Maxwell School News and Commentary

The scholarships, now in their 36th year, were founded as a tribute to—and means of remembering—the students studying in London and Florence through Syracuse University who were killed in the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

“I think it was simply that across the communist world, they had become really enchanted by Western films. And the main reason that some people point to for this is that in 1960, “The Magnificent Seven,” that film was allowed into the Soviet Union, and it became this instant sensation,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

The development of the U.S. as a fossil fuel superpower is a “brazen disregard” for climate action, says Matt Huber, professor of geography and the environment.

Helping dairy and poultry farmworkers get tested is important for public health response. But many farmworkers are immigrants with no sick leave and who may speak primarily Indigenous languages or Spanish. The Trump administration’s deportation efforts have caused further reticence to report symptoms, says Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, associate professor of geography and the environment. 

Given how long-standing the Gulf of Mexico name has been, Mark Monmonier, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography and the Environment, says he doesn’t see a logical reason to change it.

Co-authored by Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, this study's framework generates storylines with the potential to advance transformative policies and new pathways towards climate-just futures. Published in Nature Cities.

Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment, and co-authors argue that recognizing and acknowledging historical foundations, academic and grassroots contributions for climate justice is the first step towards achieving justice in mitigation and adaptation. Published in Nature Climate Change.

“We well know Trump does not accept the science of climate change and the reality of climate change. He's very dismissive of it,” says Robert Wilson, associate professor of geography and the environment. “Certainly, I've seen no news account over the past week where he's acknowledged that climate change has played a role in making the wildfires in California worse.”

“Both drought and heat are known to be more likely in the context of human-caused climate change, so the fires burning now cannot be dismissed as anomalous events,” says Jacob Bendix, professor emeritus of geography and the environment.

Professor of Geography and the Environment Natalie Koch examines how sustainability spectacle ultimately obscures Gulf state leaders’ refusal to shift their economies and political systems away from fossil fuels, while simultaneously justifying yet more unsustainable development—just with a new green label. Published in Current History.