亚色影库 paleoclimatologist Jeremy Shakun of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences was among faculty presenters at Advancing Research and Scholarship Day December 5. Shakun is co-author of a new report in the journal Nature that provides the first detailed climatological history, dating back 7.5 million years, of the Greenland ice sheet. (Photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert)
One of the U.S. environmental movement鈥檚 biggest problems is that environmentalists don鈥檛 vote, Environmental Voter Project founder and CEO Nathaniel Stinnett J.D. 鈥�05 said in his keynote remarks at the University鈥檚 third Advancing Research and Scholarship Day.
鈥淩egardless of party affiliation, environmentalists need to address their turnout problem,鈥� said Stinnett, who worked for many years as a political and campaign strategist. 鈥淲e need to start voting for one simple reason: politicians want to win elections. To do that, they focus on issues of importance to voters, not non-voters.鈥�
After using Big Data and predictive analytics to identify ardent environmentalists who do not regularly vote, the Environmental Voter Project then employs digital and traditional strategies to get them to the polls.
Stinnett鈥檚 talk kicked off the afternoon showcase of faculty and student research focused on the theme 鈥淓nvironment and Society: Research for a Changing World.鈥�
鈥淭his year鈥檚 theme is arguably the defining issue of our time 鈥� developing, building, and sustaining a habitable planet,鈥� Vice Provost for Research Tom Chiles said in his welcoming remarks.
"Problems associated with climate change require rigorous research, the kind of research being conducted at Boston College," he said. "It is a complex problem and requires a multi-disciplinary and a trans-disciplinary approach. Throwing science at a problem like climate change is not the only answer. Solving it requires input from the sciences, and expertise from the humanities, as well as social science.鈥�
