A message from President & CEO Dr. R. Max Holmes
In 1963, at Wembley Stadium in London, a young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) was dropped hard by Henry Cooper. Cooper’s left hook sent him to the canvas, and for a moment, the crowd believed the fight was over. But Ali shook off the fog, regained his feet, and the fight went on.
Recent headlines describing efforts to dismantle U.S. climate regulation have the same dramatic tone. Moves targeting the government’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases are framed as a “knockout punch.” At first glance, it feels decisive—game over.
But the larger trajectory is unmistakable. Renewable energy wins. Fossil fuels lose. The only question is timing: does the fight go the distance, or do renewables deliver a knockout of their own before the final bell?
For those striving to preserve the dominance of fossil fuels, the economics are unrelenting. Solar and wind are already among the cheapest forms of new electricity generation in much of the world. Battery storage continues to improve. Electric vehicles are scaling rapidly. Once renewable infrastructure is in place, its fuel is free, whereas fossil fuels must be continually extracted, shipped, and burned.
In that context, recent efforts by the executive branch of the federal government to block the energy transition—repealing the Endangerment Finding, forcing the military to secure long-term contracts to purchase coal-generated power, halting solar and offshore wind projects—do not signal strength. Quite the opposite. If fossil fuels were winning cleanly on cost and performance, they would not require extraordinary policy intervention to preserve demand. The need to mandate purchases or block competing technologies suggests an industry struggling to keep pace with cheaper, faster-growing alternatives. It is starting to look less like dominance and more like desperation.
Yes, political setbacks can slow the clean-energy transition, and slower progress carries real costs. But delay is not defeat. States, cities, corporations, investors, and global markets continue pushing forward. Ultimately, the energy transition will be won not by regulation, but by technological advantage and economic reality. And by all of us.
For those who want to fight back, there is much that you can do. Voice your support for pro-climate policies and interventions. Engage at the state and local level, where many crucial decisions are made. Electrify your homes and vehicles when you make your next purchasing decision. Improve efficiency. Reduce personal fossil-fuel demand where practical. In all these ways, in all our lives, we can punch back.
Just as important is strengthening climate’s corner team. Supporting research and science-based organizations such as Woodwell Climate Research Center ensures that rigorous climate science remains visible, actionable, and influential. Data, analysis, and public engagement are the equivalent of coaching between rounds.
Ali went on to win that 1963 fight, scoring a technical knockout in the very next round. And we—those striving for an equitable, healthy, and sustainable world—will assuredly win as well. So pick yourself up, shake off the fog, and push forward.
Today’s headlines may sound like a final blow. They are not.
Onward,
The decision to repeal the 2009 Endangerment Finding is a dangerous attack on the United States’ ability to reduce air pollution harmful to human health. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule rejects decades of rigorous science and inhibits urgently-needed action to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. Now is the time to double down on science-based solutions that will protect the health and wellbeing of our communities and our environment–the intended mission of the EPA–not roll them back.
As we experience increasingly violent storms, destructive flooding, catastrophic wildfires, and record-breaking temperatures, it is clear that climate change is already creating dangerous conditions across the country. Deregulating greenhouse gas emissions will exacerbate these impacts and lead to increased costs for resilience and public health.
The Endangerment Finding is the foundation of U.S. efforts to fight climate change, and, as a Woodwell-led scientific review in 2018 found, ‘the case for endangerment, which was already overwhelming in 2009, is even more strongly justified.’ Woodwell remains deeply committed to advancing rigorous science and conducting the highest quality research to enable solutions at the nexus of climate, people, and nature, across the United States as well as globally.
Why this US cold snap feels bone-shattering when it’s not record-shattering
The brutally frigid weather that has gripped most of America for the past 11 days is not unprecedented. It just feels that way.
The first quarter of the 21st century was unusually warm by historical standards – mostly due to human-induced climate change – and so a prolonged cold spell this winter is unfamiliar to many people, especially younger Americans.
Because bone-shattering cold occurs less frequently, Americans are experiencing it more intensely now than they did in the past, several experts in weather and behavior said. But the longer the current icy blast lasts – sub-freezing temperatures are forecast to stick around in many places — the easier it should become to tolerate.
There are few things that can lift the heads of the busy Toolik scientists away from their work. But on certain weekdays, behind the maze of dark green storage containers-turned-laboratories, a soft plume of fragrant smoke rises. The tell-tale sign of the awakening Toolik sauna never fails to pull a relieved smile from weary scientists. “Sauna tiiiime,” they whisper underneath their breath, while others let loose a shrill “Yesssssss!” as we hurry to finish the last task of the day. This wooden oasis, tucked into a slope leading into Toolik Lake, is one of the most beloved features of the Toolik Field Station—and a vital community space shaped by the art of storytelling.
On sauna nights, scientists saunter over to the edge of the station, towels draped around our necks. Walking into the mud room, we brace ourselves for the stifling heat we are about to enter. As we walk into the wall of heat we grimace, and then slowly let our shoulders loosen, opening our lungs to the heat—eyes closed, breath heavy, body relaxed.
There is a gentle silence at the beginning of every sauna session as we settle into the damp heat of the room. But soon, conversations start to flow and meander, the sauna filling with the sound of overlapping chatter. People lament their torn-up hands from readjusting rusty bars, muse over the absence of darkness, and fiercely debate the proper name for fish nests (the conclusion, “redds”). I listen to the tale of a soil scientist, swearing that she nearly joined a pack of wolves on a recent data-collection trek. We weigh the strange dependency of this climate research station on the road that was built to expand oil production. And I listen as an older scientist, one who has been coming to Toolik for almost thirty years, recounts how much he has seen this landscape, which he has come to love so deeply, change so much.
In these moments, I cannot help but think, “This is what it’s all about.” Scientists—across disciplines, countries, generations—sharing the weight and joy of their lives of work. An ecologist’s work, not unlike the heat that we choose to sit in every time we walk through the sauna’s doors, can be heavy and at times, suffocating. But under this pressure, in these spaces of relaxation and healing, we inspire celebration, reflection, and resolution with the stories we tell.
We bask in our love for science— a shared love for adventure, mystery, the land, and a dedication to protect and heal it.
For younger scientists, listening to the stories of older scientists bends time, reminding us of what has been lost—and the urgency with which we must continue to defend these changing ecosystems.
Once we leave the sauna, these stories become incredibly special tools. Global change can be insidious, its effects hiding beyond our daily lives. But by sharing these stories, we have the power to reach out and envelop others in our world, finding that perfect heartstring to tug.
We need people working from every angle, from both within and beyond the scientific community, to understand, mitigate, and adapt to the consequences of our rapidly changing world. And while the Toolik sauna is an incredibly unique ecosystem of human beings, sweat, and laughter, I—and many of my fellow scientists—happily hold the responsibility of disseminating the words that are shared in that space with all of our communities so that everyone can take a turn basking in the sauna at the top of the world.
Woodwell Climate Research Center to expand soil carbon testing capacity
Woodwell Climate Research Center, in Falmouth, is getting an $800,000 federal earmark to develop a dedicated soil carbon research lab.
We hear a lot about carbon stored in oceans, trees, and of course the atmosphere. But there’s about three billion tons of carbon stored in soils around the world, according to Jonathan Sanderman. He’s a senior scientist and vice president of science at Woodwell Climate Research Center, in Falmouth.
Sometimes it only takes a small push to start gathering momentum. That’s the idea behind the Fund for Climate Solutions (FCS) at Woodwell Climate. Launched in 2018, FCS is a competitive internal grant program that funds Woodwell Climate scientists to explore research projects that test out innovative ideas for climate solutions. Though each individual project starts small, nearly all FCS projects lead to new lines of inquiry, and a few have grown from their initial seed funding into some of our biggest research projects. From carbon monitoring to wildfire management to thawing permafrost, these three projects exemplify the surprising power of starting small.
1. Monitoring Rangeland Carbon
Rangelands represent a massive untapped natural climate solution, making up more than 30% of the land in the United States and holding 30% of the global soil carbon stock. Conservation practices, including adaptive livestock management, have the potential to enhance that carbon storage— but data was limited on just how grazing systems would respond to different techniques. Senior scientist Dr. Jon Sanderman and Associate Scientist Dr. Jennifer Watts applied for an FCS grant in 2019 to expand scientific understanding in a way that would prove useful for making management decisions.
That first project was successful, and today, Woodwell’s studies of rangeland carbon and other ecological co-benefits have expanded into a multifaceted research project that has received several subsequent grants. Watts and Sanderman are building tools that map and model carbon storage and the overall ecological health of rangelands across the U.S. and show how that storage could change under different management practices. Those tools have been adopted by both conservation groups and corporate partners to better understand the climate benefits of improved range management. They have continued engagement with ranchers and conservation communities across the American West, hosting workshops that bring land managers together to discuss the benefits—both environmental and economic—of improving carbon storage on rangelands.
2. Planning for Intensifying Wildfires
In Summer of 2018, Senior Scientist Dr. Brendan Rogers received an FCS grant to explore the possibility of fire management to mitigate carbon emissions from boreal wildfire. Though fires are a natural part of the northern landscape, wildfires in Alaska and Canada have been growing more frequent and intense as the Arctic rapidly warms. Left unchecked, these northern fires represent a large and broadly unaccounted for threat to emissions reduction goals.
Bringing fires under control as a climate mitigation tactic is now one of the Center’s core scientific goals. Collaborations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Fire Service are underway to pilot fire suppression as a cost-effective method to keep carbon from entering the atmosphere. Senior Arctic Lead, Edward Alexander, has joined the Center to elevate Indigenous mitigation practices as practical policy solutions to address accelerating northern fires, and strategies are being shared across geographies to inform fire management in temperate and tropical forests as well. Woodwell Climate has also now joined Google’s AI Collaborative on Wildfires and has become an early adopter for the FireSat program led by EarthFire Alliance.
3. Permafrost Pathways
In the summer of 2018 Senior scientists, Drs. Sue Natali, Rogers, Linda Deegan, and Sanderman received an FCS grant to start work on an Arctic change and carbon observatory. Natali observed that while the Arctic was warming at a rapid pace, causing typically-frozen permafrost soils to thaw and erode, actual measurements of carbon emissions from thawing permafrost were sparse. She proposed constructing new carbon-monitoring towers to fill data gaps, starting with a field site in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
From there, the project gained momentum, and in 2022, Natali was awarded a $41 million grant from the TED Audacious Project to launch Permafrost Pathways. The expanded project not only continued and enhanced carbon monitoring across the Arctic, but also partnered with 10 Alaska Native Tribes and policy experts to advocate for change. Permafrost Pathways supports community-led environmental monitoring of permafrost thaw to help tribes develop a long-term adaptation plan, including relocation. In addition, project experts have been working to influence international policy and get permafrost emissions factored into global emissions models.
In a new study released this week in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, researchers assess the impact of a warming Arctic on global carbon emissions and find that carbon emissions from abrupt permafrost thaw and wildfire will substantially limit our ability to keep global temperature increase below 1.5° or 2° Celsius. When accounting for carbon emissions from abrupt permafrost thaw and intensifying wildfire regimes, the remaining carbon budgets to keep global temperatures below 1.5°C were reduced by about one quarter and by nearly one fifth for 2°C.
Abrupt thaw mainly occurs in ice-rich permafrost landscapes, where rapid thawing can cause the ground to collapse. This exposes deep carbon-rich soils to warmer temperatures, allowing large amounts of previously frozen carbon to be released over a short period of time and amplifying climate warming. At the same time, intensifying wildfires are emitting carbon to the atmosphere at the time of burning and further accelerating permafrost thaw by removing the insulating organic layer at the soil surface.
While existing research has recently led to the critical inclusion of projected carbon emissions from gradual permafrost thawing in global carbon budgets, the impact of abrupt thaw processes and wildfires are both largely missing from Earth System Models, hindering our ability to set sufficiently ambitious and accurate mitigation solutions. The study, which was led by Permafrost Pathways researchers at the Woodwell Climate Research Center and co-authored with the University of Colorado, Boulder and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, calculates that these total permafrost thaw and wildfire carbon emissions could reach 63 Pg C for every degree Celsius of further global temperature increase. This is over double what is currently included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects. To put it another way, by the end of this century, these projected annual permafrost emissions could reach or exceed the current total annual emissions of a high-emitting nation such as the United States.
“Accurately accounting for land-based emissions directly affects whether remaining carbon budgets, as established by the Paris Agreement, are effective in restricting the planet’s temperature increase to below the 1.5°C and 2°C thresholds,” said Dr. Christina Schädel, lead author of the paper and Senior Research Scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center. “As the Arctic continues to warm more rapidly than anywhere else on the planet, we must continue to research and support science-based solutions in the Arctic in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change on communities across the globe.”
“Estimates of remaining carbon budgets will continue to underestimate emissions unless the impacts of permafrost thaw and wildfire are fully included,” said Dr. Susan Natali, Senior Scientist and lead of Permafrost Pathways at Woodwell Climate Research Center. “Given the urgency of the climate crisis, and our rapidly shrinking window to limit its impacts and to respond to accelerating climate hazards, the global community must move quickly towards fully informed climate policy and accurate temperature goals.”
This study was funded by One Earth Philanthropy, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Quadrature Climate Fund, and with funding catalyzed through the Audacious Project. The full study can be found here.
Our salmon are vanishing — and the State of Alaska is letting it happen
I live along the Yukon River, where my family has harvested salmon for countless generations. Every summer used to bring the same reassuring sight: Busy fish camps. Full smokehouses. Families coming together to pass down traditions that have thrived for thousands of years. Happy kids, curious babies, loving grandparents, moms, dads, aunties, uncles and cousins. Each is an intrinsic part of a beautiful summer day at the smokehouse.
Today, summers mean less time on the river, empty smokehouses and fish camps, and no intergenerational learning. The State of Alaska tells my community and over 50 other Indigenous communities in Alaska and Canada that we are the ones who must stop fishing, we are the ones who must sacrifice, we are the ones who must somehow bear the burden of a crisis we did not create.
Continue reading on Alaska Beacon.
