Caring for Our Planet

Microplastics are turning up everywhere—from your lawn to your lettuce to your Labrador. In this session, we’ll take a walk through our yards to uncover where microplastics come from, how they affect the health of plants, people and pets, and some simple steps we can take to reduce them in the places we care about most.

Dr. Missy Nergard is the University’s Chief Sustainability Officer—which basically means she works with neighbors, farmers, students, and scientists to help keep Wisconsin green without asking anyone to give up cheese or snowmobiles. When she’s not teaming up with communities to solve problems, she’s out with her search dog as a certified K9 handler, supporting emergency response across the Midwest and reminding us all how far a good nose and a strong community can go.

Lu Han released a study this fall that estimates the value of urban trees and highlights their cooling effect on cities impacted by climate change. “My current research emphasizes the interactions between urban economics and real estate markets, focusing on three key aspects: affordability, sustainability and inequality,” says Han.

Lu Han is the Nathan F. Brand Chair Professor in Real Estate and Urban Economics at the Wisconsin School of Business and Faculty Director of the Urban Economics and Real Estate Ph.D. program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She is the recipient of the 2024 Erwin A. Gaumnitz Distinguished Faculty Research Award at the Wisconsin School of Business and is President-Elect of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association. Her research has been published in leading economics and finance journals such as the Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, American Economic Review: Insights, and Review of Financial Studies.

In this episode, Buzz Kemper talks with Dr. Adrian Treves, Professor of Environmental Studies and director of the Carnivore Co-existence Lab at UW-Madison. We unravel the complexities of how humans and carnivorous wildlife can co-exist: what works, what doesn’t, and why.

Adrian Treves conducts independent research and advocates for future generations of all life, for scientific integrity, and for sovereign publics worldwide. He studies and speaks about the public trust doctrine and intergenerational equity around the world More on public trust doctrines and intergenerational equity here. Adrian earned his PhD at Harvard University in 1997 and is a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and director of the Carnivore Coexistence Lab since 2007. For the past 27 years, his research focuses on ecology, law, and human dimensions of ecosystems in which crop and livestock ownership overlaps the habitat of large carnivores from coyotes up to grizzly bears. He has authored >133 scientific papers on predator-prey ecology or conservation.

Tom Eggert taught the first class on sustainability at UW in 1994 and has been on it ever since. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Latvia, and founded the nonprofit WorldWise Microfinance. Tom helps us unpack the many benefits of building a business from a foundation of sustainability.

Tom has been at the forefront of business and sustainability for the last thirty years, both teaching classes in sustainability at the University of Wisconsin and founding and serving as the Executive Director of the WI Sustainable Business Council. Tom was an early voice for sustainability on campus, and participated in the creation of the Office of Sustainability and the School of Business’ certificate in sustainability. He has written and spoken extensively on the changing role of business in society, socially responsible investing, divestment, and on how the private sector can lead in responding to generational challenges such as climate change. Growing out of his interest in sustainability, Tom founded the non-profit “WorldWise Microfinance”, where he currently serves as the President. The non-profit provides access to capital, to individuals (primarily women), who aspire to lift their families out of poverty by starting and running a small business. It is active in the Philippines, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.