Hi, I’m Lisa Pettibone. I am a writer, teacher, lapsed political scientist, and sustainability geek. I was born and raised in the United States, but I’ve lived in Germany for the past ten years.
I worked the past several years in sustainability research. I am interested in learning what is happening to our planet’s natural systems, and why we as a global community are doing so little to protect them. As a political scientist, I focused on solutions in the political sphere. I have published several articles and a book on issues ranging from sustainability in cities to citizen science to education for sustainable development (in German).
But when the latest IPCC report came out, basically saying we have 12 years to stop everything we’re doing and get serious about climate change, I realized studying the problem isn’t good enough anymore. Research is too slow. I need to make a change now.
So I started a podcast. I’m giving my best shot to reduce my negative environmental impact. I want to get serious about doing my part and hope that by doing so, I can inform and inspire others to start their own climate diets. And hold me to mine.
Professional experience
In case you’re wondering, “who is this person to talk about sustainability?,” here are some of the places I’ve worked:
- Berlin Museum für Naturkunde
- Berlin Social Science Research Center (WZB)
- Citizens For Europe e.V.
- George Washington University
- German Bundestag
- German Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture & Consumer Protection (BMELV)
- U.S. Department of Energy
- U.S. Senate
When I think about it, I feel like Forrest Gump sometimes: often in the right place at the right time to do really cool work.
Publications
Looking for my scientific publications? Here are some I’m especially proud of.
- Pettibone, L. (2015). Governing urban sustainability: Comparing cities in the USA and Germany. Urban Planning and Environment series. Surrey: Ashgate. Also available in paperback and e-book.
- Pettibone, L. (2018). Nachhaltige Herausforderungen:Die schwierige Doppelrolle als Forscherin und Dozentin. WZB Mitteilungen 162: 63–65.
- Pettibone, L., Blättel-Mink, B., Balázs, B., Di Giulio, A., Göbel, C., Heubach, K., Hummel, D., Lundershausen, J., Lux, A., Potthast, T., Vohland, K., & Wyborn, C. (2018). Transdisciplinary sustainability research and citizen science: Options for mutual learning. GAIA – Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society 27(2): 222-225.
- Pettibone, L. (2017). Introduction: The need for integrative and interdisciplinary approaches for urban sustainability. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences 7(1): 108-111. Introduction to special issue on urban sustainability, edited by Lisa Pettibone and Laurie Kaye Nijaki.
- Pettibone, L., Göbel, C., Grimm, M., Vohland, K. (2017). Wie Bürger mitforschen können. duz 5: 69–71.
- Pettibone, L., Vohland, K., Bonn, A., Richter, A., Bauhus, W., Behrisch, B., Borcherding, R., Brandt, M., Bry, F., Dörler, D., Elbertse, I., Glöckler, F., Göbel, C., Hecker, S., Heigl, F., Herdick, M., Kiefer, S., Kluttig, T., Kühn, E., Kühn, K., Oldorff, S., Oswald, K., Röller, O., Schefels, C., Schierenberg, A., Scholz, W., Schumann, A., Sieber, A., Smolarski, R., Tochtermann, K., Wende, W., Ziegler, D. (2016). Citizen Science für alle – Eine Handreichung für Citizen Science-Beteiligte. GEWISS Publikation. http://www.buergerschaffenwissen.de. (also available in English)
- Pettibone, L., Vohland, K, & Ziegler, D. (2017). Understanding the (inter)disciplinary and institutional diversity of citizen science: A survey of current practice in Germany and Austria. PLOS ONE 12(6): e0178778.
- Pettibone, L. (2014). Sustainability needs citizens, but do citizens need sustainability? Introduction to a disruptive worldview. Open Citizenship 5(1): 14-25.
And some not-so-scientific publications:
- 2017 blog post about my wacky career path in the “Making Tracks” series at the Rachel Carson Center.