How Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere Targets Climate Anxieties in Peru and New England

Funding disclosure: Bridgewater State University's Office of Undergraduate Research

Abstract

This project intends to support the fact that climate change is happening and how it is affecting communities in the United States and the Andes Mountains through the lens of a practical and psychological analysis of climate change. Researching carbon dioxide readings at different elevations shows they are subject to geographical and psychological differences. This research project establishes sustainable and cognitive initiatives that consider several points of impact regarding climate change and anxiety. An interinstitutional travel experience with students from Bridgewater State University, McGill University, and The Ohio State University, traveled to Peru to work collaboratively on these topics. These universities worked closely with UNASAM to collaborate on fieldwork in the Peruvian Andes Mountains in the Cordillera Blanca region. Mount Washington in New Hampshire was also visited in New England to assess similar CO2 reading scenarios and find similar and different conclusions.