School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Director, and Stan and Alta Barer Professor of Sustainability, Dr. Nives Dolšak sat for an interview with Joseph Peters of ABC 10 News San Diego last week. She shared her expertise and understanding in why the US saw an increase in usage of coal-driven electricity in 2021. The cost of coal competitor, natural gas, nearly doubled in 2021, so coal became financially attractive for power. 

If you’re looking for a last-minute holiday gift for an inquisitive kid in your life, you might consider a copy of the recently published  “The Rockfish Kids Book”, a beautifully illustrated book designed to connect children of all ages in the Puget Sound with an important marine species. The School of Marine and Environmental Affairs has had a long history in helping to shape the scientific knowledge about rockfish, and has produced many alumni who have been critical to their recovery in the Puget Sound. 

School of Marine and Environmental Affairs Director Dr. Nives Dolšak was featured in a recent piece in the Washington Post about how environmentalists “travel with the climate in mind”. Dolšak and her husband Dr. Aseem Prakash, the founding director of the Center for Environmental Politics, detail their approach to reducing carbon emissions by traveling infrequently and opting for train or road trips when possible. 

SMEA Research Assistant Professor Dr. Yoshitaka Ota and Dr. Steven Hare ’88 are among the authors of a new piece published this summer in Nature Sustainability. Their work helps to examine the options tuna-dependent Pacific Island fisheries have in the face of a changing climate. The team of authors of “Pathways to sustaining tuna-dependent Pacific Island economies during climate change”, provide compelling data that a drastic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is necessary to slow the loss of tuna biomass in currently, commonly fished areas surrounding the Pacific Islands. 

A trio of recent publications feature a host of School of Marine and Environmental Affairs affiliates, and cover a wide array of topics. This is a good snapshot of the breadth of topics and material addressed through SMEA research and coursework.
Recent graduate Tressa Arbow ’19 was on a team of authors including Affiliate Professor Eddie Allison, which addressed the lagging change toward healthy and sustainable food sources. 

Stan and Alta Barer Professor of Sustainability Science, Dr. Nives Dolšak offered her expertise and insights to NBC News in their review of the climate pledge made by global business giant Amazon. Dolšak’s work on climate neutrality and global climate change policies has been featured across many outlets, and in the wake of Amazon’s climate pledge announcement, she has been interviewed and consulted on what the pledge means, its efficacy, and how it shifts the landscape for private business. 

The National Center for Atmospheric Research has named SMEA Professor Cleo Woelfle-Erskine, to its Early Career Faculty Innovator Program, as was recently featured in UW News.
The designation comes with a $400,000 award and Woelfle-Erskine is among the new program’s second cohort, working with School of Environmental and Forest Sciences doctoral student Sofi Courtney.
The Faculty Innovator Program aims to support faculty researchers in the social, policy and behavioral sciences and graduate students for two years as they develop interdisciplinary research projects in partnership with the center. 

Marine heatwaves in the Gulf of Alaska have led to lower growth, body condition, and survival for many fish species, but young sablefish (blackcod) have thrived. Juvenile sablefish can grow very quickly in these warmer temperatures, as long as they have access to high quality food. In a new publication, authored in part by Dr. Anne Beaudreau, fat storage and growth of sablefish was measured over their first two years of life to better understand their survival strategies. 

School of Marine & Environmental Affairs (SMEA) Professor and Director Nives Dolšak, University of Washington (UW) Political Science Doctoral Student Rachel Castellano, and UW Director of the Center for Environmental Politics Aseem Prakash recently wrote an article published on PLOS ONE titled “Willingness to help climate migrants: A survey experiment in the Korail slum of Dhaka, Bangladesh.”
Bangladesh faces a severe rural to urban migration challenge, which is accentuated by climate change and the Rohingya crisis. 

School of Marine & Environmental Affairs Professor Cleo Woelfle-Erskine and Comparative History of Ideas Department and Program on the Environment Lecturer July Hazard put together a series to ask “what is queer ecology?” The series includes climate scientists, ecologists, choreographers, poets, and creatives who each share unique perspectives on how queer and trans identities can and do play important roles in shifting the way we think about the sciences and our relations with the more-than-human.