Climate Change

Switzer Fellow Susannah Lerman, Research Ecologist with the USDA Forest Service, is a co-lead of a partnership with the University of Minnesota that will establish the first urban long-term ecosystem research (LTER) site in the Midwest. Funded by a $7.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul (MSP) Long-Term Ecological Research Program will focus on the dynamics of urban nature and the urban social system in the face of rapid environmental and social change.

We are pleased to announce that Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz was listed as one of Grist's 50 Fixers for 2021.

Ayana Elizabeth Johnson was recently interviewed by Gina McCarthy for a profile as one of the leaders selected to TIME100 Next 2021. When the dark consequences of climate change engulf our discourse, I search for a light that shines on the opportunities and potential for the future. That’s why I turn to Ayana Elizabeth Johnson.

Sarah Smith, Clean Air Task Force’s Super Pollutants Program Director, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC). She will be instrumental in driving their 2030 Vision that aims to put the world on a pathway that rapidly reduces warming the near-term while maximizing development, health, environmental and food security benefits.

The population of Texas today stands at almost 28 million. By 2050, that number is predicted to nearly double to 55 million, with most people clustered in already-dense urban centers like Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin.Over the next several decades, researchers also project an increase in the frequency and intensity of storms like Hurricane Harvey, as well as more heat, droughts, and floods.

Henry Herndon was one of the featured guests on a recent episode of New Hampshire Public Radio's The Exchange, talking about community power. Listen to the episode

Kartikeya Singh recently wrote a commentary piece for the Center for Strategic & International Studies' website called "Agenda for India's Green Recovery" in which he argues elements of India's fiscal policies coupled with cooperation of states can be leveraged to ensure India’s continued economic growth also supports its ecological security.

The first chapter of Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz's dissertation was published in late January in PLoS One. His co-author is his advisor, Meredith T. Niles. The paper looks at Puerto Rican farmers’ climate change and adaptation perception in light of their experience with Hurricane Maria, as it relates to the adoption of new practices.

Late last year, Princeton researchers released a major study modeling different ways the U.S. could reduce its net emissions to zero by 2050 — a target that has been advanced by scientists, and countries around the world, as our best hope for limiting the worst effects of climate change.