Dear <<First Name>>,
The Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions (CICSS) Quarterly Chronicle summarizes announcements, upcoming events, news/past events, and highlights some of our constantly developing climate-based resources, tools, and videos. Please feel free to forward this newsletter far and wide to whoever you believe will find it useful.
- Jonathan, Allison, Mike, and David
P.S. We have updated our social media profiles! For the latest on the Institute and other updates, follow our NEW facebook and twitter accounts.
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Our Summer Interns
| CICSS, in collaboration with Ave Bauder (Seneca County Extension), welcome two summer interns to the team this year! Emma Bankier and Jake Pero will join us to work on projects such as: filming climate change mitigation/adaptation videos, reinvigorating our social media infographics, supporting our presence at Empire Farm Days, educating 4-H participants on career opportunities, helping with farmer focus groups/interviews, and much more. Emma and Jake were hired through CICSS and the Cornell Cooperative Extension Summer Internship Program. |
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World Bank Data Challenge
A team of Cornell researchers led by Dr. Ariel Ortiz-Bobea was one of eight Honorable Mention Winners in the World Bank Big Data Innovation Challenge, for their proposal “A data-driven tracking tool dedicated to increasing climate change resilience.” The team includes researchers from Cornell's Dyson School, Dept. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions. Read more about the proposal on the CICSS Projects Page.
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Discussing Climate Change with NYS Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton
In a campus visit on May 12th organized by Cornell Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. Student, Leah Pagnozzi, NYS Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton met with various groups and labs working on issues surrounding climate change. Among these meetings was a discussion with CICSS faculty, staff, and postdocs about the unique social science, decision tool, and seasonal outlook research being undertaken at the Institute.
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CSF Extension Team Meeting
The Cornell Climate Smart Farming (CSF) Program supports four extension professionals throughout New York to represent the Program and incorporate CSF tools, resources, and best management practices into their daily work. Each year, we host the team on campus for an all-day collaborative planning meeting for the coming year. This year's meeting on April 27th was particularly productive, with discussions regarding statewide CSF trainings, new decision tools, and ideas for expansion of the Program through new funding opportunities.
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Cornell Climate Change Seminar Series Wraps Up
The second annual Cornell University Climate Change Seminar Series, which ran every Monday afternoon this spring, is becoming a staple event for Cornell students and the Ithaca climate change community. This year's seminar brought in speakers from Cornell, as well as other institutions and organizations such as MIT, UMass Boston, the USDA, and ProPublica. Each speaker is an expert in their field (from global politics to hurricanes) and focuses on how climate change relates to their area of study. We encourage you to watch any of the 12 professionally-recorded talks, free of charge, by clicking on the seminar flyer on the right.
The seminar is organized and sponsored by the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions, and the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.
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4-H Career Explorations
| On June 28th and 29th, Jonathan Lambert and CICCS summer intern, Emma Bankier, will take part in the annual 4-H Career Explorations on Cornell's campus, educating approximately 100 8th and 9th graders from New York and Pennsylvania on climate change and possible career opportunities in the climate and environmental field. Jonathan and Emma will walk students through an introduction to the basics of climate change, teach students how to think critically about climate change and its causes and effects, and will aim to foster a deeper understanding of how climate change connects to some of the world’s most pressing issues. This is the second year that CICSS is leading a program at this event - you can read about last year's event in an article in the Cornell Chronicle. |
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Social Science Insights
CICSS social scientists, along with colleagues from Penn State, have been working on a recent paper, entitled: "Farmer Views and Decisions around Extreme Weather and Climate Change in New York and Pennsylvania." This paper will be submitted to a special issue of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems dedicated to "Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Systems" this summer. The paper is based on data from six farmer focus groups in NY and PA, which examined how farmers perceive extreme weather and climate impacts on their farms, the practices they are willing to adopt, and how perceived risks and new information affect farmers’ decision-making related to adaptation and mitigation tactics and strategies.
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Other Conferences and Events
CICSS faculty and staff have contributed to a number of meetings and have given various talks over the past months. These events allow the Institute to broaden its reach and gain insights from stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public. A list of our events attended in the spring is below:
- The Emerging Complexity of Climate Adaptation Governance in a Globalising World - International Scientific Workshop in Stockholm, Sweden
- Carbon Farming and Biochar Workshop in Romulus, NY
- USDA Webinar: Agricultural Decision Tools from the Cornell Climate Smart Farming Program and the Network for Environment and Weather Applications
- Climate Change: What's up with Dinner? - Science Cabaret in Ithaca, NY
- Cornell undergraduate students visit with Congressional Representatives in Washington, DC after service learning course trip to explore global climate change in Vietnam
- 2017 Online CCE System Conference: Foundations and Futures - Sustainability and Innovation Across our System
- USDA Northeast Regional Climate Hub: University Partners Network Webinar Presentation - Understanding Farmer Views and Decisions around Extreme Weather and Climate Change in New York and Pennsylvania
- Seneca Falls Climate Summit in Seneca Falls, NY
- Climate Smart Farming Training Presentation at Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County
- Climate Change: A Call to Action - SUNY Dutchess, Poughkeepsie, NY
CICSS faculty and staff will be represented in several upcoming meetings, conferences, projects, and events over the next few months as well, including:
- USDA NIFA Presentation and Meeting with Congressional Representatives, Washington DC
- Climate Smart Farming Pasture Walk in Madison County, NY
- Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls, NY
- Cornell Cooperative Extension Online 6-minute Climate Change Course
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Every month, The NOAA NWS Climate Prediction Center releases a 3-month seasonal outlook for the upcoming months. This is the best available outlook for what the climate will be like in the next few months, and is also available on the CICSS CSF Tools webpage. For the summer months from June to August, it looks like a higher chance for above average temperatures here in the Northeast, with the eastern seaboard looking at the greatest chance for above average warmth. In terms of precipitation, there appears to be an equal chance for all three scenarios this summer (below average, average, and above average).
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Each quarter, we highlight members of our CICSS team, affiliated faculty, and extension specialists working in Ithaca and throughout New York State. In this edition, we highlight CICSS Advisory Committee member, Dr. Johaness Lehmann, and Climate Smart Farming Extension Team member, Laura McDermott.
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CICSS Faculty Advisory: Dr. Johannes Lehmann is a Professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell, and serves as a member of the CICSS Advisory Committee. Dr. Lehmann has also played an integral role in Cornell and CICSS' involvement in the UNFCC climate change negotiations at COP 21 in Paris and COP 22 in Marrakech. His research and teaching are in soil biogeochemistry and soil fertility management, with a specialization in soil organic matter and nutrient studies of managed and natural ecosystems. Dr. Lehmann focuses most of his work on soil degradation and sustainable agriculture in the tropics (especially Africa), bio-energy, greenhouse gas emissions from soil and headwaters, and synchrotron-based methods for soil research.
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CSF Extension Team: Laura McDermott is a Team Leader and Small Fruit and Vegetable Specialist with the Eastern New York Horticulture Team, and is located in Hudson Falls, NY at CCE Washington County. Laura has also served on the CSF Extension Team since its inception and has recently organized presentation and decision tool trainings in collaboration with NEWA at New York State Berry Grower Association Meetings across New York. In her role with CCE, she leads small fruit outreach efforts in eastern NY, serves as a liaison with grower organizations, and regularly participates in applied research and demonstration activities. Laura has long been interested in horticulture, and completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell, her Master's degree at the University of Florida, and joined CCE in 1990.
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Additional Articles & Resources
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In this section, we share a few useful resources from internal (at Cornell) and external CICSS partners:
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Sustaining NY Apple Production in an Age of Climate Change
A video by Syracuse PhD Student, Emily Baker, featuring farmer interviews and the Cornell CSF Program's Apple Freeze Risk Decision Tool, explained by Jonathan Lambert and tool programmer, Rick Moore.
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Funding
CICSS research, education, and outreach work is made possible through funding from several grants, including USDA NIFA Federal Capacity Funds (Hatch and Smith Lever funds), the USDA NE Climate Hub (through an Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative Agreement), and through the insightful funding from the New World Foundation, Local Economies Project. We gratefully acknowledge our funders' support.
Thank You
Thank you very much for supporting the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions!
Let us know if you have any feedback or further ideas of funding sources for CICSS by emailing us here.
If you are not subscribed, please consider joining our subscriber list for quarterly CICSS and Climate Smart Farming updates. Send us an email if you have anything you would like considered for the next issue!
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