Climate change

Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with Boston Globe reporter Ken Mahan about how a disrupted polar vortex (PV) could impact weather in the United States in the coming weeks. “The PV has been doing its best Mr. Fantastic impression, stretching and compressing continuously,” allowing frigid air to escape southward, Cohen explains. “If we (New England) do receive colder weather, but not quite the cold we experienced in late January, again from this larger PV disruption, it will be either late February and early March.”  

Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with USA Today reporter Doyle Rice about how the polar vortex and cold Siberian air could impact weather across the U.S. in February. Cohen noted that some of the cold weather being felt on the East Coast of the U.S. is "coming from Siberia and that is contributing to the extremity of the cold since Siberia is the source of the coldest air of the Northern Hemisphere in winter.”

Writing for The Conversation, Research Scientist Judah Cohen and Mathew Barlow of UMass Lowell examine how the polar vortex and moisture from a warm Gulf of Mexico created a monster winter storm that brought freezing rain, sleet and snow to large parts of the U.S. “Some research suggests that even in a warming environment, cold events, while occurring less frequently, may still remain relatively severe in some locations. One factor may be increasing disruptions to the stratospheric polar vortex, which appear to be linked to the rapid warming of the Arctic with climate change,” they write. “A warmer environment also increases the likelihood that precipitation that would have fallen as snow in previous winters may now be more likely to fall as sleet and freezing rain.”

A new report by researchers from MIT’s Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy finds that the “world is on track to exceed key climate thresholds under current policies,” reports Ryan Krugman for Inside Climate News. The outlook is “based on MIT’s Integrated Global System Modeling framework, which links population growth, economic activity, energy use, and international policy decisions to changes in the global climate,” Krugman explains. “It’s not a reason to give up hope or stop the necessary action,” explains Sergey Paltsev, deputy director of the MIT Center for Sustainability Science and Strategy and a co-author of the report. “Limiting every degree possible matters, even every tenth of a degree.”

Research Scientist Judah Cohen speaks with New York Times reporter Eric Niiler about his work linking increased severe winter weather in the United States to the stretching of the polar vortex. “We’ve shown in multiple papers now that the occurrence of the weak polar vortex is increasing in frequency, and the times when the polar vortex is strong or circular it’s happening less frequently,” says Cohen. 

Fast Company reporter Adele Peters spotlights Electrified Thermal Solutions, an MIT startup that has developed a new “thermal battery” that could be used to help power factories manufacturing energy-intensive materials like steel and cement. “The battery uses power from the grid to heat its custom bricks when electricity is cheap,” explains Peters. “When a factory needs hot air later, it’s provided by the superheated bricks.” 

In an interview with Gizmodo reporter Ellyn Lapointe, Research Scientist Judah Cohen highlights his work understanding the “complex relationship between global climate change, polar vortex behavior, and extreme mid-latitude weather.” Cohen explains that: “In our research, we have demonstrated that polar vortex stretching events have accelerated in the era of accelerated Arctic change. Climate change in general, but Arctic change in particular, is favorable for forcing these events. 

Research Scientist Judah Cohen explores the relationship between stretched polar vortex events and extreme weather in the United States, reports Andrew Freedman for CNN. “On the southern flanks of the polar vortex, over the US and Asia, and under that where that stretching is happening, there’s been an increase in severe winter weather,” says Cohen. “I’m not saying any one weather event is attributed to climate change, but I do think it loaded the dice here.”

Prof. John Sterman speaks with Guardian reporters Dharna Noor and Oliver Milman about the climate concerns surrounding increased oil production in Venezuela. “If there are millions of barrels a day of new oil, that will add quite a lot of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and the people of Earth can’t afford that,” says Sterman. 

New York Times reporter Rebecca Elliott spotlights Phoenix Tailings, a startup co-founded by MIT alumni that is developing a sustainable process for refining rare-earth refining in the United States. Elliott notes that Phoenix Tailings created a closed-loop design for their manufacturing method that “distinguishes this process from the more energy-intensive techniques used in China, where workers scoop up molten metal with ladles.”

Prof. Desirée Plata, director of MIT’s Methane Network, spoke with Boston Globe reporter Kate Selig about how regional supermarkets are addressing their methane footprints. Plata notes that “grocers could make an impact through improving their waste management practices. And beyond operational changes, she said supermarkets can help shape the public’s understanding of climate issues,” Selig writes. “Most people go to the grocery store,” says Plata. “They have this great opportunity to educate people.”

In an opinion piece appearing in Wired, Prof. Elfatih Eltahir and postdoctoral researcher Yeon-Woo Choi examine the “ongoing water scarcity crisis” in Tehran. “With dry soils and high evaporation, rivers and wetlands shrank. Falling reservoir levels led to disruptions in hydropower generation, and water shortages prompted strict saving measures across parts of the capital,” they write. “These cascading impacts exposed how vulnerable Tehran’s infrastructure, economy, and communities have become under compounding heat and drought stress.” 

New York Times reporter Annabel Keenan highlights the “Remembering the Future” exhibit at the MIT Museum, a sculptural installation created by Janet Echelman that uses “climate data from the last ice age to the present, as well as projected future environments, to create a geometric design.” Echelman worked with MIT faculty, including Prof. Raffaele Ferrari and Prof. Caitlin Mueller, to bring the project to life. Mueller explains that she developed a “high-fidelity digital twin of the sculpture generated through our computational simulation that you can orbit and pan through to get perspectives that you can’t see physically in the space.” 

Prof. Peter Shor speaks with Katia Moskvitch and her nine-year-old son Kai of The Quantum Kid about how quantum technologies could be applied to developing climate change and sustainability solutions. Shor explains that quantum computers can be used for “simulating quantum mechanics, which would really help immensely in designing new materials, and new materials could be very useful for solving the climate crisis.” 

Writing for the Financial Times, Principal Research Scientist Florian Berg explores “reasons to be hopeful about the resilience of efforts to tackle environmental issues at the corporate level.” Berg explains: “When looking at reporting on carbon emissions, ESG data and money invested in sustainable investment strategies, we can see big increases in recent years.”