Department of Earth, Environmental & Planetary Sciences

Following the DEM's two-year Air Toxic Study, South Providence residents are advocating for a plan to address the air pollution in the area. Professor Meredith Hastings, the Breathe Providence project leader, commented on the air quality, saying, "We know there’s a lot of bad stuff in the air. Sometimes it’s illegal. It’s definitely cancer-causing.” Linda Perri, head of the Washington Park Neighborhood Association, told City Council members and planners, “We need to have a say in how the growth is going to happen, especially because we breathe the air and we live in the shadow of the port.”

DEEPS is proud to announce that Department Chair and George Ide Chase Professor of Physical Sciences Meredith Hastings is this year's recipient of the Meenakshi Narain Excellence in Research Mentoring (ERM) Award.

In this video, DEEPS Chair Meredith Hastings (George Ide Chase Professor of Physical Sciences and Professor of Environment and Society), and Jesus Holguin, Executive Director and Programming Steward of the Racial & Environmental Justice Committee in Providence, speak powerfully to their experience building a research collaboration grounded in shared power and ownership, trusting relationships, and knowledge held by communities as well as academics.

DEEPS Chair, Professor Meredith Hastings discussed the air quality in Providence, as monitored through her Breathe Providence project.