Title: The influences of power, politics and risk on US subnational climate action.
Abstract: America’s recent loss of federal climate leadership emphasizes the important need for understanding drivers of US subnational climate action and inaction. The influence of power dynamics and politics on subnational climate action has largely focused on mitigation rather than adaptation. The primary objectives of this study include: constructing indices to aid in predicting the influence of sociopolitical and economic conditions (power dynamics between public and private interests) on state and local climate action; assessing whether risk of climate impacts appears to motivate local climate action; and examining the influence of political party affiliation on state and local climate action. This study’s unit of observation is the city and the state, including 136 US cities and 33 states. …
Join the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative for its 7th Annual Science Sunday. On Sunday, October 6 from 1 to 4 p.m, come learn about all the current research happening at the Notre Dame Linked Experimental Ecosystem Facility.
Notre Dame faculty and graduate students will lead demonstrations and hands-on activities appealing to all ages, around topics such as: …
The Kellogg Institute, in co-sponsorship with the Institute of Latino Studies, welcomes Todd Miller, Writer and Journalist.
As global warming accelerates, droughts last longer, floods rise higher, and super-storms become more frequent. With increasing numbers of people on the move as a result, the business of containing them – border fortification – is booming. Based on his book of the same name…
Title: The Phosphorus Paradox(es): How do sediment and soil processes control the most geologically scarce and biologically crucial element of the periodic table?
Abstract: Phosphorus (P) presents several compelling paradoxes. Phosphorus is arguably the most crucial element for life as we know it, while at the same time is the most geologically unavailable relative to its biotic need. The biogeochemical cycling of P is mediated by a unique combination of complex interacting biological and geochemical processes that make it both challenging and interesting to study. In human dominated watersheds, like many of the tributaries that flow into the Great Lakes, concern with P cycling mainly relates to excess P loads from mostly non-point sources causing eutrophic conditions and harmful algal blooms in vulnerable downstream aquatic ecosystems. At the poles, where soils are warming at unprecedented rates, P availability may limit the capacity of plant growth to offset some of the net loss of long-stored soil C to the atmosphere as permafrost thaws and soil respiration is enhanced. In this talk, I will share research on how soil and sediment biogeochemical processes influence P availability to plants and algae in temperate human-dominated systems and polar systems experiencing rapid change.…
Abstract: In this talk I provide an overview of my ongoing collaborative research streams that focus on various interconnections between anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and industrial pollution, forms of social inequality, and human well-being. This theoretically-engaged research involves the combining of social and environmental datasets at various scales, from the facility level up to the national level, and the use of multiple research methods, including longitudinal regression analysis, multilevel regression analysis, and qualitative comparative analysis. Besides contributing to various areas of research within sociology, this work is also intended to help situate fundamental sociological principles, especially the importance of social-structural context, more centrally within sustainability science.…
The University of Notre Dame will host the 8th annual conference of the Sociology of Development section of the American Sociological Association. The conference will be held on October 17-19th, 2019, at the University of Notre Dame. The theme of the conference is “Development in Dialogue: Engaging Practitioners and Other Disciplines.”…
The University of Notre Dame will host the 8th annual conference of the Sociology of Development section of the American Sociological Association. The conference will be held on October 17-19th, 2019, at the University of Notre Dame. The theme of the conference is “Development in Dialogue: Engaging Practitioners and Other Disciplines.”…
The University of Notre Dame will host the 8th annual conference of the Sociology of Development section of the American Sociological Association. The conference will be held on October 17-19th, 2019, at the University of Notre Dame. The theme of the conference is “Development in Dialogue: Engaging Practitioners and Other Disciplines.”…
Join Dr. David Flagel , Notre Dame Dept. of Biological Sciences, in this adult only program to learn how gray wolves have impacted forest community structure by altering the foraging behavior of white-tailed deer and coyotes.
Title: The Consistency of Pesticide Effects on Freshwater Systems.
Abstract: Freshwater systems are the most biodiverse in the world and provide important ecosystem services to humans, yet these systems are globally imperiled because of widespread pollution of thousands of synthetic chemicals. Predicting the ecological effects of contaminants on freshwater systems remains a challenge because of the sheer number of contaminants, including pesticides. A central objective of my research is to evaluate if the effects of pesticides on freshwater systems are independent of each other or if they share some consistencies. Overall, we see that the effects of pesticides on parasite transmission, community structure, and ecosystem function are consistent within pesticide chemical class (those that share similar chemical structure) or pesticide type (those that share similar targets in the environment). My research suggests that an enormous amount of complexity in risk assessment could be reduced by considering a smaller number of chemical groups. …
Alan Guebert, a nationally syndicated columnist, will give a public talk entitled “The only constant in US farming (and your food) is change”. Book signing and light refreshments will be provided immediately after the talk on Wednesday, October 30 at 6:00 pm in 1011 Education Arts,
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