​APPRECIATION   Too Soon Gone – Gary Braasch,
​Visual Chronicler of Climate Change

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​Gary Braasch, world-renowned photojournalist, died on Monday while snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Gary was the first photographer to devote his life to documenting the effects of climate change around the world, to alert humanity about its perils and to encourage the world’s leaders to take immediate action to reduce CO2 emissions. Gary captured this profound love of place in his magnificent photographs which allowed the viewer to feel the essence of a place in a still image - Lynne Cherry, http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/08
Climate confusion among U.S. teachers
We examine how this societal debate affects science classrooms and find that, whereas most U.S. science teachers include climate science in their courses, their insufficient grasp of the science may hinder effective teaching. Mirroring some actors in the societal debate over climate change, many teachers repeat scientifically unsupported claims in class. Greater attention to teachers' knowledge, but also values, is critical.



Science  Vol 351, Issue 6274, 12 February 2016
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World Leaders  met in Paris through Dec. 12 to tackle the world's most challenging issue.  We highly recommend reading the NYTimes article below which also tackles the issue of Climate Change facts in an easy question and answer format.
Short Answers to Hard Questions about Climate Change ​- Quick answers to often-asked questions about climate change; you can submit your own questions, New York Times, November 2015.

​​Mother Nature's Invisible Hand Strikes Back Against the Carbon Economy

In less than a decade, Mother Nature's ever more visible hand emerged as a force punishing the "market inefficiencies" and rampant externalization of the hydrocarbon economy. The best indicator of this correction is the mounting loss of "ecosystem services." These are the common goods upon which human civilization - and, truth be told, all life - depends. Yet, humans simply take them for granted - Truthout, Jan. 16, 2016

Charting the results of the climate summit 
 Paris Accord Considers Climate Change as a Factor in Mass Migration
By 2020, some 60 million people could move from the desertified areas of sub-Saharan Africa toward North Africa and Europe, the report found; by 2050, about 200 million people may be permanently displaced.
New York Times,  DEC., 2015
Falling Short on Climate in Paris  ...the world emerges, finally, with something like a climate accord, albeit unenforceable. If all parties kept their promises, the planet would warm by an estimated 6.3 degrees Fahrenheit, or 3.5 degrees Celsius, above preindustrial levels. And that is way, way too much. We are set to pass the 1 degree Celsius mark this year, and that’s already enough to melt ice caps and push the sea level threateningly higher.  NYTimes, opinion by Bill McKibben, Dec. 2014
Like Obamacare, Climate Gives President Huge Win on Shaky Ground  As with the healthcare overhaul of his first term, Obama secured a policy win that has eluded predecessors for decades. The climate accord reached by 195 countries on Saturday seeks to fundamentally alter the world’s energy system, moving the globe away from reliance on fossil fuels as a way to avoid what many link to catastrophic changes to the environment.  Bloomberg Business, Alex Nussbaum, Dec. 2015
Landmark Climate-Change Agreement Hailed as ‘Leap for Mankind’
“The tightening of the temperature is a momentous achievement,” said Donald MacDonald, chair of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, a group of 120 funds managing $14 trillion. “Pension funds recognize their fiduciary duty to address climate risk and, where necessary, to reallocate investment away from high carbon-related activity likely to destroy shareholder value.”
 Bloomberg Business, Alex Morales, Ewa Krukowska  Dec. 2015