2018-2019 Academic Year

2018-2019 Academic Year

News and Highlights in March 2019

A mild and wet winter has increased the likelihood that tick populations will surge in 2019, increasing the risk of Lyme Disease, according to RCI affiliate Dina Fonseca


A new study suggests that geo-engineering to minimize climate change could be safe, reports Scientific American and The Atlantic. However, RCI affiliate and geo-engineering expert Alan Robock expresses skepticism, taking issue with their crude representation of geo-engineering, which was simulated by simply dimming of the sun, and not actually putting aerosols into the upper atmosphere. 


Increased populations of black sea bass are causing havoc for the New England lobster industry, mostly because of their aggressive appetites for young lobster. Warmer ocean temperatures as a result of climate change is responsible for the increase in black sea bass further north, noted RCI affiliate Olaf Jensen.


A recent study in Nature Geoscience which examines the potential for rapid warming if stratocumulus clouds were to disappear under CO2 concentrations of 1200 ppm has received scientific criticism, reports Gizmodo and Science Magazine. The apocalyptic events that would unfold have captured media attention, but RCI affiliate Bob Kopp notes that global warming will have significant consequences before atmospheric CO2 concentrations ever reach 1200 ppm, and focusing on these kinds of scenarios distracts from the real and present threat of climate change over the next 50 years.


The first formal tally of ticks in the Northeastern United States has been conducted by a Rutgers-led research team, identifying 11 tick species in New Jersey including 2 invasive species. According to RCI affiliate Dina Fonseca, ticks are moving north due to warmer temperatures and climate change may be having an impact.


A new study contributed to by RCI affiliate Howard Kipen links air pollution to heart disease, according to Rutgers Today. Short term exposure to pollution contributes to heart failure incidents, strokes, high blood pressure, and heart attacks, according to the study, contributing to the emerging body of evidence linking air pollution to a diverse array of adverse health effects.


A new study published in Science finds that fisheries around the world are in decline due to rising temperatures from climate change, reports Science News, Courthouse News,CNN, Earth News, and USA Today. The study was led by Rutgers Christopher Free and co-authored by RCI affiliates Malin Pinsky and Olaf Jensen.


An article in Rutgers Today features RCI affiliate Jennifer Francis and her research on the connection between climate change, the Arctic, and changes to the frequency of extreme weather in the midlatitudes. What began as a theory in 2011 has become regularly reported by the New York Times as floods and droughts have made headlines, leading to Francis being asked to testify in front of Congress about climate change.


Ocean City property values have taken an enormous hit due to sea level rise, according to a new study by the First Street Foundation and Columbia University, reports WHYY. RCI affiliate Ben Horton describes it as 'a warning', and describes the situation as something that needs dire action to address.

News and Highlights in February 2019

RCI affiliate Dave Robinson answers questions about how climate change will effect New Jersey in an interview with the Burlington County Times.


Scallop offspring can move considerable distances across fisheries off the east coast of the US, complicating decisions made by fisheries managers, writes RCI affiliate Daphne Munroe for Science Trends. Managers of fisheries must know where scallop larvae are moving, which can be determined by ocean currents and temperature, to make efficient decisions about which opening or closing a fishery region. As coastal waters warm, computer modelling can help make these decisions.


congressional hearing on Wednesday by the House of Representatives’ Science, Space, and Technology Committee featured RCI affiliates Robert Kopp and Jennifer Francis discussing the state of climate science and measures to address climate change. Kopp suggested that a wide variety of fixes could be used to help slow climate impacts, and was encouraged by interest from Republican committee members on the issue, reports EOS and CNNFrancis’s testimony focused on the threat that increased extreme weather poses with climate change as the Arctic warms up more quickly than the rest of the Earth.


An old trail on Cook Campus called the Arbor Trail, restored four years ago by senior environmental planning and design major Elliot Nagele, is the source of a new internship to restore the trail further, reports Rutgers Today. Designing a rain garden retention pond and developing an app about the trail’s history and native plant species are among the projects planned for the trail. 


Ever since a November winter storm paralyzed New Jersey during rush hour with gridlock, the state of New Jersey has adapted a ‘better safe than sorry’ mantra when it comes to applying salt treatments to roadways, reports NJ.com, NJTV News, and NJ Spotlight. However, according to environmentalists, including RCI affiliate Dan Van Abs, road salt has negative environmental and public health consequences. In addition to shocking fish, some towns like Brick have had to switch their water supply from a river to a reservoir because of high sodium levels in the water.


A Rutgers Today article features RCI affiliate Alan Robock and discusses his work as a climatologist in the context of global climate change and the politics around creating a solution.


RCI affiliate Robert Kopp discusses how a changing climate will affect sea levels on Resources Radio with Daniel Raimi. Listen to the half-hour podcast on Soundcloud.


The Students for Environmental and Energy Development (SEED) is a club at Rutgers currently working on six projects pertaining to environmental and sustainability issues. Some projects include implementing a bike share program at Rutgers, installing a CO2 sensor on campus by programming a Raspberry Pi, and designing sustainable bus stops.

The club is always looking for new members and meets on Tuesdays at 8:15 PM in the Environmental and Natural Resources Building (ENR) in Room 223 on the Cook Campus.


2018 was the hottest year ever recorded for the world's oceans, as the warming of the oceans continue to outpace IPCC predictions, reports The Daily Beast. In the article, RCI affiliate Malin Pinsky discusses one of the tangible signs of this change, which is the massive movement of marine life northward to escape warming temperatures.


RCI affiliate Debashish Bhattacharya explains his research on sea lettuce in National Fisherman ;  this marine plant  is both a nuisance and a potential source of bioethanol and nutrition. The unpredictable nature of Sea Lettuce blooms makes their occurrence difficult to manage, but Bhattacharya’s new research in understanding the species on a molecular level could lead to increased growth for applied uses, such as use as animal feed or biofuels.


The most recent polar vortex disruption and subsequent cold air flooding into the northern United States has reignited the debate over whether or not climate change is influencing the frequency of these disruptions. In an article in USA Today, RCI affiliate Jennifer Francis explains that when warm air infiltrates the Arctic, this can weaken the jet stream and cause cold air to become displaced southward. Some scientists, but not all, say there may be a connection between global warming and a weaker vortex.


The conflicting influence of climate change on snowfall is explained in an article in Scientific American, where RCI affiliate Dave Robinson explains that there are ‘no easy answers’ to the link between climate change and snow. In places that are significantly below freezing, warming can lead to an increase in total snowfall while in areas that are borderline, more snow will fall as rain. Determining the effect of climate change from one location to the next, may be among the most challenging questions about weather and climate change, according to Robinson.


Research led by Rutgers scientists, including RCI affiliates affiliates Josh Kohut and Travis Miles aims to improve the prediction of near and off-shore sea breezes, reports Rutgers Today. The study combined a statistical analysis technique with the WRF weather forecasting model, with the hopes that the offshore wind industry in New Jersey will benefit from better prediction of sea breezes. This research was also reported by the LA Times, the Press of Atlantic City, and NJ101.5.


Robert Kopp

Research led by Rutgers scientists, including RCI affiliates affiliates Josh Kohut and Travis Miles aims to improve the prediction of near and off-shore sea breezes, reports Rutgers Today. The study combined a statistical analysis technique with the WRF weather forecasting model, with the hopes that the offshore wind industry in New Jersey will benefit from better prediction of sea breezes.


RCI affiliate William Hallman, is a member of the external advisory committee that developed the recently released National Academies’ Climate Communications Initiative strategic plan.   


NorthJersey.com details RCI affiliate Dave Robinson’s role as state climatologist, climate change communicator, and weather enthusiast. Dave Robinson is known for his management of a global snow database which tracks snow cover, which Robinson sees as the biggest signal of climate change so far.


 

News and Highlights in January 2019

The Students for Environmental and Energy Development (SEED) is a club at Rutgers currently working on six projects pertaining to environmental and sustainability issues. Some projects include implementing a bike share program at Rutgers, installing a CO2 sensor on campus by programming a Raspberry Pi, and designing sustainable bus stops.


The club is always looking for new members and meets on Tuesdays at 8:15 PM in the Environmental and Natural Resources Building (ENR) in Room 223 on the Cook Campus.


2018 was the hottest year ever recorded for the world's oceans, as the warming of the oceans continue to outpace IPCC predictions, reports The Daily Beast. In the article, RCI affiliate Malin Pinsky discusses one of the tangible signs of this change, which is the massive movement of marine life northward to escape warming temperatures.


RCI affiliate Debashish Bhattacharya explains his research on sea lettuce in National Fisherman ;  this marine plant  is both a nuisance and a potential source of bioethanol and nutrition. The unpredictable nature of Sea Lettuce blooms makes their occurrence difficult to manage, but Bhattacharya’s new research in understanding the species on a molecular level could lead to increased growth for applied uses, such as use as animal feed or biofuels.


The most recent polar vortex disruption and subsequent cold air flooding into the northern United States has reignited the debate over whether or not climate change is influencing the frequency of these disruptions. In an article in USA Today, RCI affiliate Jennifer Francis explains that when warm air infiltrates the Arctic, this can weaken the jet stream and cause cold air to become displaced southward. Some scientists, but not all, say there may be a connection between global warming and a weaker vortex.


The conflicting influence of climate change on snowfall is explained in an article in Scientific American, where RCI affiliate Dave Robinson explains that there are ‘no easy answers’ to the link between climate change and snow. In places that are significantly below freezing, warming can lead to an increase in total snowfall while in areas that are borderline, more snow will fall as rain. Determining the effect of climate change from one location to the next, may be among the most challenging questions about weather and climate change, according to Robinson.


Research led by Rutgers scientists, including RCI affiliates affiliates Josh Kohut and Travis Miles aims to improve the prediction of near and off-shore sea breezes, reports Rutgers Today. The study combined a statistical analysis technique with the WRF weather forecasting model, with the hopes that the offshore wind industry in New Jersey will benefit from better prediction of sea breezes. This research was also reported by the LA Times, the Press of Atlantic City, and NJ101.5.


Robert Kopp

Research led by Rutgers scientists, including RCI affiliates affiliates Josh Kohut and Travis Miles aims to improve the prediction of near and off-shore sea breezes, reports Rutgers Today. The study combined a statistical analysis technique with the WRF weather forecasting model, with the hopes that the offshore wind industry in New Jersey will benefit from better prediction of sea breezes.


RCI affiliate William Hallman, is a member of the external advisory committee that developed the recently released National Academies’ Climate Communications Initiative strategic plan.   


NorthJersey.com details RCI affiliate Dave Robinson’s role as state climatologist, climate change communicator, and weather enthusiast. Dave Robinson is known for his management of a global snow database which tracks snow cover, which Robinson sees as the biggest signal of climate change so far.


A Rutgers-led study in the International Journal of Sustainable Transportation finds that extending the life of pavement through preventive maintenance can reduce greenhouse gases by 2% and cut transportation agency spending by 10-30%, reports Rutgers Today. Preserving pavement has environmental benefits because smooth pavement improves driver fuel economy and reduces the cost of repairing vehicles. Simply adding a thin overlay of asphalt can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2% because of the decrease in road roughness.


A new study published in Science found that the oceans are warming 40% faster than estimated by the UN 5 years ago, reports the NY Times. The ocean acts as a buffer to surface warming and without it, according to RCI affiliate Malin Pinsky, the surface of the land would heat up much faster than it is currently. At the same time, rising ocean temperatures are already killing off marine ecosystems and rising sea levels.


The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released Making Climate Asssessments Work which summarizes an August 2018 workshop that explored the role of subnational climate assessments and action.


A Rutgers-led study, published in PNAS and featured in Rutgers Today, explores why fisheries conservation efforts succeed or fail, finding that old habits die hard.  The study found that those who start conserving can often stick with it but when conservation is not in place, the opposite is true Ultimately, past decisions largely determine future conservation efforts. The researchers, including RCI affiliate Malin Pinsky, built a mathematical model using this theoretical basis and explained global patterns in fishery decisions better than any previous theory. The work offers hope that conservation is much easier to continue once started.


As climate change contributes to reduced lobster populations off Long Island, scientists rush to remove traps from killing off the few lobsters that remain, as well as other marine life that may find themselves trapped. This is another way where the effects of climate change are appearing in the ocean before other places, according to RCI affiliate Malin Pinsky, impacting economies and people’s livelihoods.


Researchers, including RCI affiliate Karina Schaefer, published a study concluding that prescribed burns could be conducted in the New Jersey Pinelands every 5 years without increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a brief from the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange. While tree defoliation from a gypsy moth infestation decreased the forest’s ability to absorb carbon, the forest can recover from a prescribed burn by the next growing season.


Sea level rise is threatening 500 year old trees in Cumberland County, as saltwater intrudes into the roots of trees that have been there since before the Pilgrims landed. By the next century, the Jersey shore will face sea level rise anywhere between 18 inches and 4 feet, according to the EPA. Pockets of Atlantic White Cedar trees have already died from this fate, an ominous warning to nearby Bear Swamp, which is further inland.


As sea levels continue to rise, New Jersey is working to buy people out of their homes through a program called ‘Blue Acres’, according to a feature by PBS. The NJ DEP runs the program, which buys houses from homeowners, demolishes them, and rezones the land so nothing can be built there. This creates open space which helps to absorb flood waters, protecting areas further inland.


Rutgers is partnering with The Center for Advancing the Societal Impacts of Research (ARIS Center) to help bridge gaps between important scientific research and the general public, reports Rutgers Today. RCI affiliate Janice McDonnell is working with ARIS to help researchers find ways to share science project with a broader range of audiences. According to McDonnell, ‘the goal is to integrate thinking about how you will work with communities and the public to understand and sometimes participate in university research.’


The state of New Jersey observed the wettest year on record in 2018, according to New Jersey State Climatologist and RCI affiliate David Robinson. 64.09” of rain was observed statewide, beating out the previous mark of 63.95” in 2011, which featured Hurricane Irene. Warm weather and a continuous supply of moisture allowed for frequent rain over the course of the year, which was also the 11th warmest.


The New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance has been awarded the 2018 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Education.  The Alliance is co-facilitated by Rutgers Climate Institute affiliate Jeanne Herb and RCI Associate Director, Marjorie Kaplan.  It is a collective of organizations and individuals that share the goal of advancing science-informed climate change strategies and policy at the state and local levels in New Jersey.

 
Pictured from Left to Right:  Michael Catania and Kathleen Ellis (Alliance Co-chairs), Tammy Snyder Murphy (First Lady of New Jersey), Marjorie Kaplan (Associate Director, Rutgers Climate Institute and Alliance Co-facilitator), Jeanne Herb (Executive Director, Environmental Analysis and Communications Group, Bloustein School of Planning and Policy and Alliance Co-Facilitator), Catherine McCabe (NJDEP Commissioner); and David Zimmer (Executive Director, NJ Infrastructure Bank)


 

 

News and Highlights in December 2018

Robert Kopp RCI affiliate Robert Kopp explains the findings of the latest IPCC report on the need to achieve emissions reductions to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above 19th century temperatures.


The East Point lighthouse in Delaware Bay is at risk of being inundated by rising sea levels, reports the Washington Post. According to RCI affiliate Benjamin Horton, there has been 1.3 feet of sea level rise over the past 100 years in New Jersey. By 2050, another 1.4 feet of sea level rise is expected, threatening an historic lighthouse that is mere inches above sea level.


Legislation introduced in the New Jersey legislature by Senator Bob Smith, which aims to put the state on track to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets, has been informed by work of the Rutgers Climate Institute. New Jersey is unlikely to meet its 2050 goal of reducing emissions by 80% below 2006 levels, according to a report issued by Rutgers Climate Institute in collaboration with co-authors from the Georgetown Climate Center and World Resources Institute. The legislation would require New Jersey to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce short-lived climate pollutants such as black carbon and methane which have a more potent warming influence on climate change than carbon dioxide.


Solidia Technologies, of Piscataway, NJ based on technology established by Rutgers scientists, is hoping to reduce carbon emissions from the production of concrete by 70% through storage of CO2 into the cement component of concrete reports the NY Times. By collecting carbon dioxide from the flues of industrial plants and incorporating it into the cement, Solidia can sequester carbon dioxide before it gets a chance to enter the atmosphere. The potential is attractive to oil and gas companies like BP, who has invested $10 million into the company with the hopes that they can turn the CO2 they generate into ‘something material and productive.’


The Fourth National Climate Assessment  has been released, assessing a range of potential climate change-related impacts, with an aim to help decision makers better identify risks that could be avoided or reduced. RCI affiliate Robert Kopp was a contributor to Chapter 2: Our Changing Climate.  The report warns of climate change's severe negative impact on the US economy under a ‘business as usual’ emissions scenario, according to an article in the NY Times. Notably, the report concluded that climate change was already harming the US economy, citing more severe heat waves and wildfires in addition to torrential downpours in wet regions and increasing water scarcity in dry regions The Northeast Chapter mentions the work of the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance in describing efforts to to build resilience to environmental challenges and adapt to a changing climate. Among many of its conclusions, it notes that the major negative impacts on critical infrastructure, urban economies and nationally significant historic sites are already occurring and will become more common in a changing climate, as well as mentions impacts to tourism, farming and forestry with less distinct seasons and milder winters, adaptive capacity of marine systems and coastal communities will influence ecological and socioeconomic outcomes as climate risks increase, and increased health-related impacts and costs due to more extreme weather, warmer temperatures, degradation of air and water quality and sea-level rise.


Rutgers scientists have made a technological breakthrough by developing a catalyst that can convert carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, into plastics, fabrics, resins, and other products, reports Rutgers Today. In a study published in the journal of Energy & Environmental Science, nickel and phosphorus, which are cheap and abundant, can be used as catalysts to convert carbon dioxide and water into a variety of carbon-based products. A Rutgers start-up company called RenewCO₂ has already earned a patent for the electrocatalysts, as the results of their research are planned for commercial use.


The environmental merits of online shopping versus brick and mortar stores are investigated in an article in NorthJersey.com, as the holiday shopping season moves into its peak. Both options can be ‘green’, but one’s own decisions can make the difference, such as trying on clothes to avoid return trips or using retailers that use greener packaging. According to Jill Lipoti, RCI affiliate, sustainability is about multiple factors, such as the amount of water used to grow cotton, raising sheep, manufacturing, and drying fabric.

 

News and Highlights in November 2018

The Fourth National Climate Assessment  has been released, assessing a range of potential climate change-related impacts, with an aim to help decision makers better identify risks that could be avoided or reduced. RCI affiliate Robert Kopp was a contributor to Chapter 2: Our Changing Climate.  The report warns of climate change's severe negative impact on the US economy under a ‘business as usual’ emissions scenario, according to an article in the NY Times. Notably, the report concluded that climate change was already harming the US economy, citing more severe heat waves and wildfires in addition to torrential downpours in wet regions and increasing water scarcity in dry regions The Northeast Chapter mentions the work of the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance in describing efforts to to build resilience to environmental challenges and adapt to a changing climate. Among many of its conclusions, it notes that the major negative impacts on critical infrastructure, urban economies and nationally significant historic sites are already occurring and will become more common in a changing climate, as well as mentions impacts to tourism, farming and forestry with less distinct seasons and milder winters, adaptive capacity of marine systems and coastal communities will influence ecological and socioeconomic outcomes as climate risks increase, and increased health-related impacts and costs due to more extreme weather, warmer temperatures, degradation of air and water quality and sea-level rise.


Rutgers scientists have made a technological breakthrough by developing a catalyst that can convert carbon dioxide, the main cause of global warming, into plastics, fabrics, resins, and other products, reports Rutgers Today. In a study published in the journal of Energy & Environmental Science, nickel and phosphorus, which are cheap and abundant, can be used as catalysts to convert carbon dioxide and water into a variety of carbon-based products. A Rutgers start-up company called RenewCO₂ has already earned a patent for the electrocatalysts, as the results of their research are planned for commercial use.The environmental merits of online shopping versus brick and mortar stores are investigated in an


article in NorthJersey.com, as the holiday shopping season moves into its peak. Both options can be ‘green’, but one’s own decisions can make the difference, such as trying on clothes to avoid return trips or using retailers that use greener packaging. According to Jill Lipoti, RCI affiliate, sustainability is about multiple factors, such as the amount of water used to grow cotton, raising sheep, manufacturing, and dying fabric.RCI affiliate


Lisa Auermueller’s coordination and outreach with local stakeholders is detailed in a local news article where she shows officials in Ocean and Atlantic counties how to assess their vulnerabilities to storm surge using tools developed by the Rutgers University Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis in combination with sea-level rise data developed through the Rutgers facilitated New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance.


The Guardian reports on a research study that discusses how global warming could make hurricanes dump more rainfall as well as reach higher windspeeds. RCI affiliate Jennifer Francis, who is not affiliated with the study, refers to this study as adding "exclamation points to the already clear message that we must slow global warming by conserving energy and switching from fossil to renewable fuels while preparing for more extreme weather to come.” 


Congratulations to RCI affiliate Travis Miles, who received the 2018 Ocean News and Technology Young Professional Award from the Marine Technology Society for his work using ocean sensory technology to understand hurricane intensity and determine the ocean’s role in modulating hurricane energy.


Four affiliates of the Rutgers Climate Institute were featured in a Rutgers Magazine’s Earth in the Balance  highlighting their scholarship on different aspects of climatic change. Jennifer Francis, Malin Pinsky, Kenneth Miller, and Alan Robock are all at the forefront of their fields, united by their passion for researching changes in climate and have each contributed greatly to understanding the climate whether it be focusing on Arctic sea ice, marine organisms, sea level rise, or volcanic eruptions and geoengineering.

 


 

Follow the blog of  RCI affiliate Elisabeth Sikes and her research team as they sail across the Indian Ocean to take sediment core samples of the ocean floor, hoping to reconstruct the climate of the last ice age on the project Coring to Reconstruct Ocean Currents and Carbon dioxide Across 2 Seas .


New Jersey has been targeted as one of the best places for offshore wind farms because of a shallow continental shelf and seemingly endless wind resources due to high temperature variability from winter to summer, according to RCI affiliate Josh Kohut in a NJ Spotlight feature on New Jersey’s offshore wind potential. The one thing standing in the way of making offshore wind a reality in New Jersey is political will and ironing out fine details such as who will control the transmission of energy. These obstacles will have to be overcome in order to achieve the state’s goal of 3500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. 


Variation in the size and shape of blue crabs can influence survival, according to a Rutgers University study by doctoral student Joseph Caracappa and RCI affiliate Daphne Munroe. This has important implications for commercial interests, as the differences in size and shape can give some crabs an advantage when it comes to swimming and feeding. Understanding the survivability of different crab populations will become increasingly important to the crab industry as the climate continues to get warmer.


A Rutgers University mosquito control approach helped Maryland residents reduce the population of invasive Asian tiger mosquitoes by 76%, reports Rutgers Today. RCI affiliate Dina Fonseca was an author on the study detailing the project, describing it as a rejection of the top-down approach to mosquito control. Mosquito control has failed in the past due to high attrition and lack of personal motivation, but this project relies on cultivating strong relationships between volunteers, scientists, and their communities.


Rutgers Associate Professor Thomas Molnar and his team have experiencing great success in developing  disease-resistant hazelnut trees through a rigorous program of cross-breeding, reports American Farm Publications.


RCI affiliate Asa Rennermalm discusses the unexpectedly fast rate of melting on Greenland’s glaciers in a News12 NJ article. The cause is primarily due to anthropogenic warming. The collapse of all Greenland ice would lead to a 20-foot increase in global sea level, putting coastal cities at an enormous risk, which makes researching this area so crucial future coastal habitability.


As the climate warms, the habitat of the southern pine beetle is moving northward, and has already established itself in New Jersey according to an article in the Rutland Herald. A single night at 0 degrees Fahrenheit kills off most of the beetles, but warmer temperatures at night over the past 50 years have failed to keep them in check. The beetle has been observed to attack and kill any species of pine they encounter.


The National Weather Service (NWS) presented Rutgers with an award honoring Rutgers University for 50 years of maintaining its weather station. RCI Co-director, Anthony Broccoli accepted the award on behalf of the university.  The Rutgers station is part of a network of 8700 stations around the United States; the data, primarily collected by students, are  widely used to document variations in weather and climate.  Rutgers has been observing the weather daily for over 100 years, but the current station has been in continuous existence since 1968.


New Jersey is especially vulnerable to sea-level rise that will accompany climate change, although New Jersey is already working toward lowering emissions as the Global Warming Response Act requires an 80% emissions reduction by 80% by 2050. RCI affiliate David Robinson weighs in, advocating for a combination of energy efficiency as well as a transition to clean energy and discusses the need to adapt.    


Puffin populations have made a remarkable comeback in the northern Atlantic due to conservation efforts, but changes in the Labrador Current as the climate changes is disrupting the ecosystems that Puffins depend on, the American Prospect reports. Herring are an ideal fish for many seabird species because of their high fat content, but the fish have virtually disappeared from the puffin diet due to overfishing as well as the northward creep of warmer water. Herring are driven deeper and farther out into the ocean, and according to RCI affiliate Malin Pinsky, just out of the diving range of puffins.