New York Times reporter John Schwartz writes that a new study co-authored by Prof. Elfatih Eltahir has found that extreme heat events will be far more common in the Persian Gulf by the end of the century due to climate change. “When they happen, they will be quite lethal,” says Eltahir.
Matthew Nisbet, a professor at Northeastern University who focuses on climate change communication, writes for The Conversation about MIT’s Climate Action Plan. Nisbet writes that MIT’s plan can “serve as a model for how major research universities can accelerate effective societal actions on climate change by collaborating with a diversity of industry members.”
MIT researchers have developed a self-sustaining water-purification system for a remote Mexican village, according to The Guardian. “The villagers are able to operate and maintain the water purification system themselves,” The Guardian reports.
In an article for The New York Times, Eduardo Porter highlights Prof. Abhijit Banerjee’s new study that found that cash transfer programs aimed at assisting people living in poverty do not discourage people from working. Prof. Banerjee explains that when it comes to welfare, “Ideology is much more pervasive than the facts.”
Prof. Yasheng Huang writes for The Boston Globe about the Chinese government’s active role in the country’s economy and how this is negatively impacting growth. “Chinese growth in the future will be limited until the government makes fairly substantive structural reforms,” writes Huang.
James Walsh, a research affiliate at the MIT Center for International Studies, speaks on Bloomberg TV about the prospects for a nuclear deal between Iran and the U.S. “I think the agreement in principle has been there a while and I think it’s a good one,” says Walsh.
According to The Economist, a new paper from Prof. Daron Acemoglu compared growth rates and levels of political freedom, and found that countries undergoing a democratic transition grow faster than their autocratic counterparts. Acemoglu found that permanent democratization, “leads to an increase in GDP per person of about 20% in the subsequent 25 years.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Jason Zweig writes about anti-poverty research, highlighting an MIT study that showed intervention methods can be effective at alleviating poverty. Prof. Esther Duflo says that, “We are trying to promote a culture of learning that will permeate governments and NGOs and businesses to such an extent that it will become par for the course.”
Tina Rosenberg writes for The New York Times about a study by J-PAL researchers examining the effectiveness of a poverty intervention program. Researchers found that participants in the program, “ate more, were more certain about access to food, held more assets, had more income and savings, spent more time working, and enjoyed better mental and physical health.”
A new study by MIT researchers has found that anti-poverty intervention methods can be effective, reports Carolyn Johnson for The Boston Globe. Interventions resulted in “fewer skipped meals, more income from livestock and farming, and a durable, though small, increase in how much they consume each day.”
In an article for BetaBoston, Janelle Nanos writes about Jana, an MIT startup that allows mobile phone users in developing countries to access the Internet for free. “We’re empowering people with connectivity and we’re not limiting how they’re using that connectivity,” explains Jana founder and MIT alumnus Nathan Eagle.
Carey Goldberg reports for NPR on Project Prakash, Prof. Pawan Sinha's non-profit that provides cataract operations for children in India. Sinha explains that by examining how a child reacts to gaining vision, “you have a ringside seat into the process of visual development.”
Jillian Eugenios writes for CNN Money about Evaptainers, a startup conceptualized in an MIT course that has developed a refrigerator that runs on water and sunlight. The refrigerator was created in an effort to improve the food production and storage process in developing countries by cutting down on spoilage.
Coco Liu writes for Scientific American about a new study co-authored by MIT researchers that indicates that Chinese government efforts to improve air quality may actually increase carbon emissions. With the focus on air quality, Chinese plants will focus on “scrubbing pollutants from the exhaust stream of coal power plants—rather than switching to use more renewable energy.”
The Cambridge Chronicle reports that alumnus Samuel Tak Lee has donated $118 million to establish a real estate entrepreneurship lab at MIT. The lab will have a particular focus on China, and “will promote social responsibility among entrepreneurs and academics in the real estate profession worldwide.”