Energy Resources & Access

Abstract

2019 Fellow Tamara Marcus studies methane emissions from permafrost thaw with Ruth Varner, professor of Earth sciences and director of the Earth Systems Research Center in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire. In addition to researching the impact of warming on carbon emissions from Arctic Lakes, Marcus is exploring how indigenous communities understand and apply weather and climate data.

Despite constant pressure from the oil and natural gas lobby, the 2016 EPA methane standards for the oil and gas industry still stand strong, writes Fellow Sarah Smith.

Fellow Pamela McElwee was one of the lead authors of the recently released IPCC report on climate change and land use. From The New York Times: The world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates,” a new United Nations report warns, which combined with climate change is putting dire pressure on the ability of humanity to feed itself.

July 2019 is now the hottest month in recorded history, the U.N. confirmed on Thursday.

Melting Himalayan glaciers are releasing decades of accumulated pollutants into downstream ecosystems, according to a new study. The new research in AGU’s Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres finds chemicals used in pesticides that have been accumulating in glaciers and ice sheets around the world since the 1940s are being released as Himalayan glaciers melt as a result of climate change.

Our policy engagement training partners, COMPASS, published an abridged version of a UCSD TedX Talk by Fellow Natalya Gallo. Her preparation and persistence enabled her to become a resource for international policy makers, bringing ocean science to climate discussions.

New research shows that the extreme weather and fires of recent years, similar to the flooding that has struck Louisiana and the Midwest, may be making Americans sick in ways researchers are only beginning to understand. By knocking chemicals loose from soil, homes, industrial-waste sites or other sources, and spreading them into the air, water and ground, disasters like these — often intensified by climate change — appear to be exposing people to an array of physical ailments including respiratory disease and cancer. ...

Uncontrolled releases of household, industrial, and agricultural chemicals during natural disasters pose an underappreciated hazard to humans and ecosystems. Fellow Kimberley Rain Miner lays out what we can do.