Volume 1 of the Congressionally mandated 4th U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA) was released earlier this month. Led by scientists working at NOAA, the Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) is the work of many of the nation’s most accomplished climate scientists. Used as a core blueprint used to inform the public and craft public policy … Read more
By Ross S. Stein, President of the AGU Tectonophysics Section, CEO of Temblor.net, and Adjunct Professor of Geophysics, Stanford University Fire and Rain Over the past week, those of us living in northern California, and perhaps people throughout the arid western U.S., have watched in horror as fires continue to sweep through the wine country, … Read more
By Linda Rowan, AGU Societal Impacts and Policy Sciences (SIPS) Focus Group President, and Director of External Affairs, UNAVCO Inc. Earth science captures the public’s attention when a natural disaster strikes, when natural resources are needed or when Earth’s environment faces a threat. As the Earth science community prepares to celebrate Earth Science Week from … Read more
September 16, 2017 was the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. In fact, September 16, 2017 marked the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Montreal Protocol. The protocol was aimed at regulating the production and use of chemicals that contribute to the depletion of Earth’s ozone layer. It entered into force on January 1, 1989, … Read more
By Ramesh P. Singh, Ph.D., AGU Natural Hazards Focus Group President, and Chapman University Professor of Earth System and Remote Sensing On 8 September 1900, the town of Galveston, Texas, close to Houston, was hit by a category 4 hurricane with strong winds of 135 miles per hour and storm surges up to 15 feet … Read more
For days before it made landfall, the projections for Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas―and other parts of the Gulf Coast―were of devastation. Then, when the record-breaking storm arrived, our worst fears were realized as the region was inundated with 101-130 centimeters of rain, not to mention high winds and intense storm surge. Now, as we … Read more
Across the United States, local leaders are stepping up their commitment to climate adaptation and mitigation. In addition to our public voice about the urgent need to address climate change, AGU, working with U.S. Global Change Research Program and many other partners, is honored to support those local leaders through the Resilience Dialogues. At the … Read more
Earlier today, the Trump administration announced plans for the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Eric Davidson, Robin Bell, and I published a related article in Eos as a response to President Trump’s decision. You can read that article here. AGU also issued the following media statement in which I said the following: When signed … Read more
Editor’s Note: This week, we’ll be sharing reflections on the March for Science from AGU leaders. This is part one of three. Part two and part three can be viewed here. My young adult son was at my side, holding the AGU banner as we participated in the March for Science in Washington, D.C. While I … Read more
I issued the following statement earlier today in response to President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to overhaul the Clean Power Plan: “The scientific consensus is clear; the climate is changing, humanity is the major influence, and some of the resulting impacts on society are likely to be severe. That’s why AGU’s climate science position statement, … Read more