Science – Page 2 – Climate360 News

Climate change is widely taught in American public schools—but students are receiving mixed messages

9Jul

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Community, Louisiana State University, Science

Climate change is widely taught in American public schools—but students are receiving mixed messages

Only 27 U.S. states received a B+ or better on how they teach climate change, according to a report from the National Center for Science Education and the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund. Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com By Josh Archote Roughly 75% of public school science teachers in the U.S. teach climate change and almost all public school students likely receive at least some education about recent global warming, according to a 2016 paper from the National Center for Science Education. But students are receiving mixed messages from teachers about the causes of global warming, the report found. Among its findings: More than a quarter of teachers give equal time to perspectives that raise doubt about the scientific consensus.Few teachers doubt that average global ...

Ohio Farmers’ Key to Combat Climate Change? Transition to Organic

9Jul

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Economy, Kent State University, Science

Ohio Farmers’ Key to Combat Climate Change? Transition to Organic

By Willow Campbell Sasha Miller, of Purplebrown Farmstead, checks on a young apple tree. June 13th, 2021 in Boston Heights, Ohio. Photo: Willow Campbell, Climate 360 Recent weather changes are threatening Ohio’s farmers, but a switch to organic practices could be part of the solution. All that’s needed now, is for the government to support the transition. According to the Ohio Livestock Coalition, “Agriculture is the number-one contributor to Ohio's economy,” with almost 75,000 farms in the state, and one out of eight jobs in Ohio related to farming. Most of the state has warmed by about one degree (F) in the last century due to the larger effects of global warming, as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2016. This change in cli...

No soil? No problem: Hydroponic farming could help combat climate change and food insecurity

7Jul

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Louisiana State University, Science, Technology

No soil? No problem: Hydroponic farming could help combat climate change and food insecurity

A hydroponic system being used to grow livestock feed for British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. This project was conducted and funded by the Food and Agriculture Institute at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. Photo Courtesy of Lenore Newman By Domenic Purdy As the world population nears 10 billion by 2050, overall food demand is expected to increase by over 50%, according to the World Resources Institute. Climate change will make feeding that population more difficult in some regions. Increased heat stress, rainfall intensity, flooding and drought could reduce crop yields and leave once arable land unusable, leading to food insecurity, according to the Environmental Protection Agenc...

How climate change is creating the new normal of California wildfires

5Jul

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Economy, Loyola Marymount University, Morgan State University, Science

How climate change is creating the new normal of California wildfires

Climate change’s impact on California cannot be understated. Businesses and homes are preparing for a more wildfire-prone future. Graphic by Cristobal Spielmann. By Cristobal Spielmann, Brian Jeffries Wildfires are getting bigger and wildfire seasons are getting longer as a result of the impact of climate change. The recent massive heatwave across the Western United States set new heat records on top of a decades long megadrought. The high temperatures and dry conditions makes California the perfect environment for massive wildfires. Businesses integral to the California economy, like the nearly $10 billion wine industry, are bracing for an increasingly drier, more fire-prone climate. “It seems like the weather’s more dr...

Ocean warming could have negative effects on marine life and coastal communities

1Jul

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Community, Louisiana State University, Science

Ocean warming could have negative effects on marine life and coastal communities

Ocean warming could disrupt marine life ecosystems and have negative effects on coastal communities that rely on fisheries. Photo by thanhhoa tran on Pexels.com By Ava Borskey, Nicole Nguyen Jade Cave has lived near the ocean since her family moved to Fiji, a small island in the South Pacific, when she was 6 years old. “I was raised by a community of people whose history and culture are directly linked to the ocean,” Cave said. “It was a fundamental aspect of the identity of the country that raised me.” Now 17 and a resident of Cape Town, South Africa, Cave has continued to observe the impacts the ocean has on her life. “When I look at the ocean…I see coastal communities all over the global South whose lives, cultures, history and existence is held in that water,” Cave said....

Four questions about harmful algal blooms, answered

25Jun

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Loyola Marymount University, Science

Four questions about harmful algal blooms, answered

Algae are a crucial part of many ecosystems, but they can also overrun and choke out other organisms in the environment. There are many ways for people to combat the rise of these algal blooms before they become too destructive. Photo credit: Carol M. Highsmith via the Library of Congress. By Cristobal Spielmann What are harmful algal blooms? Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are large outgrowths of algae in bodies of water that result from an excess of nutrients, sunlight and other conditions that allow for such growth. Humans have a direct hand in causing some of these conditions. These blooms are fed by nutrients, like phosphorus, from fertilizer runoff in agriculture operations. Increasing temperatures from climate change only add to the growth. Le...

Southern Louisiana at risk of more severe hurricanes, heavier rainfall as planet warms

16Jun

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Community, Louisiana State University, Science

Southern Louisiana at risk of more severe hurricanes, heavier rainfall as planet warms

Broken tree limbs and debris sit aside a road in Lake Charles, Louisiana, after Hurricane Laura brought up to 137 mph winds to the City. Photo by Rob Perillo. By Josh Archote, Domenic Purdy LAKE CHARLES, LA – The last year of extreme weather in Louisiana has been devastating. Two back-to-back major hurricanes, an ice storm and a spring flood have left the region, especially Southwestern Louisiana, in a perpetual state of recovery.  The state’s fifth largest city, Lake Charles, has suffered greatly from each catastrophe, leading the Weather Channel to call it the “most weather-battered city” in America.  Today, as the state enters what’s projected to be another active hurricane season, residents are still battling with insurance compani...

Sinking Louisiana: Is it too late to save Louisiana’s coast? LSU professors, researchers weigh in

14Jun

By Climate 360 NewsNo Comments

Louisiana State University, Science

Sinking Louisiana: Is it too late to save Louisiana’s coast? LSU professors, researchers weigh in

By Josh Archote This piece was originally published on November 18, 2020, by The Reveille. Coastal sciences associate professor Giulio Mariotti's research focuses on observing sediment transport and coastal landscape change in wetlands. Courtesy of Giulio Mariotti. In January 2016, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced grants to help communities around the U.S. adapt to sea-level rise by building levees, dams and stronger drainage systems, according to the New York Times. One of the communities targeted by the grants was Isle de Jean Charles, a narrow strip of land in Terrebonne Parish. Officials decided that there was no realistic path for the community to protect what little land was left from coastal erosion, which has been caused by reduced sediment flo...