News

International Summer School in Telecoupling/Metacoupling Research

Published on April 9, 2026
Frontiers in Telecoupling and Metacoupling Research for Addressing Global Sustainability Challenges.
From local action to global impact: A new framework for advancing sustainable development

Published on February 9, 2026
An international team, including CSIS member and Alumni, presents a comprehensive framework for understanding and managing cross-scale socioeconomic and environmental interconnections and feedback.
The hidden hubs driving the global illegal wildlife trade

Published on February 4, 2026
New research reveals how transit countries quietly enable wildlife trafficking — and why targeting these hubs could disrupt global trafficking networks.
Call for papers for special issue on telecoupling / metacoupling

Published on December 10, 2025
Special issue in the International journal Geography and Sustainability calls for papers on telecoupling/metacoupling.
Welcome to Join Telecoupling and Metacoupling Programs at IALE-NA

Published on November 18, 2024
Two organized telecoupling/metacoupling programs will be hold at the 2025 IALE-NA annual meeting.
Workshop on Metacoupling

Published on May 6, 2024
A workshop on metacoupling was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on April 3, 2024.Metacoupling: A New Interdisciplinary Frontier for Global Sustainability
Study: World sustainability is different from sum of its parts

Published on January 30, 2024
Global sustainable development cannot be achieved by countries that act alone, a study underscores. In Nature Communications.
Going with, and understanding, flow key to sustainability

Published on September 20, 2023
Sept. 20, 2023 - Devising a way to characterize how human and natural systems interact with each other. In Ecology & Society.
Reading global catastrophes needs a new lens for sharp solutions

Published on August 29, 2022
If the global community doesn’t learn to spot and address the short- and long-term changes, both harm and opportunity can be unchecked. Metacoupling offers a sharper lens.
Thirsty cities need a human/nature infrastructure combo

Published on October 21, 2021
MSU sustainability scientists take a holistic approach to find that human construction alone doesn't make urban water ecosystem services sustainable
Liu's work contributes to MSU's SDG global rank

Published on April 21, 2021
MSU earns global accolades for its progress working toward the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Jack Liu's contributions helped boost "Partnerships" SDG.
Scientists advocate breaking laws – of geography and ecology

Published on February 2, 2021
All that’s local is a lot more global, and scientists say solutions can only be found through broader views and collaborations nearby and far away.
Farms, tables and revealing vast impacts between and beyond

Published on November 17, 2020
A unique study in Nature Communications examines how food, energy, water and greenhouse gases create a vast front in the battle to feed the planet.
Networks, clusters and how global meat markets tick

Published on October 7, 2020
MSU researchers in Scientific Reports combined a network model approach with cluster analysis of meat trade in 134 countries from 1995 to 2015.
Striving and stumbling towards sustainability amongst pandas and people

Published on September 3, 2020
Understanding how achieving one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals spins off more SDG success – or sabotages progress on another goal across spatial and administrative boundaries.
Well-off countries need trade to cut environmental woes

Published on July 13, 2020
A first analysis of its kind shows a common problem between haves and have-nots. Trading internationally was generally good for developed countries but resulted in environmental losses for developing countries.
Diving deep into water and energy trade-offs

Published on April 30, 2019
Two papers by Michigan State University (MSU) scientists begin challenging a more simplistic, input/output view of natural resources in favor of a way that better reflected how the world really works.
Sustainability without borders – new ways to integrate sciences

Published on September 14, 2018
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