CSAG is a leading international climate research centre based in Africa with broad research skills and competency in both physical and social dimensions of climate, a strong experience in engaging with society, and an excellent track record in capacity development. We prioritize societally relevant research to support responses to climate variability and change.
So it’s the carbon-footprint season… First Smaug the dragon, then CSAGer, the climate scientist. Time for another monster – the cyclist. Why? I cycle to work. And nothing makes one’s day better than an opportunity to feel smug about his or her contribution to resolving one of the most daring challenges that society faces today…. Read more »
At the end of last year I decided it would be interesting to calculate CSAG’s annual carbon footprint. Though it is simple enough to do a back-of-the-envelope calculation, I wanted to be a little more accurate and, as I soon discovered, it is by no means a straightforward task. Anyhow, after persistently emailing CSAG staff… Read more »
December 2013 saw the release of the second instalment of the film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien novel, The Hobbit. The events of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug are set some 60 years prior to Lord of the Rings, and chronicles the quest of Bilbo Baggins and Co. to rid Lonely Mountain from the dragon… Read more »
I hope you all had a merry Christmas and that you are starting a happy/fulfilling new year. I spent Christmas in France (yes I am still French, for those who cannot detect my accent any more 😉 ) and it happens that among my nieces and nephew, two are getting ready for matric next year,… Read more »
A new paper titled “Interrogating empirical-statistical downscaling” has recently been published in Climatic Change. Click here to access the paper – it is open access and available to download for free. The paper, led by Bruce Hewitson, examines the conceptual foundations and assumptions of statistical downscaling methodologies, and articulates a framework for evaluating and integrating… Read more »
“So what are you going to do after your studies?” is a question I am often faced with as a Ph.D. student nearing the end of my degree. It’s most certainly not an easy one to answer. The longer I take in a conversation to articulate it, the more concerned the person asking me generally… Read more »
Every year tourists flock to Brussels to sample its world renowned chocolate, beer, waffles and sprouts, but this fine city is also at the heart of European politics and business. As the effective capital of Europe, Brussels houses the European Commission (EC) where decisions are made every day on legislative issues, such as trade and… Read more »
A recent article in The Economist titled ‘How science goes wrong’ got me thinking about what their assertions mean to Climate Science as we know it. In summary, the author of the article argues that the great success of the scientific method has bred complacency such that scientific hegemonies are rarely addressed. I guess we… Read more »
(Feature image: Female Anopheles Freeborni (a species of mosquito responsible for malaria transmission) drawing blood from a human host; from Gathany, 2004) Last week Chris wrote a really interesting blog in which he drew particular attention to the defensibility of the actions of climate change scientists in light of their intimate knowledge of the… Read more »