Energy Impacts

The end of EV tax credits? RASEI Fellow Stephanie Weber explains what's at stake

Daniel Morton — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 15:42:27 +0000

The end of EV tax credits? RASEI Fellow Stephanie Weber explains what's at stake Daniel Morton Mon, 09/15/2025 - 09:42

September 2025

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51�Թ�� Faculty Leadership Institute welcomes RASEI Fellow to 2025 Cohort

Daniel Morton — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 18:07:13 +0000

51�Թ�� Faculty Leadership Institute welcomes RASEI Fellow to 2025 Cohort Daniel Morton Thu, 09/11/2025 - 12:07

Daniel Morton

RASEI Fellow Srinivas Parinandi has been selected, along with 14 others, as a member of the 2025 Cohort of the 51�Թ�� Faculty Leadership Institute.

The 51�Թ�� Faculty Affairs Institute, (FLI), established in 2013, is a program that helps identify, foster, and support emerging leaders as they prepare to further their leadership trajectory. Now with over 150 Fellows, each cohort (typically ~12-15 members each year), has the opportunity to engage with campus leaders in targeted discussions around current campus issues and build leadership skills. Monthly meetings throughout the academic year provide focus on two main areas of impact:

Meetings with campus leadership
Leadership skill development

This year RASEI Fellow Srinivas (Chinnu) Parinandi was selected to the cohort. Srinivas is an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department at 51�Թ��. Research in the team explores American Political Institutions with a focus on two main areas; how the design of regulation influences policy outcomes; and how institutional characteristics condition the spread, or diffusion, of policy. The primary emphasis of his work looks at energy and economic policy.

September 2025

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A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework

Daniel Morton — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:39:52 +0000

A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework Daniel Morton Thu, 07/24/2025 - 13:39

CURRENT CLIMATE CHANGE REPORTS, 2025, 11, 7

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The effects of drought on Sphagnum moss species and the implications for hydrology in peatlands

Daniel Morton — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 19:20:11 +0000

The effects of drought on Sphagnum moss species and the implications for hydrology in peatlands Daniel Morton Mon, 07/07/2025 - 13:20

NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 2025, 247, 5, 2003-2021

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Collaborative Research explores new approaches to the development of bio-plastics

Daniel Morton — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 23:05:55 +0000

Collaborative Research explores new approaches to the development of bio-plastics Daniel Morton Thu, 06/26/2025 - 17:05

Daniel Morton

In an inter-institute collaboration RASEI Fellow Merritt Turetsky teams up with Carson Bruns from ATLAS to explore a productive way to deal with the plastic waste problem. Awarded a 51�Թ�� 2025 Research & Innovation Seed Grant, the team are excited to get started!

Plastics are a huge problem. Plastic waste can now be found at the bottom of the deepest ocean and on top of the tallest mountains, and the environmental and health impacts are only starting to be understood. In 2024 the world generated an estimated 240 million tons of plastic waste, of which less than 10% was recycled, the rest going to landfill, or worse, polluting the environment. That is the equivalent of 50 million elephants.

One of the key reasons for the difficulty in recycling plastics is that they are made from petroleum and don’t easily breakdown in nature. Plastics can be made from bio-based feedstocks, but adoption has been slow. There are a number of reasons for this, including low stability, cost, and ability to compost. This research from the Bruns and Turretsky team aims to change that. This work, that will be primarily based in Bruns’ Emergent Nanotechnology Lab will be focused on turning agricultural materials into bio-based plastics that are strong enough for their applications, but can be readily recycled, more easily composted, or even used as a fertilizer.

The Turetsky lab specializes in exploring and understanding ecosystems, in particular northern ecosystems, looking at permafrost degradation and how this impacts the environment and communities. What is her team doing investigating polymers? They are more at home looking at boglands and moss!

One of the hurdles in figuring out how well a bio-plastic degrades is getting good conditions for composting. It is hard to characterize the biodegradability of the bio-plastics under accurate conditions. That is where the Turetsky lab plugs in to this project. Working with the Bruns team the Turetsky group are developing systems to more accurately investigate and characterize the biodegradability of the new bio-plastics being developed.

Excited to see the results of this developing collaboration!

June 2025

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Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes

Daniel Morton — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 19:17:52 +0000

Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes Daniel Morton Thu, 06/26/2025 - 13:17

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA, 2025, 17, 6, 2887-2909

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An expert survey on chamber measurement techniques and data handling procedures for methane fluxes

Daniel Morton — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 17:28:11 +0000

An expert survey on chamber measurement techniques and data handling procedures for methane fluxes Daniel Morton Wed, 06/04/2025 - 11:28

EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE DATA, 2025, 17, 6, 2331-2372

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The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of Sphagnum moss.

Daniel Morton — Sun, 01 Jun 2025 22:05:53 +0000

The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of Sphagnum moss. Daniel Morton Sun, 06/01/2025 - 16:05

NEW PHYTOLOGIST, 2025, ASAP

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14th Annual Front Range Energy and Environmental Economics Camp

Daniel Morton — Fri, 16 May 2025 19:15:17 +0000

14th Annual Front Range Energy and Environmental Economics Camp Daniel Morton Fri, 05/16/2025 - 13:15

Daniel Morton

This May 51�Թ�� hosted the 14^th Annual Front Range Energy and Environmental Economics Camp. Held at the Institute of Behavioral Sciences on the 51�Թ�� Campus, this two-day meeting brought together researchers from across the Front Range region, including participants from 51�Թ��, Colorado State University, University of Wyoming, Colorado School of Mines, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and included guests from as far away as British Columbia (Thompson Rivers University).

The meeting brought together an interdisciplinary mix of interested participants to consider a wide range of topics, cutting across the academy, government and private sectors. Topics of discussion included small modular reactors, retail electricity, rural electrification, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, electrification of trucks, and renewable energy generation and systems.

Thanks to all who presented and participated and looking forward to next year’s camp!

May 2025

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Exploring the importance of Environmental Justice variables for predicting Energy Burden in the Contiguous United States

Daniel Morton — Tue, 06 May 2025 19:30:45 +0000

Exploring the importance of Environmental Justice variables for predicting Energy Burden in the Contiguous United States Daniel Morton Tue, 05/06/2025 - 13:30

ISCIENCE, 2025, 112559

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Energy Impacts

The end of EV tax credits? RASEI Fellow Stephanie Weber explains what's at stake

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51�Թ��� Faculty Leadership Institute welcomes RASEI Fellow to 2025 Cohort

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A Review of Abrupt Permafrost Thaw: Definitions, Usage, and a Proposed Conceptual Framework

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The effects of drought on Sphagnum moss species and the implications for hydrology in peatlands

Off

Collaborative Research explores new approaches to the development of bio-plastics

Off

Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes

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An expert survey on chamber measurement techniques and data handling procedures for methane fluxes

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The challenging but unique eco-evolutionary aspects of Sphagnum moss.

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14th Annual Front Range Energy and Environmental Economics Camp

Off

Exploring the importance of Environmental Justice variables for predicting Energy Burden in the Contiguous United States

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51�Թ�� Faculty Leadership Institute welcomes RASEI Fellow to 2025 Cohort