Nov 8, 2018

University of Washington announces new marine biology major

A marine biology student surveys the diversity of invertebrates and algae in an intertidal zone.

The bachelor of science from UW Environment launched in autumn 2018.

Nov 7, 2018

‘Ocean memory’ the focus of cross-disciplinary effort by UW’s Jody Deming

The vast oceans of our planet still hold many unsolved questions. Uncovering some of their mysteries has been a decades-long focus for University of Washington oceanography professor Jody Deming. This fall, Deming embarks on a very different type of ocean exploration. A $500,000 grant from the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, or NAKFI, will allow her and a group representing a wide variety of disciplines in the sciences and the arts to look at the oceans in new ways.

Racial, ethnic minorities face greater vulnerability to wildfires

Firefighters respond to the Taylor Creek and Klondike fires in Oregon’s Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest in summer 2018.

Environmental disasters in the U.S. often hit minority groups the hardest. When Hurricane Katrina slammed New Orleans in 2005, the city’s black residents were disproportionately affected. Their neighborhoods were located in the low-lying, less-protected areas of the city, and many people lacked the resources to evacuate safely. Similar patterns have played out during hurricanes and tropical storms ever since. Massive wildfires, which may be getting more intense due to climate change and a long history of fire-suppression policies, also have strikingly unequal effects on minority communities, a new study shows.

2018 Doug Walker Lecture with Richard Louv

Join University of Washington’s EarthLab and the College of the Environment for an evening with our 2018 Doug Walker Lecturer, Richard Louv. A journalist and the author of nine books, including “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder,” The Nature Principle: Reconnecting with Nature in a Virtual World” and “Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life,” Louv will discuss the central role nature plays in human health and well-being at every age and stage of life.

A dose of nature: New UW initiative to spearhead research on health benefits of time outside

Time spent in nature can reduce anxiety and help you sleep better at night, experts have found. It also offers promising benefits for a range of health issues, including cardiovascular disease, depression and obesity. But there are still many questions about how time in nature can help with these health conditions, and others. A new University of Washington initiative announced this week seeks to advance research on these questions, connecting academic researchers with pediatricians, childcare providers, mental health practitioners and others who work with various populations on critical health issues.