Climate Change

Laura Bozzi has a chapter on Appalachia coal in the new MIT Press book, "Ending the Fossil Fuel Era". Read more

Innovations in technologies that produce energy (such as solar and wind) have over time brought new mixes of energy into existing networks for distribution. What has lacked is a breakthrough that can deal with intermittency of renewables in that system or the ability to store it when it is generated. Off-grid energy solutions, particularly for the developing world, have for decades been too small and not been able to genuinely get people up the energy ladder as their livelihoods improve. While business models and the technology, particularly solar, have matured, the Holy G

Working with staff from EcoAdapt and the Point Blue Conservation Science nonprofit, Fellow Brenda Zollitsch co-led a working group at the National Adaptation Forum this year to gather information about wetland work related to stormwater management and restoration/mitigation.

The nexus between energy poverty and climate change are now momentously driving the aims of international development. Hundreds of international leaders are meeting this week at the United Nation's Sustainable Energy for All (SE4ALL) Forum to forge next steps. In this context, decentralized renewable energy (DRE) solutions can bring sustainable electricity access to un-electrified and impoverished

“They need rich countries to step up to provide finance for those deepening actions,” Heather Coleman, a senior climate change official at Oxfam America, which has been heavily involved in talks regarding climate financing under the upcoming Paris agreement, said. “It’s an important point that emerging economies and developing countries should be putting forward in their INDCs — what they can achieve with additional support.” Read more

“If Tesla and other companies can dramatically scale up energy-storage production and lower costs, it could be a game changer for renewables,” said Laura Wisland, a senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Imagine supplies of clean energy that could be stored in the way we store natural gas in tanks, or water behind dams.” Read more

There is widespread acceptance among the scientific community that human activities are the primary cause of present day climate change. But, how a changing climate impacts ecosystems is still a source of confusion to the public. Some of this confusion is associated with a lack of clear communication among journalists and scientists, particularly when it comes to addressing variability and uncertainty in ecological datasets.