Introducing The Earth Commons, Georgetown University’s Institute for Environment & Sustainability
A New Chapter
The Earth Commons, Georgetown University’s Institute for Environment & Sustainability, is a hub for environmental and sustainability innovation, research and education to accelerate action on the most pressing issues of our Earth. Assembling a team of interdisciplinary experts, researchers, leaders and students, the Earth Commons is transforming the university into a living laboratory to develop scalable solutions for a greener, more sustainable world.
Student Resources
We aim to lead as a catalyst for innovation and creativity that embraces all of Georgetown University’s disciplines from the arts, sciences, and humanities, to social sciences, health, medicine and law. Current graduate students can engage with the Earth Commons in the following ways:
- Seek mentorship, advice and collaboration from our affiliated faculty
- Apply to our Green Commons and ECo Impact grants
- Publish their work in our signature magazine, Common Home
In addition, students should keep an eye on our expanding course selection and other soon-to-be-announced resources for the research community at Georgetown. The Earth Commons approach will be immersive and experiential, enriching the lives of our students through hands-on learning that emphasizes the interconnectedness of life on Earth and the actions we need to take to be better stewards of our common home. We will do this in the best of the Jesuit tradition of translating contemplation into action.
Environmental Influence
The COVID-19 pandemic is only one reminder of how environmental influences have profound consequences on our personal health and well-being as well as national and international economies, global systems of order, human migration patterns, and the socio-economic disparities caused by environmental injustice. Add the dramatic, yet even more damaging, consequences of the longer-term degradation of our climate and biosphere and one recognizes that the stakes have never been higher.
The time is now to bring the color and ethos of green to the tradition of Georgetown blue and gray.