Climate Change

Climate change affects all of us and all the systems on planet Earth - from natural disasters to disrupted growing seasons, our changing climate is having widespread effects. Here are some ideas for how to deal with climate change, how to adapt and how to try and cut down on the change while we still can.

Get inspired with Candace Clark
A woman stands between rows of cultivated plants, wearing a large straw hat and a grey hoodie, smiling at the camera.

(Courtesy of Candace Clark)

Hannah Krantz
Planet Forward Correspondent | George Washington University
Hannah Krantz and Aleena Fayaz speak to Candace Clark, a Ph.D. candidate at Tuskegee University, in this high-spirited podcast that discusses the importance of black voices in climate solutions, sustainable housing, and much more. 
Takeaways from COP27: Multilateral approaches to addressing ocean acidification
A handful of people walk down a street next to a large wall that extends into the distance. Logos and advertisements for COP27 cover the entire length of the wall.

Walking to the COP27 Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. (Claire Lee)

Claire Lee
University of Connecticut
Science or legislation? My experience at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt highlighted the importance of bringing interdisciplinary action and voices to the climate spotlight.
The tipping point: Researchers look to the past and the future of Earth's climate
Sheets of ice float atop a calm ocean. The sun appears muted behind a layer of clouds.

(Kai Boggild/imaggeo.egu.eu/CC BY 3.0)

Medill News Service
Northwestern University
Comer Conference geoscience and climate science graduate students investigate the effect of climate change from ancient life forms to theoretical models. 
Penn State Ice and Climate Research Center aims to understand our rapidly warming world

Researchers from Pennsylvania State Ice and Climate Exploration Research Center and affiliated collaborators in Iceland. (Byron Parizek)

Medill News Service
Northwestern University
A team of researchers from Penn State traveled to Iceland last year to study the impacts of climate change on glacial melt.
Fungi fighting climate change: How fungi can aid in carbon sequestration
A group of small light-colored mushrooms growing out of moss-covered ground.

(Jesse Bauer/Unsplash License)

Zoe Fish
SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry
How can fungi play an important role in mitigating climate change? In this podcast, I talk with two experts who discuss the different ways that fungi are often misunderstood and overlooked.
Essay | A climate my younger self never expected

Trees above the Stanislaus River forest are obscured by smoke from the Lightning Complex fire, in August 2022. (Kay Jewler)

Kay Jewler
George Washington University
How did my temperate, mild suburb in the Bay Area turn into a record-breaking crisis point of climate change and what does this hold for the future?
Threatened emperor penguins a global issue as New Zealand Prime Minister visits Antarctica
Emma Ricketts
Medill News Service
Antarctica took center stage recently, as emperor penguins were designated a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited the continent.
Essay | Pu’er tea: China’s cultural heritage threatened by a changing climate
A tea set laid out on a well-lit table.

Pu'er is named after a Yunnan town that is an important tea-processing and trading center in the province. (Photo courtesy Manki Kim/Unsplash)

Jing-ning Hsu
George Washington University
Will the taste of Pu'er tea, associated with memories of my family in China, remain the same despite the effects of climate change?
Two years after historic oil spill, Mauritian youth continue to grapple with the consequences
A small white boat rests buoyed on clear, blue-green waters under a cloudy blue sky with a gentle mountain in the distance.

The shores of Pointe d'Esny, Mauritus, as seen from Île aux Aigrettes, one of the most prominent reserves in the Indian Ocean, on July 21, 2022. Almost two years prior, this water was blackened by an oil spill from the MV Wakashio. (Zoey England/University of Connecticut)

Zoey England
University of Connecticut
This July marks two years since the MV Wakashio oil spill. Though environmental NGOs have left the island and news coverage of the disaster has ceased, youth around Mauritius are still reeling from the effects of the tragedy.
A forgotten region looks to the future: Young Appalachians hope for unity
A grey, rocky peak juts up from the center of the frame and overlooks trees and a view all the way to a foggy-looking horizon.

View from Hawk Mountain (Rachel Freed/George Washington University)

Rachel Freed
George Washington University
As climate change worsens and people migrate, seeking safety in higher elevations, Appalachia is expected to become a prime destination for thousands of Americans. How can this new community create a sustainable future?

Pages