Prescott College Online MS in Environmental Studies

Here's a chance to hear Program Director Laird Christensen sit down for a chat with the Host of The Planet Today.

The Planet Today - Guest Interview: Laird Christensen (Prescott College) | RSS.com Matt interviews Laird Christensen, a writer, teacher, and activist focused on addressing the global climate crisis through local sustainability efforts and intentional community building.As the pioneering Director of online Graduate Programs at Prescott College in Environmental Studies and Resilient...

“This is the fight of our lives, and it’s a multigenerational task. We need what’s been called ‘cathedral thinking.’ That is, the people who started working on that stone foundation, they never saw the thing finished. It took generations to get these major works done. This is that kind of problem. And we have to all do our part. The more I act, the better I feel, because I know I’m part of the solution.”

https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/08/when-will-climate-change-turn-life-in-the-u-s-upside-down/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEwaihleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHf5hzr9OzIrhTyy3E5_1T6OnXacGavxzBnV1x2T-uF-iwdil96o4d11fWA_aem_TKPLFGS81SUbtD9YG3rxPA

When will climate change turn life in the U.S. upside down? » Yale Climate Connections Intensifying extreme weather events and an insurance crisis are likely to cause significant economic and political disruption in the U.S. sometime in the next 15 years.

Just in case you might be interested...

Overcoming Climate Anxiety Through Collaboration With Laird Christensen Laird Christensen, PhD discusses how to address climate anxiety by empowering local communities to dedicate more time and resources to amplifying collaborative action.

There's reason for hope, and reason for urgency.

What You Want is an S Curve And we're finally hitting the sweet spot of the crucial one

Two of our favorite climate scientists reveal how current media coverage is distorting our understanding of climate change.

https://www.sustainableviews.com/the-antidote-to-doom-is-doing-ac97ab67/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0MOhBxW1IMIgVEeaOS847rRE7AEwqzQ9BmEt9ikZaAk0qg25ke_EkkenI_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

The antidote to doom is doing Michael Mann is presidential distinguished professor and director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. His most recent book is “Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons from Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis”. Katharine Hayhoe is a...

Here's a chance to hear how the MS in Resilient and Sustainable Communities prepares people to respond to climate change without losing heart.

The Power of Local: Small Actions, Big Impact on Climate Change In an inspiring episode of the Climate Confident podcast, host Tom Raftery is joined by Laird Christensen, a visionary in the field of sustainability and res...

Know someone interested in helping change the way we share the earth with other beings, whether by protecting habitat or reimagining human communities? Please let them know about Tuesday's info session, explaining how people can acquire the necessary skills and credentials from their own homes while applying what they learn to their own bioregions.

This is a helpful, if (like me) you're feeling frustrated with this year's global climate summit in Dubai.

What can we do with a sentence? The Dubai COP may have handed activists a new tool

Good to know--how it plays out on the ground, place by place.

Yesterday the US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) released the first updated version of its Plant Hardiness Zone Map since 2012. In the new map, about half of the country shifted to the next warmer half-zone (e.g., Zone 4a to Zone 4b) compared to the 2012 map. The half-zone shifts reflect warming somewhere in the range of 0-5 degrees F. (Then again, some locations warmed the same amount without moving up another half-zone.) The map is more accurate and detailed than prior versions because, in part, it includes data from nearly twice as many weather stations as those used for the 2012 map—more than 13,000 in all. The map's creators stress that all these variables make it hard to say that the temperature updates necessarily reflect global climate change, which is based on trends in overall average temperatures over long time periods.

Have you observed any differences in which plants thrive—or no longer thrive—in your hardiness zone? Tell it.

For more information and to download the new map, go to https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2023/usda-unveils-updated-plant-hardiness-zone-map/

Map: 2023 Northeast USDA Hardiness Zone map, courtesy USDA

A cheat sheet of clean energy solutions that will actually work.

Do you know someone interested in completing an online graduate degree focusing on sustainability, social justice, and the environment? Encourage them to check out our upcoming Online Graduate Open House, Wednesday, May 17th at 3pm PDT / 6pm EDT
https://join-us.prescott.edu/register/MAYGOH

May Graduate Open House  

This is a pretty wonderful podcast, featuring interviews with some of the scientists conducting research for IPCC reports. Check it out!

Fear and Wonder podcast: how scientists know the climate is changing Fear and Wonder is a new climate podcast, brought to you by The Conversation, and sponsored by the Climate Council. In episode one, we discuss how scientists know the climate is changing.

Prescott College Online MS in Environmental Studies updated their phone number.

Prescott College Online MS in Environmental Studies updated their address.

As John Prine sang, "That's the way that the world goes 'round."

Study suggests pumas utilize sly strategy of fertilizing plants that recruit prey to hunting grounds A new Panthera study published today in Landscape Ecology has found that pumas might utilize a sly hunting strategy known as 'garden to hunt,' by which puma kills fertilize or deposit nutrients in soil that increase plant quality and attract ungulates to feed in select habitat conducive to future st...

If you've missed the other messages, here's a reminder that Prescott College is participating in the Worldwide Teach-in for Climate and Justice TODAY from 2-4:30pm PT (AZ time). Join us to discuss and address the complex social and environmental challenges of climate change through the lens of Joanna Macy's Active Hope framework. Participants can join in person at the Crossroads Center OR virtually through Zoom using the following link: https://prescottcollege.zoom.us/j/96937726878

We recognize that only some people can attend the full 2.5-hour teach-in; feel free to come and go as it fits into your schedule!

Here's more info on the latest IPCC report--and a link to the report itself!

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/ipcc-says-there-s-still-time-so-now-what?utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=sierramag&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2OEkv9wYybQjYHIhiNjitpb39kOaB1EBEItpM-xGOn0IIXn9RMzzIOeZs

The IPCC Says There’s Still Time. So Now What? The famously cautious IPCC is (finally!) blaming fossil fuels as a climate perp

One of our graduate students thought that you might want to know about the EPA's air quality standard proposal, and about the public comment period that ends on March 28th.

On January 6th, the EPA proposed strengthening its outdated air quality standards for fine particulate matter, also known as soot. The EPA has opened up its public comment period to hear from people about the particulate matter air quality standards. She has passed along the following summary as well as links for talking points to mention in your comments:

PM2.5 is a dangerous air pollutant that threatens the health and safety of our most vulnerable.
The EPA must consider and finalize the strongest possible standards of 8 ug/m3 (annual) and 25 ug/m3 (24-hour), consistent with what its independent outside scientific experts called for.

1) EPAs Proposed Decision for the Reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter (PM)
2) Particulate Matter Message Guidance for Public Comment

PM Message Guidance_Public Comment.docx PM Public Comment Period Message Guidance-DRAFT 1/26/23 On January 6, 2023, EPA released a proposal to strengthen the health-protective fine particulate matter annual standard from 12 ug/m3 to between 9 and 10 ug/m3 and will be accepting comments on strengthening the standard even further to 8 u...

“The climate time bomb is ticking. But today’s IPCC report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate time bomb.”

https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/03/20/ipcc-report-heres-how-we-can-defuse-the-ticking-time-bomb-of-climate-change?fbclid=IwAR0B8u9i9yikahLm1JuaP6p5E-5CaLMfz8itBF-HJTsejby9L7oNmzJQ3Bo

‘On thin ice’: Five key takeaways from the IPCC report The report confirms that humans are responsible for virtually all global heating in the last 200 years.

Something to keep an eye on.

Climate change threatens spring wildflowers by speeding up the time when trees leaf out above them Many beloved wildflowers bloom in early spring, while trees are still bare and the flowers have access to sunlight. Climate change is throwing trees and wildflowers out of sync.

Let's see what we can do with this idea at Prescott!

This student was overwhelmed by ‘alarmist’ environmental education. So she designed her own college course. Sage Lenier’s sustainability course at UC Berkeley focuses on solutions. Now she’s launching a nonprofit to equip students with the knowledge to help solve the climate crisis.

Glen Canyon, anyone?

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/711437100?fbclid=IwAR0C5TD8Ov8OHvtkpVvj-GJWjX5EQtSJHOTIfQwpjir6r3Qq_82-RNGhaP4

Biological Science Technician This position is located in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, in the Science and Resource Management Division. Career-Seasonal position and subject to release and recall procedures. A permanent career-seasonal position includes all the benefits of permanent employment but does not provi...

The real concern here? Pollinators not being around when they're needed, with potentially frightening repercussions on our food systems.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/24/early-spring-us-climate-change-record?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR2Go86uRmc4FAUe802NjOk8mTbyyl8y3TCQt_hOyU5q97yZCPSIILUJfWs

Parts of US see earliest spring conditions on record: ‘Climate change playing out in real time’ Parts of Texas, Arkansas, Ohio and Maryland, along with New York, are all recording their earliest spring conditions on record

This is useful.

Last week, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information released a major update to the agency’s global surface temperature dataset. The new product tracks temperatures back to 1850, adding 30 additional years to the historical record, and it has complete geographic coverage over data-sparse areas at the poles.
We, at Climate.gov, thought, what better way to honor this release by plotting up all 173 years (1850-2022) of global temperature anomalies (compared to the 1991-2020 climatological average) in a poster-sized image. Enjoy!
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/features/look-all-173-noaas-new-global-temperature-maps

I've found it so inspiring to see these silent demonstrations around the world over the past few years, usually in association with the Extinction Rebellion. Their presence embodies an appropriate grief during a planetary crisis--a grief that most of us try to bury--but also resistance. There are many ways to bring about a shift in consciousness!

Red Rebel Brigade, Greater Boston The Red Rebels' mime-like movements form a stunning and thought-provoking accompaniment to the civil disobedience climate-change protests of Extinction Rebel...

Here's an amazing opportunity for the right community!

Prescott College has changed a lot since the short film came out in 1981, but I'm always inspired to be reminded of how things got started here!

The College That Wouldn't Die This is "The College That Wouldn't Die" by Prescott College on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

"'I consider climate change the policy problem from hell because you almost couldn't design a worse fit for our underlying psychology, or our institutions of decision-making,' says Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication."

How our perception of time shapes our approach to climate change Climate goals can feel distant. But climate change is happening right now. Speed up the benefits for taking action, psychologists say, if you want leaders and others to pay attention and act.