Evan Thomas News

CU part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 19:23:54 +0000

CU part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/04/2024 - 13:23

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Evan Thomas receives $950,000 appropriations award for water quality monitoring

Anonymous — Fri, 31 May 2024 17:26:41 +0000

Evan Thomas receives $950,000 appropriations award for water quality monitoring Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/31/2024 - 11:26

Professor Evan Thomas was highlighted in the Wall Street Journal for his work in financing water security through voluntary carbon markets. Additionally, he received a $950,000 congressional appropriations award through Rep. Joe Neguse for water quality monitoring in two Colorado rivers. Thomas is also the director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering.

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CU Boulder leads effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 09:47:19 +0000

CU Boulder leads effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/05/2024 - 03:47

A team led by Environmental Engineering Professor Evan Thomas received a $650,000 NSF Convergence Accelerator grant to measure and mitigate pollution in Colorado's Cache la Poudre and Yampa Rivers through new sensor technology, monitoring and a voluntary carbon credits trading system with industry.

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CEAE and other teams awarded $160M NSF-funded effort to promote climate resilience

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:39:47 +0000

CEAE and other teams awarded $160M NSF-funded effort to promote climate resilience Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/01/2024 - 08:39

Professor Evan Thomas is leading a CEAE team that, along with others, won a $160 million,10-year NSF Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine to develop and commercialize climate-resilient technologies for monitoring, mitigating and adapting to climate impacts across the region and country.

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CU Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 19:53:15 +0000

CU Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/07/2023 - 13:53

�鶹��Ƶ researchers are advancing water resource management in the South Caucasus through a partnership with Deloitte Consulting. Associate Professor Evan Thomas, director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience, is the principal investigator on the contract.

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CU Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co.

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 20:29:19 +0000

CU Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/02/2023 - 14:29

Mortenson Center Director Evan Thomas leads Virridy, which is working to connect the global carbon credit market to water treatment.

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Evan Thomas receives AEESP Award for Global Outreach

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 14:58:37 +0000

Evan Thomas receives AEESP Award for Global Outreach Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/05/2023 - 08:58

Evan Thomas, professor of civil engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience, received the 2023 Steven K. Dentel AEESP Award for Global Outreach. The award, given annually by the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, recognizes outstanding contributions and leadership by a faculty member through involvement in environmental engineering and science outreach activities to the global community.

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Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 19:36:12 +0000

Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it? Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/29/2023 - 13:36

Susan Glairon

Around the world, dry areas have become drier and wet places have become wetter, with both drought and flooding reducing the amount of safe drinking water in those areas.

Studies from Oxfam and others have pointed to emissions inequality—wealthy countries by far emit the most greenhouse gases. Those emissions cause destructive weather patterns, with the greatest impact to water quality in the poorest parts of the world.

“But what people may not realize is that the capitalism that caused these water issues can be used to solve them,” says Evan Thomas, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience.

Thomas will discuss CU Boulder’s work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXCU on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.

Used for decades to control greenhouse gas emissions, carbon credits incentivize companies to reduce their emissions by selling the excess credits they earn through emitting less carbon. Corporations that commit to net-zero emissions reduce what they can, then buy the remaining credits from projects that reduce it elsewhere in the world, thus reducing worldwide emissions and fulfilling desires of their investors and customers.

But water management is a local challenge, Thomas says. Using less water in Colorado won’t help residents in Africa affected by drought.

Thomas’ idea is to take carbon credits and bring them into the water world, using them to incentify water conservation. His team was the first in the world to earn carbon credits for drinking water treatment. Today, his company, Virridy Inc., is scaling water treatment programs in Kenya, Rwanda and the United States, financed with carbon credits.

The company partnered with governments in Rwanda and Kenya to provide water filters to households, thus reducing the need for residents to burn wood to boil and sterilize water. The reduced demand for fuelwood was calculated and transferred to carbon credits, which the company sold to emitting companies. The money generated was used to purchase more water filters.The program has reached more than 5 million people in Rwanda and Kenya.

Thomas says that carbon credits could also be used in the United States to incentivize water conservation. Construction of water treatment plants involve concrete, steel and energy, and once in use, the plants produce a lot of emissions. He says the carbon credits could be earned through green practices such as reducing fertilizer and manure runoff upstream, reducing the need to build more water plants.

Today about 4 billion people globally face water insecurity at least one day a year, which means they don’t have enough water. And another billion people don’t have safe, clean drinking water. The UN predicts that by 2030, another 700 million people will be displaced because of water insecurity.

“In seven more years, about 5 billion people will face water insecurity,” Thomas says. “Yet most of the time there is plenty of water. We don’t preserve and protect it and value it so that it’s there when we need it most.

“We can’t count on water being where we need it. We don’t pay for what it’s really worth. We act like it’s free until it’s not there anymore.”

Professor Evan Thomas discussed CU Boulder’s work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXCU on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.

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Drought is a global health crisis — capitalism could be a surprising solution

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 22:22:51 +0000

Drought is a global health crisis — capitalism could be a surprising solution Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/02/2022 - 16:22

Evan Thomas discusses the possibilities of using carbon offset markets to address water scarcity in a new column in Harvard Public Health.

Thomas, an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, is an expert in water and air testing and treatment in developing communities.

The column discusses market-based approaches to curb water use in the American West as a way to mitigate ongoing droughts that are depleting reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

Read the column at Harvard Public Health...

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CU Boulder, Deloitte launch Climate Innovation Collaboratory to accelerate action on climate crisis

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 17:46:00 +0000

CU Boulder, Deloitte launch Climate Innovation Collaboratory to accelerate action on climate crisis Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 04/19/2022 - 11:46

Deloitte and the �鶹��Ƶ on Tuesday launched a new Climate Innovation Collaboratory to translate cutting-edge climate research and data into meaningful climate solutions for federal, state and local government agencies and communities.

Researchers work on a project to develop a blockchain and sensor platform for groundwater conservation in California. From left to right: Matthew Falcone, CU Boulder PhD student; Stephanie Tatge, The Freshwater Trust; Becky Rittenburg, The Freshwater Trust; and Nathan Wangusi, IBM Research

CU Boulder is a powerhouse of research and proven interdisciplinary approaches in the climate sciences and innovative technology solutions. Deloitte specializes in helping government agencies mitigate the impacts of climate change and achieve their ambitious climate equity, resilience and sustainability goals. The new collaboratory brings together the power and experience of both organizations.

Deloitte’s initial $2 million commitment will accelerate the research and application of climate solutions being developed by CU Boulder and Deloitte climate professionals.

“This collaboration will expand government access to critical climate data and science, encourage the exchange of public information, and support the work being done at CU Boulder’s 12 research institutes and more than 75 research centers,” said Terri Fiez, vice chancellor for research and innovation at CU Boulder.

Findings from the 2022 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change speak to the urgent need for action on climate change. CU Boulder and Deloitte will continuously connect work from the Climate Innovation Collaboratory to market applications and support government agencies with collaborative proposals and response efforts.

“We’re proud to team up with the �鶹��Ƶ to develop the tools and resources that government agencies need to accelerate their progress on climate solutions at this critical time,” said Deborah Sills, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, who serves as the global consulting leader for Deloitte’s government and public services (GPS) practice and a member of Deloitte’s U.S. Board. “Working together, we will help design and implement data-driven approaches to address the climate crisis; build a more equitable, sustainable society; and foster a more resilient environment for generations to come.”

The collaboratory will start with two research and technology development projects addressing environmental challenges in the western United States, including one project on wildfire risk assessments and another project on drought mitigation.

“This is a critical moment to redefine the nation’s wildfire risk,” said Jennifer Balch, professor of geography and director of Earth Lab, an Earth data synthesis center housed at CU Boulder. “Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated, thousands of homes have been lost and over a hundred people lost their lives in blazes in just the past three years. An amazing wealth of data on fire and homes—from government data and satellite imagery—offers an opportunity to build resilience solutions to acute wildfire risk.”

“The current 20-year megadrought throughout the western United States is the worst in more than 1,200 years and is intensifying social and economic stressors,” said Evan Thomas, professor of environmental engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and director of the collaboratory. “We have an opportunity with technology and with collective community action to improve management and conservation of our surface and groundwater resources.”

The collaboratory, hosted by the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, will also focus on a wide range of climate priorities, including but not limited to building public-private innovation and entrepreneurship capacity, expanding the deployment of technologies, enhancing organizational decision-making with robust earth science data, improving the analysis of energy systems and advancing climate equity and environmental justice.

“This innovative collaboration with the �鶹��Ƶ will help government officials access, analyze and interpret the latest climate data and research to strengthen their program execution,” said Mike Canning, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte’s GPS leader. “We are committed to this alliance and to helping those on the front line better protect their communities, mitigate the climate crisis and make an impact that matters for generations to come.”

As a global leader in climate, environmental and energy research, the �鶹��Ƶ is partnering with United Nations Human Rights to co-host the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit in fall 2022.

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