Climate talk on melting polar ice draws hundreds of Eastern Region participants
WISCONSIN — When an ice sheet melts in Greenland or Antarctica, how does it impact our lives — and our work — thousands of miles away? It’s a question that drew rich and unexpected connections between the work of an academic climate science researcher and USDA Forest Service employees from a variety of backgrounds.
On Jan. 26, nearly 300 Eastern Region employees joined the first installment of a new speaker series, FS Talks, to learn about the frozen world, the fastest-changing part of our climate system. With its focus on climate change, the session featured Forest Service Deputy Director for Sustainability and Climate Dixie Porter, who shared an update on the agency’s climate adaptation plan, and Meghana Ranganathan, a climate scientist and writer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In the polar regions, with the accelerating loss of ice sheets that have stood for tens of thousands of years, climate change is “not a future problem — it’s a present problem,” Ranganathan said. As meltwater drains into oceans, what’s happening in the polar regions “will eventually affect communities all over the world,” she added. Ranganathan brought the issue home to the Eastern Region with a map of Boston, where potential rises in sea level could flood neighborhoods and landmarks over the next few centuries.
During the lively Q&A session, Forest Service employees drew varied connections to their own diverse areas of expertise — from asking how sediment from melting glaciers may eventually impact the ecology of far-flung regions to considering the role of advocacy and education in climate change action.
The Eastern Region launched the FS Talks series to spotlight short, powerful presentations, similar to TED Talks, that pair an internal expert with one from outside government. The goal is to inspire Eastern Region employees to take a new perspective and, ultimately, empower them to excel at work.
A recording of FS Talks – The Frozen World: how it’s changing, and what that means for the environment is available below, as well as materials about the Forest Service’s climate adaptation plan and information referenced in the talk or during Q&A.
Presentation materials and additional resources
The following are links to information referenced in the talk or discussed during Q&A:
AntarcticGlaciers.org (excellent site for all things Antarctic Ice Sheet or glacier)
GRACE Satellite video (played during talk)
Ranganathan also recommends the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change site, which has an overview of the report on the impacts of sea-level rise and an overview of the state of the ocean and cryosphere.