Sunday, December 29, 2019

Meeting with Boston Girl Scouts

Posted by Lucy Zipf

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting with the Girl Scouts of Allston/Brighton, MA to discuss local scale impacts of climate change. The troop was particularly interested in Massachusetts’s birds and how they can be impacted by climate in ways that aren't always easy to see. 

One of the amazing drawings of MA birds

Together, we drew the life cycle and habitat preferences of birds that migrate to Massachusetts and thought about how climate and people can impact each stage. 

Another drawing of bird habitats at the top, and bird reproductive stages below

We focused on the potential for climate to shift food availability for birds that eat fruits and insects, and the consequences of these ecological mismatches for birds and other species. 

An illustration of ecological mismatch we used to discuss climate impacts on food availability for birds

But most importantly we talked about how cool birds are and how we can help support local bird populations going forward. I had a great time meeting with the troop and answering their insightful questions about climate change impacts! The cookies they gifted me were icing on the cake.

Thank you Girl Scouts of Allston/Brighton!

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Newton Adopts Climate Action Plan

By Richard B. Primack

“If we would aim at perfection in any thing, simplicity must not be overlooked.”
Henry David Thoreau

As described in a recent article in the Newton Tab, the Newton City Council passed a Climate Action Plan, to make Newton carbon neutral by 2050. The City will increase use of electricity from renewable sources, decrease the use of fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas, and increase the energy efficiency and electrification of existing and new buildings and transportation systems. The City will encourage participation of businesses and residents. 

The Newton Power Choice program currently supplies the city with 60% of its electricity from renewable energy sources such as hydro, wind, and solar power. Residents are also being encouraged to opt up to 100%. 

Installing solar panels is part of the plan, such as these solar  canopies in the Newton 

The City plans to gradually replace gasoline-powered city sedans and other vehicles with electric vehicles and converting building heating systems to electricity, and encouraging residents and businesses to do the same. 

To be successful, this really must extend beyond Newton and Massachusetts, to be a national and international effort. The people of Newton should also consider stronger actions needed to reduce overall personal energy usage.

Monday, December 2, 2019

UROP symposium noise pollution research presentation

Posted by Carina Terry

Nature makes no noise. The howling storm, the rustling leaf, the pattering rain are no disturbance, 
there is an essential and unexplored harmony in them. 
Henry David Thoreau

I recently had the opportunity to present my work on noise pollution in protected areas at the UROP Symposium at Boston University.

The UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program) Symposium is an annual event in which students have the chance to display their research in a poster session. At the 2019 Symposium, I presented a poster on my summer research on noise pollution in Blue Hills and Hammond Woods, two protected areas near Boston, MA. 

My poster and I in the exhibit hall. 

We found that the majority of wooded areas are much louder than natural, background noise levels and this is largely to due human-made noise pollution. We see a strong relationship between noise level and distance from road, with the loudest areas of protected areas closest to the roads. Further, we see that airplane noise significantly elevates noise levels in protected areas. We can use the noise maps we created to better understand how people and wildlife in the protected areas may be impacted by noise pollution. 

Presenting at the symposium was a great experience! Undergrads, graduate students, and several professors all stopped by to learn a bit about sound levels and ask some good questions, and I got to walk around the poster session and learn more about the research my peers have been doing.