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Reif issues statement on climate change demonstration

“Fossil Free MIT and the MIT Sustainability Summit organizers are doing something very important,” president says.
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This week, MIT student group Fossil Free MIT announced plans for a campuswide climate change demonstration beginning today, and expected to remain in place through Sunday, May 4.

During this demonstration, the group will affix four miles of blue caution tape around the MIT campus, reflecting expected increases in sea levels as a result of global warming. The demonstration is in coordination with the sixth annual MIT Sustainability Summit, taking place on campus this weekend, whose theme is “Coastal Cities — Sustainable Future.”

MIT President L. Rafael Reif has responded as follows:

“In marking the ‘Blue Line’ of future flood levels that could stem from global warming, Fossil Free MIT and the MIT Sustainability Summit organizers are doing something very important: They are making the long-term, projected risks of climate change feel tangible and present. By sharing information in this vivid way, they are opening a serious discussion for our community on the most effective ways that MIT, using its distinctive strengths, can make practical headway against climate change.”

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