Recent updates from CIRCol

National experts on incarceration and climate change — including Kate LeMasters, Amite Dominick, Michael Clifton, Maggie Leon-Corwin, and David Ciplet — presented at the CU Boulder Natural Hazards Workshop panel “Coalition-Driven Research: Insights from Campaigns to End Inhumane Incarceration in a Changing Climate.”

The Colorado Environmental Justice and Incarceration Project Community Advisory Board made up of formerly incarcerated Coloradans presented priority environmental health concerns for the next phase of research in Colorado. Top priorities: mold contamination in facilities and microplastics exposure among people recently released from prison. Additional concerns raised included toxic siting, aging infrastructure, water quality, and access to nature.

CIRCol leaders and affiliates publish article on mass incarceration and climate change. LeMasters, Katherine, Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein, David Ciplet, David Cloud, Kristen Cowan, William Eisenman, Lawrence Haber, Allison Macht, and Colleen E. Reid. “Mass incarceration as a climate justice issue.” Environmental Research Letters 21, no. 8 (2026): 084007.

Research participants and researchers presented findings from a study on extreme temperatures and prisons in Colorado at RedLine Contemporary Art Center in Denver.

National Extreme Temperatures Research Convening, co-organized with the David Rockefeller Fund — 12 researchers and 45 participants gather to advance the field.