In Winter 2022 the Climate Justice Institute welcomed eight UW faculty members to discuss and build lesson plans through a climate justice lens. This was the second year of offering this program, with co-sponsorship from the Program on the Environment, the Program on Climate Change and the College of the Environment. As the desire for connecting science and community grows among students, the incorporation of climate, environmental justice, and civic engagement into courses is becoming more prominent.
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To prevent mass marine extinction event, we must address climate change
Recent research conducted by Dr. Curtis Deutsch and Postdoctoral Research Associate Justin Penn reveal a bleak impending future for ocean biodiversity. Their research, which synthesizes projections of climate change and physiological data of marine species to predict how creatures will be affected by anthropogenic habitat change, reveals that extinctions from modern emissions have the potential to rival the severity of historic mass extinctions under high-emission scenarios.
Read moreMystery of rapid yearly retreat of Antarctic sea ice explained by seasonal solar radiation
The source of the rapid annual retreat of Antarctic sea ice has long eluded scientists. However, according to a new study co-authored by former Program on Climate Change Director and current Atmospheric Sciences Chair Cecilia Bitz, the puzzling long-term actions of Antarctic sea ice may have simply been obscuring a straightforward solution: the fast yearly retreat is simply explained by seasonal solar radiation.
Read moreUW contributors to IPCC report underscore climate change's threat to humanity
Recently, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Working Group II report, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, and two distinguished experts on the intersection of human health and climate change from the UW, Dr. Kristie Ebi and Dr. Jeremy Hess, served as lead authors. Dr. Ebi and Dr. Hess specifically authored Chapter 7 of the report, focusing on the “Health, wellbeing and the changing structure of communities,” and Dr.
Read morePCC 2022 Winter Welcome: Together Again
After two years, the PCC Winter Welcome finally made its in-person return on March 1st, 2022! In fact, this was the first large-scale in-person event for many community members in years, hopefully signifying the beginning of a trend towards the revitalization of face-to-face interactions as we continue working to overcome the crisis posed by COVID-19. With around 70 climate-minded scientists, educators, students, and staff in attendance from across the UW and beyond joining us in the Fisheries Sciences Building, the PCC community truly came together to celebrate everything the PCC and its members have achieved during the past year.
Read morePCC Undergraduate Cohort: Inspiring Climate Hope
On Thursday, February 24th, the PCC Undergraduate Cohort held its Winter Quarter meeting, focusing on sharing and discussing stories of climate hope. We are constantly inundated with discouraging news surrounding the state of the environment and the future of climate change, and while it is important to remember that the climate crisis is certainly a crisis, it is not one without moments of hope, success, and inspiration.
Read moreNew Method Reveals the Unparalleled Extent of Today's Global Warming
Researchers at the University of Arizona have recreated the last 24,000 years of Earth’s climate, dating back to the last ice age, using a method developed by co-author Gregory Hakim, professor in UW’s Atmospheric Sciences Department. Hakim’s strategy is a form of data assimilation and involves combining the strengths of both observational data from paleoclimate proxies and computer models of climate to best reconstruct past temperatures.
Read morePCC Undergraduate Cohort: Finding Research Opportunities
The PCC Undergraduate Cohort hosted its first official event on November 18, 2021! The event aimed to inform climate-minded undergraduates about why they should get involved with research here at the UW, how to look for open positions, and how to apply for a research position once one is found. There was both a seminar-style presentation and a Q & A panel with current College of the Environment undergraduates who have gotten research positions in the past, providing lots of practical advice to the over two dozen interested undergrads who attended!
Read moreClimate and Environmental Justice Course Development Workshop - Winter 2022
The Program on Climate Change and the Program on the Environment, with additional support from the College of the Environment, are sponsoring a Climate and Environmental Justice course development workshop during winter quarter 2022. First taught in winter 2021, this year it is co-facilitated by Dr.’s Heather Price (North Seattle College) and Alex Turner (UW ATM S). The interactive, results-driven workshop will consist of four 1.5-2 hour meetings spread over the winter quarter.
Read moreCan “scrollytelling” effectively communicate the link between climate science and fishery disaster impacts?
Creating a dynamic webpage to convey the cascading impacts of climate change on the U.S. West Coast Dungeness crab fishery. A capstone in fulfillment of the UW PCC Graduate Certificate in Climate Science. Written by: Katy Bland, M.M.A. 2021 (SMEA) On the U.S. west coast, harmful algal blooms (HABs) have become frequent over the last two decades. To the average person on the west coast, a bloom may mean that razor clams or Dungeness crabs are missing from the grocery, but to fishers, seafood processors, and coastal communities, HABs may mean that fisheries are delayed and livelihoods are affected.
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