Chris Mooney writes for The Washington Post about how in a new study Prof. Kerry Emanuel used computer models to demonstrate the effects of catastrophic hurricanes on a number of coastal cities. The study is meant “to raise awareness of what a very low probability, very high impact hurricane event might look like,” says Emanuel.
Prof. Kerry Emanuel's new research indicates that the risk of catastrophic hurricane disasters could increase ten-fold this century due to climate change, writes Eric Holthaus for Slate. Holthaus explains that the researchers embedded a “high-quality hurricane model into a broader scale climate change model” to examine the impact of future extreme storms.
Prof. Kerry Emanuel writes for The Conversation about what scientists have learned since Hurricane Katrina about how hurricanes are influenced by climate. Emanuel writes that, “the incidence of the strongest hurricanes – those that come closest to achieving their potential intensity – will increase as the climate warms, and there is some indication that this is happening.”
Huffington Post contributor Derrick Crowe writes about a new MIT study that examines how increasing ocean acidification is impacting phytoplankton populations. The study showed how ocean acidification, “can throw off the balance of the plankton population, causing significant changes with profound implications for other species that depend on them.”
Prof. John Ochsendorf speaks with Kara Miller of WGBH's Innovation Hub about what architects can learn from the design of ancient buildings. “In many climates around the world, architecture developed specifically to its climate,” says Ochsendorf. “Today...we can air condition our way out of any heat, so we build glass boxes in the desert.”
MIT researchers have found that increasing ocean acidification will impact phytoplankton species worldwide, reports Michelle Toh for The Christian Science Monitor. Toh explains that the researchers found, “the balance of various plankton species will radically change as the world’s oceans increase in acidity over the next 85 years.”
Boston Globe Magazine reporter Neil Swidey profiles Prof. Emeritus Ernest Moniz, the Secretary of Energy, chronicling his childhood in Fall River, his time at MIT, and his current role in the Iran nuclear deal. “He’s one of the best prepared energy secretaries we’ve ever had,” says Bill Richardson, a former US energy secretary.
UPI reporter Brook Hays writes about new MIT research examining how ocean acidification will impact phytoplankton. The researchers found that “more acidic waters could allow some species to outcompete and wipe out entire other species" of phytoplankton.
Suzanne Jacobs writes for Grist about Professor Jessika Trancik’s research and her focus on the scalability and efficiency of clean technologies. “It’s not a matter of can this technology scale up; it’s the question of can it scale up quickly enough to make a difference,” says Trancik.
A new report produced by MIT researchers and the EPA finds that reducing greenhouse gas emissions “could prevent tens of thousands of deaths and hundreds of billions in economic losses in the United States,” writes William Yardley for The Los Angeles Times.
Washington Post reporter Joby Warrick reports on a new study by researchers from MIT and the EPA that found that inaction on climate change will cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars. The report “concludes that every region of the country could be spared severe economic disruptions that would result if greenhouse gas concentrations continue to soar.”
Alan Neuhauser of U.S. News & World Report writes about a new report by researchers from MIT, the EPA and other institutions that examines the costs of climate change and the economic benefits of climate action. The report “asserts that restraining global warming to 2 degrees Celsius…will save close to a trillion dollars by 2100.”
A new report by researchers from MIT and the EPA quantifies the impacts of climate change on the U.S. economy, reports Coral Davenport for The New York Times. The report found that the U.S. may face “up to $180 billion in economic losses because of drought and water shortages.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Gautim Naik interviews Professor Kerry Emanuel about Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change. “The Pope more or less gets it right on the science,” said Emanuel. “But what struck me was his linking of environmental degradation to cultural, political and social decline.”
Huffington Post reporter Jacqueline Howard writes about how MIT researchers have uncovered what causes the rapid draining of the meltwater lakes atop Greenland’s ice sheet. Howard explains that, “the finding could help scientists better predict how much meltwater from the ice sheet is contributing to rising sea levels, especially as the climate in the region becomes warmer.”