Environment

3 Questions: Henry Jacoby on CopenhagenThe co-director of MIT’s Global Change program discusses what to expect from the U.N. Climate Change Conference, and the effects of ‘Climategate’

Solving history’s ‘largest mass poisoning’Research points to carbon in man-made ponds as catalyst for arsenic contamination in Bangladeshi wells

Of Note: MIT celebrates America Recycles Day

Good food nationMIT researchers think America's obesity epidemic can be reversed via ‘foodsheds,’ in which healthier, more affordable food is produced and consumed regionally.

Energy, environment, health care discussed at annual Systems Thinking ConferenceOn Oct. 22-23, MIT faculty and industry leaders discussed the need for a systems-based approach to tackle complex challenges such as health care, energy, and the environment at the 2009 MIT conference on systems thinking for contemporary challenges.

The politics of climate fixesJudith Layzer says there’s no easy way out when it comes to climate change — but that geo-engineering might be a last-ditch solution.

3 Questions: Sergey Paltsev on the costs of climate-change legislationMIT’s Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change has pegged the annual cost of the proposed cap-and-trade legislation in Congress at $400 per U.S. household. But estimating the cost of doing nothing is far more difficult.

Renewable fuels may have hidden costs, study saysNew analysis shows that without proper regulation, biofuels programs aimed at curbing greenhouse gases could do just the opposite

The easy way to go greenAlum's 'state-of-the-shelf' energy-efficient house is among a bevy of new ideas for curbing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions presented at MIT's annual Energy Night.

Against the common goudaThe government regulates how food is produced. MIT anthropologist Heather Paxson studies the rebellious cheese-makers who reluctantly adhere to those rules.

Energy savings in black and whiteMIT students develop concept for color-changing roof tiles that absorb heat in winter, reflect it in summer.

How to limit risk of climate catastropheComprehensive analysis of the odds of climate outcomes under different policy scenarios shows significant benefits from early actions.

Used frying oil to power MIT shuttlesStudent biodiesel group cooks up its first batches of fuel made from recycled oil from campus dining facilities

Hidden waves pack a big punchThomas Peacock sheds light on an odd but powerful phenomenon of sea and sky

Concentrating emissionsAhmed Ghoniem of mechanical engineering leads an MIT effort to make coal plants cleaner by using a pressurized combustion system to capture carbon dioxide.

Cement’s basic molecular structure finally decoded

Robustness comes from messiness, not a clean geometric arrangement

Andrew Whittle to head Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringA geotechnical engineer who served on the
panel reviewing the hurricane protection systems in New Orleans
following Hurricane Katrina is the new head
of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

A hard rain's gonna fallClimate change will yield more extreme rainfall, according to a new analysis.

Tracking trashProject aims to raise awareness of how garbage impacts the environment

Cutting CO2 emissions from existing coal plantsMIT Energy Initiative report details findings of symposium, identifies next steps

Taking the heat offBiomimetic-engineering design can replace spaghetti tangle of nanotubes in thermal material

MIT engineers find way to slow concrete creep to a crawl

Civil & Environmental Engineering awards