Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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Item AN INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF THE FUTURE “HYDROGEN ECONOMY”: DECARBONIZATION POTENTIAL, SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS, AND POLICY APPROACHES(2024) O'Rourke, Patrick Robert; Hultman, Nathan; Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Recently clean hydrogen has captured the attention of policy communities, as evidenced by the publication of hydrogen “roadmaps” or “strategies” by dozens of nations. This is partly because it can be produced from numerous primary energy resources and utilized in a plethora of ways to enable decarbonization. However, there remain open questions as to how the energy carrier should contribute toward carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation. Additionally, less is known about its impacts on other societal objectives and whether government plans for hydrogen are driven by realistic expectations regarding its ability to facilitate emissions reductions. This dissertation involves three studies which simulate energy transitions within the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM), each aiming to help illuminate hydrogen’s potential impact on society. First, clean hydrogen supply and demand within the context of decarbonization is investigated. In this research, it is found that hydrogen could be a decentralized energy carrier, as a large portion of its production is enabled by onsite production (i.e., at the location of the end user). In terms of demand, although it will represent a smaller portion of global final energy compared to alternatives, hydrogen enables CO2 mitigation in difficult-to-electrify end uses (e.g., satiating demand for industrial high-temperature heat). The second topic of this dissertation examines hydrogen’s potential implications for the water-energy-food nexus. It is found that clean hydrogen production is unlikely to be a large source of water demand, however, its availability in the forthcoming energy transition could cause larger indirect changes in water demand for many regions of the world. Additionally, clean hydrogen availability is found to enable lower staple crop prices, as it provides a method of reducing CO2 associated with fertilizer manufacturing. Lastly, this dissertation analyzed the Japanese and Korean national hydrogen plans. Aligning with the results from the first research topic of this work, hydrogen’s use within their economies is lower than alternative decarbonization strategies (e.g., direct electrification). As a result, the national plans of both nations are found to be overestimating the scale of hydrogen supply. Further, both countries are generally setting numerical goals for hydrogen deployment in areas of the economy that are less economically efficient compared to alternative sectors where it could both facilitate decarbonization as well as bolster their economies.Item INVESTIGATION OF AMBIENT METHANE CONCENTRATION, SOURCES, AND TRENDS IN THE BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON REGION(2024) Sahu, Sayantan; Dickerson, Russell Professor; Chemistry; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Methane, an important and not yet fully understood greenhouse gas, has a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide over 100 years, although with an atmospheric lifetime much shorter than carbon dioxide. Controlling methane emissions is a useful way to avoid some of the adverse effects of climate change at least on short time scales. Natural sources include wetlands, ruminants, and wildfires, while anthropogenic sources include the production, transmission, distribution, and use of natural gas, livestock, and landfills. In the US, natural gas and petroleum systems, anthropogenic sources, are the second-largest source of methane emissions. Urban areas are a significant source of anthropogenic methane emissions, primarily fugitive emissions from natural gas distribution and usage.We studied methane observations from five towers in the Baltimore-Washington (BWR) region – two urban towers ARL (Arlington, VA), NEB (Northeast Baltimore, MD), and one rural tower, BUC (Bucktown, MD). Methane measurements from these three towers displayed distinct seasonal and diurnal cycles with maxima at night and in the early morning, which indicated significant local emissions. We concluded from our analysis that anthropogenic methane emissions dominate at the urban sites whereas wetland emissions dominate at the rural site. We compared observed enhancements (mole fractions above the 5th percentile) to simulated methane enhancements using the WRF-STILT model driven by two EDGAR inventories – EDGAR 4.2 and EDGAR 5.0. We did a similar comparison between model and observations with vertical gradients. We concluded that both versions of EDGAR underestimated the regional anthropogenic emissions of methane, but version 5.0 had a more accurate spatial representation. We ran the model with WETCHARTs to account for wetland emissions which significantly reduced the bias between model and observations especially in summer at the rural site. We investigated winter methane observations from three towers in the BWR including a ten-year record, 2013-2022, from BUC, located ~100 km southeast of these urban areas. We combined the observations with a HYSPLIT clustering analysis for all years to determine the major synoptic patterns influencing methane mixing ratios at BUC. For methane concentrations above global background, the cluster analysis revealed four characteristic pathways of transport into BUC – from the west (W), southwest (SW), northwest (NW), and east (E) and these showed significant differences in methane mixing ratios. We corroborated our conclusions from BUC using 2018-2022 data from towers in Stafford, Virginia (SFD), and Thurmont, Maryland (TMD); results confirmed the influence of synoptic pattern, typically associated with frontal passage, on methane. No significant temporal trend over the global background was detected overall or within any cluster. For BUC, low concentrations were observed for air off the North Atlantic Ocean (E cluster) and flowing rapidly behind cold fronts (NW cluster). High methane mixing ratios were observed, as expected, in the W cluster due to the proximity of the BWR and oil and gas operations in the Marcellus. Less expected were high mixing ratios for the SW cluster – we attribute these to agricultural sources in North Carolina. Swine production, ~500 km to the SW, impacts methane in eastern Maryland as much or more than local urban emissions plus oil and gas operations 100–300 km to the west; this supports the high end of emission estimates for animal husbandry and suggests strategies for future research and mitigation.Item ARE CANADA’S NET-ZERO PLANS ACHIEVABLE, PRUDENT, AND DURABLE?(2024) O'Keefe, Kowan; Sprinkle, Robert; Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Canada is a major oil- and gas-producing country that has committed into law the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions economy-wide by 2050. Yet the prospect of reduced Canadian oil production has major domestic political and economic implications. Climate change mitigation requires sustained policy engagement, and so policymakers must endeavor to make climate policy that is politically durable. Scenario analysis is a vital decision-support tool for understanding these transition dynamics associated with pursuit of net zero. The first paper in this dissertation explores transition dynamics for Canada across several scenarios with detailed policy representation for achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 using the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM), an open-source multi-sector dynamics model. The results highlight the importance of effective policy implementation and the variation in transition dynamics attributable to socioeconomic and technological assumptions, carbon dioxide removal scalability, and non-CO2 mitigation. The second paper in this dissertation uses GCAM to examine the sensitivity of Canadian oil production to several external forces in pursuit of net zero. The results show that forces outside of Canada’s control are highly determinative of future oil production levels in Canada. But if Canada moves toward net-zero GHG emissions on its announced timeline, it can reduce the magnitude of the additional declines in Canadian oil production attributable to external forces. Such a move would give Canada greater autonomy to shape transition outcomes in a way that best balances domestic societal priorities. The alternative would be for external forces to thrust a transition upon Canada without regard for such domestic concerns. The third paper in this dissertation examines how these domestic political forces impact Canada’s pursuit of net zero using archival analysis followed by scenario analysis in GCAM. The results of the qualitative policy analysis highlight that a little more than one third (9 of 26) of the modeled policies are less likely to be politically durable, because they fail tests of pan-political acceptability or pan-regional acceptability or both. Reductions in net GHG emissions are significantly smaller in modeled current-policy scenarios where these nine policies are rolled back after 2025. Accordingly, the policies identified as less likely to be politically durable demand greater focus to build stronger cross-party and cross-regional support.Item EXPLORING AND ASSESSING LAND-BASED CLIMATE SOLUTIONS USING EARTH OBSERVATIONS, EARTH SYSTEM MODELS, AND INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT MODELS(2024) Gao, Xueyuan; Wang, Dongdong; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have led the global mean temperature to increase by approximately 1.1 °C since the industrial revolution, resulting in mass ice sheet melt, sea level rise, and an increase in extreme climate events, and exposing natural and human systems to uncertainties and the risks of unsustainable development. Meeting the Paris Agreement’s climate goal of keeping temperature increases well below 2 °C — even 1.5 °C — will require removing CO2 from the atmosphere beyond reducing GHG emissions. Therefore, carbon dioxide removal and the sustainable management of global carbon cycles are one of the most urgent society needs and will become the major focus of climate action worldwide. However, research on carbon dioxide removal remains in an early stage with large knowledge gaps. The global potential and scalability, full climate consequences, and potential side effects of currently suggested carbon sequestration options — afforestation and reforestation, bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air carbon capture — are uncertain. Moreover, although about 120 national governments have a net-zero emission target, few have actionable plans for developing carbon dioxide removal.This dissertation examines two major categories of land-based carbon removal and sequestration methods: nature-based solutions that rely on the natural carbon uptake of the land ecosystem, and technology-based solutions, especially BECCS. These two options were investigated using four studies with satellite and in-situ observations, Earth system models (climate models), and integrated assessment models (policy models). Study 1 provides evidence that land ecosystem is an important carbon sink, Study 2 assesses the carbon sequestration potential of forest sustainable management via numerical experiments, Study 3 monitors recent tropical landscape restoration efforts, and Study 4 extends to BECCS and explores the impacts of future climate changes on its efficacy. Overall, this dissertation (1) improved monitoring, reporting, and verification of biomass-based carbon sequestration efforts using Earth observations, (2) improved projections on biomass-based carbon sequestration potential using Earth system models and socio-economic models, and (3) provided guidance on scaling up biomass-based carbon sequestration methods to address the climate crisis.Item NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND EPIDEMIC MODEL-ING FOR WILDFIRE RESPONSE AND RE-SILIENCE ENHANCEMENT(2024) Ma, Zihui; Baecher, Gregory B; Civil Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Effective disaster response is critical for communities to remain resilient and advance the development of smart cities. Responders and decision-makers benefit from reliable, timely measures of the issues impacting their communities during a disaster, and social media offers a potentially rich data source. Social media can reflect public concerns and behaviors during a disaster, offering valuable insights for decision-makers to understand evolving situations and optimize resource allocation. A comprehensive literature review of natural language processing (NLP) of social media data in disaster management, covering 324 articles published between 2011 and 2022, revealed a gap in applying NLP techniques to wildfire scenarios. Meanwhile, the increasing frequency of wildfires highlights the need for advanced management tools. To address this, we integrated the BERTopic and SIR models to capture public responses on Twitter during the 2020 western U.S. wildfire season, analyzing both the magnitude and velocity of topic diffusion. The results displayed a clear relationship between topic trends and wildfire propagation patterns. The parameters estimated from the SIR model for selected cities revealed that residents expressed various levels of concern or demand during wildfires. The study also demonstrated a practical framework for utilizing social media data to aid wildfire evacuations. Through social network analysis, we clarified the roles of key information disseminators and provided guidelines for extracting high-priority information. Although biases in social media and model limitations exist, the study offers qualitative and quantitative approaches to investigate wildfire response and sup-port community resilience enhancement.Item Framing Climate Change: The Impact of Repeated Exposure to Self- and Social-framing Messages on Climate Change Outcomes and Public Segmentation in China(2024) Ma, Xin; Liu, Brooke; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background and Purpose. Climate change is an urgent global issue, and China, as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, plays a crucial role in the global response to this challenge (Reuters, 2024; Wang et al., 2016; Xu et al., 2022). Despite increased media coverage and public discussion (Huan, 2024; Pan et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2022; Zeng, 2022), skepticism and negative attitudes toward climate change persist among certain Chinese individuals (Chan et al., 2023; Jia & Luo, 2023; Pan et al., 2022, 2023). This dissertation aims to contribute to developing effective climate change communication strategies in China by examining the effects of repeated self- and social-framing messages and using the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) model for public segmentation (Florence et al., 2022; Kim & Grunig, 2011; Tao et al., 2020).Theoretical Frameworks. This dissertation draws from the construal level theory of psychological distance to understand self- and social-framing (Liberman & Trope, 2003; Loy & Spence, 2020; Ma et al., 2023), the inverted U-shaped model to examine the impact of repeated exposures (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022), and the STOPS model to investigate how the effects of self- and social-framing may vary across different public segments and the potential for proportional changes in public segments after longitudinal repeated exposure (Grunig, 1997; Kim, 2006; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Methods. This dissertation employs a two-part study design. The first part is a pilot study designed to validate the manipulation of climate change messages framed as either self- or social-focused, adapted from leading Chinese news outlets. The main study, formatted as a longitudinal between-subjects experiment, consists of six separate exposures spaced three days apart. In the first session, seven hundred and fifty Chinese residents over 18 years old were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, either containing self- or social-framing messages or a mix of both framing messages six times at three-day intervals. Three hundred and thirty-three participants completed all six sessions and are included in the final sample. Results. The results reveal that repeated exposure to climate change messages enhances their persuasive effects on climate change outcomes, including attitudes, beliefs, and private and public pro-environmental intentions. The overall trends are increasing and do not follow the inverted U-shaped model’s predicted pattern of initial growth followed by a decline. After six exposures, the mixed-framing condition slightly outperforms self- and social-framing conditions, indicating the potential benefits of diversified communication strategies for repeated messaging. The results also reveal that situational activity levels in climate change significantly predict positive and negative communicative behaviors and outcomes, with more engaged publics showing stronger climate change outcomes and positive communicative actions (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Results further suggest that six exposures can shift public segmentation, making more individuals more active in climate change issues (Hine et al., 2014; Leiserowitz et al., 2021; Metag & Schäfer, 2018). Theoretical and Practical Implications. Theoretically, the findings do not support the inverted U-shaped model with theoretical explanations (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022). Also, this dissertation extends the message convergence theory (Anthon & Sellnow, 2016; Liu et al., 2020) by demonstrating the effectiveness of mixed-framing strategies in repeated exposures. It also addresses research gaps in framing combination (Chen et al., 2020; Florence et al., 2022) and provides new insights into the effectiveness of repeated communication strategies in public segmentation using the STOPS model (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Practically, the findings of this dissertation offer guidance for developing repeated communication strategies, suggesting that journalists can leverage the power of repeated exposure and mixed-framing approaches to enhance the impact of climate change communication coverage. The study also highlights the potential for repeated message exposures to actively change public segment types, enabling journalists to design targeted strategies for shifting individuals from less engaged to more active publics in addressing climate change (Hine et al., 2014; Metag & Schäfer, 2018).Item Monitoring Aboveground Biomass in Forest Conservation and Restoration Areas Using GEDI and Optical Data Fusion(2024) Liang, Mengyu; Duncanson, Laura I; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Forests play a critical role in the global carbon cycle by sequestering carbon in the form of aboveground biomass. Area-based conservation measures, such as protected areas (PAs), are a cornerstone conservation strategy for preserving some of the world's most at-risk forest ecosystems. Beyond PAs, tree planting and forest restoration have been lauded as solutions to combat climate change and criticized as ways for polluters to offset carbon emissions. Consistent monitoring and quantification of forest restoration can impact decisions on future restoration activities. In this dissertation, I utilized a fusion of remote sensing assets and a combination of remote sensing with impact assessment techniques, to obtain objective baseline information for reconstructing past forest biomass conditions, and for monitoring and quantifying the patterns and success of forest regrowth in areas that underwent different forest management interventions. This overarching research goal is approached in three studies corresponding to chapters 2-4. In chapter 2, PAs’ effectiveness in storing biomass carbon and preserving forest structure is assessed on a regional scale using Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar data in combination with a counterfactual analysis using statistical matching. This chapter provides an assessment of the reference condition of the biomass carbon storage capacity by one of the most stringent forest management means. The study finds that analyzed PAs in Tanzania possess 24.4% higher biomass densities than their unprotected counterparts and highlights that community-governed PAs are the most effective category of PAs at preserving forest structure and aboveground biomass density (AGBD). In chapter 3, empirical models are developed to link current (2019-2020) AGBD estimates from the GEDI with Landsat (2007-2019) at a regional scale. This will allow both current wall-to-wall biomass mapping and estimation of biomass dynamics across time. We demonstrate the utility of the method by applying it to quantify the AGBD dynamics associated with forest degradation for charcoal production. In chapter 4, the same modeling framework laid out in chapter 3 will be used to derive AGBD trajectories for 27 forest restoration sites across three biomes in East Africa. To assess the effectiveness of and compare Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) and Active Restoration (AR) in enhancing forest AGBD growth compared to natural regeneration (NR), we used staggered difference-in-difference (staggered DiD) to analyze the average annual AGBD change. We controlled for pre-intervention AGBD change rate between AR/ANR and NR and estimated the effectiveness with explicit consideration of intervention duration. This study finds that AR and ANR outperform NR during long-term restoration. Using the most suitable restoration interventions in each biome and timeframe, 4% suitable areas could enhance 2.40 ± 0.78 Gt (billion metric tons) forest carbon uptake over 30 years, equivalent to 3.6 years of African-wide emissions. Overall, this dissertation develops remote sensing methodological frameworks for using GEDI data and its fusion with Landsat time series to quantify and monitor forest AGBD. Moreover, by combining remote sensing-derived AGBD dynamics with impact assessment techniques, such as statistical matching and staggered DiD, the dissertation further assesses and compares different conservation and restoration means’ effectiveness in increasing AGBD and carbon uptake in forests. The dissertation therefore advances the applications of state-of-the-art remote sensing data and techniques for sustainably managing forests towards climate mitigation targets.Item THE ROLES AND IMPLICATIONS OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES TRADE IN A CLIMATE CHANGE-MITIGATING WORLD(2024) Yarlagadda, Brinda; Hultman, Nathan E.; Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Global dependence on agricultural and energy resources trade has grown significantly in the past several decades. In the coming decades, the roles and implications of international trade of various commodities will change, influenced by and important for achieving climate mitigation goals. As globalization increases, new energy technologies emerge, and new climate-oriented trade policies are enacted, there is a need to understand the resulting implications (opportunities and vulnerabilities) on exporters and importers. I present three essays that use the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to evaluate future, inter-regional trade dynamics in a climate-mitigating world. Essay 1 focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a key agricultural exporting region. I show that agricultural market integration (i.e., the reduction of trade barriers) and climate mitigation policies could increase agricultural production and trade opportunities for many LAC economies (particularly in southern South America). Total net export revenue across LAC could reach $110-$270 billion annually by 2050. However, these opportunities could also pose significant economic and environmental trade-offs, including emissions reduction challenges, potential loss of livestock production, increased consumer expenditures, and deforestation and water scarcity pressures. Essay 2 explores the role of liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade as a rapidly emerging technology compared to pipeline natural gas. I analyze how advances in LNG technology, limitations on trade, and climate mitigation policies could affect global and regional vulnerabilities in energy supply. Globally, new additions in LNG and pipeline export infrastructure, range from 330-1330 and 130-440 million tons per annum (MTPA), respectively, by 2050 across scenarios, with the lower end of this range achieved through a transition to a net-zero energy system and limited trade. The results also highlight diverging risks for different gas exporters. For example, Russia, which produces gas largely for pipeline exports, may face larger underutilization due to advances in LNG technology and geopolitical shifts than regions oriented towards domestic and LNG markets, such as the USA and Middle East. Essay 3 evaluates whether import-restrictions on deforestation linked oil crops (i.e., oil palm and soybean) can be effective in reducing deforestation and land use change (LUC) emissions as well as their broader economic implications. I find that current EU restrictions will likely have minimal impact. If extended beyond the EU, import restrictions could drive reductions in cumulative LUC emissions in key oil-crop exporting regions— up to 0.9% in Indonesia, 1.5% in the rest of Southeast Asia, 3.8% in Argentina and 6.7% in Brazil, relative to a scenario with no import restrictions. However, these key exporters could also face losses ranging $4.1-$61 billion in cumulative agricultural production revenue by 2050.Item Persisting Social Vulnerability, Stormwater Infrastructure, and Planning for Flooding and Resilience in Washington D.C.(2024) Park, Minkyu; Hendricks, Marccus D; Urban Studies and Planning; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While Green Infrastructure (GI) has gained prominence in addressing climate change, particularly in flood prevention and other associated benefits. Limited empirical studies have explored its spatial distribution and temporal changes in relation to the whole stormwater infrastructure. This dissertation investigates the intersection of stormwater infrastructure, social vulnerability, and urban flood management strategies in Washington, D.C. The dissertation is composed of three studies. The first study employs geospatial exploration to assess the equitable allocation of stormwater infrastructure, considering historical discriminatory sewage services. Regression models reveal significant disparities in stormwater infrastructure distribution among communities with varying levels of social vulnerability, highlighting the inequitable distribution within urban areas. The study contributes valuable insights for stormwater management planning in the context of climate-related challenges.The second quantitative study focuses on the spatial and temporal evolution of GI distribution in Washington, D.C., utilizing spatial panel data analysis. Unlike previous cross-sectional snapshots, this study captures temporal trends in GI distribution in relation to social vulnerability. The findings, with potential implications for evidence-based policies, shed light on the evolving patterns of discriminatory distribution of GI and its relation to persistent social vulnerability. The third study employs an Environmental Justice (EJ) framework to critically analyze the urban flood management initiatives in Washington, D.C., specifically examining the Flood Task Force (FTF) action plan. The study uncovers limitations and potential exacerbations of place vulnerabilities within current plans through qualitative coding. This research contributes to the ongoing discourse on achieving more equitable and resilient urban flood management in the city, emphasizing the need for environmental justice considerations. The thorough examination of stormwater infrastructure, social vulnerability, and the initiatives of the DC Flood Task Force uncovers a tripartite phenomenon: 1) uneven distribution of stormwater infrastructure is influenced by social vulnerability, 2) temporally widening the gap in infrastructure among communities, and 3) overlooking social vulnerability and the unfair allocation of stormwater infrastructure in planning or policies could intensify place vulnerability.Item Archival Workers as Climate Advocates(2024) Wickner, Amy; Shilton, Katie; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Real-life examples of climate response under material constraints capture the risks facing archives, records, and archival workers amid environmental change, and the factors that complicate climate action. In this dissertation, I sought to understand how climate, environment, and ecology shape archival workers' experiences, practices, and perspectives on the future, including their norms and expectations for making change. I used three interconnected methods: a critical review of six decades of scholarly and professional literature; a literary analysis of archival practices in seven climate fiction texts; and interviews with 13 archivists concerned about climate change. The core argument of this dissertation is that forms of slow violence – Nixon's term for harm that “occurs gradually and out of sight” – produce unresolvable double binds, which catalyze archival workers into a community of climate advocates. This research finds that archival workers are trying to pursue principled work in conditions that prevent them from doing so – not only the material limitations of work sites, but also political obstacles to taking climate action. They develop politically expedient strategies and tactics in response to local circumstances, while using public statements and campaigns to extend their advocacy across the field. As climate advocates, they oscillate between positions as insiders and outsiders in the field, never settling in one stance from which to effect change. While they share a commitment that archives matter to climate response, complexity and contradiction hold them together as a community of advocates. Two key points of disagreement lie at the buzzing center of this community: first, whether archives are primarily resources or obstacles to climate action; and second, to what extent archival climate responses should align with or resist power relations that organize the state of the field (and the planet). There's ample knowledge in the archives field of the significance of climate change, the environmental impacts to and of archival work, the need for archivists to respond to the crisis, and methods for responding. However, such answers make little difference in everyday change-making, if they don't also face head-on the material conditions of archival work and the political relations that determine and reproduce those conditions.