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Amanda Mott
Associate Director for News
ammott@upenn.edu
Climate Change
‘Crisis Upon Crisis’: The coronavirus is not the only emergency we are facing
‘Crisis Upon Crisis’: The coronavirus is not the only emergency we are facing
Episode three of the SAS podcast ‘In These Times’ looks at other urgent issues of our time, and examine how they affect and are affected by COVID-19.
By the numbers: The FY20 climate and sustainability annual report
By the numbers: The FY20 climate and sustainability annual report
Highlights from the report show progress on reducing carbon emissions, expanding sustainable transit, and increasing academic outreach.
Gers and the grid: Combatting air pollution in Mongolia
Gers and the grid: Combatting air pollution in Mongolia
The Center for Environmental Building and Design (CEBD) at The Weitzman School partnered with Mongolian nonprofit GerHub to test out ways of making ger living more energy efficient to reduce air pollution and improve respiratory conditions in Ulaanbaatar.
At the intersection of water, equity, and climate change
At the intersection of water, equity, and climate change
The Water Center at Penn is collaborating to help guide community decisions to build capacity in water infrastructure.
After the storm, how to make a city more resilient
After the storm, how to make a city more resilient
During a Perry World House virtual event, panelists discussed the lessons learned from Hurricane Sandy and how cities can use these learnings to better recover from extreme weather events and climate change.
Declines in shellfish species on rocky seashores match climate-driven changes
Declines in shellfish species on rocky seashores match climate-driven changes
Mussels, barnacles, and snails are declining in the Gulf of Maine, according to a new paper by biologists Peter Petraitis of the School of Arts & Sciences and Steve Dudgeon of California State University, Northridge. Their 20-year dataset reveals that the populations’ steady dwindling matches up with the effects of climate change on the region.
Indigenous views of Christopher Columbus
Indigenous views of Christopher Columbus
Members of Penn’s Indigenous community discuss their views of Christopher Columbus and how Indigenous people have suffered from Columbus-style colonialism.
Architecture’s William Braham on energy, carbon, and buildings for the future
Architecture’s William Braham on energy, carbon, and buildings for the future
For Climate Week 2020, The Weitzman School speaks with Braham about Penn’s Climate and Sustainability Action Plan, and what he’s learned about the build environment and its carbon footprint over time.
The burning of California
The burning of California
Experts from the Wharton School’s Risk Management and Decision Processes Center discuss the California wildfires, why people underprepare for disasters, and what individuals and governments can do to prevent wildfires in the future.
Seeking refuge in the climate emergency
Seeking refuge in the climate emergency
The Perry World House 2020 Global Shifts Colloquium looked at the need to address mass displacement and why climate change poses a national security threat.
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In the News
NPR
Can Biden’s climate plan spark cooperation in Pa.? Some see possible common ground in jobs, infrastructure
Oscar Serpell of the Kleinman Center on Energy Policy in Stuart Weitzman School of Design spoke about President-elect Joseph Biden’s plan to transition the country to renewable energy. “The business case has never been stronger, and I think it will continue to get stronger every single year,” Serpell said.
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Gizmodo
Why Joe Biden should trade his buildings plan for a Green New Deal
Billy Fleming of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design spoke about Joseph Biden’s plans to weatherize American homes. “I can’t help but oscillate between despair and frustration with the lack of imagination and ambition in this plan,” said Fleming. “Sure, take care of the low-hanging fruit that Presidents Clinton and Obama left for you on climate. Then, for all our sakes, think about extending your grasp an inch or two higher.”
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The New York Times
Florida sees signals of a climate-driven housing crisis
Research led by Benjamin Keys and doctoral student Philip Mulder of the Wharton School found that Florida’s coastal real estate market has been on the decline for nearly a decade.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
What scares Pa. teens about climate change and how do they want to fight back, a year after massive global protests?
Freshman Nia Peterson shared how she became passionate about combatting climate change. “To provide ourselves and our futures a fighting chance, we first need to acknowledge the situation,” she wrote.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
COVID-19 has more Americans thinking about science. Could this be a Sputnik moment?
Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke about how the evolution in the U.S. in recent years of perceptions of climate change, with almost 70% of Americans now agreeing that human activity is a contributing factor. “The evidence has become clearer. The communication has become more effective. And people have experienced events in their lives that they attribute to climate change,” she said. “That suggests this isn’t a hopeless task.”
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Forbes
Study shows how pollution, climate change could make us dumber
Anna Schapiro of the School of Arts and Sciences co-authored a paper that created a predictive model of what might happen to human cognitive abilities over time as carbon dioxide levels continue to rise.
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