Christopher X J. Jensen
Associate Professor, Pratt Institute

Are technological optimists too optimistic about technological sustainability?

Posted 23 Nov 2015 / 0

Image courtesy of Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via Wikimedia Commons The Chronicle of Higher Education “Ecomodernists Spark Rhetorical Heat” In my Ecology for Architects course I have students work on an activity that asks them to advocate one of four “extreme” environmental positions: Population bombers; Neo-luddites; Deep ecologists; or Read More

A Minor Post, Activism, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Environmental Justice, MSCI-271, Ecology for Architects, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Risk & Uncertainty, Sustainability, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Transportation, Sustainable Urban Design

NYC Solar Map: a powerful tool for transformation to a solar future

Posted 12 Jun 2015 / 0

A colleague of mine, Jeremy Tausch, just pointed me towards the NYC Solar Map, an amazing tool for promoting the increased use of solar electricity and solar water heating in New York City. The interactive online map allows users to find out information about existing solar installation in the five boroughs, providing both a ‘reputational Read More

A Minor Post, Information Design, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy, Web Design

In the end, climate compromise comes down to writing and editing

Posted 01 Jun 2015 / 0

National Public Radio Morning Edition “Editing The Climate Talkers: Punctuation’s Effect On Earth’s Fate” I would suggest that the future of human civilization depends on reaching an international agreement to put a halt to — and partially reverse — anthropogenic climate change. Although the history of climate change agreements is pretty fraught, it does appear Read More

A Minor Post, Climate Change, Cooperation, Law, Political Science, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts, Social Norms, Survival, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

This site is now hosted by A Small Orange

Posted 03 Aug 2014 / 0

As I chronicled in a previous post, I have been looking to switch my web hosting services to a company that has a sustainability policy. Well, I have made my choice. This site is now hosted by A Small Orange, which assures that 150% of their power needs are compensated by wind power credits. As this Read More

A Minor Post, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Web Design

Choosing a more sustainable web host

Posted 28 Jul 2014 / 6

I am in the process of considering a shift in my web hosting service. I was spurred to consider a shift by Olivia Hu, a former student of mine who is also working on a new theme for this site. My current host is Bluehost. I chose their services four years ago when I first Read More

A Major Post, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Web Design, Web

New glacial maximum on Mount ARC provides definitive evidence that Pratt’s sustainability efforts are working

Posted 01 Apr 2014 / 1

Pratt Institute’s Mount ARC, part of the central Brooklyn range, has been a hotbed of climatological research. A unique geological feature within the mostly-flat borough of Brooklyn, Mount ARC rises above Pratt Institute’s majestic campus, looming over this community of creative makers like a stern warning from good old Mother Nature herself. Mount ARC’s two Read More

A Major Post, Climate Change, Greenwashing, Pratt Institute, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Pratt

Do we need to delete to keep the web sustainable?

Posted 05 Feb 2014 / 2

WNYC New Tech City “The World Would be a Better Place if We [DELETED] More” The title of this piece is a bit misleading, because on the cognitive side it is really unclear to me that forcing ourselves to memorize things would make our lives better (those who know me know that I am “anti-memorization”, Read More

A Minor Post, Cognitive Ability, Ecological Footprinting, Neuroscience, Quantitative Analysis, Radio & Podcasts, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Web Design, Web Design

Great NPR piece on how simple it would be for us to reduce carbon emissions

Posted 28 Jun 2013 / 0

NPR Planet Money “Economists Have A One-Page Solution To Climate Change” I love this piece because it effectively captures the importance of an across-the-board carbon solution. The carbon tax would be relatively easy to enforce, could be used to wean ourselves from carbon-based fuels in a calculated and deliberate manner, and would hurt only those Read More

A Minor Post, Climate Change, Economics, Political Science, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

Envirolutions asks the Pratt community to identify where there is “room for improvement”

Posted 29 Mar 2013 / 0

During this year’s Green Week celebration, Envirolutions club members brought their Room for Improvement campaign to the campus, asking members of the Pratt community to identify where the campus has the most “room to improve” in terms of sustainability. Two enticements incentivized participation: those who filled out a survey could grab a snack and pick out their own Envirolutions button to Read More

A Major Post, Envirolutions, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy

Envirolutions club launches its “Room for Improvement” campaign

Posted 21 Feb 2013 / 0

This week, students in Pratt’s Envirolutions club launched their newest campaign for on-campus sustainability. Called “Room for Improvement”, the campaign seeks to lower the environmental footprint of the school caused by resource consumption. The posters that advertise the campaign are themed around iconic “warning” posters: Envirolutions will also be tabling during Green Week on Thursday, March 28th to Read More

A Major Post, Envirolutions, Pratt Institute, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy