Congratulations to SMEA Professor Sunny Jardine and her co-PIs, who were recently awarded a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant to study links among people, lakes, and fish in the Northern Highland Lake District in Wisconsin. The four-year project will involve a team of 15 collaborators representing nine research institutions and conservation agencies. Along with Professor Jardine, co-leading principal investigators include Christopher Solomon of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Marco Janssen of Arizona State University, Olaf Jensen of Rutgers University, and Stuart Jones of the University of Notre Dame. 

Professor Patrick Christie and co-authors recently published a paper in Marine Policy titled “Why people matter in ocean governance: Incorporating human dimensions into large-scale marine protected areas.” The paper draws on the results of a global “Think Tank on the Human Dimensions of Large Scale Marine Protected Areas” (LSMPAs) that included representatives from 17 countries and a variety of organizations such as government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, professionals, industry, cultural/indigenous leaders and LSMPA site managers. 

By Mackenzie Nelson
It is no secret that science, especially environmental science, has had to climb over a few stumbling blocks in the past six months. While the phrase “alternative facts” has spurred the development of alt-groups that challenge the stance of the current narrow-minded administration, it also highlights how scientists are failing to reach a broader audience. Nives Dolšak, however, is succeeding. 

By Mackenzie Nelson
He walks to the corner office and opens the door. The room is as big as his reputation at SMEA. The number of books lining his walls is impressive. The spectrum of colors represented, even more so—almost like an art installment with each book specifically placed to bring the most artistic appeal. But upon closer inspection, it is clear they have been carefully categorized by topic. 

By Mackenzie Nelson
This year, Professor Patrick Christie taught an undergraduate class in the Jackson School of International Studies, a Task Force capstone course for the International Studies Program focused on the Tulalip Tribe’s environmental recovery plans. The premise of this class arose as the result of lack of understanding among non-tribal individuals about tribal treaty rights and environmental decline in the Puget Sound area due to “climate change and unsustainable human activities” (Task Force Report 2017, p. 

Professor Eddie Allison was a co-author on two recently published articles. “Adaptive capacity: from assessment to action in coastal social-ecological systems,” published in Ecology and Society, draws on case studies of coastal communities from around the globe, describing and comparing 11 approaches that are often used to study adaptive capacity of social and ecological systems in the face of social, environmental, and climatic change. 

Assistant Professor Ryan Kelly was featured on Parsing Science’s recent podcast which highlights 2016 SMEA alumna, Annie Hillier’s, master’s thesis “Is There a Role for Narrative Attributes in Scientific Literature?” In the episode, Kelly tells the unpublished stories behind the article “Narrative Style Influences Citation Frequency in Climate Change Science,” which he published along with co-authors Hillier and Professor Terrie Klinger in the December 2016 edition of PLoS One. 

SMEA Professor and Associate Director Nives Dolsak, and UW Professor and Director of the Center for Environmental Politics Aseem Prakash recently wrote an article for The Conversation titled, “Are we overreacting to US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate?” In the article Dolsak and Prakash state the President’s withdrawal from the agreement is a symbolic action with little substantive impact on climate mitigation, and as such, it is critical not to overreact and lose sight of domestic issues that could significantly jeopardize future climate policies. 

Congratulations to SMEA Professor Eddie Allison, Research Associate Nathan Bennett, Affiliate Assistant Professor Yoshitaka Ota and their co-authors on their latest article “Committing to socially responsible seafood” published in Science. The article discusses a comprehensive framework for social responsibility developed by the authors that responds to a need for alignment around a shared, transdisciplinary approach. Their framework, which is informed by practical experience from organizations and experts that work in the seafood sector and is supported by a strong legal and policy basis for implementation, comprises three components: (i) protecting human rights and dignity and respecting access to resources, (ii) ensuring equality and equitable opportunities to benefit, and (iii) improving food and livelihood security. 

SMEA alumnus Max Mossler (’16) recently published his thesis work in Global Environmental Change, along with co-authors Ann Bostrom, Kate Crosman, Patricia Moy, and SMEA Professor Ryan Kelly. The paper entitled “How does framing affect policy support for emissions mitigation? Testing the effects of ocean acidification and other carbon emissions frames” advances research on ocean acidification and climate change perceptions and communication, by (i) examining causal beliefs about ocean acidification, and (ii) measuring support for mitigation policies from individuals presented with one of five different policy frames (climate change, global warming, carbon pollution, air pollution, and ocean acidification).