John Reilly, co-director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, writes for Fortune about the key components needed to create a Green New Deal. “A steady and slow buildup of spending would allow more time to select and evaluate green infrastructure options that have a reasonable chance of working,” writes Reilly. “We need the right size of government spending for the long term.”
Fast Company reporter Jeremy Deaton highlights Prof. Jessika Trancik’s research showing that electric vehicles are often cheaper than comparable gas-powered vehicles. “The reason is that the lower fuel costs of EVs relative to gasoline-fueled cars compensate for the higher vehicle costs of EVs,” Trancik explains.
In a letter to The Boston Globe, Prof. Michael Golay argues that nuclear energy should be included in the portfolio of options used to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Golay notes that “we face the existential challenge of climate change that likely will demand nearly complete replacement of the existing energy infrastructure within this century.”
Gizmodo reporter Maddie Stone writes that a new study by MIT researchers provides evidence that chloroform emissions rose 3.5 percent per year from 2010 to 2015 in East Asia. “If emissions continue to grow at 2010-2015 rates,” Stone writes, “the researchers estimate recovery of the ozone hole could be delayed by up to 8 years.”
Prof. Thomas Levenson writes for The Boston Globe about the harm posed by casting doubt on the threat posed by climate change. “It falls both to the scientists at work in areas that have fallen prey to controversy — and the news media that covers both science and politics,” argues Levenson, “to make it clear what is truly known, and why it matters.”
A new study by researchers from MIT and a number of other universities finds that the “Trump administration’s proposal to roll back fuel economy standards relies on an error-ridden and misleading analysis that overestimates the costs and understates the benefits of tighter regulation,” reports Tony Barboza for The Los Angeles Times.
Writing for The Conversation, Prof. Henry Jacoby and research scientist Jennifer Morris explain that in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change, countries must take immediate action to curb emissions. “Negotiated deals and national decisions made in these few months may determine whether or not the world’s nations will get on track to meeting this global challenge,” they write.
A study by MIT researcher provides evidence that large-scale corn production in the U.S. impacts weather patterns, reports Eric J. Wallace for Atlas Obscura. “By increasing yields,” writes Wallace, “farmers have unintentionally created weather patterns that seem to be protecting their crops and helping them grow more corn.”
New York Times reporter Brad Plumer writes that a study by MIT researchers examines what forces contributed to the declining cost of solar panels. “We can cut emissions more quickly if we’re strategic about how we design energy policies and invest in R&D,” explains Prof. Jessika Trancik. “And one way to do that is to learn from past successes and figure out exactly why they happened.”
Writing for Ars Technica, Megan Geuss examines a new MIT study that finds, “government and private R&D spending contributed the most to cost-per-watt declines for solar panels since 1980. This spending spurred the low-level efficiency improvements that were important for the solar industry on a technical level.”
Financial Times reporter Ed Crooks highlights a new study by MIT researchers identifying the key factors leading to the declining cost of solar power. The study highlights “the critical role played by government policy to help grow markets around the world.”
Vox reporter David Roberts writes about a new study by MIT researchers examining what factors contributed to bringing down the cost of solar panels. Roberts writes that the researchers found “policies that create incentives for private investors to develop and deploy solar panels are responsible for well over half of the decline in solar PV costs.”
New York Times reporter John Schwartz highlights a study co-authored by Prof. Kerry Emanuel that details how, by 2100, areas of the world could face as many as six climate-related crises at once. “Nations, societies in general, have to deal with multiple hazards,” says Emanuel, “and it’s important to put the whole picture together.”
Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speaks with Marketplace reporter Sabri Ben-Achour about MITEI’s study showing the potential impact of nuclear power in addressing climate change. Buongiorno noted that if costs can be reduced and more supportive policies enacted, nuclear power has the “potential to decarbonize the power sector on a global scale.”
Prof. Michael Strano speaks about his research on carbon-fixing materials, which are “substances powered by the sun that use atmospheric carbon dioxide to grow and repair themselves, just as plants do,” writes Marlene Cimons for Popular Science. “Making a material that can access the abundant carbon all around us is a significant opportunity for materials science,” said Strano.