A world without the Amazon? Safeguarding the Earth’s largest rainforest focus of Princeton conference
October 23, 2019 ・ Pooja MakhijaniThe Amazon is the world’s largest and most diverse tropical forest and the ancestral home of over 1 million indigenous peoples. How to preserve it was the centrally urgent theme at a conference at Princeton on Oct. 17-18. “Safeguarding the…
Study helps pinpoint what makes species vulnerable to environmental change
October 16, 2019 ・ Joseph AlbaneseThe fabled use of canaries in coal mines as an early warning of carbon monoxide stemmed from the birds’ extreme sensitivity to toxic conditions compared to humans. In that vein, some avian species can indicate environmental distress brought on by…
PEI awards $1.01 million in Water and the Environment Grand Challenge projects
October 1, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyThe ecological impacts of extreme weather, a national “climate park” in the New Jersey Meadowlands, and engineered nanoparticles that target groundwater pollutants are among the 13 projects funded by the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) as part of its Water and…
Petticord explores a Kenyan ecosystem one tortoise at a time
May 17, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyEach year, the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) supports senior-thesis research by students from departments across the University. This story is part of a series exploring the disciplinary variety of PEI-funded undergraduate research carried out by members of the Class of…
Plants and microbes shape global biomes through local underground alliances
April 17, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyDense rainforests, maple-blanketed mountains and sweeping coniferous forests demonstrate the growth and proliferation of trees adapted to specific conditions. The regional dominance of tree species we see on the surface, however, might actually have been determined underground long ago. Princeton…
Put eggs all in one basket, or spread them around? Birds know best
March 3, 2019 ・ Catherine ZandonellaIn the tropical jungle of Central America where predators abound, a species of cuckoo has found safety in numbers by building communal nests guarded by two or three breeding pairs. Why then do these agreeable avians sometimes ditch the collaborative…
Journalist Elizabeth Kolbert on the loss of species and need for action
February 26, 2019 ・ Kirtland Snyder“Every species has an independent right to existence that transcends their utility.” With that, journalist and author Elizabeth Kolbert set the tone of her appearance at Princeton University on Feb. 21 — one of deep concern for the fate of…
PEI Urban Grand Challenges awards $509,000 to new urban sustainability projects
January 17, 2019 ・ Morgan KellyVertical farms in post-industrial America, origami-based noise-pollution barriers, and cement made from burned waste make up the latest round of projects funded by the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) Urban Grand Challenges program. Totaling $509,000, the new awards are active through September…
Protect and (pre)serve: Princeton students work on the ground level of environmental service
January 7, 2019 ・ Wendy PlumpPrinceton University undergraduate students — including 2018 Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI) summer intern Maria Stahl ’20 (profiled below) — demonstrate a new level of commitment to environmental conservation as they serve in research, volunteer and internship positions around the world.…
