School of Natural Resources and Environment

Environmental Policy and Planning

SNRE's Miller examines biodiversity, global conservation funding

SNRE doctoral candidate Daniel Miller and colleagues at the University of Georgia and elsewhere have identified the most underfunded countries in the world for biodiversity conservation. They found that 40 of the most poorly funded countries harbor 32 percent of all threatened mammalian biodiversity.

Bierbaum talks adaptation as NYC proposes climate policies

SNRE Professor Rosina M. Bierbaum spoke to the Associated Press about climate adaptation strategies in light of a proposal from New York City to keep that city ahead of future climate-related challenges.

"Climate change poses significant risks to New York City’s communities and infrastructure," according to a report released June 11, 2013, by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "Hurricane Sandy has focused attention on the effects that extreme climate events have on New York City, reminding New Yorkers that the city is vulnerable to a range of climate hazards today and in the future.

A satellite image of Lake Erie on Sept. 3, 2011, overlaid on a map of the lake and its tributaries. This image shows the bloom about six weeks after its initiation in the lake's western basin. On this date, it covers the entire western basin and is beginning to expand into the central basin. Map by Michigan Sea Grant.

Record-breaking 2011 Lake Erie algae bloom may be sign of things to come

The largest harmful algae bloom in Lake Erie's recorded history was likely caused by the confluence of changing farming practices and weather conditions that are expected to become more common in the future due to climate change. Rather than an isolated, one-time occurrence, it was more likely a harbinger of things to come, according to U-M researchers and other.

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest

Protected areas successfully prevent deforestation in Amazon rainforest

Strictly protected areas such as national parks and biological reserves have been more effective at reducing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest than so-called sustainable-use areas that allow for controlled resource extraction, two University of Michigan researchers and their colleagues have found. In addition, protected areas established primarily to safeguard the rights and livelihoods of indigenous people performed especially well in places where deforestation pressures are high. The U-M-led study, which found that all forms of protection successfully limit deforestation, is scheduled for online publication March 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Rosina M. Bierbaum

Bierbaum discusses climate, National Climate Assessment with Michigan Radio

SNRE Professor Rosina M. Bierbaum discusses the recently released National Climate Assessment draft report with Cynthia Canty of Michigan Radio. Bierbaum of SNRE and the School of Public Health was a lead convening author of the chapter on climate change adaptation.

Stateside with Cynthia Canty covers a range of Michigan news and policy issues as well as culture and lifestyle stories.

Three University of Michigan researchers were lead convening authors of chapters in the 1,100-plus-page National Climate Assessment, which was written by a team of more than 240 scientists.

SNRE professors contribute to new National Climate Assessment

In the coming decades, climate change will lead to more frequent and more intense Midwest heat waves while degrading air and water quality and threatening public health. Intense rainstorms and floods will become more common, and existing risks to the Great Lakes will be exacerbated. Those are some of the conclusions contained in the Midwest chapter of a draft report released last week by the federal government that assesses the key impacts of climate change on every region in the country and analyzes its likely effects on human health, water, energy, transportation, agriculture, forests, ecosystems and biodiversity. Three University of Michigan researchers were lead convening authors of chapters in the 1,100-plus-page National Climate Assessment, which was written by a team of more than 240 scientists.

Bierbaum article on energy, climate in current issue of American Academy journal

SNRE Professor Rosina M. Bierbaum has contributed an essay on energy in the context of sustainabilityas part of the current issue of Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The issue presents thinking from leading scientists on the question of how limiting the effects of climate change requires a substantial transformation of the energy infrastructure.

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