Environmental and climatic changes include bio-diversity loss, access to clean water, and more severe weather events and their consequences to all life. Collective impacts of human behavior and the social institutions that govern resource use and interactions with the natural world contribute to these changes. Moreover, these changes significantly affect human lives, health, and well-being in our state, nation, and worldwide. These altered conditions call for responses to each element along this process. Each part of this process affects each other. Such complex natural and social dynamics require attention from social scientists to understand the causes, consequences, and management of environmental and climatic change.
Who We Are
The Social Dynamics of Environmental and Climate Change workgroup operates as an interdisciplinary hub dedicated to merging social science research with practical environmental action.
By uniting scholars, students, and external partners, our network investigates how human behavior, ethics, communication, and policies influence our response to a changing climate.
Our workgroup actively collaborates with the Penn State Climate Consortium via its contribution to its activities and support for the Prepare PA initiative and ensuring that social science insights are part of the development of effective policy and civic engagement.
Join Us
We have supported speakers from Penn State and other universities, held small group meetings to develop research ideas, and are forming collaborative research partnerships.
If you want to be added to the SDECC listserv about upcoming opportunities, please email Janet K. Swim at JSwim@psu.edu.
Building Community and Exchanging Knowledge
Fostering Interdisciplinary Capacity
Convening faculty and students to facilitate research collaborations specialized communication focused subgroups
Connecting Research to Public Audiences
Sponsoring Climate Conversation Cafés and speakers to translate cutting-edge research for broader engagement.
Specialized Subject Areas
Focuses on psychology, behavioral communication, politics, and the ethics of environmental change.
Driving Applied Climate Solutions
Embedding Science in “Prepare PA”
Supporting statewide climate coordination through strategic planning and regional stakeholder meetings.
Local Climate Action Support
Assisting municipalities with climate action plans and developing community-focused environmental surveys.
Multi-Stakeholder Networking
Building partnerships between government, NGOs, industry, and academia to implement environmental solutions.