One of the most memorable characters from the cartoon series Charlie Brown is the faceless and prosaic teacher. Even though this character had no physical manifestation — no form, no dialogue — the caricature is memorable because of the frustration and giddiness it caused you to feel. No matter how eventful Charlie Brown’s day may have been, when he arrived at school, the teacher would motor on “wah-wah-wah-wah-wah,” inspiring the students to mutter to each other, “Are you getting anything of this?” Well, in a lot of adult learning situations, don’t you feel the same way?
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been a relatively controversial topic in recent times. Yet when it comes to human perspective, let’s be clear about one thing: people don’t usually know what’s good for them.
The relationship between climate change and economic development has often been overlooked or deemed improbable. However, as climate change becomes an increasing threat to society’s finite resources and as technological prowess grows, many have begun to uncover the potential between fostering fruitful conversation regarding climate change and our economical future.
Flying into the eastern Caribbean region at the end of May, the lush green vegetation that would normally greet visitors from the skies above was visibly brown. This was the first indication that precipitation over the islands was below normal, a fact confirmed by the climatological reports from the various islands. But will the drought last through the rainy season?
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of satellites? If you were alive in the 1960s, you might have vivid memories of Russia’s Sputnik — the world’s very first satellite — and the resulting Space Race to be the first country to reach the moon. For younger generations, your association with satellites might be from brief references in pop culture, such as a glimpse in the Disney movie WALL-E or maybe something more Star Wars-esque. Now, picture a rural community in a poverty-stricken part of Africa.
It was a clear and beautiful June morning when I joined a team led by Neil Pederson, Senior Ecologist at Harvard Forest to venture out into a swamp forest in Westminster, Massachusetts. Our mission was to core old-growth Atlantic white cedar that grows in these forests. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Atlantic white cedar is one of only six species in this genus. Only three of the six are native to the continent, and two of them are West Coast species. This leaves Atlantic white cedar as the only representative in the East, where it occurs in a narrow band along the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida.
Did you know landfills are essentially evil cupcakes? It’s true. Find out why.
Carbon capture and sequestration, commonly referred to by its acronym CCS, could be an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But scientific perceptions of it versus the public are two different things.
When most people think of forests, their mind immediately connects to pristine scenes of wilderness with undulating hills and valleys, highly dense tree coverage and wildlife roaming the woods. Street trees, on the other hand, are not quite the same as the ones in national forests, but there’s a growing body of literature espousing their benefits.
Arctic governance is quickly emerging as the geopolitical question of the century. With climate change increasing the potential for new shipping routes, as well as interest growing in the areas of mining and extractive processes, players like the Russian Federation, Canada and Norway, among others, are aiming to develop their northernmost territories.
