News & Blog
2020 PCC SI: Climate Extremes and Climate and Environmental Equity
PCC held its first virtual Summer Institute (SI) over five days from September 14 – 18, 2020. The topic of this year’s SI was “Climate Extremes and Climate and Environmental Equity” Written by Becky Alexander, Lead Summer Institute Organizer, PCC Director and Atmospheric Sciences Professor The topic was chosen via in-person (pre-COVID) voting at the annual Winter Welcome on February 25, 2020.
Read moreIntroducing ACORN Projects
We often refer to an “academic bubble” filled with researchers, professors, and students, like ourselves, who are isolated from the broader communities they inhabit. Importantly, academic research objectives don’t always align with the immediate, actionable priorities of these wider communities. While the extent to which “academic bubbles” exist can be debated, there is undoubtedly room for improvement in conducting meaningful engagement and research in partnership with communities.
Read moreIt’s better outside: Water and Climate Science Education
written by Oriana Chegwidden Paper is crummy in the rain. Teenagers are listening, even if they seem distracted. An illustration of a snowman is incomplete without a stovepipe hat. A few of the lessons learned while exploring outdoor climate change education as part of my Graduate Certificate in Climate Science. The origin story The saga began in January 2017 when Jessica Badgeley, a graduate student in the Earth and Space Sciences department at the University of Washington, asked me whether I would be interested in being a guest scientist the upcoming summer on a Girls on Ice (GOI) Expedition to Mount Baker in the North Cascades.
Read moreWhat can states and their partners do about ocean acidification?
Working with the OA Alliance to map out pathways to action Written by: Charlotte Dohrn and Hanna Miller What do you think of when you read “ocean acidification”? For many of us, the phrase conjures up an image of an oyster. These delicious bivalves have been the “face” of ocean acidification (OA) since the mid-2000s. While scientists had previously been aware of OA, it wasn’t until oyster hatcheries on the U.S.
Read moreThe Present Writes the Future: Climate Writing in the Era of COVID-19
There is no preparation for how to teach and learn during a global pandemic, much less how to approach writing about the climate crisis amidst an acute public health crisis. During Spring quarter, as we moved our lives online and braced ourselves for the uncertainties and suffering brought on by COVID-19, I met twice a week with a group of undergraduates, leading a class on climate writing.
Read moreHi There, Partner: A workshop on communicating and collaborating across differences
Talking to people about what you believe in is always hard, especially when they don’t have the same beliefs as you. It can be even more challenging with the daunting timelines from the IPCC in the background. Scientists can be better equipped to discuss climate change across political and ideological difference with more training on how to frame their argument. Developing relationships with different communities can allow scientists to address their research questions and local concerns in a team effort to address climate change.
Read moreA Message from the PCC
In these challenging times, PCC recognizes the disproportionate impacts of the pandemic and climate change on black and brown communities and cultures around the world. Disproportionate impacts are fueled by systemic racism exemplified by the recent killing of unarmed African Americans in the United States. While recent protests here in Seattle and around the country make such inequities especially apparent now, we realize that these inequities represent the everyday lives of racial minorities now and have for generations.
Read moreHow can communities reduce their carbon footprint? An introduction to Community Choice Aggregation and community science
Here in Seattle, hydropower supplies more than 85% of our electricity. But in Arlington County, Virginia, the dominant utility derives at least 50% of its energy from fossil fuels. This leaves electricity consumers with little power over their carbon footprints—how can communities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions while tied to a utility-controlled energy mix? Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) offers an alternative to existing utilities, providing renewable energy options at competitive rates.
Read moreThe Program on Climate Change Winter Welcome 2020. In the Time Before.
On 25 February 2020, 80 climate scientists, educators and staff from across campus gathered in person to celebrate much that was new in the community for 2019/2020. What we did not realize at the time was that this was going to be one of the last face-to-face interactions we could have as a community for months. Two weeks later, on March 9 the University of Washington went to remote operations, finishing the winter quarter online.
Read moreConnecting ice-core data with climate models: An interdisciplinary project to examine glacial-interglacial changes in Antarctica
Which of the following is a more effective tool for learning about past changes in Earth’s climate: measurements from paleoclimate records or outputs from climate model simulations? Depending on who you ask, you will probably get a different answer to this question. Through my research on climate in Antarctica, I’ve been convinced that both tools are equally important. In fact, both tools are necessary in order to maximize understanding of the Earth’s climate system.
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