FOR STUDENTS

Accelerating the Transition to Electric Vehicles

We can make a significant impact on carbon emissions in the US by transitioning to electric cars. Why isn’t there higher consumer demand for EVs and businesses rushing to fill it? What are the infrastructure, policy and marketplace conditions now and how they can be changed? What motivational messaging could shift public perception and consumer demand?

Modernizing the Electrical Grid

If homes and vehicles could draw electrical power and store it, we could decarbonize the electrical supply system. What are the design and policy obstacles and how could they be overcome? How would this transform the economics of utilities? What does the most efficient grid system look like? What would this mean for the average consumer, and how do groundswell movements start and succeed?

Decreasing Industry Emissions

Industrial activities such as manufacturing, food processing, construction and mining result in CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel combustion as well as the chemical processes used in producing steel and cement. Industry also generates indirect emissions from the vast amounts of energy it consumes. What are the easiest low-emission alternatives to industrial processes, and what’s preventing their adoption? Can consumer demand influence large industry to make major system overhauls? Is carbon capture and sequestration the only option for some processes? Would a carbon tax have the intended effect of moving industry to greener practices? What forces have affected policymaking, and can these be swayed?

Addressing Climate Justice and Community Resilience

Climate change is a social issue, not just environmental. Carbon emission causes and effects are not equally shared by global communities, and it is those most vulnerable to climate change impacts – from social unrest to extreme weather –that have the fewest resources to create resilience. What obligations do wealthier populations have to underprivileged ones? Does redistribution of carbon profits help or hinder the carbon zero movement? How can global emission policies be enacted equitably and without aggravating social inequalities?

Reducing the Residential Carbon Footprint

Much of the technology to decarbonize a home already exists. Households are second only to
transportation in carbon emissions in the US. What technologies still need to be created? Where are the gaps between the innovations and market availability? What public policies could encourage homeowners to go green? What are the myths vs. realities?

Advancing Regenerative Agriculture

Industrialized agriculture contributes to climate change because of chemical use and release of sequestered carbon, among other factors. The practices of regenerative farming counteract
negative environmental effects. What are the politics of food that prevent a transition away from industrialized agriculture? How might people consume food differently with more regenerative farming choices? What are the economic, health and social impacts? What are the messages that do – and don’t – compel people to eat differently?

Understanding Climate Communication and Behavioral Change

In a deeply divided political landscape, climate change has become a polarizing issue.
Understanding the psychology of decision making and its relation to personal beliefs and values is crucial to any successful attempt at meaningful discussion and shifting viewpoints. Why do people accept logical fallacies? What are the most influential ways to overturn an irrational belief? How has psychological warfare and propaganda affected our social fabric?

Creating Mission Zero Advocates

The environmental movement has been active in different guises for decades. In what ways does the evolution of climate activism mirror the development of other causes like workers’ rights, BLM, gender equality, animal welfare, etc.? What makes people transform from supporters into passionate advocates of a cause? What could Mission Zero do to become a mainstream movement beyond the CU campus?