A recent article from MIT Technology Review, entitled, “There was some good climate news in 2023. Really” presents an optimistic outlook about the future of climate science amid the overwhelming doomsday headlines that have surrounded us this year. I appreciated this piece because it simultaneously points out strengths and shortcomings of 2023 climate policy and …
Climate and Culture
October 14, 2023 As greenhouse gas levels rise and threaten both humans and wildlife, scientists are searching for efficient and cost-effective ways to pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere. A recent New York Times opinion piece by John T. Preston, Dennis Bushnell, and Anthony Michaels calls for the US government to fund experimental research …
August 13, 2023 Amid all the depressing and apocalyptic climate news of the past few weeks, from deadly wildfires to crippling heat waves, a recent Washington Post article about a group of young people taking groundbreaking action felt like a breath of fresh air. The Held v. Montana court case, which wrapped its proceedings on …
July 6, 2023 On June 13, I attended the third session of my coastal stewardship course through the Ocean County Cooperative Extension of Rutgers University. The first presenters were Dr. Jim Merritt and Bruce Beveridge, a charismatic and funny duo who gave the class an introduction to shellfish biology. They presented detailed diagrams on the …
June 15, 2023 On June 6th, I had my second class in the 10-week Rutgers University Cooperative Extension Coastal Stewardship Course. The first presenter on this night was Dr. Steven Yergeau of Rutgers, who spoke about watershed management in Barnegat Bay. He explained characteristics of watersheds and their role in the water cycle. He delved …
June 5, 2023 On May 30, I had the privilege of beginning a 10-week coastal stewardship class that I will be taking throughout this summer. The class is located in Tom’s River, New Jersey, not far from my family’s home in Tuckerton and is run by Dr. Doug Zemeckis of Rutgers University as part of …
April 12, 2023 It would be nice to believe that all products labeled as “bioplastics” had no negative impacts on the environment and could be used without consequence. However, a recent literature review warns that we shouldn’t be so quick to make this assumption. A January 2023 article by science journalist Michael Allen notes that …