News Archive

March 10, 2026 National Geographic

These frog mating calls may also serve as weather reports

Voss Postdoctoral Researcher Luke Larter offered commentary on the implications of a new study that suggests female frogs listen for changes in the male calls as a signal for when it’s warm enough to mate.

March 9, 2026 The Brown Daily Herald

The tropics may be getting even hotter than expected, Brown researchers find

Former Voss Postdoc and current IBES instructor Lina C. Pérez-Angel authored a recent study which found that tropical warming may be occurring to an even greater degree than previously expected.

March 8, 2026 The Brown Daily Herald

Students host seventh annual conference on sustainable investing

Students, policy experts, and industry professionals in finance and sustainability gathered on campus for the student-run Future of Sustainable Investing Conference, part of Brown Climate Week.

March 6, 2026 The Brown Daily Herald

Brown’s first-ever Climate Week celebrates education, innovation

The Herald spoke with Climate Week organizers and participants to understand how different industries and corners of academia can contribute to climate solutions.

March 6, 2026 The Brown Daily Herald

Ancient plant wax preserved in lakes reveals insights into climate patterns

Assistant Professor Daniel Ibarra coauthored a study that investigates ancient plant waxes preserved in sediments from two Utah lakes.

March 5, 2026 News from IBES

WATCH | Thea Riofrancos on the political ecology of the energy transition

As a featured speaker in the Brown Seminar Series on Environment and Society, Providence College's Thea Riofrancos examined the political ecology of the energy transition, drawing on extensive fieldwork and research across Latin America, the United States, and Europe.

March 4, 2026 The Guardian

Trump has launched an unprecedented assault on the environment. Where’s the pushback?

This opinion article quotes IBES Visiting Professor Robert Brulle, an expert on climate obstruction.

March 3, 2026 News from IBES

WATCH | John Fullerton on regenerative economics and the future of finance

John Fullerton, founder of the Capital Institute and former JPMorgan managing director, joined IBES' Professor Ricardo Bayon for a fireside chat.

February 27, 2026 Communications Sustainability

Large language model reveals an increase in climate contrarian speech in the United States Congress

IBES and Sociology Professor J. Timmons Roberts William Kattrup '25 contributed to this study.

February 26, 2026 The 74

Millions of U.S. Students Attend Schools Near Environmentally Hazardous Sites

Professor of Education and IBES faculty affiliate Matthew Kraft conducted a nationwide assessment of U.S. PreK-12 public and private schools’ proximity to known environmental hazard sites.

February 25, 2026 The Brown Daily Herald

Brown researchers examine ‘climate realism,’ an attempted bipartisan solution to climate change

IBES Affiliate Jeff Colgan, a professor of political science and international studies and director of Brown's Climate Solutions Lab, co-authored a recent paper that assesses the merits and weaknesses of climate realism, which favors long-term climate investments over near-term solutions.

February 24, 2026 SDPB

Reimagining how fossils from Lakota treaty lands are displayed and interpreted

With the help of an IBES Catalyst Research Award, Associate Professor of History and IBES Faculty Affiliate Lukas Rieppel has teamed up with Oglala Lakota scholar Craig Howe to help people further understand the Earth’s history.

February 20, 2026 JAMA Network

Tropical Cyclone Exposure and Psychoactive Drug–Related Death Rates

IBES and Epidemiology Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou is among the co-authors of a recent study that links tropical cyclones to spikes in drug-related deaths for months after impact.

February 20, 2026 Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Invisible Harms: Drug-Related Deaths Spike After Hurricanes and Tropical Storms

IBES and Epidemiology Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou is among the co-authors of a recent study that links tropical cyclones to spikes in drug-related deaths for months after impact.

February 20, 2026 News from IBES

IBES faculty bring climate expertise to the Rhode Island State House

Professors Stephen Porder and Timmons Roberts offered research-driven perspectives on climate change, energy policy, and equity during recent testimonies to state policymakers, urging them to stay the course on Rhode Island’s climate commitments.

February 12, 2026 News from IBES

A week of climate collaboration across Brown

Brown Climate Week, March 2–7, 2026, will spotlight Brown’s climate research, career exploration, and sustainability leadership through talks, conferences, networking events, and more.

February 9, 2026 ecoRI News

Proposed Climate Superfund Act, Seeking Restitution from Polluters, Is ‘Basic Kindergarten Ethics’

IBES Professor Timmons Roberts expressed support for a proposed bill that would hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for their emissions.

February 2, 2026 EcoRI News

Act on Climate Law, State’s Energy Mandates Under Scrutiny

Testifying before the RI House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, IBES Professor Stephen Porder discussed how the state could electrify the economy to meet mandates outlined in the Act on Climate.

February 2, 2026 Capital News Service

Climate action moves forward despite Trump’s policy rollbacks. Will it be enough?

Baylor Fox-Kemper, an IBES Faculty Fellow and Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, offered commentary on the clean-energy economy and climate change.

February 2, 2026 News from Brown

Parts of the tropics may warm more than expected as CO2 rises, study finds

A reconstruction of temperature in Colombia during the Pliocene, when CO2 levels were similar to today, suggests that parts of the tropics might soon experience more dramatic warming than previously expected.

February 2, 2026 University of Colorado Boulder

Some tropical land may experience stronger-than-expected warming under climate change

A new study led by former IBES Voss Postdoc Lina Pérez-Angel used lake sediments from the Colombian Andes to reveal that, when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice as much as the ocean.

February 2, 2026 PNAS

Evolution of Pliocene-Pleistocene tropical terrestrial Andean temperature amplification

Former Voss Postdoc Lina C. Pérez-Angel authored this article, which found that the tropics are warming more than expected.

February 2, 2026 Jackson Advocate

Brown University collaborates with local students to examine environmental comfort in state

Erica Walker, an IBES Faculty Affiliate and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, discussed her new research project, for which students in Mississippi will be trained to collect air quality, noise, and light pollution measurements.

February 2, 2026 Brown Bookstore

2025-2026 Brown University Book Award

"Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait" by IBES and History Associate Professor Bathsheba Demuth has been selected as the 2025-2026 Brown University Book Award.

January 31, 2026 EdWorkingPapers

U.S. Schools’ Proximity to Environmental Hazard Sites: A National Analysis

Professor of Education and IBES faculty affiliate Matthew Kraft and members of his SustainableED team conducted a nationwide assessment of U.S. PreK-12 public and private schools’ proximity to known environmental hazard sites.

January 30, 2026 News from Brown

Childhood lead exposure associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence

A federally funded study led by Brown University researchers links increased childhood blood lead concentrations with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence, with larger increases when exposure occurred later in childhood.

January 29, 2026 Rhode Island House of Representatives

Stephen Porder Testifies to RI House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources

"There is no way to comply with the Act on Climate and continue to rely on gas and oil," IBES Professor Stephen Porder testified at the Rhode Island State House.

January 29, 2026 AGU Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology

Plant Wax Isotopic Reconstructions Reveal Thermodynamic Drivers of Hydroclimate Over the Last Two Glacial Cycles at Great Salt Lake and Bear Lake, Utah

Assistant Professor Daniel Ibarra is coauthor of this study.

January 29, 2026 Flatwater Free Press

Citing study, OPPD said its Omaha coal plant poses no ‘significant’ health threat. That’s misleading, experts say.

Corwin Zigler, a professor of biostatistics and an IBES affiliate, was consulted as an expert for this reporting.

January 28, 2026 Social Problems

“Let them eat kale!”: Appeals to class-based resentment in American conservative opposition to climate change solutions

IBES Assistant Professor Rachel Wetts and coauthor Loredana Loy reveal that "appeals to class-based resentment against cultural elites are one prominent strategy to urge publics to reject climate mitigation strategies."

January 23, 2026 News from IBES

IBES launches STEP Program to expand student professional development opportunities in climate, sustainability and the environment

The new suite of student offerings includes a 500% increase in paid internships and research opportunities as well as professional development workshops, alumni networking, and an annual Climate Career Fair.

January 23, 2026 News from IBES

Find your place in the climate space: Brown's first Climate Week is March 2-7, 2026.

With IBES as the lead sponsor, Brown’s first-ever Climate Week is an open invitation for students, faculty, alumni, and community members to come together to explore how research, policy, and practice intersect to drive meaningful climate solutions.

January 23, 2026 Grist

Europe gets ‘green energy’. These Southern towns get dirty air.

Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Erica Walker, an IBES affiliate faculty member, offered commentary on the public health impact of pellet mills in the American South, which are 50% more likely to be located in communities with a high proportion of poor and nonwhite residents.

January 20, 2026 American Physical Society

Brad Marston on science, democracy, and the hard work ahead

Brad Marston — an IBES faculty fellow, professor of physics, and 2026 president of the American Physical Society — discussed his research and priorities for the year ahead, including focusing on climate science and the role of democracy in scientific discovery.

January 16, 2026 SciTechDaily

A Simple Silver Fix May Finally Stop Solid-State Batteries From Cracking

Professor of Engineering Yue Qi, an IBES affiliate and deputy director of Brown's Initiative for Sustainable Energy, is a senior author on a study that found a nanoscale silver coating could be the key to making ultra-powerful solid-state batteries work.

January 14, 2026 EcoRI News

The Usual Suspects When It Comes Climate Action Obstruction in Rhode Island

This opinion piece cites recent research from the IBES-based Climate and Development Lab, led by Professor Timmons Roberts.

January 12, 2026 News from IBES

WATCH | GIS Career Panel

Held during the 2025 Geography Awareness Week, the November 19 panel brought together professionals who have built diverse careers in transportation, utilities, government, and environmental planning.

January 12, 2026 EcoRI News

Lobbyists’ Opposition to Climate Legislation Has Profound Effect, Brown University Report Finds

According to a new report from the IBES-based Climate and Development Lab, opposition to climate legislation from Rhode Island’s main utility company and business interests are slowing climate legislation in the state.

January 8, 2026 Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Interpersonal and Self-Inflicted Violence Linked to Temperature Spikes

This article relays key findings from a new study of which Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, a professor at IBES and the School of Public Health, is a co-author.

January 8, 2026 Communications Sustainability

Higher temperatures are associated with increased interpersonal and self-inflicted violence-related Medicaid hospital visits in the United States

IBES and Epidemiology Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou is among the authors of this new study, which links violence and temperature spikes.

January 8, 2026 bioGraphic

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