May 6, 2020

Just how sustainable is a fish burger?

“I’m an environmentalist, does that mean I should stop eating fish?” What began as an innocent question from a coworker worried about their environmental output sparked research that ultimately led UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences Professor Ray Hilborn to answer the question: Just how sustainable is the fish burger? The short answer is very. After collecting data at the Alaska Salmon Program (specifically Bristol Bay and Prince William Sound), Hilborn found that Alaskan net fisheries have particularly low greenhouse gas usage, especially when it comes to sockeye salmon, pink salmon and pollock.

John Marzluff explores how farming, food production and wildlife can coexist in new book ‘In Search of Meadowlarks’

Farming and food production can be made more compatible with bird and wildlife conservation, says University of Washington ornithologist John Marzluff in his latest book. “In Search of Meadowlarks: Birds, Farms, and Food in Harmony with the Land” was published in February by Yale University Press. “Agriculture and wildlife can coexist,” Marzluff, a professor of environmental and forest sciences, writes, “if farmers are justly rewarded for conservation; if future technological advancements increase food production and reduce food waste; and if consumers cut back on meat consumption.”

Six students from UW Environment honored in 2020 Husky 100

Congratulations to six College of the Environment students recognized as the 2020 Husky 100! Included in this year’s Husky 100 are Michaela Leung from Earth and Space Sciences, Olivia Sanderfoot, Autumn Forespring and Sierra Red Bow from Environmental and Forest Sciences and Bee Elliott and Celine Fujikawa from the Program on the Environment. The Husky 100 actively connect what happens inside and outside of the classroom and apply what they learn to make a difference on campus, in their communities and for the future.

First results from NASA’s ICESat-2 map 16 years of melting ice sheets

Using the most advanced Earth-observing laser instrument NASA has ever flown in space, a team of scientists led by the University of Washington has made precise measurements of how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have changed over 16 years. In a new study published April 30 in the journal Science, researchers found the net loss of ice from Antarctica, along with Greenland’s shrinking ice sheet, has been responsible for 0.55 inches (14 millimeters) of sea level rise to the global ocean since 2003.

Undergraduate research takes to the high seas

Being in the middle of the ocean on a giant research vessel can be surreal — in every direction, there’s water as far as the eye can see. For 17 seniors in the UW School of Oceanography, this was their reality for nearly two weeks as they conduct research for their thesis off the coast of South Africa. “You’re so far from the coast, you forget the rest of the world is there,” says Ashley Lobao, an Oceanography student.