A new episode of @npr.org's science podcast, Short Wave, features insights from IBES Voss Postdoc @elodiefreymann.bsky.social, a primatologist who studies self-medication in chimpanzees. Tune in to to learn about how animals treat themselves when they get sick or hurt:

Chimp convalescence, ant amputation: the wild world of animal doctors : Short Wave

When people are sick, we seek out medications and treatments to help heal. For a long time, scientists thought that was a uniquely human ability. But it turns out, many other animals do a version of i...

npr.org

“El Niños have been acting like a stair step,” IBES Director @kimcobb.bsky.social told @sonofjud.bsky.social, noting that global temperatures tend to spike during an El Niño, then drop, but to levels above the previous baseline. “That’s what frightens me,” she said. Read the full story:

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 4d ago

This El Niño is one of the strongest on record, and its peak is still months away. Here’s how it could affect you.

IBES & Bio Prof James Kellner delivered the keynote speech at Brown Convocation on Tuesday, encouraging students to “point your freedom toward knowledge [and] have the courage to say what you think.” Watch the ceremony, with Kellner's remarks around minute 52: livestream.brown.edu

Brown University@brown.edu · 5d ago

At Brown’s 263rd Convocation, University leaders urged nearly 3,300 new students to be curious, courageous and embrace the unique opportunities of a Brown education.

Should we cut down trees to put up solar panels? Science can help put that question in context, IBES Prof Stephen Porder writes in @ecorinews.bsky.social. Read Porder's ideas on the costs & benefits of clearing forests for solar, and how proper carbon math can help determine where panels should go:

Trees vs. Solar Panels: Getting the Carbon Math Right - ecoRI News

There is no perfect solution; we are faced with a series of "less bad" choices.

ecori.org

After decades of teaching, scholarship & service, Profs Timmons Roberts & Kurt Teichert are entering their last academic year at Brown University. As they prepare to retire, they behind a lasting legacy through the students they mentored, research they advanced & communities they served. Read on:

IBES celebrates the contributions and legacies of J. Timmons Roberts and Kurt Teichert

This fall marks the start of Roberts’ and Teichert’s final academic year at Brown. As they prepare to retire, they leave a lasting legacy through decades of teaching, scholarship, and service.

ibes.brown.edu

Experts say the devastating floods in Nepal at the end of August were caused in part by melting glaciers. On this episode from 2023, the Possibly team talks to @matthias-huss.bsky.social about why these glaciers are melting, and what we can do about it. Listen at the link below.

What’s happening to the world’s glaciers?

Experts say the devastating floods in Nepal at the end of August were caused in part by melting glaciers. On this episode from 2023, the Possibly team looks into why these glaciers are melting, and wh...

oceanstatemedia.org

Meet Voss Fellow Isidora Stevens ’28! Stevens spent the summer studying land stewardship & ecosystem change in the Upper Rio Grande Basin through community interviews & vegetation mapping. Watch along & learn more about her research: https://ibes.brown.edu/news/2026-09-01/isidora-stevens-voss

Brown University researchers found the oil lobby is succeeding in tanking state bills that aim to make polluters pay, despite supporters outnumbering the bill critics. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/09/03/o...

Oil lobby tanking climate Superfund bills in Oregon, 11 states despite public support, study finds • Oregon Capital Chronicle

Brown University researchers found testimony from fossil fuel lobbyists has had disproportionate impact on climate Super

oregoncapitalchronicle.com

IBES affiliate, @edsustainable.bsky.social director & @brownedudept.bsky.social prof @matthewakraft.com discussed the impact of natural disasters on school attendance. Read @anya1anya.bsky.social's full article:

The Hechinger Report@hechingerreport.org · 2w ago

Providers like Project:Camp offer emergency education and care to families as climate change brings more destructive weather.

Really enjoyed my conversation with Josh Cowen. We discuss #SustainableED's new paper showing how shockingly common it is for K12 schools to be located near toxic sites. @edsustainable.bsky.social joshcowen.substack.com/p/is-your-sc...

Is your school near a toxic hazard site?

Sitting down with Brown University's Dr. Matthew Kraft, whose team has just released a shocking new report showing that thousands of American schools are located near environmental hazard sites.

joshcowen.substack.com

IBES Voss Postdoc @lukelarter.bsky.social discussed new research that details the implications of noise on frog mate choice. Read the full story in @smithsonianmag.bsky.social:

Female Treefrogs Experience 'Choice Overload' Amid Too Many Mating Calls From Males

Faced with a chorus of potential mates, female Cope’s gray treefrogs may be overwhelmed by the number of options and struggle to make a careful decision, a study suggests

smithsonianmag.com

When renewable energy projects have environmental trade-offs, how do you decide which is ‘better’ for the environment? On this week's episode of Possibly, we dig into the science to help answer this question. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at the link below.

What makes something 'better' for the environment?

Environmental decisions aren't always straight forward. Like, is it worth cutting down a forest to build a solar farm? This week on Possibly we take a look.

oceanstatemedia.org

Meet the newest members of the IBES community, whose work spans climate science, economics, agriculture, sociology, public health, and global policy: https://ibes.brown.edu/news/2026-08-20/new-scholars

IBES Director @kimcobb.bsky.social offered commentary for @borenbears.bsky.social's latest @apnews.com article, noting that new research “raises the specter of a future where larger El Niño and La Niña events are dialing up the pace and severity of weather and climate extremes.”

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 2w ago

A new study suggests El Nino events have intensified over the past 40 years due to human-caused climate change.

@sarasneath.bsky.social reports on research by IBES Prof @timmonsroberts.bsky.social and Research Associate Trevor Culhane, leading researchers of @brown.edu's Climate and Development Lab, who found that activists and lobbyists used debunked claims to fight climate superfund bills. @cssn.org

Guardian US@us.theguardian.com · 3w ago

Analysis of federal lobbying disclosures shows local governments working with firms also linked to fossil fuel giants

In a new episode of the YouthRUs podcast, IBES prof @timmonsroberts.bsky.social sits down with host Raj Awasthi to explore the politics behind climate change, how fossil fuel interests and misinformation can obstruct climate action, and why technological solutions alone may not be enough. @cssn.org

We Have the Technology. So Why Aren’t We Solving Climate Change? | w/ J Timmons Roberts | YouthRUs

YouTube video by YouthRUs Podcast

youtube.com

IBES Director @kimcobb.bsky.social offered commentary about a new study, which suggests that it is possible to demonstrate how single corporate emitters have contributed to specific instances of extreme weather. “This would have been a pipe dream 10 years ago; it simply wouldn’t be possible.”

Mother Jones@motherjones.com · 3w ago

For years, the oil and gas industry has argued that you can’t prove which company caused which disaster. A new study says otherwise. For the first time, a study has drawn a straight line from single corporate emitters like Exxon or Chevron to specific heatwaves and areas of extreme rainfall.

Lone star ticks are spreading all over the Northeast. What should you know to stay safe? Listen to this week's episode of Possibly, where we talk to @thetickguy.bsky.social to learn more about the rise in alpha-gal syndrome. www.oceanstatemedia.org/possibly/202...

Tick season's here. What's alpha-gal syndrome?

Lone star ticks are spreading all over Rhode Island. What should you know to stay safe?

oceanstatemedia.org

What does it take to turn a class assignment into a story? Last fall, Brown University students in IBES' Science Journalism course investigated environmental issues shaping communities across Providence and saw their work appear in ecoRI News. Learn more:

Brown students reported on Providence’s rivers. Every. Story. Got. Published.

What does it take to turn a class assignment into a story? Last fall, Brown students in IBES' Science Journalism course investigated environmental issues shaping communities across Providence and saw their work appear in ecoRI News.

ibes.brown.edu

Paved surfaces like roads, sidewalks, and driveways send stormwater into our sewers. This week on Possibly we explore engineering solutions that can help keep sewers and waterways clean. Listen to this week's episode, originally aired in 2024, wherever you get your podcasts, or at the link below:

Are sewers the best way to deal with stormwater?

Paved surfaces like roads, sidewalks, and driveways send stormwater into our sewers. This week on Possibly we explore engineering solutions that can help keep sewers and waterways clean

oceanstatemedia.org

New research from @danibarra.bsky.social's lab, published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology: "Non-analog ostracod assemblages in Lake Mojave reflect lake Quaternary climate and water-level changes." Explore the paper: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Meet IBES Voss Fellow Jules Ho ’27! A dual-degree student at @brown.edu & @risd1877.bsky.social, Ho blends data collection & visual art to study wild sloths' gut microbiomes. Watch as Ho conducts research with @slothconservation.bsky.social & read more about her work: ibes.brown.edu/news/2026-08...

A study by Brown University researchers found that 44% of pre-K-12 schools in the U.S. are within a mile of a known environmental hazard site, a distance at which negative exposure effects are well documented.

New research shows nearly half of U.S. pre-K-12 schools are near environmental hazard sites

A study by Brown University researchers found that 44% of pre-K-12 schools in the U.S. are within a mile of a known environmental hazard site, a distance at which negative exposure effects are well…

brown.edu

Possibly’s host, Megan Hall and her family made the switch to an electric car. In this episode, originally aired in 2023, we explain what owning an EV is actually like. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or at the link below: www.oceanstatemedia.org/possibly/202...

What’s it like to own an electric car?

Possibly’s host, Megan Hall and her family made the switch to an electric car. In this episode, originally aired in 2023, we explain what owning an EV is actually like

oceanstatemedia.org

The #SustainableED team's first publication is out in @pnas.org. We document the scale of potential pollutant & carcinogen exposure across US K12 schools. 8% of all schools are within a few blocks of EPA registered hazard sites. Exposure risk is highly inequitable. 🧵

IBES affiliate Katelyn Moretti, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at @brownmedicine.bsky.social, offered insights on the health risks that hotter summers bring about. Read the full article in @ecorinews.bsky.social:

ecoRI News@ecorinews.bsky.social · last mo.

State officials urge residents to seek air-conditioned spaces during extreme heat, but not everyone has that option. Neither the state nor Newport requires a dwelling to have cooling during periods of extreme heat, as they do with heat in winter when temperatures drop to freezing. bit.ly/4hVxiPp

In his @ecorinews.bsky.social op-ed, @phileil.bsky.social cites IBES Director @kimcobb.bsky.social's recent commentary for @cnn.com, noting that expert insights like hers make for compelling and trustworthy journalism.

ecoRI News@ecorinews.bsky.social · last mo.

"The Buzz’s “coverage” of the Heartland report [which claims there is no climate crisis in Rhode Island] strikes me as a textbook example of how not to cover climate propaganda," writes @phileil.bsky.social this an op-ed. bit.ly/4hagDY9

A librarian told Possibly that she has to bring a hat and gloves to work in the summer because it's so cold inside. Those frigid temperatures seemed inefficient, so she turned to us for answers. But this week we explain the surprising, and energy efficient, reason for frigid summer libraries.

Why is it so cold in libraries?

One librarian told us she has to bring a hat and gloves to work in the summer. The Possibly team breaks down the science behind freezing cold libraries

oceanstatemedia.org

Meet Laura Tanguay, IBES' new visiting assistant professor! Studying the intersection of extractivism, consent, and Indigenous governance in Canadian resource decision-making, Tanguay brings an engaged, collaborative approach to both her research and her teaching. Learn more:

Introducing Visiting Assistant Professor Laura Tanguay: Examining power, place, and politics in environmental decision-making

Tanguay begins her new role as Visiting Assistant Professor of Environment and Society on August 1.

ibes.brown.edu

Members of the IBES-based Breathe Providence project, including Prof Meredith Hastings, contributed to a new paper in the Journal of Participatory Research Methods 💡 Learn how art can support community-engaged action research & challenge environmental racism: jprm.scholasticahq.com/article/1623...