Summary
Taking aim at two goals at once, the Department of Energy (DOE) wants to launch an initiative both to address the climate crisis and increase diversity in the U.S. scientific workforce. In its 2022 budget request to Congress, DOE requests funds to create urban integrated field laboratories that would gather climate data in cities and build bridges to urban communities, including by collaborating with minority-serving universities, such as historically Black colleges and universities. The effort is timely, scientists say, as evidence suggests the impacts of climate change will often fall hardest on poorer urban communities. But collecting climate data in cities poses major challenges, and Black researchers stress that to really boost diversity, DOE will have to help minority institutions grow their research capacity.