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Life Paths To Leading Systems-Level Change: Higher Education’S Pitfalls And Potential, Roslynn Brain Mccann, Kaitlyn Spangler, Andrew Millison Aug 2021

Life Paths To Leading Systems-Level Change: Higher Education’S Pitfalls And Potential, Roslynn Brain Mccann, Kaitlyn Spangler, Andrew Millison

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Global protests calling for accelerated climate change action, social justice, and racial equity have been shifting long- standing conversations and policies from local to national scales. Yet many activists can become psychologically drained by the frustration and loss of hope in fighting against structural oppression. This study was comprised of semi-structured qualitative interviews spanning across the United States with 25 leaders and practitioners in permaculture design, a solutions-based ecological design framework to enact positive, systems-level environmental and social change. The objective was to better understand their life paths toward such work. The research showed that higher education is not adequately …


Compounding Hazards And Intersecting Vulnerabilities: Experiences And Responses To Extreme Heat During Covid-19, Olga V. Wilhelmi, Peter D. Howe, Mary H. Hayden, Cassandra R. O'Lenick Aug 2021

Compounding Hazards And Intersecting Vulnerabilities: Experiences And Responses To Extreme Heat During Covid-19, Olga V. Wilhelmi, Peter D. Howe, Mary H. Hayden, Cassandra R. O'Lenick

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Extreme heat is a major threat to human health worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its complexity and global reach, created unprecedented challenges for public health and highlighted societal vulnerability to hazardous hot weather. In this study, we used data from a three-wave nationally representative survey of 3036 American adults to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected extreme heat vulnerability during the summer of 2020. We used mixed effects models to examine the roles of socio-demographic characteristics and pandemic-related factors in the distribution of negative heat effects and experiences across the United States. The survey findings show that over a quarter …


Improving Communication Of Uncertainty And Risk Of High-Impact Weather Through Innovative Forecaster Workshops, Brian A. Colle, Rosemary Auld, Kenneth Johnson, Christine O'Connell, Temis G. Taylor, Joshua Rice Jul 2021

Improving Communication Of Uncertainty And Risk Of High-Impact Weather Through Innovative Forecaster Workshops, Brian A. Colle, Rosemary Auld, Kenneth Johnson, Christine O'Connell, Temis G. Taylor, Joshua Rice

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

It is challenging to communicate uncertainty for high-impact weather events to the public and decision-makers. As a result, there is an increased emphasis and training within the National Weather Service (NWS) for “impact-based decision support.” A Collaborative Science, Technology, And Research (CSTAR) project led by Stony Brook University (SBU) in collaboration with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science, several NWS forecast offices, and NWS operational centers held two workshops at SBU on effective forecast communication of probabilistic information for high-impact weather. Trainers in two 1.5-day workshops helped 15–20 forecasters learn to distill their messages, engage audiences, and more effectively …


Social And Cultural Dynamics Of Non-Native Invasive Species, John Schelhas, Janice Alexander, Mark W. Brunson, Tommy Cabe, Alycia Crall, Michael J. Dockry, Marla R. Emery, Susan J. Frankel, Nina Hapner, Caleb R. Hickman, Rebecca Jordan, Michael J. Lavoie, Zhao Ma, Joe Starinchak, Jelena Vukomanovic Feb 2021

Social And Cultural Dynamics Of Non-Native Invasive Species, John Schelhas, Janice Alexander, Mark W. Brunson, Tommy Cabe, Alycia Crall, Michael J. Dockry, Marla R. Emery, Susan J. Frankel, Nina Hapner, Caleb R. Hickman, Rebecca Jordan, Michael J. Lavoie, Zhao Ma, Joe Starinchak, Jelena Vukomanovic

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Invasive species and their management represent a complex issue spanning social and ecological systems. Invasive species present existing and potential threats to the nature of ecosystems and the products and services that people receive from them. Humans can both cause and address problems through their complex interactions with ecosystems. Yet, public awareness of invasive species and their impact is highly uneven, and public support for management and control of invasive species can be variable. Public perceptions often differ markedly from the perspectives of concerned scientists, and perceptions and support for management are influenced by a wide range of social and …


Management Innovations For Resilient Public Rangelands: Adoption Constraints And Considerations For Interagency Diffusion, Gwendŵr R. Meredith, Mark W. Brunson, Stuart P. Hardegree Jan 2021

Management Innovations For Resilient Public Rangelands: Adoption Constraints And Considerations For Interagency Diffusion, Gwendŵr R. Meredith, Mark W. Brunson, Stuart P. Hardegree

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Maintaining healthy rangeland ecosystems requires adaptive co-management at the landscape scale. Because the majority of western rangelands are publicly owned, it is critical that federal land management agencies work together in generating and sharing information. Promotion and communication of rangeland management innovations among agencies is one means of sharing information. Two rangeland management innovations, the Weather-Centric Restoration Tool and Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, were studied in order to better understand agency adoption decisions and barriers to diffusion of the innovations across agencies. Using a mixed qualitative methodology, we interviewed land managers across the floristic Great Basin and in southeastern …


Coupled Ecological And Management Connectivity Across Administrative Boundaries In Undeveloped Landscapes, Clare E. Aslan, Mark W. Brunson, Benjamin A. Sikes, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Samuel Veloz, David M. Theobald, Brett G. Dickson Jan 2021

Coupled Ecological And Management Connectivity Across Administrative Boundaries In Undeveloped Landscapes, Clare E. Aslan, Mark W. Brunson, Benjamin A. Sikes, Rebecca S. Epanchin-Niell, Samuel Veloz, David M. Theobald, Brett G. Dickson

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

Human-induced ecological boundaries, or anthropogenic ecotones, may arise where administrative boundaries meet on undeveloped lands. Landscape-level ecological processes related to factors such as fire, invasive species, grazing, resource extraction, wildlife, and water may be affected due to unique management strategies adopted by each administrative unit. Over time, different management can result in discernible ecological differences (e.g., species composition or soil characteristics). Thus, fragmentation in the management landscape can correspond to ecological fragmentation. Different ecological patterns may emerge due to an increase in the number of management units in a region, or due to an increase in the number of different …


Getting Lead Off The Landscape: A Theory And Data-Driven Approach To Increase Non-Lead Ammunition Use Among Hunters In The California Condor Range Of Utah (Usa), Jacob C. Richards, Jordan W. Smith Jan 2021

Getting Lead Off The Landscape: A Theory And Data-Driven Approach To Increase Non-Lead Ammunition Use Among Hunters In The California Condor Range Of Utah (Usa), Jacob C. Richards, Jordan W. Smith

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

The leading cause of mortality in California condors (condors) is lead poisoning, which occurs when condors ingest lead-based ammunition left in carcasses. As a critically endangered species with approximately 100 individuals remaining in the American southwest, increasing the adoption of non-lead ammunition is essential to the recovery of the species. In Utah, the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) uses communication with hunters as the primary tool for increasing the adoption of non-lead ammunition in southwestern Utah. In this research, we use social science theory and data collected from a survey of hunters throughout the region to develop a strategic communication …