Challenge: Tell Us a Climate Story! | NASA Space Apps Challenge

Summary

Alix Kashdan, Program Coordinator for NASA’s U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center, introduces two challenges focused on climate change. The first encourages participants to use satellite and model-based datasets to map greenhouse gas emissions at various levels. The second challenge invites creative storytelling, utilizing the center’s open data to communicate the impacts of climate change. Both challenges aim to enhance public understanding of emissions and support community-driven climate action. By participating, users can contribute innovative solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Alix Kashdan is a Program Coordinator for NASA's Earth Science Division, working with the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center.
• 📊 The Center focuses on improving the quality, completeness, transparency, and accessibility of greenhouse gas data for climate mitigation decision-making.
• 📌 Alix is the Challenge Author for two initiatives: 'Uncover the Role of Greenhouse Gases in Your Neighborhood' and 'Tell Us a Climate Story.'
• 🛰️ The first challenge involves using satellite and model-based datasets to map human and natural emissions at local and global levels.
• 💡 Insights from this challenge will help communities understand greenhouse gas emissions better and support efforts to fight climate change.
• 📖 The second challenge invites participants to use data from the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center to tell engaging stories about climate change using various formats.
• 🌡️ Rising greenhouse gas concentrations have caused the warmest decade on record, contributing to extreme weather, sea-level rise, and resource insecurity.
• 🌐 The U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center makes climate change data accessible to the public to encourage understanding and action.
• 🚀 These challenges offer opportunities for participants to develop new insights and solutions to combat climate change.
• 🔍 The challenges are part of NASA's Space Apps program, aimed at inspiring innovative approaches to address the global climate crisis.

Q & A

Who is Alix Kashdan and what is her role at NASA?

Alix Kashdan is the Program Coordinator for the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center within NASA's Earth Science Division. She works to advance efforts in improving greenhouse gas information for climate mitigation decisions.

What is the main goal of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center?

The main goal of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center is to enhance the quality, transparency, and accessibility of greenhouse gas data to help with decision-making in climate mitigation efforts.

What are the two challenges that Alix Kashdan mentions?

The two challenges are: 1) 'Uncover the Role of Greenhouse Gases in your Neighborhood,' which involves mapping human and natural emissions using satellite and model-based datasets, and 2) 'Tell Us a Climate Story,' which encourages participants to use greenhouse gas data to create compelling stories about climate change.

What is the purpose of the first challenge, 'Uncover the Role of Greenhouse Gases in your Neighborhood'?

The purpose of this challenge is to help scientists map greenhouse gas emissions at local and global levels using satellite and model-based datasets, providing new insights to communities on emissions and climate change.

What is the focus of the second challenge, 'Tell Us a Climate Story'?

The second challenge focuses on using data from the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center to create a compelling climate story. Participants can use various formats such as visualizations, text, dashboards, or apps to tell these stories.

Where can participants find the datasets needed for the challenges?

Participants can find the datasets on the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center website, available at www.earth.gov/ghgcenter.

Why are greenhouse gas emissions important in the context of climate change?

Greenhouse gas emissions are critical because they increase the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat, which has led to the warmest years on record, extreme weather, rising sea levels, and food and water insecurity.

How have greenhouse gas emissions impacted the Earth's climate in recent years?

Greenhouse gas emissions have contributed to rising global temperatures, making the last 10 years the warmest on record. This has caused extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and other climate-related challenges.

What is the overall scientific focus of the challenges presented by the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center?

The scientific focus of the challenges is on climate change, particularly understanding and mitigating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions.

How do these challenges provide an opportunity for the public to contribute to climate change solutions?

These challenges invite the public to develop new insights and solutions by using open data to map emissions or tell stories about climate change, helping to address a global issue that affects every region of the Earth.