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May 2014 Years of Living Dangerously Climate Science Center director featured in the first episode of the Showtime docu-­‐series “Years of Living Dangerously” The director of the Climate Science Center, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, was featured on the first episode of the Years of Living Dangerously docu-­‐series directed by James Cameron on S howtime. The first episode aired earlier this month was hosted b y Don Cheadle and h ighlighted Dr. Hayhoe’s unique position of being an “evangelical climate scientist.” The documentary explains Dr. Hayhoe’s approach to climate science was founded in her upbringing as the child of a missionary who emphasized that the means by which God executed Creation could be explained by science. The documentary also reveals Dr. Hayhoe’s proclaimed “first climate change convert” as her husband, Drew Farley. Dr. Farley is the pastor at the Eccelesia church in Lubbock. The revelation of Dr. Hayhoe and Dr. Farley’s scientific and faith based belief systems spurs discussion on the relationship between climate change positions, faith, and politics. The first episode of Years of Living Dangerously also features the story of Syrian families with lifestyles completely disrupted by enormous drought, as well as the mass deforestation of Indonesian forests for p alm tree plantations. More information about the series, as well as access to the episodes can be found here: http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com Bonus footage of Dr. Hayhoe from the first episode interviews can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY1H
weENTeU. TTU CSC Staff
The climate science center staff consists of a culmination of passionate professors, researchers, and students looking to educate themselves and the public about climate. The group has bi-­‐weekly meetings to discuss grant-­‐writing opportunities, publications, and establish a support system for climate-­‐based initiatives that individuals in the group may be taking on. Members of the Climate Science Center are employed by Texas Tech, with a few additions that are from other institutions but still a part of the Southwest Climate Science Center (http://southcentralclimate. org). Areas of focus include drought monitoring, atmospheric effects on human health, wildlife, sustainability, and more. The group collectively hosts the Climate Science Seminar series on the first Tuesday of each month, including speakers from Texas Tech and throughout the community to educate audiences about different aspects of climate. Featured Publication: Nancy E McIntyre, Christopher K Wright, Sharmistha Swain, Katharine Hayhoe, Ganming Liu, Frank W Schwartz, and Geoffrey M Henebry 2014. “Climate forcing of wetland landscape connectivity in the Great Plains.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2014) 12: 59–64. http://goo.gl/QPbD45 1 April Climate Science Seminar Speakers Dr. Nancy E. McIntyre Dr. Michael Farmer Dr. Richard Peterson Biological Sciences Texas Tech University Agriculture and Applied Economics Texas Tech University Geosciences Texas Tech University “Fragmentation of the Playa Network” “Managing Long-­‐Run Land Use Change Management” Dr. McIntyre’s research and presentation examined how climate change and drought conditions have altered the playa lakes system. Playa lakes are critical for wildlife survival and are also a necessary recharge source for the Ogallala aquifer. Dr. McIntyre’s research found that over 50% of Texas’ playa lakes no longer hold water due to drought and land-­‐use conversion. Organisms must now disperse 2-­‐8 times further for water. Future research should be focused on the linear movement of organisms between playas. Dr. Farmer’s presentation focused on how land use changes must be considered in the face of climate change. Land use is decided spatially and regionally. Oftentimes land use decisions are not the best for the local community but were based on data for a more generalized area. Varied populations of people will have mixed reactions to changes in land use, and semantics are very important in encouraging proper management of land for the sake of food supplies, etc. Social work is a very important element in understanding this field of study. “West Texas Rainmaking” Dr. Peterson presented about rainmaking in the West Texas region. Rainmaking can be accomplished by one of two methods: concussion or seeding. Each method comes with costs and benefits, seeding being the more popular of the two methods. Cloud seeding materials can be delivered by ground-­‐
based, remote, or direct methods. Cloud seeding caused significant controversy in Hale and Lamb counties of the panhandle. The county citizens voted down cloud seeding for the threat of violence in the region. Coming up on April 1st: Dr. Chuck West – “Can High Plains crop producers stretch the supply of groundwater for irrigation use?” Dr. Kerry Griffis-­‐Kyle – “Desert Amphibians and Climate Change: Victims of Good Intentions?” Dr. Jennifer Vanos – “Sensing the Invisible: Viewing Microclimates From a New Perspective” Other highlights from this month: •
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The Climate Science Center’s director Dr. Katharine Hayhoe (http://goo.gl/GoJvUf) has been named to TIME’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World! http://time.com/time100-­‐2014/ The Years of Living Dangerously Showtime series continues every Sunday at 10:00 PM on Showtime: http://yearsoflivingdangerously.com The IPCC Working Group II’s m ost recently published report on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability can be found here: http://ipcc-­‐wg2.gov/AR5/ “Like” us @ http://www.facebook.com/TTUClimateScienceCenter Follow us @ http://www.twitter.com/TTUCSC 2 CSC Featured Dataset The high-­‐resolution climate projections generated by the TTU CSC are now online as part o f the USGS GeoData Portal. They can be used to make interactive climate maps of a host of variables (shown: days per year with maximum temperatures above 90°F) http://goo.gl/OF49Ep