Study Series, Part 2: Climate Makes and Breaks Civilizations: Lessons Learned on the Nile , articleXMNR faculty Dr. Bruce Hull reflects on the civilization-defining impacts of climate change, as he travels through Egypt on a Global Study trip with a group of Virginia Tech’s graduate students.
Date: Dec 10, 2019 -
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Global Study Series, Part 1: Egyptian Environmental Security: Old Wine in a New Bottle , articleCLiGS faculty Bruce Hull and Michael Mortimer have recently spent three weeks in Egypt exploring Cairo and traveling upstream along the Nile River to the Aswan High Dam. Sharing experiences and reflections on the past and future of a country astride some of the most pressing environmental challenges of the 21st Century. This series of posts distills some of their thoughts on those challenges.
Date: Dec 10, 2019
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