Democracy Matters -Episode 57: Can We Stop Climate Destruction?
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SUMMARY: The theme of Earth Day 2021 is action on Climate Change. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tobias Gerken, assistant professor in the School of Integrated Sciences and Technology at JMU whose research focuses on environmental and atmospheric science. He explains some of his novel research on land–atmosphere coupling and feedback and with NASA’s project on Atmospheric Carbon & Transport and the Department of Energy’s GreenOcean Amazon project. Dr. Gerken shares how this research impacts our understanding of climate modeling, the extent of environmental destruction from climate change, and advice for policymakers for making informed decisions about climate policy.
Every year on April 22nd, over 190 countries recognize the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement; otherwise known as Earth Day. What began in the 1970s as an awakening of public consciousness to the environmental impacts of industrial expansion and activity, Earth Day has now developed into the “largest secular observance in the world” of the negative effects humanity has on the natural world.
Detailed by the Earth Day Network, creative and innovative methods to respect our natural surroundings have been adopted around the globe on Earth Days past. For example, in 2011, 28 million trees were planted in Afghanistan by the Earth Day Network to replenish the forestry that had been previously lost. In 2012, 100,000 people rode bikes in China to reduce the CO2 emissions and to preserve fuel. These examples represent a small scope of what the international community is capable of doing to give back to and protect our environment.
The theme of Earth Day 2021 is action on Climate Change. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tobias Gerken, assistant professor in the School of Integrated Sciences and Technology at JMU whose research focuses on environmental and atmospheric science. He explains some of his novel research on land–atmosphere coupling and feedback and with NASA’s project on Atmospheric Carbon & Transport and the Department of Energy’s GreenOcean Amazon project. Dr. Gerken shares how this research impacts our understanding of climate modeling, the extent of environmental destruction from climate change, and advice for policymakers for making informed decisions about climate policy.
Links in this episode:
- https://www.tobias-gerken.com/
- Gerken, T., Ruddell, B.L., Yu, R., Stoy, P.C., Drewry, D.T., 2019. Robust observations of land-to-atmosphere feedbacks using the information flows of FLUXNET. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science 2, 37.
- NASA’s project on Atmospheric Carbon & Transport in America
- Department of Energy’s GreenOcean Amazon experiment
- Sustainable Development Goals: Responsible Production and Consumption by Isabella Lindblad
