AlumniAbroad

• Karen Ritland, ‘13• Rayna Benzeev, ‘15

Spring 2016

Program Updates• External Review• Linneman Lecture• Green Labs

Summer Experiences

• Katherine Guerrero ‘17

• Colleen Orr ’17

Announcing the 2017 Linnemann LectureAnnouncing the 2017 Linnemann LectureAnnouncing the 2017 Linnemann Lecture

Interested in sustainability? Like craft beer? Ever wondered where those two things Interested in sustainability? Like craft beer? Ever wondered where those two things Interested in sustainability? Like craft beer? Ever wondered where those two things

come together? Then you’ll be excited about this year’s Timothy C. Linnemann Lecture come together? Then you’ll be excited about this year’s Timothy C. Linnemann Lecture come together? Then you’ll be excited about this year’s Timothy C. Linnemann Lecture

on the Environment, from Jenn Vervier of New Belgium Brewery. New Belgium, based in on the Environment, from Jenn Vervier of New Belgium Brewery. New Belgium, based in on the Environment, from Jenn Vervier of New Belgium Brewery. New Belgium, based in

Fort Collins, CO, is an employeeFort Collins, CO, is an employeeFort Collins, CO, is an employee---owned brewing company committed to corporate envi-owned brewing company committed to corporate envi-owned brewing company committed to corporate envi-

ronmental responsibility. Their longronmental responsibility. Their longronmental responsibility. Their long---time sustainability director, Jenn Vervier, will give time sustainability director, Jenn Vervier, will give time sustainability director, Jenn Vervier, will give

this year’s Linnemann Lecture in April. She will be discussing New Belgium’s innovative this year’s Linnemann Lecture in April. She will be discussing New Belgium’s innovative this year’s Linnemann Lecture in April. She will be discussing New Belgium’s innovative

business model and its commitment to environmental responsibility. When the company business model and its commitment to environmental responsibility. When the company business model and its commitment to environmental responsibility. When the company

was started in the early ‘90s, the founders included environmental stewardship in their was started in the early ‘90s, the founders included environmental stewardship in their was started in the early ‘90s, the founders included environmental stewardship in their

core values. This value has informed the brewery’s decisioncore values. This value has informed the brewery’s decisioncore values. This value has informed the brewery’s decision---making, leading to efforts in making, leading to efforts in making, leading to efforts in

water conservation, clean energy, waste diversion, and sustainable purchasing. Since then, they have won water conservation, clean energy, waste diversion, and sustainable purchasing. Since then, they have won water conservation, clean energy, waste diversion, and sustainable purchasing. Since then, they have won

various awards for green practices and for being a democratic workplace from EPA, Outside Magazine, World-various awards for green practices and for being a democratic workplace from EPA, Outside Magazine, World-various awards for green practices and for being a democratic workplace from EPA, Outside Magazine, World-

Blu, and others. In addition to talking about New Belgium’s sustainable practices and goals, Vervier will discuss Blu, and others. In addition to talking about New Belgium’s sustainable practices and goals, Vervier will discuss Blu, and others. In addition to talking about New Belgium’s sustainable practices and goals, Vervier will discuss

her personal experience in the field and her environmental advocacy through her career. We can’t wait!her personal experience in the field and her environmental advocacy through her career. We can’t wait!her personal experience in the field and her environmental advocacy through her career. We can’t wait!

Recent Article Recent Article Recent Article

by Phil Kannanby Phil Kannanby Phil Kannan

Distinguished Lecturer Phil Kannan published a new article in the spring of 2016 in the University of Memphis Law Review titled “Logic from the Supreme Court that May Rec-ognize Positive Constitutional Rights.” The article ar-gues that the government has obligations to its peo-ple, one of which is protecting the environment. Con-trary to what you might think, this is not a widely held view. The traditional view is that the constitu-tion mainly creates negative rights, which constrain the government from acting in certain ways. This protects individual autonomy by restricting the gov-ernment’s ability to intervene. However, Kannan ar-gues that in fact the government also has positive rights, or obligations to protect its citizens. The logic is that if there is a right protected by the Constitu-tion, then the state must provide a constitutional means to exercise that right. For instance, if a per-son has a right to bear arms, then the state must issue a license to provide the means to exercise that right. Or, if people have the right to a healthy envi-ronment, then the government must intervene to protect against the dangers of climate change. Kan-nan provides examples of cases in which this princi-ple has been applied, signaling a possible shift in the attitude of the Supreme Court toward recognizing positive constitutional rights.

The External Review is Here!The External Review is Here!The External Review is Here! This fall we welcome four reviewers from peer institutions across the country to come to campus and learn about what we do. They will meet with faculty and stu-dents, look at alumni perspectives, and receive information about the history of our program and our ideas for moving forward. They will then give feedback about what we are doing well, and what we could improve on. This external review will be ex-tremely important to help us identify gaps in the curriculum and think through what we can do to make our program better. The EV program has undergone a number of changes over the past few years. We have been growing in numbers of students, rising from less than 50 majors per year before 2007 to consistently over 100 since

2010. We have hired three new core faculty members in the past two years, who have brought in new exper-tise and new perspectives. Now, a number of questions are being considered which we hope to get advice on from the reviewers. These include questions about potential changes in the major tracks and course require-ments, among other things. This is an exciting opportunity to re-think the way the program has been struc-tured in the past to provide the best possible education to our students.

Program Updates

Climate Change Class AbroadClimate Change Class AbroadClimate Change Class Abroad

This fall, the Introduction to Global Climate Change course is being taught overseas twice. In Block One, Professor Mike Taber taught the class in Italy for the Mediterranean semester abroad. In Block Four, EV Program Director Miro Kummel is teaching the course in the Czech Republic, where he grew up. The course is part of the Fall Semester Away for Winter Start students. The students are spending each block in a different European country studying eve-rything from renaissance culture to climate change. With Professor Kummel, they will they will learn about paleoclimate, contemporary changes in the earth climate system, and human responses, using the unique landscape of the Czech Republic (with a field trip to Austria) to explore these issues.

Greening the Sciences at CCGreening the Sciences at CCGreening the Sciences at CC

The Environmental Program is involved in a project to reduce the environmental impact of science at CC. Sci-ence tends to be resource-intensive, and the impact of scientific analysis is rarely considered in research design or laboratory procedures. Indeed, the two buildings on campus with the highest energy intensity (kBtu/ ft2 / yr) are both lab science buildings. The mission of the Green Science program is to find ways to reduce the impact of science at CC while fully supporting research and teach-ing. The program was started three years ago by Profes-sor Barbara Whitten as a project of the Campus Sustain-

ability Council. Currently, the Green Science program is working on a laboratory energy audit to estimate the total energy use of lab equipment across campus. Understanding energy needs in lab science will help in plan-ning the new science building to replace Olin, which we hope to make a LEED platinum or even a net zero building. In addition, the energy audit will help us identify the most energy intensive instruments and practic-es. Then when departments are looking to replace old or broken equipment, they can apply for sustainability funding to supplement the cost of purchasing the most energy-efficient models. We are always looking to in-clude more students, faculty, and staff. Contact Kyra Wolf if you’re interested in getting involved!

Summer Experiences

Reflection from Katherine Guerrero ‘17 about Reflection from Katherine Guerrero ‘17 about Reflection from Katherine Guerrero ‘17 about

working at the U.S. embassy in Luanda, Angolaworking at the U.S. embassy in Luanda, Angolaworking at the U.S. embassy in Luanda, Angola

This past summer I worked at the U.S. Embassy in Luanda, Angola as their en-vironmental intern while simultaneously conducting research for my senior paper. Due to the many complexities of Angolan economic and politics, the Embassy portfo-lio was very busy leaving limited staff time to focus on environmental issues. To in-crease attention in this area, my primary role was to research and write summaries of current environment issues, projects and involved partners as background for the Embassy and their future work in this area.

My internship overlapped with the World Environment Day (WED), a global conservation summit hosted by the United Nations Environmental Pro-gram (UNEP), that this year was held in Angola. The 2016 WED focused on the illegal trade in wildlife, a prominent issue in Angola (which served as an ivory trading hub until recently). As Angola rebuilds after a quarter-century long civil war, the country has been attempting to restore its elephant herds and conserve its bio-diverse wildlife. The country recently joined the Elephant Protection Initia-tive, and has pledged to fulfill its commitments to the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITE) including it National Ivory Plan, but implementation of these commitments will re-quire international assistance.

This summer, EV students spent time all over the country and the world, from Alaska to China to Nepal. They con-ducted research for their senior papers and theses, and studied water issues with the State of the Rockies program. Students did intern-ships or worked at environmental or-ganizations, took classes, or explored the outdoors through NOLS cours-es and other adven-tures. We have a few highlights from EV seniors Katherine Guerrero and Col-leen Orr about their summer experienc-es researching for their capstone pa-pers.

Sustainability Research: Institutional Nitrogen FootprintSustainability Research: Institutional Nitrogen FootprintSustainability Research: Institutional Nitrogen Footprint Colleen Orr ’17 spent her summer pouring through receipts of all the food pur-chased by Bon Apetit. She knows exactly how much milk, meat, and produce is consumed on campus in a year. Why? To find out how much nitrogen CC is re-sponsible for. According to Orr, “Anthropogenic nitrogen is pollutant that tends to fly under the radar.” Excess reactive nitrogen produced by humans can lead to smog, human health problems, habitat loss, algal blooms, and eutrophica-tion. In addition, 1 ton of N2O is equivalent to 298 tons of CO2 in the atmos-phere! Food production is a huge source of nitrogen, and burning fossil fuels also releases nitrogen into the atmosphere. That’s why “we need to care about how much nitrogen we are creating as individuals and as a college!”

Orr got her start on the nitrogen footprint project when she took Human Im-pacts on Biogeochemical Cycles with Professor Rebecca Barnes. They did an in-class N footprint project using one week of food receipt data for the college. “I sort of geeked out during the project, excited about what this meant for CC—to know our nitrogen footprint in addition to our carbon footprint,” said Orr. She continued to work on the project with Professor Barnes after the class was over,

eventually adopting it for her senior paper. She hopes to generate baseline data for CC’s N footprint and con-sider what sustainability goals could be achieved with this knowledge. She has modeled several scenarios to see what impact they would have on our N footprint, including a campus wide Meatless Monday initiative, 25% waste reduction, 100% clean energy, etc.

In June, Barnes and Orr attended a meeting at the University of New Hampshire with representatives from 12 other colleges and universities that are also conducting N footprint research. Some schools, like UNH and UVA, have established baseline data and are working to reach reduction goals. Others, like ours, are still working to determine how much N they produce. Orr shared her work and learned from others’ challenges and strategies. In October, she is also attending the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Ed) conference in Baltimore. Orr is “really looking forward to presenting CC’s nitrogen and carbon footprint data and attending some of the panel discussions on different topics in sustainability, as well as having great networking opportunities with other students, professors, and sustainabil-ity professionals.”

How did you become interested in this work? What excites you about sustainability research?

I have always been interested in reduction and sustainability efforts. Reducing the amount of trash we create, and making do with what we have instead of just buying it new were always principles I grew up with. (My parents have al-ways been hippies and frugal). So I hope to en-ter the field of sustainability and corporate re-sponsibility post-graduation, and this summer’s research has broadened my environmental edu-cation to include more sustainability issues. I am excited to find solutions to the problems that face people every day, especially in regards to consumer products and energy. I think that an interesting way to keep our global temperature below 2 degree increase is to alter products to make them better for the environment. For example, finding ways to create the same product without palm oil to reduce deforestation.

Colorado College’s Nitrogen

Footprint

The WED summit was a fantastic opportunity for me to network with representatives from UNEP, key environmen-tal advocacy organizations such as Stop Ivory (UK), as well as explorers from National Geographic who recently completed an expedition in the Okavango Delta (Angolan-Namibia border). In addition, I was able to research the role of communities in re-building Angola's environmental integrity for my senior paper. I interviewed Pedro Vaz Pinto, who rediscovered and estab-lished a breeding program for the Black Sable Antelope, a species believed to have been extinct due to the war. I also spent a few days with Roland Goetz, the former Director of Angola’s national park and now advisor to the Ministry of Environment responsible for expanding the country’s national park system. My summer experience was eye-opening to say the least. In addition to the incredible opportunity to speak with passionate individuals about their conservation work, I also gained a better understanding of the complexities of conservation policy and practices.

Interview with Karen Ritland ’13 about her work in the Peace Corps

1. What was your trajectory after CC?

After graduating from CC, I went to Vermont Law School to get my masters in Environmental Law and Policy, with a focus in Energy Law. My final year at CC and taking environmental law and policy classes motivated me to start pursuing the policy side of environ-mental issues, and has allowed me to see the environment from both a scientific and a legal and policy perspective. I feel that under-standing both sides has been real important in actually seeing how I can protect environmental resources in the future. I then went and did on the ground work in California working for the Sierra Business Council and working with small businesses to lower energy consump-tion. In the spirit of working on the ground, I wanted to do it more grassroots style and do environmental protection which got me to apply to the Peace Corps. I felt very comfortable in my life and ready to take on a new challenge and adventure. I realize that there are few times in your life when you can put everything down and move to a remote community in a foreign country for two years. 2. How has your education in the EV program at CC informed your postgrad work? In what ways has your per-spective changed from working at the Sierra Business Council and now the Peace Corps?

I feel that my perspective on environmentalism as well as environmental responsibility has changed a lot. At CC, I had the opportunity to understand the need for environmental protection as well as means of doing it. I then lived in California at the forefront of environmental policy.. Environmental practices are not even special there; they are the norm. But my eyes were opened when I moved to rural Panama, where people understand the importance of environmental protection but live in a different reality. For example, there is no infrastruc-ture to pick up trash where I live. So instead of looking for a potential recycling program which is just too far from reality for them, I have been helping introduce more practices of reutilization, and cleaner ways to burn trash, which I never expected I would be promoting.

Alumni Abroad

Karen and two workers at an eco stove.

What might surprise people to learn about our nitrogen foot-print at CC?

CC’s Nitrogen footprint is 69,115 kg of nitrogen released into the atmosphere/year. This is CC’s Nitrogen Footprint using food data from three weeks of receipts that we scaled up to a year. What might surprise people is that our footprint is mostly food and energy. Many people who ask about what I am doing assume it is the fertilizer on campus, which only constitutes 5% of our footprint! That application is pretty effi-cient, given our needs for a D1 soccer field and nice quad space for intramurals and aesthetics.

What can you tell other students about your experience?

I tell underclassmen students that researching in your department is a great way to spend your summer at

CC. There are so many opportunities that have become available to me because of my work this summer, and

this has completely changed my trajectory for post-grad careers.

People here live in their environment in a way we don't; their houses are half outdoors, their food and liveli-hoods are on the farms in the hills that surround them. Most people in my community may not understand the reason for climate change, why soil structure impacts water retention, or what they are emitting into the air when they burn trash. But they see and live the subtle environmental changes: they have changed their crops to adapt to the changing climate, they watch springs go dry due to deforestation, they know that something bad is coming out of burning trash because the little girl next door always gets headaches when they burn it. I am an environmentalist be-cause I grew up loving the outdoors and then had the opportunity to study envi-ronmental science and law and understand the need for environmental protec-tion. They are environmentalists because their lives and livelihoods are so deep-ly tied to the environment they live and see the subtleties of environmental change you and I mostly only get to study or read about. 3. Can you tell me a little bit more about your work in the Peace Corps?

My focus in Panama is Community environmental conservation. My major projects down here have been eco-stoves that use less firewood, reforesting the springs where the community drinking water comes from, a women´s artisan group where we use recycled goods, community trash management, and environmental edu-cation in the school. I have also done youth development on the side, as leadership, decision making, sexual

education, and just generally being a role model as someone who is un-married, independent, and happy. A typical day in the Peace Corps involves a lot of walking and direct communication with people. In our digital world back in the states, it is hard to imagine a place where there is hardly any cell phone signal and all communication needs to be done face to face (or occa-sionally I send handwritten notes home with school children.) When we work on projects, I visit all involved families, I walk to their houses, get gifted usu-ally a full meal, and spend time with their families. It is very slow working down here, as the pace is´´tranquilo´´. 4. What have been the most challenging and rewarding parts of your experi-ence in Panama?

A lot of Peace Corps it feels to me has been creating something out of noth-ing. Starting a women´s group meant finding women, finding materials for us to use, finding ideas to teach them. Reforestation meant finding community members to work with me, finding trees to plant, getting permission from landowners, and making it all happen. It is hard to come up with an idea and see the idea through to the very end, with the community members depend-ing on you to do that role. But it is also the most rewarding part. People step up in the most unexpected ways. They already know the best trees to plant at the springs, they already know where we can collect cans for our next re-

cycled project, they all have cousins and aunts and uncles who have once done something similar, and they are always willing to share this information. I have found sometimes people are shy and do not want to let on to how much they know or how much they are interested. But, once they reach that level of confidence, what I have found is that I am not a new and special resource for them, but more a motivator and catalyst for them to access their own resources they already have within and around them. Seeing that happen, which it has been more with the more time I spend down here, has been the most rewarding part of my experience. 5. Do you have any advice for EV students and recent alums?

Since CC, I have really been taking opportunities as they come to me and I have never really had solid plans. If an opportunity arises that is not exactly what you planned in life, but it just may be the ticket in the right di-rection, take it. I had no plans of going to a law school, finding myself in Lake Tahoe, or in the Peace Corps, and all of the decisions have changed who I am now, and all for the better. There are amaz-ing people in all corners of the world, so go meet them!

Hey Alums! Hey EV program alums! We would love to hear from you. If you

have stories and reflections from your postgrad life, or advice for current students, please submit them to kyra.d.wolf @coloradocollege.edu. Photos are also appreciated! We will post these on our alumni page on the EV website, and may contact you about including them in the spring newsletter.

Also, if you live close, we would love to organize an event or two to connect grads with cur-rent students! Email me if you’d be interested in attending an event in C Springs or Denver.

Two girls on their way to school.

Women’s group informal meeting.

Rayna Benzeev ‘15: Mangrove Research Rayna Benzeev graduated from the EV program in May 2015 and moved on to a Fulbright fellowship researching mangrove ecosystems in Singapore. Benzeev worked in the Mangrove Lab at the National University of Singapore to study the relationships between mangrove forests and fisheries resources. Man-grove habitat plays an important role as a nursery for juvenile fish populations. Other students in the labs had projects focused on various aspects of mangrove ecosystems, including biogeochemistry, ecosystem services, and the cultural value of mangroves. The primary aim of this research is to direct policy deci-sions relating to mangrove conservation and restoration. Rayna also got in-volved with the policy side of things, working on a project to restore mangroves in abandoned aquaculture ponds on Pulau Ubin, a small island off the coast. She liked the project because “it’s not just scientists working to protect nature, but also a variety of community members, fish farmers, conservation groups, and

volunteers all playing their own key roles.” They hope that this project can serve as an example for mangrove restoration across all of Southeast Asia.

Pulau Ubin was also home to two of her field sites, in addition to two more on the eastern coast. She split her time between the city and field work at these sites, deploying GoPro cameras and fish traps in man-grove forests and seawall sites to quantify the fisheries ecosystem services of mangroves. “This island was by far my favorite place in the country, where I often rent-ed a bicycle to explore random paths with banana trees, monkeys, wild boars, and traditional village houses that are no longer found on Singapore’s mainland. I also got to spend time on a fish farmer’s floating fish farm, learn-ing first-hand about the developmental and environmen-tal issues influencing fisheries resources, water quality, livelihoods, and habitats. One fisherman became a good friend, and we spent several nights hanging out with his eight barking dogs and three young puppies, staying up late eating fish barbecue (the freshest it gets), drinking rum or whiskey, and sleeping in hammocks out in the open air of the small, wooden, floating farm while it rocked with the sea.” The only downside was commuting back and forth from the coast with all her gear in 95 degree heat! Benzeev also enjoyed her life in the city, living in apartment with three housemates of different nationalities, trying new foods from all over Asia at out-door food courts, going to outdoor acroyoga jams, and participating in two improv troupes. She also was able to travel and explore the region, when she wasn’t in the office analyzing fish video data and planning field days.

Benzeev first became interested in mangroves during her study abroad semester in Thailand while she was a CC student. “The first time I stepped into a mangrove forest, I climbed around between the large root structures, played in the viscous mud, and was amazed by wildlife such as fiddler crabs, hopping mudskipper fish, and wild moni-tor lizards.” She was in awe of the diverse values and services that mangroves provide, including carbon sequestration, wave attenuation, storm protection, wood products for local communities, and nursery services for fish production. Fun fact: mangroves store 4-6 times as much carbon per unit area as a typical tropical forest! This first impres-sion made a big impact on her; at the end of that day in Thailand she said to a friend “I had the most fun day ever and I want to study man-groves for the rest of my life!” Looking back, she says she “[has] a skill for following through with impulse decisions.” She is currently applying to grad schools, “with the hope of conducting a larger-scale mapping project on Indonesian mangrove communities in the context of rapid deforestation and land use change.” Unfortunately, there are few U.S. labs that do this type of research, but she is hopeful! She has learned that research can be tedious from the logistical side, involving long hours of permit applications, equipment failures and feeling stuck. In particular, she struggled with finding volunteers to assist with her field work, as she was not allowed to go out alone.

Nevertheless, Benzeev is enthusiastic about her future as a researcher. “I love continually asking questions, combining my individual research projects with collaborative work, having the freedom to dream up grant pro-posals that work towards my research interests, and also learning about innovations in the broader research world at conferences. To me the tedious office work and hindrances are worthwhile in order to get to maintain continuous curiosity, explore new places, and work with other researchers to continue learning more about our rapidly changing world.”

The most rewarding part of her Fulbright experience was learning first-hand about environmental issues in Southeast Asia. At get-togethers with her lab-mates and visiting research-ers, Benzeev learned about mass fish die-offs, the haze, the palm oil industry, natural disasters in the Philippines, manage-ment of pristine forests in Papua, mangrove deforestation from aquaculture pond development, and Land-use change in Indo-nesia. She was surprised to learn about the intricacies and com-plications behind these issues. “I loved finding out about these topics that were outside my individual research area, so I could understand the broader context outside my specific focus.” Pro-fessor Dan Friess, her boss, also took her along for a week as a field assistant tracking surface elevations with sea level rise in a small Thai village. In addition, Benzeev was able to present a poster at the fourth annual international mangrove conference (MMM4) in Florida in July. During these experiences, Benzeev was “grateful to have been included and valued as an equal member of the team.”

Benzeev has the following advice to offer to current stu-dents and recent alumni who are interested in research:

Even though I feel like I have a pretty clear path now, there are still many aspects of environmental science that interest me. I don’t think there was one particular path that was ‘meant to be’ for me to investigate, as I would have been happy working towards further knowledge of climate change modeling, infectious disease dynamics, or amphibian extinctions. However, by experiencing the combination of EV projects, summer research programs, and abroad experiences, it was much easier to narrow down these interests, such as my desire to conduct research internationally instead of back home. Thus, my advice would be to talk to as many people as possible about their work. I found it helpful to discuss research options with professors, but I learned even more through conversations with graduate stu-dents and individuals at the starts of their careers. This way, I was able to find out the mechanisms behind different types of environmental work, especially the downsides of what varying approaches entail, to best decide between the abundance of research options.

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