Meghna Tare, the Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact at the University of Texas at Arlington joins The Water Values Podcast to discuss how the Institute approaches water sustainability and to describe some of the projects and research undertaken by the Institute. Meghna emigrated from India approximately 15 years ago, so she has experienced water shortages firsthand and understands the need to practice sustainability when it comes to our water resources.

In this session, you’ll learn about:

The background on the Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact (Institute)
How the Institute approaches sustainability problems from practical and research-oriented perspectives
How the Institute is working with IBM and the USDA on improving water efficiency in agriculture and irrigation practices
How the Institute integrates sustainability studies into the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) curriculum and the various schools within UTA
How the Institute coordinates sustainability planning and programs at UTA
The goals the Institute set for reducing indoor, consumptive water use on the UTA campus
How the Institute has nearly achieved the goals it set nearly 6 years ahead of schedule
How the Institute has included UTA’s power systems in its water sustainability efforts
How the Institute used water sensors in UTA’s irrigation system to achieve up to 40% reductions in outdoor water use for irrigation
The Institute’s award-winning The Green at College Park landscaping project that reduced water consumption by 70% from typical North Texas landscaping projects
The Institute’s role in the Tarrant Regional Water District’s 150-mile long, integrated pipeline project
How the Institute participates in the Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) project
How the Institute collaborates with the United States Business Conference for Sustainability
Meghna’s thoughts on applying her knowledge and experience in water sustainability in her native India

Resources and links mentioned in or relevant to this session include:

UTA’s Office of Sustainability and The Institute for Sustainability and Global Impact
UTA’s Strategic Plan 2020
The Green at College Park
S. Green Building Council LEED rating system
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
United States Botanic Garden
American Society of Landscape Architects
UMass’ Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere
National Science Foundation
USEPA’s Rainworks Challenge
United States Business Council for Sustainable Development
Meghna’s email: mtare at uta.edu
Meghna’s Twitter handle

Transcript

Click here to download the Transcript for Session 57 of The Water Values Podcast.

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