Sustainability at CNM

CNM Sustainability Logo

If you're interested in finding out more about sustainability at CNM, contact:

Bridget O'Leary-Storer
boleary@cnm.edu

CNM's sustainability goals are to reduce waste, water use, energy use, and carbon emissions while educating the CNM community about sustainable practices. 

About Us

As part of CNM's overarching strategic direction, the Sustainability Committee is charged with supporting and promoting collegewide integration of sustainability concepts into the curriculum and across campuses in a meaningful way.

The committee’s ongoing objectives are to:

  1. Provide student learning opportunities via sustainability experiential learning projects.
  2. Increase student engagement in sustainability issues. 
  3. Formalize student learning via sustainability education paths.

History

  • 2009-2012: The President’s Sustainability and Climate Commitment (PSCC) Task Force identified nine areas of impact and suggested specific actions for each area. 
  • 2012-2015: The Sustainability Curriculum Team (SCT) improved our sustainability efforts in academics, one of the nine areas of impact identified by PSCC. In the Summer of 2015, SCT was reorganized to become a faculty-led committee.
  • 2015-Present: The Physical Plant and the Sustainability Committee continue our efforts to meet the CNM sustainability goals. 

Sustainability Month at CNM

Throughout the month of March (and even into April!), CNM will host events and activities designed to raise awareness about environmental issues and how we can become better stewards of the earth. CNM invites you to attend these events and activities to learn about the environmental challenges facing our planet, innovative solutions to some of these challenges, and what you can do to help.

March-April 2024 Events

Spencer Lucas smiling in a white hat and orange shirt

March 4
Event Title: Rethinking Mass Extinction with Spencer Lucas, PhD
Location: CNM Main Campus, Smith Brasher 101
Reception: 4:30 p.m.
Keynote: 5:30 p.m.

Spencer G. Lucas is a stratigrapher and paleontologist who has been Curator of Geology and Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science since 1988. He received a B. A. degree from the University of New Mexico and M. S. and PhD degrees from Yale University. Lucas’s research has focused on biostratigraphic problems of the late Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and early Cenozoic. He has undertaken extensive field research in the American West, Kazakhstan, China, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Lucas has published  seven books and edited or co-edited more than 70 volumes. He has published more than 1000 scientific articles. In the late-1990s, Lucas began to study mass extinctions.

Bruce Thomson smiling in front of a desk and personal library

March 20
Event Title: Water Resources of New Mexico with Bruce Thomson 
Location: CNM Main Campus, SRC 204
Reception: 4:30 p.m.
Keynote: 5:30 p.m.
Water is essential to support all environments and communities, but in New Mexico we are especially vulnerable to small changes in our water supply because of our arid climate and the fact that our resource is fully allocated. This seminar will discuss our sources of water, how it’s used and some of the constraints that complicate its management. It will give an overview of how a warming climate will impact our water resources and water quality concerns. The seminar will conclude with brief discussion of some of technical and regulatory insights on recent proposals to develop “new” resources such as water reuse, stormwater capture, and development and desalination of brackish ground water resources.

Tracy Kijewski-Correa smiling in front of a world map

April 1
Event Title: Building Community Resilience: The Role of Scientists and Engineers in Leading the Societal Response to a Changing Climate, with keynote speaker Tracy Kijewski-Correa, PhD
Location: CNM Main Campus, SRC 204
Reception: 4:30 p.m.
Keynote: 5:30 p.m. 
The U.S. is grappling with mounting losses and also faces rising costs due to climatological disasters. Early warnings help, but these events still displace people, disrupt lives, and harm education and healthcare. Not only are large intense storms like hurricanes events becoming more frequent and intense, but the losses from commonly-occurring events like seasonal thunderstorms are also mounting. The changing climate requires us to fundamentally rethink our infrastructure and technologies. Engineers and scientists will be essential in discovering solutions and implementing them through collaboration with policymakers and communities. This lecture will explore how scientists and engineers are addressing these challenges globally, especially in vulnerable countries.

Sustainability Orientation