#climate research

Some really cool stories of citizen scientists allowing researchers to cast a wider net in a variety of environmental areas such as:

•Invasive species detection and eradication

•Historical climate data

•Mosquito and mosquito-borne disease tracking

•Wombat monitoring

"Amid record-high temperatures, devastating disasters, and the resulting climate anxiety that comes with them, it can be easy to give in to despair. 

The resounding question of “does this even matter?” likely echoes on a loop, every time you toss an item in the recycling bin, or call your elected officials for the umpteenth time.

But according to research from the University of California San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, public outcry can indeed lead to significant environmental action — even when public officials are openly hostile to climate-forward policies.

Their paper, titled “Going Viral: Public Attention and Environmental Action in the Amazon,” will soon be published in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. It focuses on the “unprecedented” public scrutiny following forest fires in the Brazilian Amazon in August of 2019.

These fires occurred soon after Jair Bolsonaro became Brazil’s president, after a staunchly anti-environmental campaign.

But after analyzing both media coverage and international pressure towards Brazil’s federal government, the researchers found that the increased public attention resulted in a 22% decrease in fires in the country’s Amazon Rainforest. 

This, in turn, translated into the avoidance of an estimated 24.8 million tons of CO2 emissions.

“Our research underscores the significant role that public attention and media coverage can play in influencing local environmental policies and actions,” the study’s coauthor Teevrat Garg, said in a statement...

“The 2019 surge in attention led to immediate governmental responses, which contributed to the notable decrease in fires,” he added.

To come to these conclusions, the researchers compared fire activity in Brazil with that in Peru and Bolivia, countries that did not receive the same amount of public pressure, though typically still have the same level of fire activity per square kilometer."

A new study suggests the world is far less likely to experience a single, planet-wide drought than previously feared.

Summary:

Currently there's a presentation about coral bleaching and what sort of data are collected and used in an effort to save them, or slow down the bleaching events. Coral reefs and their survival are personally important to me, so I'm paying attention.

All this to say: Hey Americans, I'm just a filthy nobody from the other end of the world. But corals are a cause close to my heart and this made me want to yell for it, and for this livestream that's trying to gain traction (and media attention).

You've got very cool, important work being done even now - which will affect the rest of us in the world, for better or worse - and you have very cool, enthusiastic people doing the work, like the specific scientist in the screenshots, Mariya Galochkina, even now. If corals aren't your thing, there have been and will be other topics covered e.g. agriculture and climate, typhoons, floods, extreme heat, water quality etc.

We can help you with views, but your own scientists and researchers need you to yell for them.

From the WCS website (which has its whole schedule and certain highlights up):

From Wednesday, May 28th to Sunday, June 1st, join meteorologists and climate scientists from across the US as we share our work, and show you what makes it so vital. We will clarify the impact of the cuts on this research, and answer your questions about weather and climate research in the US.

FOLLOW THIS LINK TO WATCH (Hour 43 /100 at time of posting).

(Yes other non-US people, it's US-centric but I'm willing to bet my own country and many other's coral scientists and researchers rely on/work with the NOAA's data and maps to try and save our own reefs. If that goes down, research and conservation/preservation/regeneration is going to be more difficult than it already is. And I'm not giving up our corals without a damn fight, in whatever capacity.)

🌾🍚🧬 A new strain of rice offers hope for drought-stricken communities in Chile! Chilean scientists are trialing the “Jaspe” rice strain, described as more environmentally conscious, “less-thirsty,” and “climate-smart.” Trials have also proven the strain to be high-yield with the right growing method, producing nearly ten times more than a conventional rice field!