February 2022 – Climate360 News

24Feb

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Energy, Featured, Loyola Marymount University, Policy

RIP fossil fuels?

By Sebastian Ramirez Playa Del Rey Natural Gas Storage Facility down the hill from houses.Photo by Sebastian Ramirez Cars. Buses. Trucks. Trains. Planes. What do they have in common? The majority are fueled exclusively by fossil fuels, and contribute half of all greenhouse gas emissions in California. The state consumes 1.8 million barrels of oil and gas per day. About a third of those are produced in California, and the rest are imported. In L.A. County alone, there are 5,919 oil and gas wells, not including offshore wells. Dr. Jason Jarvis moved to Los Angeles in 2015 from Atlanta. Previously unaware of any issues regarding the oil industry, he became invested after seeing a map showing all the active, idle and abandoned wells in L.A. County. Ja...

Western wildfires: A growing threat across the country

17Feb

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Featured, Kent State University, Loyola Marymount University, Science

Western wildfires: A growing threat across the country

By Alex Kim, Grace Springer Smoke rising in this California forest as the blaze continues. Photo via Flickr As I’m writing this article in February, there is a wildfire burning in Laguna Beach, California, that forced evacuations — an occurrence that used to be rare at this time of year, but not anymore. Parts of Southern California are experiencing a heatwave that’s fueling winter wildfires that can potentially send smoke thousands of miles outside of California. Jana Houser, Ph.D., is a professor of meteorology at Ohio University. She told Climate360, “We [Ohioans] can periodically notice the effects of wildfires out west when the fires become so numerous and large that their smoke enters the jet stream of the upper atmosphere.” In July 2021, Public Health Dayton ...

Five questions about pandemics and climate change, answered

16Feb

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Kent State University, Science

Five questions about pandemics and climate change, answered

By Grace Springer Photo via MaxPixel What is a pandemic? According to the Columbia School of Public Health, a pandemic is, “a virus [that] covers a wide area, affecting several countries and populations.” An outbreak is declared a pandemic when it is spread exponentially.  What types of diseases are affected by climate change?  There are two types of diseases that are affected by climate change—vector-borne diseases and zoonotic diseases. What are vector-borne diseases? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), vector-borne diseases are diseases spread to humans by insects that feed on blood such as mosquitos and fleas. Due to global warming, these insects are increasingly able to survive in more areas of the world...

Proposed efforts to stop future pandemics also fight climate change

16Feb

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Kent State University, Science

Proposed efforts to stop future pandemics also fight climate change

By Grace Springer Microbiologist tests specimen for COVID-19. Photo Via Flickr A new study published in Science Advances argues that steps must be taken now to avoid future pandemics as people continue to interact with wildlife that carry many different pathogens. Researchers defined three primary prevention methods to prevent the spillover of diseases from animals to humans, some of which benefit the planet as well. These methods include better pathogen surveillance, wildlife and hunting management and forest protection. Zoonotic diseases are pathogens that originate in animals before being spread to humans. Detection and containment of these pathogens before their spillover into humans would save lives and money. Dr. Marcia Castro, Andelot Professor of Demography ...

Promise & Peril: Fighting Climate Change One Animal at a Time

15Feb

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Community, Featured, Kent State University, Loyola Marymount University, Morgan State University, Video

Promise & Peril: Fighting Climate Change One Animal at a Time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOfjRiouoXQ In a world where no one can seem to agree on any meaningful solutions to climate change, we need to find all the common ground we can. "Promise & Peril," a Los Angeles Loyolan Project Citizen Climate 360 film, seeks to find that ground through telling the stories of two animal populations affected by climate change.