Harmony Institute for Earth Care

Introduction

Harmony Institute for Earth Care (or The Harmony Institute in short) is a nonprofit group that promotes harmonious living on earth through education and research on the Earth's climate system, with a focus on its stability under anthropogenic forcing.

The Earth remains the only planet that is known to have a climate system that supports life-us Homo sapiens in particular. Yet the system is under increasing stress due to humans' activities. The stability of the earth's system has become a common concern.

The history of the Earth's climate system, to the extent it is known, suggests fragility in its stability. The state of the climate system varied substantially in the past, from snowball earth to palm tree covered poles. It has so far avoided a runaway stability that can destroy all life, but the possibility of a run-away instability remains. Is the Earth's climate system already on that course because of our industrial activities? Are we Homo sapiens doing the wise things to prevent that from happening? The mission for the Harmony Institute for Earth Care is to address these questions, and to the degree that is possible, promote a more sustainable, and more harmonious way of living on the planet Earth. Towards that end, the institute is particularly interested in faciliating the interactions between the US and China in the area of climate change science.

The institute organizes a variety of activities to serve its mission, including research, education, and outreaching efforts that promote the exchanges between climate scientists and the public at lagre of both the US and China.

On research, we focus on the stability of the climate system under anthropogenic forcing. We are particularly interested in the nonlinear or threshold behaviors that may cause a significant stress or even an existential risk for the humanity as a whole. On education, we focus on training the next generation scientists and educators who are well equipped to study this stability problem and are able to conduct and communicate their research in an interdisciplinary and multi-culture context. We also place emphasis on educating the public about the working of the climate system to foster a deeper appreciation of the delicate balance of the various forces maintaining its stability. We offer expert advice to graduate students and young researchers in China in the area of climate change research, helping link their interest with either in-house experts or leading researchers in other US institutes. The institute features bilingual/bicultural experts in climate change science and related disciplines.