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Microbes and Climate Change
Microbes and Climate Change
Source: American Academy of Microbiology
 

As the most abundant organisms on Earth, microorganisms make considerable contributions to, and are greatly affected by, a changing climate. Microbes are major drivers of elemental cycles (such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus), important producers and consumers of greenhouse gases, and pertinent pathogens of humans, animals and plants. It is critical to learn how the impacts of a changing climate will impact microbes and their relationships with humans and the environment. On April 22, 2022, the American Academy of Microbiology (Academy), the honorific leadership group of ASM, published a report based on the deliberations of experts who participated in a colloquium on November 2021. The Academy's Climate Change and Microbes Scientific Portfolio is a committment to continue focusing on understanding the relationship between microbes and climate change over the next 5 years. 
 

Microbe 2023 Climate Change Guest Track

ASM Microbe 2023 in Houston will feature a special guest track addressing issues in the intersection between climate change and microbiology (CCM). The CCM track aims to advance the scientific understanding of microbes as mediators of climate change in basic and applied research. In addition to addressing the breadth of scientific topics under the umbrella of climate change, the CCM track will highlight microbe-driven innovations—in different stages of development—to address climate change. The CCM track facilitates the discussions and collaborations of stakeholders from diverse sectors and areas of science and supports the quest to find effective solutions and inform policies to address climate change.

 

ASM Policy Recommendations

ASM's policy brief includes recommendations to support microbiologists who are developing and deploying climate solutions.

Read the Paper

Our Health, Our Action, Our Planet

ASM issues a call to action for microbiologists to engage in climate research.

Read the Editorial

Donate to the Academy Scientific Portfolio

Your financial contributions help support the Academy's critical work.

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Understanding the Problem

Microbes and Adaptation What Microbes Can Teach Us About Adapting to Climate Change

By learning how microbes have adapted to Earth's transformations over millions of years, scientists can harness those activities to inform sustainability issues.

Microbes and Environment Cyanobacteria Blankets of Doom: Causes and Effects of Toxic Blooms

Cyanobacterial blooms are on the rise owing to many factors, including climate change. Many species produce potent cyanotoxins that are harmful to animals, plants and humans and pose a serious threat to the environment.

Microbes and Health Rise of Candida Auris May be Blamed on Global Warming

Global warming may have played a pivotal role in the emergence of Candida auris, according to a new study published in mBio.

Microbes and Agriculture Unearthing the Soil Microbiome, Climate Change, Carbon Storage Nexus

The Food and Agriculture Organization predicts that due to human activity and climate change, soil erosion could result in between 20-80% losses in agricultural yields, depending on the soil.

Advocating for Climate Change Solutions

Advocacy

ASM advocates for continued support for research and policies that facilitate the translation of microbial research to real-world, scalable solutions in renewable energy, water quality and sustainable ecosystems. These efforts will require Congressional support and interagency coordination on an unusually grand scale.

Microbes and Society
Source: Robinson et al. 2022


As ASM works with policymakers to ensure that science is front and center in policy approaches to climate change, we strongly encourage scientists to bring their expertise to bear on climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience.  
 

ASM Policy Recommendations

Few policymakers understand the contributions of microbes to the generation and consumption of warming gases, to ecosystem stability, and to human well-being. To that end, ASM has developed a policy brief with recommendations urging adequate infrastructure, funding and coordination to support microbiologists who are developing and deploying climate solutions.
View Policy Paper
 

ASM Policy Statements

  • Big Problems, Tiny Solutions: ASM experts led a Congressional briefing on the impact of climate change and how microbiology research can curb dangerous effects of viral pathogens, harness the power of microbes for a sustainable global food supply, support renewable energy development and preserve biodiversity in our environment.
  • ASM Advocates for Scientific Solutions to Climate Change: ASM joined 48 fellow scientific societies in a letter urging Congress to act immediately on climate change with research and innovation.
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Microbes, Mitigation and Bioremediation

Article Microbes Help Regulate Greenhouse Gases

When carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves into the ocean, photosynthetic bacteria and eukaryotes take it up and change it into biologically useful forms.

Article Microbes Make Biofuel

The economic challenges of making biofuels from agricultural biomass and the scaling up of production have been bottlenecks in the industry. Dave Bushong, Vice President of Research at POET, discusses how he has successfully built a biofuel production program.

Article Microbes Biodegrade Complex Products

Microbially mediated lignocellulose bioconversion of plant residues has exciting potential as a source of biofuel and other materials.

Article Microbes Can Generate Electricity

Electricigens are bacteria that possess the remarkable ability to generate electricity. Understanding the and harnessing this property, can have environmental, biotechnological and medical relevance.

Hear From Experts

Panel Discussion


 

Microbes are adept at adapting, surviving and thriving in extreme and constantly changing environments. ASM leadership hosted a virtual panel during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Science Summit discussing the role and contribution of science to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs include 17 interconnecting global objectives identified by the UN as a "blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all" by 2030.

Academy Fellows Identify Climate Change as Top Priority

Why would leading microbiologists, commonly associated with studying the smallest organisms on Earth, tackle a global problem like climate change? Academy Fellows weigh in. 

Read Their Perspective

Podcasts

Mallory Choudoir, microbial ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst shares how she leverages microbial culture collections to infer ecological and evolutionary responses to warming soil temperature.


Sanghoon Kang, an assistant professor of biology at Baylor University, talks about the impacts of climate change on infectious diseases. 


Wayne Curtis discusses engineering microbes for products like biofuel using the metabolically flexible bacterium Rhodobacter and other microorganisms. 

Christine Foreman explains how microbes can survive and grow on glaciers, and what we can learn from microbes in glacier ice cores.

Climate Change Microbiology Research

mBio Article Microbes and Climate Change: A Research Prospectus for the Future

This mBio article presents a brief summary of what is known about microbial responses to climate change in 3 major ecosystems: terrestrial, ocean and urban; and provides suggestions for new research directions to reduce microbial greenhouse gases and mitigate microbes' pathogenic impacts.

Body of Work Climate Change & Microbes Scientific Portfolio

The Academy's 5-year scientific portfolio focuses on understanding the relationship between microbes and climate change.

Report Incorporating Microbial Processes Into Climate Models

This report provides suggestions to simplify complex community dynamics so that net inputs and outputs that accurately reflect reality can be incorporated into climate models.

ASM Journals Find Climate Change Research

Browse research papers and reviews on climate change across ASM's 18 academic journals.

Climate Change

Monday, Nov. 28, 2022 The Microbial Aftermath of Hurricanes

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022 mBio Editorial Echoes Critical Call for Global Climate Action

Monday, Oct. 17, 2022 Diversity Feeds Discovery: Spotlight on Arpita Bose

Monday, Oct. 10, 2022 Climate Change Identified as Top Priority by Academy Fellows

Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 Giant Viruses in Climate-Endangered Arctic Epishelf Lake

Friday, Aug. 12, 2022 Vector-Borne Disease in a Changing Climate

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