Department of Environmental Sciences

The Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Museum in association with the Environmental Sciences Department opens the exhibit “Defending the Ocean with Art” on Friday August 25th at 4pm (reception at 5pm) in the Brown Library of Clark Hall. On view are twenty-one sculptures and prints by contemporary indigenous artists that celebrate the central importance of the ocean to human life and responds to its current threats. Plastic debris and abandoned fishing nets are trapping and killing a rich array of marine life, eventually drifting to the bottom of the sea, suffocating the seabed and coral reefs.

Professor Thomson’s guest editorial in Scientific American comments on the Trump Administration’s decision to suspend a study of the health consequences of mountaintop mining for residents of coal communities.

Department of Environmental Sciences research on coastal erosion has been highlighted in UVA Today. Graduate student Amy Ferguson’s work at the Virginia Eastern Shore was featured in a video on coastal erosion and living shorelines. Check out the video and read more here.

UVA Environmental Sciences Professor Deborah Lawrence was interviewed by UVA Sustainability about her new, 1-credit course “Words on paper: history of climate science, policy and art”. The course will combine climate science, climate policy, art, and politics, and will also allow for those not enrolled in the course to participate. For more information check out the video interview on UVA Sustainability’s Facebook page.

Department research on coastal resilience is the focus of a recent video created by UVAToday Illimitable. Professor Karen McGlathery, Research Professor Peter Berg, and Ph.D. student Amelie Berger talk about Virginia’s Eastern Shore, their research, and implications on carbon capture and coastal change. Check out the video at UVAToday Illimitable.