Benjamin Preston Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Ben Preston

Climate researcher Benjamin Preston of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been named to receive the American Geophysical Union’s 2015 Charles S. Falkenberg Award.

The Falkenberg Award is presented once a year “in recognition of an early- to middle-career scientist who has contributed to the quality of life, economic opportunities, and stewardship of the planet through the use of Earth science information and to the public awareness of the importance of understanding our planet,” a press release said.

Preston is a senior research scientist in ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division and deputy director of the Climate Change Science Institute, where he conducts research on the societal impacts of climate change and the role of adaptation in reducing climate risk. [Read more…]

By Katie Elyce Freeman

U.S. economic losses from extreme weather could at least double by 2050, according to an Oak Ridge National Laboratory analysis published this month in the online edition of the journal Global Environmental Change.

“A side effect of America’s growth has been the tendency to put more people, infrastructure and assets in harm’s way, and when a storm comes through, that increased exposure drives up economic losses,” said author Benjamin Preston, deputy director of ORNL’s Climate Change Science Institute, who studied historical data from more than 3,000 U.S. counties and used predictive modeling in the assessment. Preston works in impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability science, a field devoted to analyzing the effects of climate change on people, governments and industries. [Read more…]

ORNL climate researcher to receive award from Geophysical Union

ORNL analysis predicts extreme weather losses could double by 2050