Navajo undergrad studies climate change

Diné student gains fame for research

By Cindy YurthFor the 23-year-old junior in environmental science, who is Bitterwater born for bilagáana, the launch pad was two consecutive summer internships at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

The first year, Sifford developed a way to use data from global imaging systems to monitor fluctuations in snow and ice fields.

That garnered him a lecture tour on the climate change circuit, and he was also able to parlay his newfound knowledge of GIS into a contract position mapping cultural archeology sites for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in Oregon.

"I work out of my home and on my own time, so it's ideal for a college student," Sifford said.Comment:  For more on climate change, see Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change and Morales:  Obama Takes Vengeance Against Indians.