Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) may result in up to a 30% reduction in nearby home values, according to a new study from Kay Jowers and colleagues from Just Environments. Despite waste contamination risks from CAFOs, farms are not required to obtain permits or have their waste management systems inspected. Just Environments is a joint program of the Kenan Institute for Ethics and the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

Citing research from the Just Environments Program, the Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News and Observer report that living near poultry farms can reduce a home's value by as much as 30%. The state does little to track concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, and their impact, which may lead to disproportionate economic and environmental challenges in regions where they are located. 

Nineteen individuals and teams were recognized Thursday with Climate Commitment Leadership Awards at the annual Duke Climate Commitment Celebration event. Award recipients included Nicholas Institute experts Kay Jowers, Lydia Olander, Ashley Ward and Katie Warnell.

Thanks to pilot funding from the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI) and the Kenan Institute, Kay Jowers will lead a project examining how structural racism affects health disparities in and around Durham. Jowers is director of Just Environments, a joint endeavor of the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability and the Kenan Institute, where she is a faculty member.

Forty-five Duke University scholars will pursue new research on sustainable, equitable solutions to address climate change and its effects, supported by grants from the Duke Climate Research Innovation Seed Program (CRISP).

Twelve teams have collectively been awarded nearly $700,000 to investigate topics such as equitable disaster recovery, community insurance, financing climate-smart agriculture, water quality challenges posed by sea level rise, forest-based carbon offsets and more.

Choosing to devote your time and energy to a community organization is commendable, but good intentions don’t always lead to positive impacts. Kay Jowers, director of Just Environments, offers nine tips for how you can make the best contributions while volunteering—and how to cultivate meaningful relationships while you do it. Jowers credits the tips to the community partners who have generously guided and mentored her.

World leaders—along with government officials, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and activists—gathered in Dubai for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference to discuss ways to advance climate action. Experts from the Nicholas Institute attended the conference, released publications or announced initiatives tied to it and/or followed the proceedings closely.

In a virtual Duke Forever Learning Institute session, an expert panel discussed the qualities of foundational to high-impact volunteering and considered how unintended consequences can stand in the way of making a difference. The panel included Kay Jowers, director of Just Environments, a joint project of the Nicholas Institute and the Kenan Institute for Ethics.

A photo exhibit at Duke's Kenan-Keohane Gallery spotlights the ongoing influence in the environmental justice movement of protesters who stopped a toxic waste landfill in Warren County more than four decades ago. “It’s important for the Duke community to understand the story of Warren County and other grassroots movements so that we can incorporate environmental justice into all of our sustainability efforts," Kay Jowers, director of the Just Environments program, told NC Health News.

Titled “We Birthed a Movement: The Warren County PCB Landfill Protests, 1978-1982," an exhibit in the Keohane-Kenan Gallery in the West Duke Building explores a community’s historical response to the planned construction of a landfill for cancer-causing PCBs. “This exhibit depicts a key moment in environmental justice history. It also underscores the power of community-led advocacy,” said Kay Jowers, director of the Just Environments program.