{"id":99,"date":"2015-01-30T15:31:02","date_gmt":"2015-01-30T22:31:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/?page_id=99"},"modified":"2026-06-24T13:55:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T20:55:55","slug":"outreach","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/outreach\/","title":{"rendered":"Outreach, Media, and other Interests"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Glaciers\u00a0 and mountains in the media<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2022\/09\/WiredGreen_conference.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-507 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2022\/09\/WiredGreen_conference-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2022\/09\/WiredGreen_conference-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2022\/09\/WiredGreen_conference-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2022\/09\/WiredGreen_conference-624x832.jpeg 624w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2022\/09\/WiredGreen_conference.jpeg 900w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Part of doing science is the responsibility to share and communicate our latest understandings with the world outside of the ivory tower. To that end, I regularly contribute to radio, tv and print media coverage of all things related to climate change, landscape change, glaciers and mountain peoples, eco-anxiety and learning from indigenous and place-based communities. Some of my recent contributions include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>contemplating the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/pky7d7\/4-ideas-to-save-the-planet-with-controversial-geoengineering)\">unintended consequences of geoengineering for ice loss<\/a> in Vice News<\/li>\n<li>discussing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-429-what-on-earth\/clip\/15824645-a-cascade-hazards\">cascading effects of climate change on glaciers, landslide hazards<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-429-what-on-earth\/clip\/15797646-why-canadas-glaciers-becoming-endangered-species\">downstream water resources<\/a> for CBC\u00a0 and CBC Radio&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-429-what-on-earth\/clip\/15797646-why-canadas-glaciers-becoming-endangered-species\">What on Earth<\/a> podcast<\/li>\n<li>highlighting the vulnerability of Canada and the world&#8217;s water towers (i.e., glaciated mountains) to climate change in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.com\/science\/2019\/12\/water-towers-high-mountains-are-in-trouble-perpetual\/)\">National Geographic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/british-columbia\/mountain-water-towers-climate-change-threats-1.5388575\">CBC<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/6275812\/water-towers-at-risk-new-study\/\">Global News<\/a>, and\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/ici.radio-canada.ca\/nouvelle\/1425079\/glaciers-fonte-eau-changements-climatiques-rechauffement-climat\">Radio Canada<\/a><\/li>\n<li>exploring climate grief, ecoanxiety and the psychological stress of doing research on\u00a0 climate change, for the <a href=\"https:\/\/thenarwhal.ca\/how-to-live-amid-climate-change\/\">The Narwhal<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ubyssey.ca\/science\/2021SciLit-climate-anxiety\/\">Ubyssey<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inverse.com\/article\/57894-climate-change-anxiety-is-real-but-can-be-beat\">Inverse News<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.storycorps.org\/interviews\/how-is-it-that-we-collect-stories-and-create-spaces-for-those-stories-to-be-told-an-interview-with-michele-koppes-and-heidi-roop\/)\">Storycorps<\/a><\/li>\n<li>pondering whether we could flood deserts to reduce sea level rise on CBC Radio&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/radio\/popup\/audio\/listen.html?autoPlay=true&amp;mediaIds=1112563267633\">Quirks and Quarks<\/a><\/li>\n<li>discussing how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.powder.com\/stories\/is-skiing-good-for-glacier-health-or-speeding-their-demise\/\">climate change and snowmelt impacts and is impacted by the ski industry<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.piquenewsmagazine.com\/piquen-yer-interest\/opinion-appreciating-disappearing-places-4470133\">mountain tourism<\/a>, for Powder Magazine and Pique Newsmagazine, and CBC&#8217;s On the Coast<\/li>\n<li>The increase in landslide and tsunami hazards due to glacier retreat in coastal BC and Alaska, CTV news, CBC&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/technology\/landslide-tsunamis-climate-change-1.4811707\">On the Coast<\/a><\/li>\n<li>talking about how rising ocean temperatures are melting the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/13\/climate\/antarctica-ice-melting-faster.html\">New York Times,<\/a> the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/satellite-study-reveals-enormity-of-melting-ice-shelves-in-antarctica-11597071600\"> Wall Street Journal<\/a> and\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2016\/10\/science-torpedoes-reveal-greenland-melting\/\">Wired<\/a> magazine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For some examples of conversations on the cascading effects of climate change and glacier loss, check out the following podcasts:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-429-what-on-earth\/clip\/15797646-why-canadas-glaciers-becoming-endangered-species\">Canada&#8217;s glaciers becoming an endangered species<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/listen\/live-radio\/1-429-what-on-earth\/clip\/15824645-a-cascade-hazards\">A Cascade of Hazards<\/a> for CBC&#8217;s What On Earth<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.listentospacepod.com\/episodes\/2017\/5\/14\/97-if-a-glacier-falls-in-a-fjord-with-dr-koppes\">If a glacier falls in a fjord&#8230;<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.listentospacepod.com\/episodes\/2018\/7\/1\/128-sleeping-on-a-glacier-with-dr-koppes\">Sleeping on a Glacier<\/a> for Spacepod, and<\/li>\n<li>a YouTube video of a conversation I had with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sy4VB1h7FPU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Salt Spring Forum<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/articles\/3LfJxsVdk3qkpmqdBByfYKX\/scientists\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-38 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/01\/operationiceberg-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"operationiceberg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I have been a scientific advisor and presenter on several television documentaries about glaciers and climate change, including for the CBC&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/gem.cbc.ca\/the-nature-of-things\/s65e03\">The Nature of Things<\/a>,\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/p00tvcnx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Operation Iceberg<\/a>, a BBC documentary on the factors that drive glacier change and iceberg production in Greenland, the BBC series <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/programmes\/b01pqmqq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nature&#8217;s Weirdest Events<\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.seracfilms.com\/projects\/expedition_alaska\/expedition_alaska.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Expedition Alaska<\/a>, a documentary about the impact of climate change on the state of Alaska, made for the Discovery Channel.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/10\/TEDtalk2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-278 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/10\/TEDtalk2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"TEDtalk2\" width=\"273\" height=\"182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/10\/TEDtalk2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/10\/TEDtalk2-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/10\/TEDtalk2-624x416.jpg 624w, https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/10\/TEDtalk2.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I have been a TED Fellow and TED Senior Fellow, which provided a platform for me to talk about the importance of glaciers and glacier change from Antarctica to the Himalayas. I posted some thoughts on why the demise of the Antarctic ice shelves will affect us all on the <a href=\"https:\/\/ideas.ted.com\/why-whats-happening-in-antarctica-wont-stay-in-antarctica\/\">TED Ideas blog<\/a>, and spoke about Himalayan glacier meltwater resources\u00a0 on the <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.ted.com\/2011\/01\/07\/fellows-friday-with-michele-koppes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TED Fellows Friday Blog, <\/a>and in an editorial for <a href=\"http:\/\/www.livemint.com\/Opinion\/7atTrc9CKAZC8SIPfYmCBK\/The-shrinking-third-pole.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Mint<\/a> (the Indian edition of the Wall Street Journal). Along with some other great women scientists who are also TED Fellows, we are engaged with increasing dialogue about perceptions of women in STEM fields, such as this piece published on <a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/ted-fellows\/meet-12-badass-scientists-who-also-happen-to-be-women-ace8d797bcad#.flcqqltkk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Medium.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Check out the hundreds of phenomenal talks and performances given by innovators and changemakers at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ted.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ted.com<\/a>, and lessons worth sharing at <a href=\"http:\/\/ed.ted.com\/lessons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TedEd<\/a>, including my geomorphology lesson on <a href=\"https:\/\/ed.ted.com\/lessons\/why-is-mount-everest-so-tall-michele-koppes\">Why is Mt. Everest so tall?<\/a><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Using art and science to communicate climate change<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The cascading effects of climate change create their own sound; but no one has really bothered to listen. Since 2017, I have been collaborating on an art\/science project with percussionist and composer Susie Ibarra on <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/soundscapes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change<\/a>, funded through\u00a0 National Geographic, Fine Acts, TED, Counterflows and the Asian Cultural Council (thus far). <span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">Water rhythms is a story of climate change told by the ice and water<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">. It is the story about the dualism of water, the <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">universal connector of nature and humans, that is both beautiful and fragile. <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">It is an intergenerational story of the rapid change and depletion of our glaciers and <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">freshwater sources worldwide<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">. H<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">umans are inextricably connected to the earth\u2019s freshwater as a basic building block of life; the same rhythms of water flow through our bodies, our cultures, histories and our music. These water rhythms are disappearing as the glaciers worldwide disappear in response to climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"n-9DmWQG\" class=\"jsx-1400199401 layout-wrapper\" data-blockid=\"n-9DmWQG\">\n<div class=\"jsx-2443214080 content-container\">\n<div class=\"jsx-3113627843 jsx-601514757 grid-container \">\n<div class=\"jsx-1246325250 grid-item \">\n<p class=\"text-viewer text-viewer-paragraph\">We are exploring the sounds of glacial recession and its myriad of downstream effects, by recording the sounds of ice melting and sediments moving along a transect from source to sink, from the glaciated mountain tops to the ocean. These field recordings have been turned into <a href=\"https:\/\/fineacts.co\/water-rhythms\">sonic installations<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/counterflows.com\/commission\/water-rhythms-listening-to-climate-change\/\">storytelling pieces<\/a> . <span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">By inviting audiences into the immersive, embodied experience of listening to these <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">disappearing water rhythms from mountains near and far, we hope to engage a deeper <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">comprehension of the ways in which we are all intertwined by freshwater, its beauty and its <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 1rem;\">fragility.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Science in policy<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Playing about on and with glaciers, 99% of which have been in steady and increasingly rapid retreat over the past few decades, I became very interested in local and international political and policy debates surrounding climate change. So much so, that during my doctoral years I took a break from academia and went to work in the U.S. Congress as a legislative consultant on climate change policy for Congressman Jay Inslee, 1st-district Washington State &#8212; now the Governor of Washington State\u00a0 &#8212; and got a healthy dose of the sausage-making that goes on behind the scenes in the name of policy. For others interested in understanding the inner workings of national and international politics, and how science is and is not used in policymaking, I highly recommend the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.aaas.org\/program\/science-technology-policy-fellowships\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AAAS Congressional Science Fellowship<\/a> program.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">Experiential education<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/girlsonice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-107 \" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/01\/GOI_AK_2015_callforapps-463x600-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"GOI_AK_2015_callforapps-463x600\" width=\"198\" height=\"198\" \/><\/a>Part of my broader mission is to convince others that playing with, on and near glaciers is fun!\u00a0 I co-founded <a href=\"http:\/\/girlsonice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Girls on Ice<\/a>, now\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inspiringgirls.org\/\">Inspiring Girls Expeditions<\/a>, a series of experiential field courses for girls aged 14-18 that combines science, art and backcountry wilderness skills. Highly recommended for a curious, outdoorsy young woman you might know!<\/p>\n<p>I have also been an advisor for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.juneauicefield.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Juneau Icefield Research Program<\/a>, a summer-long extensive field research and exploration program for high school &#8211; graduate students interesting in glaciology, on the Juneau Icefield, Alaska.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/01\/crew_homepage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-40 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/files\/2015\/01\/crew_homepage.jpg\" alt=\"crew_homepage\" width=\"163\" height=\"112\" \/><\/a>Finally, I used to coordinate and lead high-school age work crews building and restoring trails in some of the most beautiful and remote state and national parks in the western U.S., through the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thesca.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Student Conservation Association<\/a>. See links to find out more about these excellent youth\/educational programs.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Glaciers\u00a0 and mountains in the media Part of doing science is the responsibility to share and communicate our latest understandings with the world outside of the ivory tower. To that end, I regularly contribute to radio, tv and print media coverage of all things related to climate change, landscape change, glaciers and mountain peoples, eco-anxiety [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28914,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-99","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28914"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/koppes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}