The Earth's climate is changing rapidly, and effects of this transition are evident on all scales. Despite the fact that most people acknowledge the reality of climate change, however, few appear to take meaningful action to combat it.
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Exploring Hazardous Legacies: Old industrial sites lend a new view of cities
Mashapaug Pond, in southwest Providence, was once the site of a bustling industrial plant called the Gorham Manufacturing Company. From the late-19th century until the middle of the 21st, the Gorham factory churned out some of the country's finest silverware and bronze casts, all the while pumping large quantities of effluent into the soil and water.
Introducing: Tyler Kartzinel, Faculty Fellow
Nature is full of surprising interactions between species. Whether it's by working together, avoiding each other, competing with one another, or making a meal out of one another, species are connected in a variety of ways.
Introducing: Brian Lander, Faculty Fellow
Brian Lander, formerly a Ziff Environmental Fellow at Harvard University, joins the ranks of IBES fellows this fall as Assistant Professor of History.
Professor Curt Spalding talks with Maryland Public Radio about federal wetlands rule rollback
July 25, 2017
News from Brown
Study projects deaths from heat and cold for 10 U.S. metros through 2090
A new analysis projects that inaction on climate change could lead to tens of thousands more heat-related deaths annually in U.S. metropolitan areas within a few generations.
July 12, 2017
News from Brown
IBES director unites with UNESCO, fellow scholars to address global water challenges
Amanda Lynch, director of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, explains why she became a founding signatory of the Geneva Actions on Human Water Security, formalized last week in Switzerland.
Former EPA administrator for N.E., Curt Spalding, joins Brown environmental institute
IBES referenced in article on interdisciplinary systems promoting sustainability in higher ed
Affirmation of Leading Research Universities' Commitment to Progress on Climate Change
May 10, 2017
News from Brown
As heat index climbs, emergency visits, deaths rise in New England
New research shows that New Englanders are susceptible to serious health effects even when the heat index is below 100, a finding that has helped to change the National Weather Service threshold for heat warnings.
April 21, 2017
News from Brown
Nine ways Brown keeps the spirit of Earth Day alive year-round
From reducing greenhouse gas emissions to doing homework in the dark, Brown community members immerse themselves in sustainability measures on an everyday basis.
Graduate affiliate Chelsea Parker successfully defends dissertation
Frickel comments on March For Science in Science Magazine
Former Voss fellow Carter published in Ecosphere
New projects and collaborations take shape, thanks to IBES seed funds
Postdoc Schiebel appointed to faculty at Suffolk University
Why Wait to Change the World? Timmons Roberts Trains a New Generation of Environmentalists
Vachula awarded Outstanding Student Paper at AGU
January 27, 2017
News from Brown
Climate models may underestimate future warming on tropical mountains
By reconstructing past temperature change on Mount Kenya in East Africa, a new study suggests that future temperature changes on tropical mountains might be underestimated.
January 26, 2017
News from Brown
Earth’s orbital variations and sea ice synch glacial periods
Climate simulations show how changes in Earth’s orbit alter the distribution of sea ice on the planet, helping to set the pace for the glacial cycle.
Hastings' Earth Science Women's Network to be awarded at AMS
The Earth Science Women's Network, a networking organization for women geoscientists, will be presented with a Special Award at this year's annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society.
VanWey named new Associate Provost for Academic Space
Effective January 1, 2017, Leah VanWey, Professor of Sociology and current Deputy Director of Research at IBES, will become Brown's newest Associate Provost for Academic Space.
Sax named Highly Cited Researcher in 2016
Manderson awarded prestigious Career Achievement Award
Institute releases 2016 issue of Earth Matters
November 7, 2016
News from Brown
Brown study maps out ways to pay for climate-related loss and damage
Work by University’s Climate and Development Lab and colleagues clarifies a key article of the Paris Agreement and assesses options that can help pay for the losses and damages climate change will inflict.
Climate finance ‘less transparent since Paris'
The transparency gap—the distance between donor countries' pledged climate adaptation finance and the trackable reality—has collectively expanded since the Paris negotiations, say researchers from AdaptationWatch in their new report Towards Transparency.
Frickel releases new book on interdisciplinarity
IBES sociologist Scott Frickel and collaborators have released a new book, out today from Rutgers University Press.
October 12, 2016
News from Brown
Significant deforestation in Brazilian Amazon goes undetected, study finds
A new study finds that close to 9,000 square kilometers of Amazon forest was cleared from 2008 to 2012 without detection by the official government monitoring system.
Stones of Sardinia: Exploring the history of an ancient colonial hotspot
One fine day in the 9th century BCE, bands of traders and colonists from the Middle East set sail across the Mediterranean Sea, headed for the island of Sardinia. There, they found an indigenous society living among giant stone towers called nuraghi, occupying modest dwellings built into the rocky monuments and herding cattle for sustenance.
October 4, 2016
News from Brown
Low lead levels in children negatively affect test scores
A new study using data from Rhode Island’s lead-abatement program and repeated blood lead level tests finds that lead exposure among preschoolers can predict low reading scores in subsequent years.
October 3, 2016
News from Brown
Environmental change drove diversity in Lake Malawi cichlids
Researchers show that periods of deep, clear water in Lake Malawi over the past 800,000 years coincide with bursts of species diversification.
September 26, 2016
News from Brown
Ancient global cooling gave rise to modern ecosystems
Sea surface temperatures dipped dramatically during a period from 7 million to 5.4 million years ago, a time of massive global ecological change.
How to Save a Species: Guiding conservation in the face of a changing climate
One hundred years from now, our planet is likely to be a very different place. Earth's climate is already changing, threatening vulnerable ecosystems the world over. Many scientists consider a major global extinction event to be all but inevitable within the next century.
Boosting Arctic Resilience: Effective policy design in the warming north Atlantic
In 1986, a massive storm whipped through the small Arctic town of Barrow, Alaska, swallowing the face of an ancient cliff and revealing an archaeological surprise: a human foot, encased in a traditional mukluk, protruding from the reshaped bluff.
Introducing: Bathsheba Demuth, Faculty Fellow
Bathsheba Demuth, a former Brown undergraduate, returns to campus this Fall—this time, as an IBES fellow and Assistant Professor of History.
Getting the Lead Out
Early lead exposure affects cognitive health throughout the lifespan.
Forecasting Health in a Warming World: Epidemiologist uses climate models to predict health outcomes
Intense heat has long been recognized as an insidious threat to public health. Indeed, as the mercury rises, so too do emergency department visits, hospital admissions, and even deaths.
Black Flies, Green Feed: Undergraduates' business revolutionizes Kenyan aquaculture
With its white sandy beaches, crystal blue waters, and gently swaying palm trees, Viraj Sikand ‘17.5 describes Msambweni, Kenya as the picture of a tropical oasis.
But there is trouble in paradise.
But there is trouble in paradise.
Hoffmeister '17 co-authors policy brief from internationally-known think tank ICCCAD
June 7, 2016
News from Brown
Young Scholars Conference teaches tools for success
A diverse group of early career scientists gathered at Brown recently to learn more about what it takes to thrive in academia.
June 3, 2016
News from Brown
Technique could help climate models sweat the small stuff
Research led by a Brown University physicist reveals a way to include small-scale dynamics into computer simulations of large-scale phenomena, which could make for better climate models and astrophysical simulations.
Institute's Climate and Development Lab Raises Crucial Issues at UN Negotiations
Kellner named Peggy and Henry D. Sharpe Jr. Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
May 13, 2016
News from Brown
Brown University’s Engaged Scholars Program connects academic learning with social impact
The program, now in its second year, links the classroom and community through co-created experiential research, projects and internships.
May 11, 2016
News from Brown
As exposure to chemical rises, so does risk of ending breastfeeding early
In a new study of hundreds of Cincinnati moms, higher levels of exposure to the common industrial chemical PFOA were linked to a greater likelihood of ending breastfeeding by three months.
May 6, 2016
News from Brown
For botanist, road to White House led through Peruvian desert
The same scientific quest for which Erika Edwards won recognition from President Obama on May 5 had two months earlier led her and 12 students up dusty mountainsides in the world’s driest desert.