Get answers to your sustainability questions from SAGE, a Stanford project dedicated to providing sound environmental advice and information to alumni and other members of the Stanford community. Students from environmental communications course IPER 200 look forward to answering your questions—and bridging the gap between scientific understanding and public awareness. 

SAGE is a product of IPER 200: Going Green: Research, Writing and Reporting to the Public. The course, which is given twice a year, draws enthusiastic graduate students (and gifted undergraduates) from the natural sciences, journalism, social studies, engineering and more. Students dive into the course by learning classical journalism techniques, focusing on the "advice column" genre made famous by Dear Abby and Ask Amy. Classes early in the quarter cover subjects such as audience identification, voice, interviewing, humor and writing for clarity. Special attention is given to differentiating the roles of reporter and columnist from those of scientist and observer.

Each student is matched with three questions on environmental and sustainability issues submitted by members of the Stanford community. They range from the existential ("Are we doomed?") to the lifestyle-based ("What is the biggest barrier to reducing our use of disposable plastics?") to the specific ("How much energy do a typical laptop and desktop use in standby mode?"). Course instructor Thomas Hayden considers the learning stage, writing skills and personal interests of each student before assigning him or her questions to answer. Hayden, a longtime science journalist, puts on his "editor-in-chief" hat as his students research, draft and revise their columns. Each month, STANFORD magazine publishes a selection of these columns on its website.

To submit a question, please visit SAGE on the STANFORD magazine website.

SAGE is a joint project of the School of Earth Sciences, the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in the Environment and Resources (E-IPER) and the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University.

Recently asked questions

It's obvious that reusing plastic bags is a good idea, but it's not obvious that recycling them is worthwhile because they have so little mass. How much energy and raw materials are actually required to make plastic shopping bags, and how much do we save by recycling them?  View answer

For a household appliance, at what energy differential does it make sense to replace immediately vs. at end of life for the unit?  View answer

I like wine, red wine.  I am trying to define the greenest wines.  I have thought about harvest practices and shipping methods and their impact on the environment.  It would be great to get help defining which wines are greener.  View answer