Climate Impacts Group

New winter quarter seminar: Linking Knowledge and Action

Dr. Amy Snover and Dr. Meade Krosby are offering an exciting new winter quarter seminar on the theory of practice of linking knowledge and action. This one-credit, reading and discussion-based seminar will explore the theory and practice of linking knowledge with action in support of progress on critical environmental challenges. Concepts will be illustrated using examples from efforts to inform societal responses to climate change. This course (ATMS/ESS/OCN 593) will meet on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:20. 

CIG to co-host event on urban environmental justice

The complex interplay between urban development, climate change and environmental and social justice is the focus of a two-day symposium to be held at the University of Washington Nov. 7 and 8. The free, public event will feature speakers from around the country and panel discussions on topics ranging from urban population health to teaching about environmental justice. The event will be co-hosted by Urban UW and the UW Climate Impacts Group. 

CIG Data Featured on New White House Climate Data Site

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has launched the Partnership for Resilience and Preparedness (PReP) initiative, a new public-private collaboration which aims to increase the accessibility of climate data that can help communities and businesses to successfully adapt to climate change. This initiative features data from the Climate Impacts Group recent report, State of Knowledge: Climate Change in Puget Sound. 

MoNA exhibit “Surge” joins climate scientists and artists

University of Washington scientists who are members of the Skagit Climate Science Consortium collaborated with artists for an exhibit, “Surge,” that will run through this weekend (9/25) at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington. Guillaume Mauger, a research scientist in the UW’s Climate Impacts Group, Dave Peterson, a UW affiliate professor of environmental and forest sciences, and Christina Bandaragoda, a UW research scientist in civil and environmental engineering, were among scientists who consulted with artists on their creations for a first-time exhibit focusing on climate change and its impacts on Northwest coastal communities. 

Office of the WA State Climatologist September newsletter is released

The OWSC Newsletter contains information on the current state of Washington’s climate, including the current outlook and a review of notable climate and weather events. Topics covered in the September issue include: an August climate summary; a note on what makes cool or wet summers; a drought and streamflow update; the temperature and precipitation outlook. The newsletter is produced monthly and will be available on the OWSC website or by e-mail subscription. 

CIG Blog Post | Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot: How the Summer Heat Can Get You Down

CIG’s inaugural blog post “Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot: How the Summer Heat Can Get You Down” contains information on how hot summer temperatures can affect human health, an analysis of the summer heat in 2015, a temperature outlook for August through October, and some tips and guides for staying safe and healthy in the summer heat. This blog post was written by Maggie Beetstra (Climate Impacts Group) and Karin Bumbaco (Office of the Washington State Climatologist). 

Seattle Think & Drink | The Californians are Coming: Climate Migration & the PNW

History shows that climate change leads to massive movements of people, and we’ve now entered what might be the fastest period of climate change in earth’s history. How will it affect the human populations of North America? Who will move where? How will it affect human rights? And is the Northwest really the relatively safe haven it’s commonly thought to be? Join Lara Whitely Binder of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, and Jeni Krencicki Barcelos, co-founder of the Three Degrees Project at the UW School of Law. Moderated by KUOW environmental reporter Ashley Ahearn.

Date: Tuesday August 23, 2016

Time: 7-9:30 pm

Location: Naked City Brewery and Taphouse, 8564 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle 

NASA analysis finds July 2016 is warmest on record

July 2016 was the warmest July in 136 years of modern record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The monthly analysis by the GISS team is assembled from publicly available data acquired by about 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations. 

For the PNW, how costly is climate change? Experts weigh in

The success of The Seattle Times LiveWire event series continued with “Endangered Economy: The high cost of climate change,” an enlightening forum about the impact of climate change on the Pacific Northwest economy. A panel of local and national experts, including CIG’s Deputy Director – Joe Casola, discussed how our region can take steps to protect a sustainable future for marine life, forestry, agriculture and the billion dollar industries that depend on their growth. 

Upcoming Webinar: How will Forests Affect Mountain Snow Storage in a Warming Climate?

Tuesday, May 24th, 2016 | 12:00 PM PDT

In this webinar, Susan E. Dickerson-Lange will present on Northwest Climate Science Center supported research that led to the creation of a conceptual model that paired relevant spatial datasets for considering the combined impacts of forest and climate change across the Pacific Northwest, USA. Predicting the effects of forest on snow storage depends on drivers that vary across locations, such as winter temperature, wind speed, cloudiness, and solar radiation. The net result is that management actions, such as timber harvesting, can have unintended effects on snow storage and duration depending on location. Join the webinar to learn more about how to use maps of key climate and physical features across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to optimize snow storage in forest management decisions.