The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a dream employer for many climate-minded undergrads. And yet, understanding the processes involved in finding and applying for these federal positions can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to figure out where to even find open positions, much less actually apply for them. Overcoming these barriers to many climate career pathways was a motivating factor behind the PCC Undergraduate Cohort‘s recent Alumni Climate Career Panel, which included Dr.
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Climate Change at the Poles: An Overview of the 2023 PCC Summer Institute
The Arctic has warmed four times faster than the lower latitudes over the historic record whereas warming and sea ice loss in polar regions of the Southern Hemisphere has been limited until very recent years. These hemispherically asymmetric trends in observed polar climate challenge our basic understanding of atmospheric, oceanic and cryospheric processes contributing to climate change and their representation in the climate models used to predict future climate change.
Read moreA Wonderful 2024 Winter Welcome
This year’s annual Winter Welcome was held on Wednesday, March 6th beginning at 5pm in the Fisheries Science Building. We were excited to have all PCC Directors, past and present, in attendance. Don’t know who they are? Look to Jim Murray, Chris Bretherton, LuAnne Thompson, Cecilia Bitz and Becky Alexander. We are also very thankful to have such a wonderful turnout from our PCC community, from board members, faculty, and researchers, to grad students, undergrads, and even some alumni.
Read moreOutcomes of our PCC Community Survey
The Program on Climate Change represents a combination of University of Washington members. We all come together with an interest in climate change from faculty, staff, and researchers to grad students, undergrads, and alumni. We form a group focused on accelerating climate involvement, education, and research but we also form a community. To get to know and connect with our community members further, we sent out a survey in February and March 2024, ahead of our Winter Welcome.
Read moreAccelerating Progress in Climate Science: Research and Graduate Student Funding leverage the framework built by the Program on Climate Change
The Program on Climate Change maintains a unique framework of intense cross-disciplinary collaboration that advances research and education in climate science, building knowledge, actions and solutions to address the climate crisis. New gift funds established by generous donors are providing new professors, post-doctoral scholars, and students the opportunity to leverage the PCC framework to pursue their ideas, making new connections among the UW climate community.
Read morePathways to Climate Careers: The Undergraduate Cohort Career Panel
Climate Sciences is a growing field seeing expansion in both educational and career pathways. This growth is seen within UW as more and more students partake in climate change courses, programs, and research. As education in environmental and climate sciences expands, knowing where to take a climate education beyond college is important. To address this, UCo, The PCC’s Undergraduate Cohort, hosted the “Careers in Climate Panel.” The panel, hosted on the evening of Tuesday, February 13th, featured professionals currently working in climate-focused careers, including UW and PCC alumni.
Read moreA Shifting Snowpack Links Climate Change with Wildlife Habitat Selection in the Northeast Cascades
by Ben Sullender, UW School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, PCC Graubard Graduate Fellow Climate change is rapidly reshaping what winter looks like in the Pacific Northwest. In maritime climates like western Washington, much of the seasonal snowpack accumulates in temperatures near freezing, so even a slight increase in temperature could switch winter precipitation from snow to rain. Colder, higher elevations, on the other hand, might maintain or even gain more snow as we get more precipitation in the winter.
Read moreBecky Alexander, PCC Director, giving the Future Horizons in Climate Science lecture at AGU next week
Becky Alexander, professor of atmospheric sciences, and director of the UW Program on Climate Change, was awarded the AGU Future Horizons in Climate Science-Turco Lectureship for 2023. Her lecture, “The role of short-lived climate forcing agents in past and future climate change” is scheduled for next Wed (Dec. 13, 2023) at the AGU’s fall meeting. Get there early to get a seat!
Read moreForecasting the spatial extent of marine heatwaves
by Jacob Cohen, UW Oceanography, Recipient of a PCC Graubard Graduate Fellowship The ocean has absorbed 90% of recent warming associated with anthropogenic climate change; as a result, extreme ocean heat events, known as marine heatwaves (MHWs), are becoming more frequent and more intense. These extreme events can have detrimental impacts on marine ecosystems as well as coastal industries. Accurate MHW forecasts will allow local decision makers and industries to respond to and plan for these events.
Read moreCan ecological forestry improve public health outcomes? The Graubard Fellowship supports a case study in the Central Sierra
by Claire Schollaert As wildfires become more frequent and severe due to climate change and postcolonial fire management practices, there is growing consensus among the forest management community that prescribed burning should be used on the landscape to reduce excess fuels and mitigate extreme wildfire risk. Despite the benefits of prescribed burning to forest restoration goals, these managed fires still produce smoke, which may impact the health of surrounding communities.
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