Author: Aliyah Elfar

Aliyah Elfar is a senior at Columbia College studying Sustainable Development. She is a staff writer for GlacierHub, Co-director of Consilience’s Academic Journal Branch, and she interned at Aspen Power Partners, LLC this summer. She is most interested in renewable energy, advocacy, and climate policy.

Alaska Challenges Reinstated Protections for Tongass National Forest

A coalition of Alaskan groups have challenged the Biden administration’s reinstated rules to protect the Tongass National Forest, a major carbon sink that is crucial to Indigenous groups, local biodiversity and the Alaskan economy.
Glacial Melting in High Mountain Asia Has the Potential to Overwhelm Hydropower Systems

Flooding in the region threatens hydropower projects and the safety of downstream populations.
Report Released at COP27 Gives a ‘Terminal Diagnosis’ for Summer Sea Ice

The COP27 State of the Cryosphere 2022 Report has stated that summer sea ice will melt completely, likely before 2050. This outcome is deemed “inevitable.”
Landmark Climate Change Lawsuit Moves Forward as German Judges Arrive in Peru

An Indigenous Peruvian farmer is suing one of Europe’s largest CO2 emitters, the German energy firm RWE AG, for the costs of protecting his town from flooding. The case is progressing again after delays from COVID-19, and court-appointed experts are evaluating the risk posed by the glacial lake.
NATO’s Cold Response and the Implications of Militarization in the Arctic

Russia’s decline of the observer invitation and the deaths of several marines underscore the seriousness of the circumstances which surround the event this year.
The Canary in the Coal Mine: Frank Granshaw on Glaciers and Geoscience Education

Frank Granshaw discusses changes in geoscience, education, and glaciers throughout his career as a glacial geologist and climate science educator.

Alaska Challenges Reinstated Protections for Tongass National Forest

A coalition of Alaskan groups have challenged the Biden administration’s reinstated rules to protect the Tongass National Forest, a major carbon sink that is crucial to Indigenous groups, local biodiversity and the Alaskan economy.
Glacial Melting in High Mountain Asia Has the Potential to Overwhelm Hydropower Systems

Flooding in the region threatens hydropower projects and the safety of downstream populations.
Report Released at COP27 Gives a ‘Terminal Diagnosis’ for Summer Sea Ice

The COP27 State of the Cryosphere 2022 Report has stated that summer sea ice will melt completely, likely before 2050. This outcome is deemed “inevitable.”
Landmark Climate Change Lawsuit Moves Forward as German Judges Arrive in Peru

An Indigenous Peruvian farmer is suing one of Europe’s largest CO2 emitters, the German energy firm RWE AG, for the costs of protecting his town from flooding. The case is progressing again after delays from COVID-19, and court-appointed experts are evaluating the risk posed by the glacial lake.
NATO’s Cold Response and the Implications of Militarization in the Arctic

Russia’s decline of the observer invitation and the deaths of several marines underscore the seriousness of the circumstances which surround the event this year.
The Canary in the Coal Mine: Frank Granshaw on Glaciers and Geoscience Education

Frank Granshaw discusses changes in geoscience, education, and glaciers throughout his career as a glacial geologist and climate science educator.