News & Blog

118 posts in Blog Post
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Announcements, Blog Post

A 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. 

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Blog Post

How 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. 

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Blog Post, Events, General, News and Views

The 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.  

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Blog Post, Fellowships, People

Connecting 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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Blog Post, GCeCS Capstone

Making a Real Connection: Using a Computer Game to Communicate about Climate Change and National Parks 

Do you like playing games? I’m talking about board games, cooperative team challenges, outdoor sports… If you’re a fan of getting your game on, you are not alone! Engaging in creative play provides captivating experiences that appeal to many people in ways that other types of experiences simply can’t match. Not only do games entertain, but they can also provide effective tools for learning, particularly about topics that are difficult to communicate about. 

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Blog Post, GCeCS Capstone

Closing the Gap Between Science and Use: New Interactive Data Visualizations of Washington’s Sea Level Rise Projections Using Tableau

Want your science to be used by planners or decision makers? Interactive data visualizations are a great way to make your information more accessible and usable. Providing users with easy “soundbites” to take away from your tool helps too. Scaling climate projections to local, policy-relevant scales is difficult. Trying to take these results andpackage them in an accessible way for decision makers can be even more challenging. 

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Blog Post, Summer Institute

Climate Change Impacts on 21st Century Food and Water Security

A 2019 Program on Climate Change Summer Institute and Friday Harbor Symposium, 11-13 September 2019 Written by Becky Alexander, PCC Director and Atmospheric Sciences Professor The PCC held another highly successful Summer Institute (SI) at Friday Harbor Labs from September 11-13, 2019 organized by Cecilia Bitz and David Battisti (both Atmospheric Sciences).  The topic of this year’s SI was “Climate Change Impacts on 21st Century Food and Water Security”.  

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Blog Post, Summer Institute

After Counting Our Summer Institute Carbon Emissions—Now What?

By Alex Stote The PCC Summer Institute, which brings together UW climate scientists, UW grad students, and several visiting climate scholars for a 3-day conference at Friday Harbor Labs, took a critical look at its own emissions footprint for the first time in its 11-year tenure. The exercise seemed fitting with year’s theme (Climate Change Impacts on Food and Water Security), and with the recent push-back climate scientists have received for their “business-as-usual” practices in their professional lives. 

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Blog Post, Education, GCeCS Capstone

How do you solve a problem like (teaching) climate change? Through problem-based learning!

What if we could offset the harms of global warming by spraying particles in the stratosphere or artificially increasing Arctic sea ice? Even if ideas like these were feasible, what might the unintended consequences be? And if there are “winners” and “losers” for a given proposal, who gets to decide what is to be done? Sammamish High School students were asked to tackle difficult questions like these this autumn as part of my Program on Climate Change (GCeCS) capstone project. 

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Blog Post, Education, GCeCS Capstone

Mapping climate science needs and networks in the Pacific Northwest through evaluation of a climate science newsletter

“If scientists can’t communicate with the public, with policy makers, with one another, the future is going to be held back. We’re not going to have the future that we could have.” — Alan Alda Knowing and deeply understanding your audience is one of the key elements of effective science communication. It is the primary way to ensure that your science is useful to others. 

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