CSU's The Audit

Jessie Luna is an associate professor of sociology at Colorado State University. Her research investigates how cultural politics intersect with processes of capitalism to produce and naturalize social inequalities and environmental change. She recently spoke to CSU's The Audit about how cultural stereotypes impact our everyday lives, even during a simple trip to the zoo.

Can you put a price on nature? Or maybe the better question is, should you put a price on nature?It may sound like a bizarre concept, but it’s one that renowned environmental economist Ed Barbier says could be key to saving the planet.Barbier is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Economics at Colorado State University, as well as a Senior Scholar in the Sch

There are lots of different types of friends. Best friends, work friends. Facebook friends, even frenemies. Each has an important role in our lives that has been shown to impact our mental and physical health.Now the American Friendship Project, a new program co-led by Colorado State University communication studies researcher Natalie Pennington, provides one of the most complete l

Despite its landlocked location, Colorado State University is well known all along the Atlantic coast for its seasonal hurricane forecasts. Each spring, these forecasts predict the total amount and potential strength of storms for the upcoming hurricane season.The forecasts were first developed and shared by pioneering atmospheric science researcher William Gray, and are frequently

In March, a New York state judge ruled that a lawsuit could go forward against several social media companies alleging that the platforms contributed to the radicalization of a gunman who killed 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in 2022. The lawsuit claims companies like Meta, Reddit and 4Chan “profit from the racist, antisemitic and violent material displayed on

Methane is odorless, colorless, and invisible to the naked eye. But it's also one of the most damaging greenhouse gases impacting climate change. Colorado State University biology professor Joe von Fischer researches how humans, plants, soil and soil microbes influence greenhouse gas emissions, including methane. Today, we're talking with Von Fischer about how methane compares to t

Accounting may not be the sexiest topic but in the early 2000s everyone was talking about it after the energy company Enron was found to have committed widespread accounting fraud. Hiding billions of debt, Enron and its accounting firm Arthur Anderson misled Enron's board of directors and its shareholders, who eventually filed a $40 billion lawsuit against the company. In addition

On the second floor of Colorado State University’s Morgan Library, there are hundreds of boxes and stacks of books all dedicated to just one topic — water.There’s a copy of the Colorado River Compact, the landmark document that governs how the seven states that make up the Colorado River basin allocate its water. There are letters regarding Elwood Mead — Lake Mead’s names

Wearable health trackers monitor everything from how many steps we take in a day to how well we sleep at night. But does this technology actually encourage better health? Does hearing that little voice declare "exercise ring closed" actually motivate people to work out? That's the question Natalie Pennington decided to answer. An assistant professor of communication studies at Colo

Much has changed over the years since Colorado State University first partnered with the National Western Stock Show when it began in 1906. Over the decades, it's become not only about selling livestock, but about selling potential livestock. Thanks to genetics and the seedstock industry. For almost 50 years, the CSU Seedstock Merchandising Team has been part of that endeavor, work