Our Work Is Local, but Our Impact Is Global

The importance of communicating the dangers resulting from impending climate collapse is perhaps the most vital issue to be communicated. This project seeks to explore the greeting card as an everyday cultural form that can be used to express ideas and connect people around the subject of climate change. 

Preliminary findings suggest that the pandemic has resulted in changes in the frequency of health behaviors. The lessons learned from this research will be incorporated in the broader Whole Communities–Whole Health cohort study with input from potential participants and community members.

Spanning across a wide range of climatic regimes, Texas relies on water extracted from rivers and aquifers within its own borders. Climate change and population growth are adding unprecedented stress on Texas waters and other types of natural resources. Quantifying the nexus between natural resources, energy generation, and food production is critically important for sustainable regional planning. This need also echoes one of the primary pillars of PT2050—Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of water availability and other natural resources, in relation to energy production and urban demands. 

When hurricanes strike the coast of Texas, one of the more significant, but often overlooked, challenges is the logistics of patient evacuation.  The complex process of choosing staging areas, hospitals to receive patients, and the resources needed for transport are further complicated by the uncertainty of hurricane forecasting.

How can scientists effectively measure mood and stress over time? What are the best ways to partner with communities with access to fewer resources? A team from the UT School of Nursing partnered with Del Valle Independent School District to help answer those questions over the course of an 8-week mindfulness program in 2019.

Preparing for floods and heat waves by designing new maps and tools that can be used by first responders, neighborhood associations, city governments, and planners.

The overall objective of this project was to investigate relationships among climates, cultures and ecosystems over the 20,000 years in Texas.

Parenting in a pandemic presents unique challenges that may affect the physical, emotional and behavioral health of parents and children alike, and the academic progress of children. 

Participation in physical activity is associated with better performance in school, but most children do not meet the recommendations of the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

This project investigated the role that nonprofits based in Texas with an environmental focus play in securing a future that benefits all state residents.