Climate Change, Wildfires and Biodiversity Impacts

Greenhouse gases generated from human activities are disrupting the atmosphere and oceans, causing complex changes to Earth systems that threaten life on this planet. There is robust scientific evidence and scientific consensus that increased carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases are causing the temperature of the Earth and its oceans to increase significantly. Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations dissolve into water and increase the acidity of both oceans and fresh water. The changes in temperature and acidity are starting to have a significant negative impact on human civilization and many other species that inhabit the planet. Several positive feedback loops may become active, amplifying the input of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Time is running out to stop this chain of very unfortunate events. Pacific Biodiversity Institute integrated our concern about climate change into all of our activities and it was a core part of all of our research work.

Read "Conservation and the 800 lb. Gorilla" - an essay about climate change by Dr. David Stokes, UW professor and PBI board president

Learn more about PBI's research work on wildfires, the connection between wildfires and climate change and the impacts on biodiversity.

Learn about PBI's research work of impacts of climate change and ocean acidification in the Salish Sea marine environment.

Climate change and ocean acidification are global issues, but they a result of the collective impact of billions of people like you and me. The solution to these problems depends on action from each of us. There are many things that you can do today to help solve these problems. PBI will be posting some simple actions everyone can take on this page soon.