Brown research team finds small unmapped lakes in the Arctic are far less abundant than previously thought, greatly reducing the cumulative methane emissions they were thought to contribute to Earth’s atmosphere.
IBES Affiliate Erica Walker, founder of the Community Noise Lab at Brown’s School of Public Health, was interviewed about the lab’s work to test household water quality in Jackson, Mississippi.
Marine ecologist Jon Witman is driven to pursue permanent protection of Cashes Ledge, a unique ecosystem and natural laboratory in the heart of the Gulf of Maine.
Environmental Studies 0110 is both an introductory course on environmental change in the 21st century and a hands-on lab where students engage with how local communities and the natural environment intersect.
IBES Lecturer Mindi Schneider, instructor of "Commodity Natures" and a volunteer at the Creative Reuse Center of Rhode Island, commented that "Keeping things close to our hearts keeps them out of the landfill."
Visiting Professor of Environment and Society Robert Brulle offered commentary on a study comparing fossil fuel companies’ advertising claims and actions.
IBES and History Associate Professor Bathsheba Demuth provided commentary on the various factors contributing to a decline in salmon in the Yukon River.
IBES and Sociology Professor Timmons Roberts offered commentary on offshore wind farms, explaining that they are crucial to cutting energy emissions and mitigating climate change.
Meet Dr. Sonam Futi Sherpa, a new postdoctoral researcher in IBES! Sherpa is working with Professor Laurence C. Smith's Northern Change Research Laboratory, using a NASA SWOT satellite mission to observe water and the proglacial environment. Read this Q&A (edited for length and clarity) to learn more about Sherpa's work and what she looks forward to doing at Brown.
A high-grade air quality sensor installed on Brown’s campus is providing detailed measurements of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in Providence, painting a clearer picture of local air quality.
Stephen Porder — Associate Provost for Sustainability and Professor in IBES and EEOB — clarifies some common misunderstandings about electric vehicles and their environmental impact in this opinion piece.
Ahead of COP 28, an issue paper from the Climate Social Science Network (housed at IBES) reviews the history of Saudi Arabia’s role in global climate negotiations. It finds the Saudi Arabian state regards the UN climate talks and IPCC as diplomatic areas where it must slow, obstruct and – if need be – block progress. Co-authored by IBES and Sociology Professor Timmons Roberts.
Professor Elizabeth Fussell discussed the Fifth National Climate Assessment, for which she co-authored a chapter, as part of the report’s expanded focus on the social impacts of climate change.
Written by Voss Postdoc Jayson Maurice Porter, this piece serves as a multi-species family history about how diasporic Black folks stay connected to the ocean and each other.
IBES Affiliate and Associate Professor of History Lukas Rieppel offered extensive commentary about the preparation of fossils, noting that they exist as bits of naturally shaped organic material and as “multimedia sculpture.”
A Brown professor and two Brown-trained scientists co-authored a research review proposing a ‘more realistic’ conceptual model for understanding current and future changes to marine ecosystems in the wake of climate change.
IBES Director Kim Cobb said that the U.S. needs to embrace the “transformative adaptations” that NCA5 promotes as essential to withstanding coming climate risks.
IBES Director Kim Cobb offered commentary on the Fifth National Climate Assessment, noting, "at the center of the report are people ... who have escalating risks associated with climate change as well as clear opportunities for win-win climate action."
November 14, 2023 U.S. Global Change Research Program
Elizabeth Fussell (Professor in Population Studies and Environment and Society, Research) is among the authors of NCA5. You can read her work in Chapter 20, "Social Systems and Justice," which is the report's first-ever chapter dedicated to social science.
Jayanthi’s undergraduate experiences and commitment to knowledge-sharing position her as an environmental advocate, ready to champion sustainability for policymakers.
IBES is proud to have supported the inaugural College Climate Gathering! Hosted by Sunrise Brown, the conference brought together more than 160 students from over 40 universities.
With a pledge to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040, data from three test-wells will determine if conversion to a geothermal energy system can provide a renewable approach to heating campus buildings.
IBES and Biology Professor Dov Sax offered commentary on habitat fragmentation, plant migration, and the challenges of forecasting in the face of climate change.
IBES and DEEPS Professor Daniel Ibarra is among the authors of a new study asserting that Venus may once have had plate tectonics that could have made it more hospitable to life.
Simulations produced by a Brown-led research team offer evidence that Venus once had plate tectonics — a finding that opens the door for the possibility of early life on the planet and insights into its history.
Undergrad Fanny Vavrovsky said that the seminar offered “an actual path towards some kind of meaningful change that I can enact in the future.”
“That’s a theme for all the IBES events. These people are really cool, really engaged in what they’re doing, talking about projects that they actually care about and making an impact,” she added.
Stephen Porder, IBES and EEOB Professor and Associate Provost for Sustainability, discussed the financial and environmental costs of electric vehicles.
On a sunny Saturday morning, students and families got an exciting look into IBES' research, curriculum, alumni engagement efforts, and more during the institute's 2023 Open House.