News

Fifteen Oberlin College students played a key role in conducting a climate vulnerability assessment for the Oberlin community. This unique collaboration between the city and the college is the initial step in developing a climate adaptation plan.

Oberlin College & Conservatory will take an important step toward carbon neutrality this summer as it launches a multi-year, campus-wide conversion to geothermal energy, positioning the institution as a national leader in clean energy.

The course will focus on what’s driving change in the business world while defining the role of sustainability.

December 12, 2020, marks the five-year anniversary of the world coming together to sign on to the Paris Agreement for global climate action. To commemorate this moment, Oberlin College has joined more than one thousand leaders from local governments, businesses, tribal communities, and other institutions across the country as a signatory of the ‘‘America Is All In’’ joint statement.

October was Sustainability Month at Oberlin, and no group is more dedicated to its celebration than the Green EDGE Fund. Composed of 10 student board members, the organization distributes funds to community-based projects dedicated to environmental sustainability.

Eight students, working from locations across the country, joined with Professor John Petersen and Project Manager Rowan Hannan to play a critical role in advancing the development of the Cleveland Environmental Dashboard project, which was recently awarded its third round of funding from the Cleveland Foundation.

Many areas of the country saw significant drops in pollution levels when stay-at-home orders were put in place several months ago. The effects on the atmosphere suggested to Devin Williams ’21 that there might be other factors to investigate. He joined a team of students who assisted Professor of Psychology and Environmental Studies Cindy Frantz in a project that would lead to the study of COVID-19 on psychological factors.

Mary Perchlik adores butterflies. That interest led to her month-long project in August, which combined the study of butterflies on a species level while maintaining a broader focus on environmental systems that support butterflies and their interactions between different plants, insects, and habitats.

The organizers of the Earth Day 50 celebration shifted their plans to make a 10-day symposium of speakers and panel discussions a virtual experience that appealed to a broad audience.

A look into the work of four groups that have remained active and engaged during remote learning.