Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research, outlines how the U.S. can reduce coal emissions without “declaring war on coal communities.” Zuber argues that the U.S. must “commit to helping the workers and communities that are hurt when coal mines and coal plants reduce their operations or shut down.”
In an article for Salon about extreme weather, Paul Rosenberg highlights a new study by MIT researchers that shows climate change could cause California to “experience three more extreme precipitation events per year by 2100, although the number could be reduced by half that if aggressive policy measures are pursued.”
Writing for Forbes, Eric Mack highlights a study by MIT researchers that shows extreme precipitation events in California should become more frequent due to climate change. The researchers found that by 2100, California “should expect between one and three more extreme precipitation events…every single year.”
Atlantic reporter Robinson Meyer writes about an MIT study that shows greenhouse gases lingering in the atmosphere will cause sea levels to rise for years. “The ocean remembers, and that’s really the key message,” explains Prof. Susan Solomon. “The sea takes a very, very long time to cool down once you’ve heated it up.”
Bruce Gellerman reports for WBUR that during an address at MIT, Sec. of State John Kerry urged action on climate change. “Unless we take the steps necessary to change the course that our planet is on, the impacts that we have already seen will pale in comparison to what we will witness in years to come," Kerry explained.
A new study co-authored by MIT researchers finds that methane lingering in the Earth’s atmosphere could cause sea levels to rise for hundreds of years after emissions have been curbed, reports Chelsea Harvey for The Washington Post. “The study underlines the importance of curbing greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible,” Harvey explains.
Boston Globe reporter Jim O’Sullivan writes about a speech Sec. of State John Kerry delivered at MIT on the perils posed by climate change. “If we don’t go far enough fast enough, the damage we inflict could take centuries to undo — if it can be undone at all. We don’t get a second chance on this one,” Kerry said.
During a speech at MIT on climate change, Sec. of State John Kerry urged researchers to continue developing clean energy technologies, reports Scott Malone for Reuters. Researchers and innovators will create "the technological advances that forever revolutionize the way we power our world," he noted.
A study by MIT researchers provides evidence that California could see an increase in extreme precipitation events due to climate change, according to CBS San Francisco. “Using large scale future projections and factoring in policies to restrict global warming, researchers said the Bay Area could see more of those kinds of storms on a seasonal basis.”
MIT researchers have launched a new project, Treepedia, to catalogue the density of the tree canopy in cities around the world, reports Feargus O’Sullivan for CityLab. O’Sullivan explains that the project is aimed at making “issues of urban and environmental planning (and the data that underpins them) more accessible for non- or semi- professionals.”
CBC News reporter Laura DaSilva writes that MIT researchers have launched a project, called Treepedia, to measure the percentage of land covered by trees in urban areas. Using Google Street View, “the researchers measured the percentage of land covered by trees in 12 cities across the world.”
UPI reporter Brooks Hays writes that MIT researchers have developed a new model that helps predict the frequency of extreme precipitation events. The researchers found that “a rise in global temperature of 4 degrees Celsius will yield an extra three extreme precipitation events per year in California by the end of the century.”
In their round up of the top science stories of 2016, Science News highlighted several MIT research breakthroughs. The top story of the year was the successful detection of gravitational waves by researchers from MIT, Caltech and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Another highlight was the discovery by Prof. Susan Solomon that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is shrinking.
A study co-authored by Prof. Christopher Knittel finds that technological advances are needed to reduce the use of oil in the car industry, according to The Economist. The researchers found that “the price of batteries to power EVs would need to fall by a factor of three, and they would need to charge much faster.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Prof. Jessika Trancik examines how federal policy could impact global progress on responding to climate change. “We estimate that the U.S. can achieve the majority share of its original 2025 emissions reduction target even with federal policy changes,” Trancik explains.