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Hurricanes: A Growing Threat to an Endangered System

As part of my Ph.D. research, I surveyed longleaf pine habitats before and after Hurricane Michael. My goals were to assess baseline conditions in habitats that were considered to be in exemplary condition and the subsequent damage caused by the storm. This information should help land managers and policy-makers be better informed while making decisions about recovery plans. In total, 0.3-0.4 million acres of longleaf pine habitat within the Florida panhandle were impacted by hurricane force winds, while up to 2.6 million acres experienced tropical storm force winds. My detailed surveys at four sites showed that the site nearest to the storm center experienced catastrophic losses with an estimated tree mortality of 88.7%. At the other sites further away, mortality ranged from 1.3 – 8.4%.

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Spinning, Rotating Queer Planetary Systems

My research on the Midtown neighborhood in Atlanta argues that when planning and urban development efforts fail to recognize the fragility of queer spaces, there can be serious consequences for the viability of LGBTQ spaces. In Atlanta plans for high-end redevelopment along the Peachtree corridor took precedence over longstanding LGBTQ bars on the street and explicitly excluded the adjacent Midtown gayborhood from influencing the redevelopment process. As interest in redevelopment in the Midtown area heated up, Midtown lost many gay and other queer residents who moved south and east in search of more affordable spaces further away from the Midtown “sun.”

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Faculty Book: Challenges Towards Ecological Sustainability in China

Our book is one of few English books focusing on the issue of ecological sustainability in China. It includes a selection of the best papers presented at the Jinan Forum on Geography and Ecological Sustainability held in Guangzhou, China, from 17 to 19 February 2017, as well as several invited papers.

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A New Era in Collaborative Forest Restoration: Working Towards Long-Term, Large-Scale, and High-Capacity Collaboration

There are many lessons derived from this body of work, a few of which I’ve shared here. However, there is much more to be learned from research on large scale, long term, collaborative efforts. In a time when uncertainties are growing, divisiveness is the order of the day, and climate change is impacting ecological integrity throughout the world, the need for adaptive visions for resilience, collectively determined trajectories, and effective ways of working together over the long term could not be more important. Through the study of these long term landscape scale collaborative groups participating in CFLRP, we offer applicable lessons that can help shape a future in collaborative environmental management that is based on adaptive management, resilience, ecological integrity, learning, and collective action.

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Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems

Remote sensing is the science of capturing images of the Earth from drones, airplanes, and satellites. It allows us to monitor changes in the Earth’s climate, seas, cities, and mountains. It also allows us to measure changes in the Earth’s ecosystems. A special issue of the Journal of Sensors out now. The issue is a collection of …

Continue reading "Remote Sensing of Sustainable Ecosystems"

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A Memorable Hurricane Season

Michael went through a prolonged period of intensification and we anticipate that these periods of intensification will get longer as the warmest waters expand in coverage due to anthropogenic climate change. Let's hope for better luck next season, but I will not bet on it.

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Social Science Scholar: National Parks in Kyrgyzstan and the U.S.

I am incredibly grateful to the Social Science Scholars program for both the generous funding and the leadership training, which will benefit me throughout my life. My project was immensely valuable to my personal, educational, and professional experience. I am now well-versed in how I can combine my prior experience in public diplomacy and languages with environmental conservation, something I am extremely passionate about.

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Social Science Scholar: Research on Human Trafficking in France and Sweden

The information gleaned from these interviews will be used as I continue to write my Honors Thesis, informing my analysis of the impact of the model as it pertains to social norms, prostitution, and human trafficking. This research also serves as a springboard for my postgraduate studies and career in human rights and development. Following my pursuit of a master’s in development studies, I hope to analyze the economic and social incentives that perpetuate human rights violations, such as human trafficking, in order to implement effective development policies that ensure basic human rights.

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Social Science Chart of the Day: Thanksgiving Air Travel at a Record High

Available at Statista Airlines for America defines Thanksgiving as starting on Friday November 16, 2018 and ending Sunday November 26, 2018. This projection is up 1.6 million travelers from last year. 

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The Cultural Landscape of Thanksgiving

In the years to follow the first Thanksgiving, the holiday was only sporadically recognized. The early presidents proclaimed days of Thanksgiving, but the federal government stopped recognizing the holiday in the early nineteenth-century. It was only in amidst the national disunity of the Civil War that Lincoln re-established the holiday as a means to reaffirm a sense of national unity. In this context, the story of the original Thanksgiving garnered new meaning, representing an ideal of people sharing a land together in spite of their differences.