Another Year!

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Christa Hasenkopf

I’ve gotten questions from a few people recently about when my year in Mongolia ends. And the answer? It already has! My 10-month Fulbright grant ended in January. However, something I’ve neglected to mention on this blog is that I found out (last spring, heh) that I will be here another year! Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar | 1 Comment

Clearing the Air

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Christa Hasenkopf

A few months ago, I was given a wonderful opportunity to write an article that details the story of UB air pollution, its current mitigation efforts, and future possible solutions. It’s now published and in the Spring 2012 edition of the World Policy Journal. You can read an online version of the full article here (I believe it will be open access for at least a month).

Note: If you’d like to hear an amusing backstory of how this article came to be, check out this post on my personal blog.

Photo credit: Einar Fredriksen

Photo credit: Einar Fredriksen

 

 

Posted in Air Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Mongolia, Science Education, Ulaanbaatar | 1 Comment

ACS’s new “Publishing your Research 101″ Series

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Christa Hasenkopf

Thanks to Paleblue.org‘s post (here), I just learned about and wanted to share a new six-part web video series entitled, “Publishing your research 101,” put together by the American Chemical Society. It’s a useful series, as there are several aspects that touch on issues that sometimes are not directly addressed in one’s formal scientific training (including ethics of authors and reviewers).

This is something I will definitely mention this week in my science communication workshop series!

 

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AAAS Wrap-up

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Christa Hasenkopf

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the annual AAAS meeting held in Vancouver this past week, and man, I’m so glad I did! Here’s a quick wrap-up of some highlights and also links to some of the materials I generated for my visit. Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Mongolia, Science Education | 1 Comment

Your UB Air Pollution Photos

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Christa Hasenkopf

 

From the streets of Ulaanbaatar during the Winter of 2010 and 2011. Photo courtesy Hunter J. Causey

Back in December, I asked readers, friends on Facebook, and anyone else who would listen to me to submit some their UB air pollution-related photos either to me or to UBAirPollution.org. Thanks to all of you for sharing! Below is a portion of the photos shared – the rest can be accessed in the picture gallery on UBAirPollution.org. Additionally, Delgerzul Lodoisamba collected and shared a bunch of other photos taken by others and posted online. Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar | 2 Comments

Strengthening Science Communication

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Christa Hasenkopf

I’m leading a science communication workshop series this semester at the National University of Mongolia this spring, and I’m pretty excited about it! Continue reading →

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Catching up on the latest UB air pollution news….

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Christa Hasenkopf

I’ve been traveling the past two weeks and just now had a chance to check out the latest UB Air Pollution news. I’ve updated the new News Section on UBAirPollution.org, so you can read all of the latest info there, but two interesting items:

(1) The World Bank, in conjunction with the Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism has released a new report: “Study Identifies Best Options to Improve Air Quality and Thus Reduce Health Impacts in Ulaanbaatar, the Most Polluted City in the World in Wintertime.” PDF of report here, press release here

(2) The Shanghai Daily reported that there were air traffic delays and cancellations into and out of the Chinggis Khaan airport due to air pollution this past week.

Posted in Air Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

New “News” Section for UBAirPollution.org

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Christa Hasenkopf

UBAirPollution.org now has a “News” page – a page that lists recent articles related to UB air pollution, including reports of government and other organizational air pollution mitigation activities. Check it out! Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Mongolia | 5 Comments

Big Thanks to Wavemetrics!

Posted on December 10, 2011 by Christa Hasenkopf

Realizing it was a somewhat out-of-left-field request, this past week I emailed Wavemetrics, asking if it were possible to get a few copies of its IGOR Pro software to give and train a few research scientists at the National University of Mongolia. IGOR is a powerful graphing, data analysis, and programming tool for scientists, and something I found very useful throughout grad school. Within 24 hours, the kind folks at Wavemetrics replied with a generous donation of a few copies of their software. Wow! Thanks! The software will go to great use here in Mongolia. Continue reading →

Posted in Mongolia, Science Education | 1 Comment

Do you have photos of UB air pollution?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Christa Hasenkopf

Why share your photos? With 10% of the moralities in UB conservatively estimated to be resultant from air pollution, residents in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia are currently experiencing nothing less than a full-blown health crisis. We need to be illustrating to the world and reminding ourselves just how serious this problem is. Yet, part of the struggle against a continual and quietly lethal problem like air pollution – as opposed to a more sudden, yet equally lethal crisis – is battling the sense of complacency we can all find ourselves in, living in UB, day in and day out. Pictures can be an effective way to jar ourselves out of that complacency. Continue reading →

Posted in Air Pollution, Atmospheric Science, Ulaanbaatar | 1 Comment