Pollution

A study led by MIT researchers suggests that using mobile-phone data to track people’s movement provides a deeper picture of exposure to pollution in urban settings, compared to only studying air-quality levels in fixed places.

Measuring exposure to pollution

Mobile-phone data helps researchers study an urban problem in greater detail.

September 1, 2016

A team of researchers, including graduate student Maher Damak (left) and associate professor of mechanical engineering Kripa K. Varanasi, have found a way to drastically cut down on the amount of pesticide liquid that bounces off plants.

Reducing runoff pollution by making spray droplets less bouncy

MIT researchers find a way to make pesticides stick to leaves instead of bouncing off.

August 30, 2016

Collectively, piston-engine aircraft like this Cirrus SR22 constitute the nation’s largest remaining source of lead emissions.

Unfriendly skies: Piston engine aircraft pose a significant health threat

Study shows long-lasting health, economic impacts of lead emissions from U.S. general aviation flights.

August 26, 2016

Nighttime image of New York City, with the red showing a large population density. “The adoption potential of electric vehicles is remarkably similar across cities, from dense urban areas like New York, to sprawling cities like Houston. This goes against the view that electric vehicles — at least affordable ones, which have limited range — only really work in dense urban centers,” says Jes...

Can today’s EVs make a dent in climate change?

Electric vehicles can meet drivers’ needs enough to replace nearly 90 percent of vehicles now on the road.

August 15, 2016

Zhang Gaoli (seated, right), vice premier of China, whose portfolio includes environmental issues, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the outset of a meeting about climate change and other topics at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Nov. 11, 2014.

Meeting climate goals through international carbon markets

Linking emissions trading systems in developed and developing countries could yield environmental, economic benefits.

July 29, 2016

“The Cultures of Markets: The Political Economy of Climate Governance,” by Janelle Knox-Hayes (pictured), published by Oxford University Press.

Market makers

Good emissions trading programs are unique, not one-size-fits-all, new book argues.

July 26, 2016

Jareth Holt, Susan Solomon, and Noelle Selin of the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences have developed new insights into how energy-related emissions form fine airborne particles that damage human health.

Regulating particulate pollution: Novel analysis yields new insights

MIT researchers demonstrate a new approach to designing location-specific emissions-control measures.

July 11, 2016

David Hagan, a Tata Fellow and MIT PhD candidate in civil and environmental engineering, is designing and building low-cost sensors that could be deployed in dense networks to monitor air pollution.

Air quality sensors track pollution

Research from MIT's Tata Center for Technology and Design is helping to quantify emissions in the world’s most polluted cities.

June 15, 2016

Coal barges head upstream on the Huangpu River in Shanghai.

Target coal or carbon?

Researchers are analyzing coal and energy caps as carbon policy instruments for China.

May 24, 2016

Higher coal use in Asia could increase water stress

Aerosol emissions would slow warming but suppress rainfall.

April 28, 2016

"Even when you have great technology, you need some incentive for people to reduce pollution. We need to find ways to make the benefit of reducing pollution felt by the ones who are paying the cost of reducing pollution." —Ariel Zucker, MIT doctoral student in economics

Incentives matter

Working with the Tata Center, two MIT economics students are testing projects to reduce industrial pollution in India.

January 29, 2016

Aerosols can lower surface temperatures either directly, by reflecting sunlight skyward, or indirectly, by increasing the reflectivity of clouds.

How aerosols drive the rain

Study finds human-made aerosols exert strong influence on the geography of precipitation.

January 21, 2016

Engineers at MIT have developed a queuing model that may help air traffic controllers direct departures more efficiently, minimizing runway congestion.

Cutting down runway queues

Model that predicts time from gate departure to takeoff could cut airport congestion, fuel waste.

January 14, 2016

In a new study published this week, MIT researchers report that global action on reducing mercury emissions will lead to twice the economic benefits for the U.S., compared to domestic action, by 2050.

Global reductions in mercury emissions should lead to billions in economic benefits for U.S.

Benefits from international regulations may double those of domestic policy.

December 28, 2015

MIT Visiting Artist Tomás Saraceno’s "Aerocene" inspires us to rethink our relationship with Earth.

At COP21, finding hope for climate in the "Aerocene"

Visiting Artist Tomás Saraceno and MIT scientists join forces to confront climate crisis at United Nations conference.

December 21, 2015

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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