Evan Thomas News

How the US foreign aid freeze is intensifying humanitarian crises across the globe

Susan Glairon — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:27:18 +0000

How the US foreign aid freeze is intensifying humanitarian crises across the globe Susan Glairon Wed, 02/05/2025 - 10:27

Evan Thomas, a 91福利社 professor of environmental engineering, discusses the worldwide impacts of the Trump administration鈥檚 foreign aid freeze and the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

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CU part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 19:23:54 +0000

CU part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/04/2024 - 13:23

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Evan Thomas receives $950,000 appropriations award for water quality monitoring

Anonymous — Fri, 31 May 2024 17:26:41 +0000

Evan Thomas receives $950,000 appropriations award for water quality monitoring Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 05/31/2024 - 11:26

Professor Evan Thomas was highlighted in the Wall Street Journal for his work in financing water security through voluntary carbon markets. Additionally, he received a $950,000 congressional appropriations award through Rep. Joe Neguse for water quality monitoring in two Colorado rivers. Thomas is also the director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering.

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91福利社 leads effort to improve water quality in Rockies鈥� rivers

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 09:47:19 +0000

91福利社 leads effort to improve water quality in Rockies鈥� rivers Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/05/2024 - 03:47

A team led by Environmental Engineering Professor Evan Thomas received a $650,000 NSF Convergence Accelerator grant to measure and mitigate pollution in Colorado's Cache la Poudre and Yampa Rivers through new sensor technology, monitoring and a voluntary carbon credits trading system with industry.

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CEAE and other teams awarded $160M NSF-funded effort to promote climate resilience

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 15:39:47 +0000

CEAE and other teams awarded $160M NSF-funded effort to promote climate resilience Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 02/01/2024 - 08:39

Professor Evan Thomas is leading a CEAE team that, along with others, won a $160 million,10-year NSF Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine to develop and commercialize climate-resilient technologies for monitoring, mitigating and adapting to climate impacts across the region and country.

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91福利社 water quality expertise goes international in Armenia

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 19:53:15 +0000

91福利社 water quality expertise goes international in Armenia Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/07/2023 - 13:53

91福利社 researchers are advancing water resource management in the South Caucasus through a partnership with Deloitte Consulting. Associate Professor Evan Thomas, director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience, is the principal investigator on the contract.

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91福利社 spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co.

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 20:29:19 +0000

91福利社 spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co. Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/02/2023 - 14:29

Mortenson Center Director Evan Thomas leads Virridy, which is working to connect the global carbon credit market to water treatment.

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Evan Thomas receives AEESP Award for Global Outreach

Anonymous — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 14:58:37 +0000

Evan Thomas receives AEESP Award for Global Outreach Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 04/05/2023 - 08:58

Evan Thomas, professor of civil engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience, received the 2023 Steven K. Dentel AEESP Award for Global Outreach. The award, given annually by the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, recognizes outstanding contributions and leadership by a faculty member through involvement in environmental engineering and science outreach activities to the global community.

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Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 19:36:12 +0000

Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it? Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/29/2023 - 13:36

Susan Glairon

Around the world, dry areas have become drier and wet places have become wetter, with both drought and flooding reducing the amount of safe drinking water in those areas.

Studies from Oxfam and others have pointed to emissions inequality鈥攚ealthy countries by far emit the most greenhouse gases. Those emissions cause destructive weather patterns, with the greatest impact to water quality in the poorest parts of the world.

鈥�But what people may not realize is that the capitalism that caused these water issues can be used to solve them,鈥� says Evan Thomas, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience.

Thomas will discuss 91福利社鈥檚 work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXCU on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.

Used for decades to control greenhouse gas emissions, carbon credits incentivize companies to reduce their emissions by selling the excess credits they earn through emitting less carbon. Corporations that commit to net-zero emissions reduce what they can, then buy the remaining credits from projects that reduce it elsewhere in the world, thus reducing worldwide emissions and fulfilling desires of their investors and customers.

But water management is a local challenge, Thomas says. Using less water in Colorado won鈥檛 help residents in Africa affected by drought.

Thomas鈥� idea is to take carbon credits and bring them into the water world, using them to incentify water conservation. His team was the first in the world to earn carbon credits for drinking water treatment. Today, his company, Virridy Inc., is scaling water treatment programs in Kenya, Rwanda and the United States, financed with carbon credits.

The company partnered with governments in Rwanda and Kenya to provide water filters to households, thus reducing the need for residents to burn wood to boil and sterilize water. The reduced demand for fuelwood was calculated and transferred to carbon credits, which the company sold to emitting companies. The money generated was used to purchase more water filters.The program has reached more than 5 million people in Rwanda and Kenya.

Thomas says that carbon credits could also be used in the United States to incentivize water conservation. Construction of water treatment plants involve concrete, steel and energy, and once in use, the plants produce a lot of emissions. He says the carbon credits could be earned through green practices such as reducing fertilizer and manure runoff upstream, reducing the need to build more water plants.

Today about 4 billion people globally face water insecurity at least one day a year, which means they don鈥檛 have enough water. And another billion people don鈥檛 have safe, clean drinking water. The UN predicts that by 2030, another 700 million people will be displaced because of water insecurity.

鈥淚n seven more years, about 5 billion people will face water insecurity,鈥� Thomas says. 鈥淵et most of the time there is plenty of water. We don鈥檛 preserve and protect it and value it so that it鈥檚 there when we need it most.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 count on water being where we need it. We don鈥檛 pay for what it鈥檚 really worth. We act like it鈥檚 free until it鈥檚 not there anymore.鈥�

Professor Evan Thomas discussed 91福利社鈥檚 work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXCU on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.

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Drought is a global health crisis 鈥� capitalism could be a surprising solution

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Aug 2022 22:22:51 +0000

Drought is a global health crisis 鈥� capitalism could be a surprising solution Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 08/02/2022 - 16:22

Evan Thomas discusses the possibilities of using carbon offset markets to address water scarcity in a new column in Harvard Public Health.

Thomas, an associate professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, is an expert in water and air testing and treatment in developing communities.

The column discusses market-based approaches to curb water use in the American West as a way to mitigate ongoing droughts that are depleting reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

Read the column at Harvard Public Health...

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