HistoricalClimatology.com
In early 2010, I created HistoricalClimatology.com as a personal research blog. When I discovered by the end of the year that the site was on pace for roughly 10,000 hits in just over eight months, I decided to transform it into a resource with much broader appeal. The site now shares scholarship of climates past, present, and future with anyone searching for new insights on global warming.
Currently, the site provides extensive tools and databases for climate reconstruction; links to primary source databases; updates on the most exciting projects and publications in climate history; and interviews with leading figures in climate change research. Most importantly, I work with assistant director Bathsheba Demuth to solicit and edit long-form articles from diverse scholars, all of which explain why studying the past can help us better understand modern warming. With social media editor Katrin Kleemann, I also update a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter that can reach tens of thousands of people per week.
Today, HistoricalClimatology.com attracts some 500,000 hits annually. Its articles have been cited by media organizations that include the BBC; widely referenced in popular books; and used in university courses in many different disciplines. The site has been listed as one of the top 101 web resources on climate change. Recently, I launched the Climate History Podcast through HistoricalClimatology.com. It has been downloaded thousands of times on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Currently, the site provides extensive tools and databases for climate reconstruction; links to primary source databases; updates on the most exciting projects and publications in climate history; and interviews with leading figures in climate change research. Most importantly, I work with assistant director Bathsheba Demuth to solicit and edit long-form articles from diverse scholars, all of which explain why studying the past can help us better understand modern warming. With social media editor Katrin Kleemann, I also update a social media presence on Facebook and Twitter that can reach tens of thousands of people per week.
Today, HistoricalClimatology.com attracts some 500,000 hits annually. Its articles have been cited by media organizations that include the BBC; widely referenced in popular books; and used in university courses in many different disciplines. The site has been listed as one of the top 101 web resources on climate change. Recently, I launched the Climate History Podcast through HistoricalClimatology.com. It has been downloaded thousands of times on SoundCloud and iTunes.
Climate History Network (CHN)
Together with Sam White, I founded and now direct the Climate History Network (CHN). We are an organization of scholars who reconstruct past climate changes and, often, identify how those changes affected human history. The CHN connects academics in many disciplines, from many countries. We encourage more collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching and research in climate history. We offer contacts and resources for professors, teachers, students, and interested lay people.
The CHN grew out of discussions on the H-Environment network in 2010. We currently have roughly 200 members. We are part of the International Congress of Environmental History Organizations, and we hold regular meetings at the annual conferences of the American Society for Environmental History. We also host workshops and speeches at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.
Our programs are made possible through financial support provided by Georgetown University and the Georgetown Environmental Initiative. Our listserv is hosted by Ohio State University. We do not have any political affiliation. Membership is free.
The CHN grew out of discussions on the H-Environment network in 2010. We currently have roughly 200 members. We are part of the International Congress of Environmental History Organizations, and we hold regular meetings at the annual conferences of the American Society for Environmental History. We also host workshops and speeches at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.
Our programs are made possible through financial support provided by Georgetown University and the Georgetown Environmental Initiative. Our listserv is hosted by Ohio State University. We do not have any political affiliation. Membership is free.
Tipping Points Project
Most Americans believe in global warming, but relatively few believe it will harm them personally. With that in mind, I founded the Tipping Points Project to help Georgetown students raise public awareness about the local consequences of past, present, and future climate changes.
In my research, I have found dozens of accessible but reliable tools that anyone can use to reconstruct past climate changes, and to simulate future warming. I have listed these tools on the Tipping Points website. Anyone can find them through the website, including my students. I work with my students to write, edit, and publish jargon-free articles on the Tipping Points website that are based on the tools. Each article explains: 1) how global climate trends influence local environments; 2) how we know, and; 3) the consequences for local communities and people.
I then add icons to a map that link to these articles. Every icon represents a major impact of climate change, past or present, on a community. We hope that people will scroll through the map and its linked articles to gain an understanding of how long-term, global climate changes influence local communities, and in turn their lives and the lives of their ancestors or descendants. Our goal is transform understandings of climate change, from a vaguely worrisome abstraction to a tangible force in people's lives.
In my research, I have found dozens of accessible but reliable tools that anyone can use to reconstruct past climate changes, and to simulate future warming. I have listed these tools on the Tipping Points website. Anyone can find them through the website, including my students. I work with my students to write, edit, and publish jargon-free articles on the Tipping Points website that are based on the tools. Each article explains: 1) how global climate trends influence local environments; 2) how we know, and; 3) the consequences for local communities and people.
I then add icons to a map that link to these articles. Every icon represents a major impact of climate change, past or present, on a community. We hope that people will scroll through the map and its linked articles to gain an understanding of how long-term, global climate changes influence local communities, and in turn their lives and the lives of their ancestors or descendants. Our goal is transform understandings of climate change, from a vaguely worrisome abstraction to a tangible force in people's lives.