AGI/AIPG Summer Interns Become ‘Policy Wonks’
Abigail Seadler AGI Geoscience Policy Associate
This summer, the three AGI/AIPG Geoscience Policy Interns became fully fledged “Policy Wonks.” Between meeting congressional and federal agency staff, attending hearings and briefings on Capitol Hill, and keeping the geoscience commu- nity informed about relevant policy issues in the Geoscience Policy Monthly Review, Meg Freiberger, Franklin Wolfe, and Liana Agrios were able to become experts on three distinct policy issues: energy development in the Arctic, coal ash dis- posal, and coastal resiliency.
The American Geosciences Institute and the three interns are extremely grateful for the support of the Foundation of the American Institute of Professional Geologists, without which these internships would not be possible. These intern- ships provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young and early-career geoscientists to directly engage with and learn more about science policy.
Below are brief biographies of the three AGI/AIPG summer interns and their articles that showcase the development of their geoscience policy interests over the summer.
Liana Agrios received a Bachelor of Science in Geology and Environmental Geosciences with a minor in Environmental Science from Lafayette College in 2014. Her undergraduate thesis focused on the origin and composition of cobbles in por- tions of the Newark Basin in New Jersey and New York. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Geology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) to bet- ter understand ice streams in the Weddell Sea Embayment in Antarctica. At AGI, she enjoyed exploring permafrost hazards and the adaptation strategies of coastal cities to address sea level rise and other climate change hazards. After graduate school, she hopes to work in a job that applies geology to address real world environmental problems facing society.
Meg Freiberger graduated from Bowdoin College in 2016 with degrees in Chemistry and Earth and Oceanographic Science. Her undergraduate honors project investigated trace metal proxies in bamboo coral calcite as part of her lab’s broader effort to reconstruct intermediate water conditions in the California Margin over the past century or more. As a policy intern, Meg enjoyed following the CJS Appropriations Committee and writing about the environmental challenges associated with Arctic offshore drilling. This fall, Meg will begin her pursuit of a Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from Columbia University, with a focus on paleocli- mate and marine geochemistry.
Franklin Wolfe received a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Washington and Lee University in 2016. His undergraduate thesis focused on using zircon (U-Th)/He dating to better
constrain the exhumation history of the Ruby Mountains-East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex in northeastern Nevada. Inspired by a coal ash spill in his home state of North Carolina, Franklin studied the potential to extract critical rare earth metals from coal ash disposal sites during his time at AGI. This fall, he will begin a Ph.D. program in structural geology through Harvard University’s Earth and Planetary Sciences Program.
Coastal Resiliency in New York City By Liana Agrios
The East Coast of the United States is one of the most highly urbanized corridors in the world. It is home to nearly 12 million people and contains trillions of dollars worth of critical infrastructure.1 Although the coast offers communities a number of economic, environmental, and recre- ational benefits, sea level rise and the
frequency of severe storms are making coastal communities exceedingly vulnerable. Therefore, places such as New York City are taking steps to increase their resiliency in the face of a changing climate.
According to the 2014 National Climate Assessment report, global sea level is projected to rise 1 to 4 feet by 2100.2 This amount of sea level rise would affect every community along the Hudson River from the Federal Dam in Upstate New York to the New York Harbor in Long Island Sound, a region which supports billions of dollars worth of shipping each year and is home to millions of people.3
Lessons Learned: Hurricane Sandy
Before Hurricane Sandy, the most recent flood maps of New York City were from 1983. The old maps produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimated that approximately 218,000 people and 35,500 buildings were vulnerable to flooding.4 The actual numbers wound up being much worse.
Hurricane Sandy devastated New York City and its sur- rounding suburbs. The storm took 43 lives and caused nearly $19 billion in damage. It flooded nearly 20 percent of New York City and left close to 2 million people without power.4
In the wake of the storm, Michael Bloomberg, then Mayor of New York City, took steps to update local policies and regula- tions, including broadening his flagship PlaNYC initiative, to ensure the city would be protected from future storms.
1. Coastal Resilience – New York: The Nature Conservancy. 2. Sea Level Rise: The National Climate Assessment. 3. Report to the Legislature: New York State Sea Level Rise Task Force. 4. On the Waterfront: New York City’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Challenge (Part 1 of 2): Touro Law
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