Radon in high concentrations has been proven to be one of the world’s leading causes of lung cancer. Climate change is an ongoing problem that affects the environment and human beings; however, there is not yet a widely known relationship between radon exposure and climate change. Our research aims to find a correlation between climate change and risk of radon exposure. We are reviewing how radon exposure potentially increases through the lens of greenhouse gas emissions, melting ice caps, and human habits based on increased global warming effects. In our literary review, we are comparing how radon is measured, finding the limitations of each technique and which technique is best suited to measuring radon in air, soil, and water. We are also working with our collaborators overseas to understand the radon concentrations in soil in Hebron, Palestine. We will investigate our hypothesis that radon exposure will increase with climate change.

In this project, I conducted a literature review comparing the strategies the governments of Vietnam and Thailand are implementing to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Southeast Asia is projected to be severely impacted by climate change. In particular, rising sea levels are likely to encroach on lowland coastal regions that account for much of the population and serve as centers of economic activity. Additionally, nations in this region continue to undergo rapid economic growth, and therefore face a dilemma in that the carbon emissions which have largely fueled their quick growth are also contributing to climate change imperiling their populations. The purpose of this study is to compare the climate response of two major growing economies in this region in terms of mitigation and adaptation, and in this manner discover how differences in political structure, national wealth, and the level of specific risk faced by each nation has shaped their climate policies. I conducted research by reviewing policy reports published by these governments, non-governmental organizations, and scholarly articles. My review suggests that both governments have tended to downplay the scale of climate adaptation needed to prepare for the massive population resettlement and economic adjustment from the inundation of several major cities. Additionally, the findings show that Vietnam has undertaken more extensive mitigation efforts than Thailand, in part stemming from a varying response to the 2008 financial crisis. In contrast to Thailand, which responded by further developing fossil fuel infrastructure to pursue greater energy independence, Vietnam worked toward the same aims by expanding green energy sources like wind and hydropower. By understanding the causes of these varying climate responses, we can better identify areas in which further action is needed to bring policy in line with scientific projections and understand how institutional structures influence the success of climate policy.

In the past year climate activists have engaged in increasingly disruptive tactics to try and draw attention to the looming climate crisis. To raise awareness for their cause, activist groups have utilized a variety of confrontational and controversial protest tactics, such as sit-ins, hunger strikes, road blockades, and occupations of crucial industries, for example, airports. However 2022 featured a unique new form of climate protest: art attacks and museum vandalization. This radical new protest tactic is designed to force public attention on the climate crisis by visually destroying and threatening precious artworks. A slew of climate art protests swept news headlines in 2022, drawing both condemnation and admiration. For this project I created a dataset of art attacks and museum vandalism focusing on when, where, and what group executes such attacks with the goal of understanding the context of this new protest phenomenon. Preliminary data was collected by tracking news reports and activist social media posts to determine the relevant data points. The preliminary findings from this project find that all instances of museum vandalism occurred in a 7-month period in 2022, with attacks concentrated in the days leading up to COP27 in November. In total, 39 protests occurred in 11 (primarily European) countries, with the majority occurring in England (7), Italy (8), and Germany (8). Established climate activist groups conducted the majority of these protests, with only a handful of these incidents being perpetrated by individual actors. The activist groups most implicated in the dataset are: Just Stop Oil (England), Letzte Generation (Germany), and Ultima Generazione (Italy), which aligns well with the countries in which the majority of the protests took place. The results of this project could indicate the future of climate protest tactics- and public reception- as the climate crisis worsens and activist groups become more desperate.

Climate change has two dimensions: mitigation and adaptation. In spite of progress towards net-zero emissions, climate change is already underway, and its effects are visible through extreme weather events including hurricanes. Many argue policymakers should focus on adaptation along with mitigation. Given that some climate effects are location-specific, adaptation requires that households carefully think about where they buy property, given that an investment in a home is the most important source of household wealth. To minimize property damage, households could take steps to enhance the resilience of their property, which should be reflected in property value. In the absence of federal regulation, only 29 states of the 50 U.S. have enacted laws mandating property owners disclose flood history and risk to a property. Louisiana was among the first states to enact these regulations, while in 2022, Texas strengthened its legislation. What explains this variation in flood disclosure legislation over time and space? Collecting data from federal and non-profit sources, I will examine a slate of factors: state partisanship (control of the legislature and the gubernatorial office) from 2017-2019; percentage of Trump votes in 2016; the number of water-related disasters from 2013-2018; percentage of flood hazard area; in-migration; length of coastline; percentage of forested area; and the number of flood related deaths from 2013-2018. In R, I will conduct linear regression models to estimate the effect and significance of these factors on the response variable: the grade/strength of flood disclosure legislation. I will also conduct a Cox Proportional hazard model to examine the effect of these factors on the passage of flood disclosure legislation. The results of the analysis will provide evidence as to why certain states are more likely to have strong flood disclosure legislation, and what events could result in a state passing flood disclosure legislation.

Over the past 20 years, the capital city of Indonesia has sunk four meters into the ocean and continues at a rate of approximately 11 inches per year. At this rate, more than 95% of Jakarta, the capital city, is predicted to be completely submerged by 2050, inevitably drowning the city if stricter policies are not set in place for groundwater extraction. Due to the population’s poor access to piped water, private businesses and the public have resorted to illegal groundwater extraction, which has caused extensive land subsidence. The combined effects of regulated and unregulated groundwater extraction and the lack of equitable water access to the population have worsened the situation. Jakarta is not alone; other countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States are also experiencing land subsidence due to extensive groundwater extraction. My literature review will demonstrate the effects of groundwater extraction and land subsidence in Indonesia by using a comparative public policy analysis on the different policies and management approaches of countries in Southeast Asia and North America. I will be comparing the policies in use by these different countries to determine the necessary policy reforms to create a more effective approach to solving the groundwater issue in Indonesia. I establish that the Indonesian government’s short-term plans to overcome land subsidence is not a sustainable solution to the damage that has been done to the city of Jakarta. Rather, the policies set in place need to be reformed to ensure that equitable water is supplied throughout the population and groundwater extraction is done safely and in moderation. This work is important not only to prevent the further sinking of Jakarta but also to overcome the long-term environmental impacts of groundwater extraction in Indonesia and other countries.

Climate change is a growing threat to communities worldwide, with extreme weather events like droughts and wildfires causing food insecurity and affecting the lives of millions of people. Despite the availability of research that describes the consequences of climate change, there is a lack of urgency in the response to this crisis. To understand the barriers that inhibit action on climate change, a study was conducted on 206 STEM students at the University of Washington. The study surveyed the students to identify factual and conceptual barriers to addressing climate change. We distributed questionnaires through social media and undergraduate classes. I analyzed survey responses to compare and contrast the concern levels for ecocentric and anthropocentric consequences of climate change. The findings of the study indicate that environmental education was not associated with more climate change knowledge, and students were more concerned with ecocentric impacts and anthropocentric consequences that directly impact basic human needs like water, food, and shelter. We aim to develop a teaching tool that addresses the conceptual barriers identified in their research. The results of the study emphasize the need to shift the focus towards addressing the immediate impacts of climate change that affect human well-being. The lack of urgency in the response to the climate crisis highlights the need for more education and action to mitigate the effects of climate change.