Climate Change Institute

The Working Waterfront adapted a University of Maine news release about assistant professor of paleoecology and plant ecology Jacquelyn Gill’s September 2018 expedition to permafrost caves in Siberia with an international research team to film “Lost Beasts of the Ice Age.” Gill, who examines causes and consequences of extinctions, said specimens from the last ice […]

Areas across the Northeast have lost an average of one-fourth of their local plant biodiversity in the last 50 to 150 years. Certain plant families had even higher rates of loss, says Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maine. When her research team compared 19th century botanical records from Mount Desert […]

WABI (Channel 5) reported students at Orono High School were the latest to participate in a simulation designed to get students thinking about climate change. University of Maine graduate students have been bringing the World Climate Negotiation Simulation to schools around the state. During the simulation, students role play as leaders of nations from around […]

Dr. Ivan Fernandez testified on behalf of the University of Maine in support of Governor Mills’ bill to establish a Maine Climate Council. Governor Mills led the testimony provided to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the Maine Legislature followed by a full day of testimony with a majority in support of the proposed […]

Paul Mayewski discussed “Why Our Glaciers are Melting — The Simple Truth” in the May issue of the Journal of the North Atlantic & Arctic. The director of the University of Maine Climate Change Institute said while “glaciers have always fluctuated in size and shape ever since glaciers existed on Earth … [w]hat is different […]

Awardees were recognized for their support, advocacy and mentorship of University of Maine students at the Faculty Mentor Appreciation ceremony on May 7. The event, which was originally postponed, is part of the 2019 Maine Impact Week celebration. A total of 23 awards were presented during the luncheon. Faculty Mentor Impact Award winners: Nicholas Giudice, […]

Have you ever wondered what it might be like to sit at a table negotiating climate policy with nearly 200 representatives from countries throughout the world? University of Maine graduate students Anna McGinn and Will Kochtitzky, who attended the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poland last December, will facilitate a two-hour, interactive simulation […]

University of Maine graduate students are partnering with schools across Maine to host World Climate Negotiation Simulation (WCS) activities. The simulation activity was developed by the nongovernmental organization Climate Interactive and involves a role play in which participants act as country leaders and work together to negotiate a global climate agreement. The simulation emulates negotiations […]

The University of Maine earned its first STARS Silver Rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for recycling and composting nearly half of its waste; promoting student life opportunities, including a Green Living and Learning dorm floor; reducing water consumption by 20 percent per campus user; and more. STARS, […]

The Harold W. Borns, Jr. Symposium is an annual event that features presentations and discussion by Climate Change Institute graduate students and faculty on emerging research and topics related to global environmental change.   Below is a listing of the 2019 Borns Symposium awardees: The Churchill Award for Outstanding Exploration: Anna McGinn Best Student Poster Award […]