A group of University of Minnesota climate experts, including MSI PIs, spoke recently to a new Minnesota House committee about climate change in the state. The experts briefed the House Energy and Climate Finance and Policy Division about how changes in temperature and precipitation are affecting the state and answered questions from lawmakers. Professor Peter Reich (Forest Resources, Institute on the Environment) and Associate Professor Tracy Twine (Soil, Water, and Climate, Institute on the Environment) participated in the briefing.
Articles about the committee session have appeared in a number of media outlets:
- Minnesota Public Radio: New House Committee Gets Climate Change Boot Camp
- (Minneapolis) StarTribune: U Scientists: Minnesota Is One of the Nation’s Fastest-Warming States
- Bring Me the News: Minnesota Winters Are Warming 13 Times Faster Than Its Summers, U of M Scientists Say
- US News and World Report: Scientists: Minnesota Is Among Fastest Warming States in US
Professor Reich is using MSI resources to build a new earth system model based on plant functional traits rather than plant functional types. Professor Twine uses the MSI supercomputers to run the Weather and Research Forecast model as part of projects that address challenges to Minnesota’s environment.