At the University of Oxford’s Green Impact and LEAF end-of-year showcase and celebration on the 9 July 2024, the School of Geography and the Environment earned Gold accreditation in the Green Impact awards for the second time and Silver accreditation for our Geolabs in the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) scheme.
News
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Avoidable deaths have increased: the damning data political parties aren’t discussing
One question that British voters may have asked themselves during the 2024 election campaign is whether they are any better off now than they were in 2010 when the Conservative-led coalition came to power. A recent poll reveals that most Britons (73%) think they are not. In The Conversation, Lucinda Hiam and Danny Dorling in the School of Geography and the Environment, delve deeper into avoidable deaths in the UK.
![Lubasi Limweta presents his dissertation research to the President of Zambia.](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2024-07/website_feature_box_size_10.png?itok=M9YSsn1q)
Master's Dissertation by Lubasi Limweta Recognised by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema
MSc student in Water Science, Policy, and Management, Lubasi Limweta, from the University of Oxford, received high recognition from the President of Zambia, H.E. Hakainde Hichilema, during the "Zambia at 60 Conference - Standing up for Zambia" event held at the Saïd Business School on 21st June 2024."
Expert Comment: It is remarkable how much we agree. COP28 and the transition from fossil fuels
So, COP28 has just called for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the science”. Is this the moment that the world finally decided to hit the brakes, even if ever so gently, on fossil-fuelled global warming? writes Professor Myles Allen, professor of Geosystem Science.
![Image: Cagkan / Adobe Stock](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-12/231213-cop28-expert-comment-allen.webp?itok=9291Y4By)
A career surrounded by great people, with great intellect, doing great research
After forty years at the coalface of the energy industry and 16 years leading the Energy Research programme and teaching students at the Environmental Change Institute in Oxford, Professor Nick Eyre is stepping aside. For an accidental academic who ‘scraped into a place at Oxford’ as an undergrad, he’s carved out quite a career and during that time witnessed some impressive advances in energy sustainability.
Nick explains why he has great hopes for the future and the world his grandchildren will grow up in.
![Professor Nick Eyre](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-12/231212-prof-nick-eyre.webp?itok=z4aAonm4)
Successful Symposium Merges Natural and Cultural Heritage Perspectives
The second ‘Sites at the Intersection of Natural and Cultural Heritage’ (SXNCH) symposium was held in SoGE on 1 December and was a great success, drawing both in-person and virtual participation. This innovative event brought together academics and professionals from a variety of sectors from the UK and internationally, with approximately 50 in-person and 90 online attendees.
![Image: Katrin Wilhelm](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-12/231207-second-sxnch-symposium.webp?itok=yF8KoTB2)
Ripples of Change: The Fair Water? Exhibition now open at the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History
At the University of Oxford Museum of Natural History, a groundbreaking exhibition "Fair Water?" has opened its doors, shedding light on water insecurity and working towards equitable water access.
![Aissa at the Fair Water? Exhibition](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-12/231206-fair-water-exhibition.webp?itok=8_nADH1X)
SoGE alumna's film 'On the Brink' triumphs at 2023 Women in Adventure Film Awards, spotlighting climate change's impact on glaciers
School of Geography Alumna Lucy Temple and Rose Aldridge’s award-winning short film, 'On the Brink', documents the dramatic effects of climate change on small glaciers in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, aiming to connect viewers emotionally with the growing fragilities of the alpine environment.
![On the Brink](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231130-lucy-temple-climate-action-film.webp?itok=1Wt_tEWP)
Rising numbers of people found long after death in England and Wales - study
Cases in which body is found decomposed have been steadily increasing since 1980, researchers say. Growing numbers of people in England and Wales are being found so long after they have died that their body has decomposed, in a shocking trend linked to austerity and social isolation. A new study published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine by a team of researchers including Prof Danny Dorling has been featured in The Guardian.
![Image: Bethany / Adobe Stock](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231122-dorling-rising-numbers_adobestock_537159979.webp?itok=1Mh3iU3t)
The Blenheim-Oxford Partnership: Partnering on high-tech heritage restoration
Blenheim Palace and the University of Oxford are partnering on a data-led approach to restoring the three-hundred-year-old building. Built to celebrate the Duke of Marlborough's 1704 victory at the Battle of Blenheim, the eponymous Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire requires a major programme of restoration work. However, rather than just replacing individual stones that have failed, the Built Heritage Team at the Palace want to find out precisely why certain stones crack or flake, and others do not. To delve deeper into how the building performs, and so that it can prioritise where restoration budget is efficiently spent, the team has partnered with experts at the University of Oxford.
![Image: T shooter / Adobe Stock](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231120-blenheim-palace-oxford-partnership-adobestock_516181612_editorial_use_only.webp?itok=4Cjs2u42)
IMF and University of Oxford launch 'PortWatch' Platform to monitor and simulate trade disruptions
The IMF in collaboration with University of Oxford researchers has launched 'PortWatch', a new online portal a platform to monitor and simulate trade disruptions due to climate extremes and other shocks.
![Portwatch: a collaboration between the International Monetary Fund and the University of Oxford.](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231115-eci-imf-portwatch.webp?itok=bHFw-0VC)
Emeritus Professor Robert Whittaker the recipient of the Alfred Russel Wallace Award 2023
Professor Robert Whittaker, Emeritus Fellow at St Edmund Hall and Emeritus Professor of Biogeography, has been announced as the 2023 recipient of the International Biogeography Society's biennial award for a lifetime of outstanding contributions by an eminent scholar in Biogeography.
![Professor Robert Whittaker](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231113-robert-whittaker-alfred-russell-wallace-award.webp?itok=OuZ2hUFA)
Andreas Malm at SoGE
A year ago, on November 9th 2022, the Economy and Society Research cluster, in partnership with the Faculty of Philosophy, hosted Andreas Malm, climate activist, to speak on eco-sabotage and on his latest research on the politics of overshoot.
![Andreas Malm at SoGE](/sites/default/files/styles/standard_mobile/public/2023-11/231109-andreas-malm-soge.webp?itok=V7Ru4y3R)