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.
Scientific American reports that 70 MIT students and faculty were among those who attended the People’s Climate Change March in New York. "We have the technologies to begin to tackle the climate crisis,” said Ph.D. candidate Geoffrey Supran. “What we lack is the political will to make it happen."
Professor Kerry Emanuel joined a number of experts encouraging participation in the People’s Climate Change March, held in New York, Sep. 21, reports Eric Holthaus for Slate. “The more ways that people—particularly young people—can make their concerns known to our government, the better,” says Emanuel.
Writing for Scientific American, Tim Radford reports on Professor Paul O’Gorman’s new study, which shows that despite climate change blizzards will still occur. Radford writes that O’Gorman’s research shows that while some areas may receive less overall snowfall, extreme snowfall could become more intense.
Washington Post reporter Angela Fritz writes that MIT Professor Paul O’Gorman has found that extreme snowfall events will continue despite global warming. Fritz reports that O’Gorman’s models show that in some high-latitude cases, “extreme snowstorms could deposit 10 percent more snow.”
BBC News reporter Victoria Gill writes about new MIT research showing that the tiny hairs, or cilia, on corals draw in nutrients by stirring up water. "Corals could provide a general model for understanding ciliary processes related to disease," says MIT Professor Roman Stocker.
Gil Aegerter of NBC News reports on new MIT research examining the impacts of climate change on snowfall. Professor Paul O’Gorman found that “global warming would affect snowfall extremes less than it did average snowfall,” writes Aegerter.