Woodwell Climate Research Center
{{infobox organization
| name = Woodwell Climate Research Center
| type = Nonprofit scientific research organization
| founded_date = {{start date and age|1985|paren=yes}}
| headquarters = Woods Hole, Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States
| leader_name = Robert Max Holmes
| key_people = George Woodwell, Robert Max Holmes, Philip Duffy, John Holdren
| area_served = Global
| focus = Climate Change
| method =
| leader_title = President and CEO
| revenue =
| endowment =
| website = https://www.woodwellclimate.org/
| num_volunteers =
| num_employees = 120
| num_members =
| homepage = {{URL|woodwellclimate.org}}
}}
Woodwell Climate Research Center, formerly known as the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC) until August 2020, is a scientific research organization that studies climate change impacts and solutions. The International Center for Climate Governance named WHRC the world's top climate change think tank for 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.{{Cite news|url=http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20160701/NEWS/160709923|title=Woods Hole think tank takes top spot on climate change|last=Driscoll|first=Sean|date=July 1, 2016|work=Cape Cod Times|access-date=August 25, 2016}}
Woodwell Climate conducts research on the causes and impacts of climate change throughout the tropics, the Arctic, and North America. The Center designs all of its work to inform policy or answer policy questions{{Cite web|url=http://whrc.org/our-work/interactive-map/|title=Woods Hole Research Center - Where We Work|publisher=Woods Hole Research Center|access-date=August 25, 2016}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/12/09/a-paris-climate-agreement-is-supposed-to-help-save-the-planet-but-the-planet-may-have-other-ideas/|title=How the Earth itself could undermine a Paris climate agreement|last=Mooney|first=Chris|date=December 9, 2015|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=August 25, 2016}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gustavo-silvachavez/forests-emerge-as-a-big-w_b_8793226.html|title=Forests Emerge as a Big Winner in Paris Agreement|last=Silva-Chavez|first=Gustavo|date=December 12, 2015|work=Huffington Post|access-date=August 25, 2016}} and is composed of five core units: Arctic, Carbon, Risk, Tropics, and Water.
History
The Woods Hole Research Center was established in 1985 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts by George Woodwell. WHRC was one of the first organizations dedicated to fighting global climate change, and Woodwell testified to Congress in 1986 about the dangers of sea level rise and global warming.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/06/11/30-years-ago-scientists-warned-congress-on-global-warming-what-they-said-sounds-eerily-familiar/|title=30 years ago scientists warned Congress on global warming. What they said sounds eerily familiar|last=Mooney|first=Chris|date=June 11, 2016|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=August 25, 2016}}
The plan for developing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was drafted at the Woods Hole Research Center in the late 1980s by Woodwell and Kilaparti Ramakrishna.{{Cite news|url=http://capeandislands.org/post/paris-agreement-effect-much-work-remains-stabilize-climate#stream/0|title=Paris Agreement in Effect, But Much Work Remains to Stabilize Climate|last=Goldstone|first=Heather|date=November 7, 2016|work=WCAI|access-date=January 4, 2017}} In 2005, Dr. John P. Holdren became the director and he continued to lead the organization until he was appointed as President Obama's science advisor in 2009. Holdren returned to WHRC as a senior advisor in 2017 after President Obama left office.{{Cite news|url=http://www.capecodtimes.com/news/20170302/former-obama-science-adviser-returns-to-cape|title=Former Obama science adviser returns to Cape|last=Fraser|first=Doug|work=capecodtimes.com|access-date=2017-03-24|language=en}}
In 2020, the Center was renamed to the Woodwell Climate Research Center to emphasize the scientific focus on climate change and honor the founder, George Woodwell.{{Cite web|date=2020-08-20|title=Woods Hole Research Center Changes Name to Woodwell Climate Research Center|url=https://www.capecod.com/newscenter/woods-hole-research-center-changes-name-to-woodwell-climate-research-center/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=CapeCod.com|language=en-US}}
The organization's current president is Dr. Robert Max Holmes, an earth scientist who has co-founded and led multiple large river research networks, including Global Rivers Observatory, Arctic Great Rivers Observatory, Cape Cod Rivers Observatory, and Science on the Fly, an initiative that unites the fly-fishing and science communities to study and protect rivers around the world.{{Cite web |title=R. Max Holmes |url=https://www.woodwellclimate.org/staff/max-holmes/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Woodwell Climate |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=SCIENCE ON THE FLY |url=https://scienceonthefly.org/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=SCIENCE ON THE FLY |language=en-US}} Woodwell Climate has about 120 staff members.
The Center's Gilman Ordway Campus, located on Cape Cod in the town of Falmouth, was completed in 2003. The {{convert|19300|sqft|m2|abbr=on}} building is composed of a renovated summer estate (ca. 1877) and a new wing. The campus is energy neutral, with renewable power generated by a 100 kW wind turbine, as well as rooftop photo-voltaic power systems.{{Cite web|url=http://whrc.org/about-whrc/environmentally-friendly-campus/|title=Environmentally-Friendly Campus – Woods Hole Research Center|website=whrc.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-04}}
In 2023, Woodwell received a $5 million grant and fellowship from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, to develop an open-access resource that will use satellite data and artificial intelligence in order to track Arctic permafrost thaw in near real-time.{{Cite web |last=Freedman |first=Andrew |date=2023-07-24|title=Google teams up with climate scientists to monitor permafrost with AI |url=https://www.axios.com/2023/07/24/google-ai-arctic-monitoring|access-date=2023-11-29|website=Axios |language=en-US}}
Awards
The International Center for Climate Governance has named Woodwell as the world's top climate change think tank for four years in a row—2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thinktankmap.org/NewsDetails.aspx?ID=72&Pag=|title=ICCG CLIMATE THINK TANK RANKING 2015: THE RESULTS|date=June 23, 2016|website=Think Tank Map|publisher=International Center for Climate Governance}} The award is based on quantitative and analytical data, including activities, publications and dissemination.{{Cite web|url=http://www.thinktankmap.org/Page.aspx?Name=About_the_Ranking|title=About the Ranking|website=Think Tank Map - About the Ranking|publisher=International Center for Climate Governance|access-date=August 25, 2016}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.woodwellclimate.org/ Woodwell Climate Research Center official site]
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Category:Environmental research institutes
Category:Research institutes in Massachusetts
Category:Education in Barnstable County, Massachusetts
Category:Falmouth, Massachusetts
Category:Environmental organizations based in Massachusetts
Category:Environmental organizations established in 1985
Category:Research institutes established in 1980