Through
1/1
Earth and Environmental Science
Celebrating Earth Week at Penn
Celebrating Earth Week at Penn
Organized by Penn Sustainability, Earth Week runs April 17-23 and will include dozens of events centered on the themes of environmental justice, climate, and nature-based solutions.
Climate scientist Michael Mann makes a home at Penn
Climate scientist Michael Mann makes a home at Penn
Known for his “hockey stick” graph that hammered home the dramatic rise of the warming climate, the climate scientist is now making his mark on Penn’s campus, both through his science and his work on communicating the urgent need for action on the climate crisis.
At Penn Energy Week, a time to reflect on energy science, technology, and policy
At Penn Energy Week, a time to reflect on energy science, technology, and policy
Hosted by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, the third annual Energy Week, which runs March 20-24, offers events on decarbonization, careers in the energy sector, global energy security, and more.
Update of a local tree field guide offers ‘antidote for plant blindness’
Update of a local tree field guide offers ‘antidote for plant blindness’
A new edition of “Philadelphia Trees,” coauthored by former Morris Arboretum director Paul W. Meyer, Catriona Bull Briger, and Edward Sibley Barnard offers tips for identifying tree species and highlights some of the most notable trees in the region, including many on Penn’s campus.
Who, What, Why: Tess Kuracina tends to the ‘BioPond,’ a beloved campus oasis
Who, What, Why: Tess Kuracina tends to the ‘BioPond,’ a beloved campus oasis
As garden supervisor for the treasured green space formally known as the James G. Kaskey Memorial Park, Kuracina plans, plants, waters, and weeds, aiming to make it ‘more beautiful and special every year.’
From glacier ice, a wealth of scientific data
From glacier ice, a wealth of scientific data
Biogeochemist Jon Hawkings of the School of Arts & Sciences and his lab study glaciers to understand the cycling of elements through Earth’s waters, soils, and air in its coldest regions, with implications for climate change, ecosystem health, and more.
Turning carbon emissions into rocks
Turning carbon emissions into rocks
In Penn’s Clean Energy Conversions Lab, researcher Peter Psarras and colleagues are repurposing waste from industrial mines, storing carbon pulled from the atmosphere into newly formed rock.
What secrets might 2-million-year-old DNA hold?
What secrets might 2-million-year-old DNA hold?
Scientists from Denmark recently extracted and sequenced the oldest-ever DNA, from permafrost in Greenland, revealing a robust ecosystem of 135 species. Penn Today spoke with four faculty members about the potential power of ancient DNA.
People and places at Penn: Research
People and places at Penn: Research
From Charles Addams Fine Arts Hall to the Schuylkill River, four researchers share their science and their spaces.
At COP27, Penn showcased its diverse climate expertise on the world stage
At COP27, Penn showcased its diverse climate expertise on the world stage
More than 30 representatives from the University traveled to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, for two weeks of negotiations at this year’s United Nations climate change conference.
In the News
WHYY (Philadelphia)
Climate policy under a second Trump presidency
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses how much a president can do or undo when it comes to environmental policy.
FULL STORY →
Salon.com
Exxon CEO wants Trump to stay in Paris climate accord
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences voices his concern about the possibility that the U.S. could become a petrostate.
FULL STORY →
Associated Press
Amid Earth’s heat records, scientists report another bump upward in annual carbon emissions
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that total carbon emissions including fossil fuel pollution and land use changes such as deforestation are basically flat because land emissions are declining.
FULL STORY →
The Independent
Climate scientists fear Trump will destroy progress in his second term – and the outcome could be ‘grim’
Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a second Trump term and the implementation of Project 2025 represents the end of climate action in this decade.
FULL STORY →
NBC News
Special mud rubbed on all MLB baseballs has unique, ‘magical’ properties, study finds
A study by Douglas Jerolmack of the School of Arts & Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues has uncovered the mechanical properties of the mud used to coat Major League baseballs.
FULL STORY →
The New York Times
The science that makes baseball mud ‘magical’
A study by Douglas Jerolmack of the School of Arts & Sciences and School of Engineering and Applied Science and colleagues has uncovered the mechanical properties of the mud used to coat Major League baseballs, with additional remarks from postdoc Shravan Pradeep and Paulo Arratia.
FULL STORY →