Seattle area scientist leads U.S. efforts toward 'holistic picture' of the climate crisis

It’s hard to ignore the persistent reminders of the climate crisis: Smoke hangs in the air and we sweltered through July, the warmest month in Earth's recorded history.

Those are only the immediate signs of this emergency. In the big picture, wildfires threaten the health of our forests and warming oceans alter our marine ecosystems.

As the climate changes, we must adjust how we interact and live with our environments.

To understand these widespread changes on the domestic level, the Biden administration announced in April that it was creating a new study called the National Nature Assessment. The study has been sold as the most ambitious, all-encompassing review ever of the United States' natural world.

The administration tapped conservation scientist and University of Washington professor Phil Levin to lead that research.

"We can see climate change in our world as we speak," Levin said. "But also, we're losing nature at unprecedented rates and there's an equity crisis as well. And when you think about those three [things] together, we have to do something. Now is the time to do something. Now's the time to break down the silos, between climate, nature, and equity and bring them together."

The goal of the assessment is to take stock of the country's land, water, biodiversity, ecosystems, and wildlife. The methodology for the study has so far been outreach: Levin's team is asking people across the U.S. about their relationships to nature, discussing what we can do to protect it and how our environment can protect us.