Author Archives: Mary Ann Cunningham

Natural gas competes for scarce water resources

Like most colleges and many businesses and institutions, Vassar has been reporting reduced greenhouse gas emissions following our transition from heating oil to natural gas. Our Central Hudson electric grid also calculates reduced GHG emissions with its transition to gas … Continue reading

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New Climate Report draft

The New York Times reported August 9 on a draft of the national climate assessment, required by Congress to be updated every 4 years. The 673-page draft report focuses on changes already observed in the US, including increasing intensity of precipitation … Continue reading

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Funding available. Submit!

Now is the time to consider applying for summer funding from the ERI. Student and faculty funding applications are normally due the Monday after Spring Break. For details, see the Funding page on this site. We will also be accepting … Continue reading

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NASA climate visualization

Among the great climate visualizations produced by NASA lately, this is a good one. 2015 was the hottest year on record, despite local cooling in Washington Press release is here, with more info  

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Mapping sea level change for US cities

A new PNAS paper is reporting on sea level rise with climate change. The maps that show the data are very good visualizations. Enter the name of your favorite coastal city to see changes.

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Sustainable Development Goals UNDP

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 were recently released. These update the Millenium Development Goals, which demonstrated a number of successes (and also unachieved aims) in the 15 years of that program. Here are some comments on how to achieve … Continue reading

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Climate targets and MIT’s letter on divestment

We’re surrounded by updates on climate policy and strategy this fall, as we head toward Paris climate negotiations. Here is a good assessment of how national pledges stack up so far. On the same topic but more exciting, here’s MIT’s … Continue reading

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