Environment

With the COVID-19 pandemic confining many Americans to their homes, a significant number of people used the money they might otherwise have spent on travel or eating out to invest in rooftop solar systems. Daniel Gamelin, professor of chemistry at the UW, is quoted.

Jawbones and an assortment of teeth found in the Hell’s Creek formation of northeastern Montana are the oldest primate fossils ever discovered, according to newly published research. Gregory Wilson Mantilla, Burke Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology and professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

A study by Adrian Raftery, statistics professor, is cited in this article about how much global emissions must fall to halt climate change.

In a new study, a team of paleontologists analyzed tooth samples found in Montana and determined plesiadapiforms, an ancient taxon including primates’ oldest ancestor, likely emerged 65.9 million-years-ago and lived alongside dinosaurs. Gregory Wilson Mantilla, Burke Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology and professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Gregory Wilson Mantilla, professor of biology and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture, has co-led a new study analyzing several fossils of the earliest-known primates.

The shapes of fossilized teeth from 65.9 million-year-old, squirrel-like creatures suggest that the branch of the tree of life that gave rise to humans and other primates flowered while dinosaurs still walked the earth. The UW’s Gregory Wilson Mantilla, Burke Museum curator of vertebrate paleontology and professor of biology, and Brody Hovatter, a graduate student in Earth and space sciences, are quoted.

Black-and-white tuxedos may be the conventional dress code in the penguin world, but one dashing individual is breaking the status quo with an à la mode yellow coat. Dee Boersma, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.

Aseem Prakash, professor of political science, explains why the United States will need to expand its transmission capacity.

A new study says that carbon emission cuts need to be about 80% more ambitious to stay below 2 degrees Celsius global warming — considered a threshold for climate stability and climate-related risks such as excessive heat, drought, extreme weather and sea level rise. The UW's Adrian Raftery, a professor of statistics, and Pieran Lu, a doctoral student in statistics, are quoted.

Of the two sides in the conflict over India's new farm laws, Nives Dolšak, professor of marine and environmental affairs at the UW, and Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, write, “Neither camp offers any solution to the most crucial challenge: ensuring that the Green Revolution belt farmers grow less rice, which is economically and ecologically problematic.”

The pledges countries made to reduce emissions as part of the 2015 Paris agreement are woefully inadequate, and the world must nearly double its greenhouse gas-cutting goals to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, according to research published Tuesday. Adrian Raftery, professor of statistics at the UW, is quoted.

One of the first actions by President Biden after his inauguration was bringing the U.S. back into the Paris climate agreement. A new study from a researcher at the University of Washington shows people how much more we will have to do, to meet the goals in that accord. Adrian Raftery, a professor of statistics, is quoted.

Adrian Raftery, professor of statistics, and Peiran Liu, doctoral student in statistics, have co-authored a new study that found that the planet has a less than 5% chance of staying within the goal of 2 degrees Celcius warming this century.

Some of Island County’s best-known climate activists are young, including members of the South Whidbey–based United Student Leaders. But in this retirement destination, where a quarter of the residents are over 65, there are plenty of elders who share the teenagers’ planetary worries. Richard Gammon, professor emeritus of chemistry at the UW, is quoted.

Ecologists have shown that climate change has not been an equal opportunity stressor. As the Mojave Desert warmed by about 2°C over the past century, bird numbers and diversity declined dramatically, but small mammals like little pocket mice are holding their own. Lauren Buckley, professor of biology at the UW, is quoted.