Recent News

Ken Caldeira Elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union

Friday, January 22, 2009 —Ken Caldeira has been elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. Only one in each thousand members is elected to Fellowship each year. The 2010 Fellows’ certificates, medals, and awards will be presented at the Honors Ceremony during the Fall AGU Meeting in December. more »

Climate Change Puts Ecosystems on the Run

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 —Global warming is causing climate belts to shift toward the poles and to higher elevations. To keep pace with these changes, the average ecosystem will need to shift about a quarter mile each year, says a new study led by scientists at the DGE including Scott Loarie, a postdoctoral fellow, and Greg Asnerand Chris Field. For some habitats, such as low-lying areas, climate belts are moving even faster, putting many species in jeopardy, especially where human development has blocked migration paths. click here for Video interview with Chris Field and Scott Loarie. more »

Breakthrough in Monitoring Tropical Deforestation Announced in Copenhagen

Thursday, December 10, 2009 — Tropical forest destruction accounts for some 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But quantifying these emissions has not been easy, particularly for tropical nations. New technology, developed by a team of scientists at DGE, is revolutionizing forest monitoring by marrying free satellite imagery and powerful analytical methods in an easy-to-use, desktop software package called CLASlite. Thus far, 70 government, non-government, and academic organizations in five countries have adopted the technology, with more on the horizon. The team announced its new web site (http://claslite.ciw.edu) for CLASlite users at the Copenhagen climate meetings on December 10, 2009. more »

Ken Caldeira Testifies to Congress on Geoengineering

Thursday, November 5, 2009 —Can global warming be mitigated by a technological fix such as injecting light-blocking particles into the atmosphere or chemically "scrubbing" excess greenhouse gases from the atmosphere? Ken Caldeira addressed this question in his testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology in a hearing titled "Geoengineering: Assessing the Implications of Large-Scale Climate Intervention" on November 5, 2009. Caldeira testified that climate change poses a real risk to Americans and that the surest way to reduce this risk is to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. But other options, such as geoengineering approaches, may also cost-effectively contribute to risk reduction in certain circumstances. more »