New research by Professor Daniel Rothman and postdoctoral associate Yossi Cohen has raised questions about the feasibility of carbon capture, reports Ken Silverstein for Forbes. The researchers found that “only a ‘small fraction’ of the carbon dioxide solidifies and turns into rock after it is injected 7,000 feet below the earth’s surface,” explains Silverstein.
In an article for Scientific American about a blizzard hitting the East Coast of the Unites States, Andrea Thompson cites an MIT study that found that while overall snowfall may decrease due to climate change, extreme snowstorms will still occur.
MIT researchers have found that carbon sequestration may not be as effective at storing greenhouse gas emissions as originally thought, reports Christopher Martin for Bloomberg News. The researchers found that “much of the carbon dioxide will remain in its gaseous state, and may eventually escape into the atmosphere.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Atish Patel highlights new MIT research indicating that volcanic activity may have contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs. Patel explains that the findings suggest “dinosaurs were already in decline, suffering from the climate change prompted by the volcanic eruptions.”
Researchers have uncovered evidence that volcanic activity could have contributed to the extinction of dinosaurs, reports Joel Achenbach for The Washington Post. Prof. Sam Bowring says the eruption “began just prior to the extinction and continued throughout.”
Ari Daniel of Public Radio International reports on the Climate CoLab conference, run by the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence, which brought together people from around the world to “crowdsource the problem of what to do about global climate change," says Prof. Tom Malone.
USA Today reporter Tracy Moran writes about the use of environmentally friendly materials in constructing buildings, highlighting Prof. Rolland Pellenq’s work to make concrete more sustainable. “His work has proven that reducing the ratio of certain materials can make concrete nearly twice as resistant to fractures while cutting concrete emissions by as much as half,” writes Moran.
“A recent estimate from leading researchers at MIT and Tsinghua University found that without strong actions, China’s emissions could grow with no peak in sight,” writes Jake Schmidt for The Huffington Post about new MIT research examining carbon emissions in China.
Dr. David Ridley of MIT is leading a new effort to study the amount of volcanic particles at high altitudes and how these particles might have contributed to a pause in global warming . Ridley and his team found a “high enough level of particles to account for a global cooling of 0.05–0.12 °C since 2000,” Nature reports.
MIT Visiting Professor Calestous Juma argues in this CNN op-ed that efforts to rank countries on their preparedness to deal with climate change can be counterproductive for less developed countries: “[T]hese same countries have also developed a wide range of local capabilities that enable them to adapt to major natural disasters," he writes.
David Weinberg of Marketplace reports that MIT researchers have developed a formula for concrete that reduces its greenhouse-gas emissions. Dr. Roland Pellenq explains that to make a “greener” cement, researchers examined concrete’s properties at the “sub-micron or big-nano level.”
In a piece published by The Huffington Post, Bobby Magill writes about MIT’s 2014 Climate and Energy Outlook. Researchers found that, “Global energy use is projected to double by 2050 and most of that energy will likely come from fossil fuels, which, like today, are expected be the world’s largest source of greenhouse gases.”
MIT researcher Moshe Alamaro writes for Nature about the need for governments to adjust their water conservation policies in the face of climate change. “The reality is that there is simply not enough fresh water for everybody to use as much as they want, whenever they want,” writes Alamaro.
Professor Chris Knittel writes for WBUR that the People’s Climate March held in New York City may have played to the wrong audience. “Real change will only come about when politicians and others see real consequences for their positions, or lack thereof, on climate change,” Knittel writes.
Professor Rolland Pellenq’s team has developed a new formula that would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with concrete production by half, reports Julia Pyper for Scientific American. The mixture also achieves "two times the resistance of normal cement, in mechanical resistance to fracture,” says Pellenq.