MPIA: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis

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bystander
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MPIA: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis

Post by bystander » Thu Sep 10, 2020 6:01 pm

Astronomers Address Impact of Climate Crisis on
Astronomy, and of Astronomy on the Climate Crisis

Max Planck Institute for Astronomy | 2020 Sep 10
The climate crisis is one of the defining challenges of our time. In the latest issue of the journal Nature Astronomy, astronomers including directors and staff of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy are addressing the interactions between astronomy and anthropogenic climate change – including the "fossil fuel footprint" of astronomy research, but also the negative impact of climate change on astronomical observations.

Astronomers are no strangers to climate change. Our sister planet Venus is a poignant example of an extremely strong greenhouse effect, with hostile surface temperatures of more than 460 degrees Celsius. And the ongoing search for planets orbiting stars other than the Sun, in combination with the immensity of astronomical distances, gives astronomers a unique perspective that underscores the statement that "there is no planet B".

But in a much more immediate sense, astronomers themselves interact with climate change, here on Earth: their observations are affected by climate change, and astronomers in turn are responsible for specific emissions of carbon dioxide, and thus contribute to climate change themselves.

Now, astronomers from around the world have applied their analytical skills to their own challenging relationship with the climate crisis. ...

The Climate Issue ~ Editorial The imperative to reduce carbon emissions in astronomy ~ Adam R. H. Stevens et al An astronomical institute’s perspective on meeting the challenges of the climate crisis ~ Knud Jahnke et al Measuring carbon emissions at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope ~ Nicolas Flagey et al The ecological impact of high-performance computing in astrophysics ~ Simon Portegies Zwart The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings ~ Leonard Burtscher et al The impact of climate change on astronomical observations ~ Faustine Cantalloube et al
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BDanielMayfield
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Re: MPIA: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis

Post by BDanielMayfield » Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:46 am

The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings ~ Leonard Burtscher et al
Nature Astronomy 4(9):823 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1207-z
Everyone else is meeting remotely these days. Switch to zoom meetings.
Just as zero is not equal to infinity, everything coming from nothing is illogical.

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bystander
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Re: MPIA: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis

Post by bystander » Fri Sep 11, 2020 4:19 am

BDanielMayfield wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:46 am
The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings ~ Leonard Burtscher et al
Nature Astronomy 4(9):823 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1207-z
Everyone else is meeting remotely these days. Switch to zoom meetings.
The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings wrote:
The annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society took place in Lyon, France, in 2019, but in 2020 it was held online only due the COVID-19 pandemic. The carbon footprint of the virtual meeting was roughly 3,000 times smaller than the face-to-face one, providing encouragement for more ecologically minded conferencing.
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
— Garrison Keillor

BDanielMayfield
Don't bring me down
Posts: 2524
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Location: East Idaho

Re: MPIA: Astronomy and the Climate Crisis

Post by BDanielMayfield » Fri Sep 11, 2020 5:01 am

bystander wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 4:19 am
BDanielMayfield wrote: Fri Sep 11, 2020 3:46 am
The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings ~ Leonard Burtscher et al
Nature Astronomy 4(9):823 (2020 Sep 10) DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1207-z
Everyone else is meeting remotely these days. Switch to zoom meetings.
The carbon footprint of large astronomy meetings wrote:
The annual meeting of the European Astronomical Society took place in Lyon, France, in 2019, but in 2020 it was held online only due the COVID-19 pandemic. The carbon footprint of the virtual meeting was roughly 3,000 times smaller than the face-to-face one, providing encouragement for more ecologically minded conferencing.
:thumb_up: Even something as bad as a pandemic can have a silver lining.
Just as zero is not equal to infinity, everything coming from nothing is illogical.

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