What Would Nature Do?

What Would Nature Do?

A Guide for Our Uncertain Times

Exploring the lessons that life on Earth can teach us about coping with complexity, What Would Nature Do? offers timely options for civilization to reorganize for a safe and prosperous future.
How a human cousin adapted to a changing climate

How a human cousin adapted to a changing climate

A fossil discovery in South Africa suggests that P. robustus evolved rapidly during a turbulent period of local climate change about 2 million years ago, resulting in anatomical changes that previously were attributed to sex. An international research team including anthropologists at Washington University in St. Louis reported their discovery in Nature Ecology & Evolution on Nov. 9.
What cold lizards in Miami can tell us about climate change resilience

What cold lizards in Miami can tell us about climate change resilience

Scaled survivors of the coldest night in south Florida’s recent history all converged on the same new, lower limit of thermal tolerance, regardless of their species’ previous ability to withstand cold. Biologist James Stroud in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis led the team that reported the findings in the journal Biology Letters.
Sicker livestock may increase climate woes

Sicker livestock may increase climate woes

Climate change is affecting the spread and severity of infectious diseases around the world — and infectious diseases may in turn be contributing to climate change, according to new research from Washington University’s Living Earth Collaborative working group led by biologist Amanda Koltz in Arts & Sciences.
Teaching high school chemistry with real-world examples

Teaching high school chemistry with real-world examples

Michael Wysession, professor in earth and planetary sciences, and Bryn Lutes, a lecturer in chemistry, both in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, believe that high school students will learn chemistry better when they crunch actual climate data, rather than memorize the periodic table by rote. They helped write a national chemistry curriculum that is loaded with real-world examples — like ocean acidification — and is already being rolled out by school districts in Los Angeles and other parts of California.
Midwest Climate Summit kicks off Oct. 2

Midwest Climate Summit kicks off Oct. 2

Working together to develop a collaborative and coordinated response to the climate crisis in the Midwestern region is the top goal of the upcoming Midwest Climate Summit, which Washington University in St. Louis developed in close partnership with many leading Midwestern organizations. The event, which is free and open to the public, is presented with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
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