As apart of their yearly goals, the Program on Climate Change (PCC) Undergraduate Cohort (UCo) strived to connect more with members of the PCC community and their research. Acting on this, UCo hosted their first Faculty Chat on Thursday April 24th. For this undergrad-centric talk, the group welcomed Dr. Kendall Valentine, a coastal geomorphologist and an Assistant Professor in the School of Oceanography at UW.
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P-GraSC Hosts Monthly Third Thursdays – An Interdisciplinary Community-Building Event
Since February, graduate and undergraduate students, postdoctoral researchers, staff, and faculty interested in climate change from across the university have gathered monthly for pizza and drinks. These “Third Thursday” happy hours, sponsored by the University of Washington Program on Climate Change (PCC), were the vision of members of the PCC’s Graduate Student Steering Committee (P-GraSC). “When asking ourselves what our role as P-GraSC should be within PCC, it became clear to our members that what we really need to be focusing on right now is building community within the College of the Environment and beyond for folks who are interested in furthering our understanding of climate change impacts and solutions,” says P-GraSC member Reese Barrett (School of Oceanography).
Read moreRecap of the 11th Annual Winter Welcome
On Wednesday, February 26th, the PCC community gathered for the 11th annual Winter Welcome. The evening started in the Fisheries Auditorium with introductions and updates from PCC director, Becky Alexander. We welcomed new community members and briefly learned a bit more about them. Additional updates included recognition of the 2024 Graubard Fellows and the announcement of the new Research Accelerator RFP.
Read moreCreating Experiences: UCo Undergraduate Involvement Series
The Program on Climate Change (PCC) Undergraduate Cohort (UCo) is a community driven to connect students to diversified opportunities and networks in climate science. Each year, UCo strives to host a variety of professional development events gauged toward students entering climate-centric careers. The group strives to break down barriers for careers and opportunities in climate and provide resources for personal advancement.
Read moreUnderstanding How the EIA is Measuring Noncombustible Renewables
by Cassia Cai, UW Oceanography Graduate Student The Clean Energy Transition Institute (CETI) has collaborated with the University of Washington’s Program on Climate Change (PCC) and its Actionable Community-Oriented Research eNgagement (ACORN) program to provide UW graduate students the opportunity to analyze key state and federal energy data. This collaboration has enabled the development of data visualizations for the Northwest Clean Energy Atlas, which I encourage you to explore. These visualizations can help regional decision-makers in planning the clean energy transition. As an ACORN fellow, I updated Atlas visualizations using energy data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In this blog, I examine the recent shift in the EIA’s approach to calculating the primary energy consumption of electricity generation from noncombustible renewables.
Full Blog in CETI newsletterDemystifying Emissions Accounting with the Clean Energy Transition Institute: a Capstone Project
Jade Sauvé, UW Oceanography As the world strives to meet ambitious climate goals, one critical yet often overlooked challenge is tracking and accounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emissions accounting plays a pivotal role in helping policymakers, businesses, and communities measure progress toward decarbonization. However, for many in the Northwest U.S., understanding how emissions are quantified and reported can seem like a daunting task.
Read moreWhere We Go From Here - A Youth's Reflections on Moving Towards Action as a Community
My name is Isaac Olson, and 4 years ago, I was a lot more naïve. In December 2020, I was still in my first year as an undergraduate at the UW, barely aware of what my future degrees would be. I had no idea that I would still be at the UW after 4 years, having gotten bachelor’s degrees in both Oceanography and Environmental Studies, and now pursuing a master’s degree with the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs.
Read moreGraubard Fellowship supports high resolution mapping of Sea Surface Temperature anomalies
by Naomi Wharton The ocean can store approximately 1000 times more heat than the atmosphere. As a result, where and when energy is released from the ocean to the atmosphere can have significant consequences for weather and climate patterns. Sea surface temperature (SST) is a key indicator of air-sea processes that transfer energy between the ocean and atmosphere across many spatial and temporal scales.
Read moreRoles of Uncultured Microbes in the Nitrogen Cycle of Oxygen Deficient Zones
by Jordan Winter, UW Oceanography Graduate Student Oxygen deficient zones (ODZs) are areas of the ocean with sluggish circulation that result in anoxic water columns hundreds of meters thick. These regions harbor many unique microbes and are expanding in depth and extent due to climate change. A common energy strategy for ODZ microbes is denitrification, which is the multi-step process of reducing nitrate to nitrogen gas.
Read moreAll (Undergraduates) Deserve A Climate Education
As Earth’s atmosphere, land, and oceans heat and host increasing amounts of fossil carbon, humanity struggles with one of the biggest challenges of our time, anthropogenic climate change. This struggle is ever more apparent at every level of society. How we address this challenge will determine our future as well as that of many species on the planet. Yet, according to the Yale Climate Opinion Survey results of 2023, over 60% of us in the U.S.
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