On October 22nd at 6:30 AM, a dozen students participated in a sit-in at the doorstep of their president's office in opposition to MIT's recent decision not to divest its $13.5 billion endowment from the fossil fuel industry. The student lead divestment campaigns at the campus are particularly heated because of the school's administration decision to keep the coal and tar sand stocks that generate the school such revenue.
President Reif's decision to also not address climate science disinformation is another reason why many of the students have taken to such demonstrations. Presidents Reif's decision comes shortly after a $5.5 billion capital campaign where MIT received more industry funding than almost any other university in the country.
MIT Students: We’re Sitting-In at President Reif’s Door Until He Divests From Fossil Fuels
Related articles:
Oslo becomes first capital city in the world to divest from fossil fuels
Pension Funds Considering Fossil Fuel Divestment, Socially Responsible Investments Get Boost From Labor Department
Advocates pressure U of T to divest of fossil fuels
Dumping fossil fuels was great move for Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Recent science of WAIS
A recent study over the past summer has found evidence for surprisingly high geothermal heating beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The UC Santa Cruz team reports first direct measurement of heat flow from deep within the Earth to the bottom of the West Antarctic ice sheet. The results, published July 10 in Science Advances, provides important data for researchers trying to predict the fate of the ice sheet in, which has experienced rapid melting over the past decade.
Although thermal heating is not the underlying cause of the rapid disintegration of the ice sheet, it is believed that thermal heating could explain why the ice sheet is so unstable. The study was conducted under the WISSARD project, which is a drilling project founded by the National Science Foundation.
The geothermal heating contributes to the melting of basal ice in the ice sheet, which supplies water to a network of sub-glacial lakes and wetlands that scientists have discovered underlies a large region of the ice sheet. Warm geothermal conditions may also be causing such sub-glacial habitats more supportive of microbial life, and could also drive fluid flow that delivers heat, carbon, and nutrients to these communities.
For climate scientists, the geothermal heat flux is an important value for computer models that are being used to understand why and how quickly the WAIS is shrinking. Since the WAIS rests on land that is below surface level, it is much more unstable than the East Antarctic ice sheet. Recent studies have shown that ice shelves are melting due to warm ocean currents now circulating under the ice, and the rate at which the ice shelves are shrinking is accelerating.
Study finds surprisingly high geothermal heating beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet
The West Antarctic Collapse- What it will do to the World
Although thermal heating is not the underlying cause of the rapid disintegration of the ice sheet, it is believed that thermal heating could explain why the ice sheet is so unstable. The study was conducted under the WISSARD project, which is a drilling project founded by the National Science Foundation.
The geothermal heating contributes to the melting of basal ice in the ice sheet, which supplies water to a network of sub-glacial lakes and wetlands that scientists have discovered underlies a large region of the ice sheet. Warm geothermal conditions may also be causing such sub-glacial habitats more supportive of microbial life, and could also drive fluid flow that delivers heat, carbon, and nutrients to these communities.
For climate scientists, the geothermal heat flux is an important value for computer models that are being used to understand why and how quickly the WAIS is shrinking. Since the WAIS rests on land that is below surface level, it is much more unstable than the East Antarctic ice sheet. Recent studies have shown that ice shelves are melting due to warm ocean currents now circulating under the ice, and the rate at which the ice shelves are shrinking is accelerating.
Study finds surprisingly high geothermal heating beneath West Antarctic Ice Sheet
The West Antarctic Collapse- What it will do to the World
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
The Inequality of Climate Change
With all the uncertainties surrounding how climate change will impact the future, one thing is crystal clear - It will hit the world's poorest the hardest. In The World Bank's latest report, it stated that "No nation will be immune to the impacts of climate change. However, the distribution of impacts is likely to be inherently unequal and titled against many of the world's poorest regions, which have the least economic, institutional, scientific and technical capacity to cope and adapt." Likewise, the IPCC, along with the UN, warn that "It is the poorest of the poor in the world, and this includes poor people even in prosperous societies, who are going to be the worst hit."
There are two main reasons why climate change will not effect us all equally. First is the geography. Poorer, lower-latitude countries will most likely face desertification and more intense-storms in the future to come. Also, because in many poorer regions, the vulnerable tend to cluster in areas where climate change might have a disproportional impact, like zones of flooding and dry rural areas that are more susceptible to drought and famine. The second and more significant reason is that the poorer the country, the harder it will most likely be for it to respond to a changing climate and its impacts. It goes without saying that in the wake of major natural disasters money matters. It not only quickens the recovery process, but it also aids in reducing the damages caused in the first place.
It is for this reason that developing countries hold rich countries like the United States responsible for climate change, and want them to pay for its effects. For instance, carbon emissions are correlated with income. Such nations like Bangladesh, Palau and the Philippines have all claimed that "Each destructive typhoon season costs us 2% or our G.D.P., and the reconstruction costs a further 2%, which means we loose nearly 5% of our economy every year to storms. We have received no climate finance to adapt or to prepare ourselves for typhoons and other extreme weather we are now experiencing. We have not seen any money from the rich countries to help us adapt."
The bottom line is, if we fail to confront climate change, then we will fail to end poverty. Yong Kim, the president of The World Bank says, "Poverty reduction and climate change are linked. We have powerful new evidence that even if climate change falls short of the much-discussed 4°C warmer world, we could witness the rolling back of decades of development gains and force ten of millions of more lives into poverty/"
New York Times-Climate Change Inequality
The World Bank-Climate Change
There are two main reasons why climate change will not effect us all equally. First is the geography. Poorer, lower-latitude countries will most likely face desertification and more intense-storms in the future to come. Also, because in many poorer regions, the vulnerable tend to cluster in areas where climate change might have a disproportional impact, like zones of flooding and dry rural areas that are more susceptible to drought and famine. The second and more significant reason is that the poorer the country, the harder it will most likely be for it to respond to a changing climate and its impacts. It goes without saying that in the wake of major natural disasters money matters. It not only quickens the recovery process, but it also aids in reducing the damages caused in the first place.
It is for this reason that developing countries hold rich countries like the United States responsible for climate change, and want them to pay for its effects. For instance, carbon emissions are correlated with income. Such nations like Bangladesh, Palau and the Philippines have all claimed that "Each destructive typhoon season costs us 2% or our G.D.P., and the reconstruction costs a further 2%, which means we loose nearly 5% of our economy every year to storms. We have received no climate finance to adapt or to prepare ourselves for typhoons and other extreme weather we are now experiencing. We have not seen any money from the rich countries to help us adapt."
The bottom line is, if we fail to confront climate change, then we will fail to end poverty. Yong Kim, the president of The World Bank says, "Poverty reduction and climate change are linked. We have powerful new evidence that even if climate change falls short of the much-discussed 4°C warmer world, we could witness the rolling back of decades of development gains and force ten of millions of more lives into poverty/"
New York Times-Climate Change Inequality
The World Bank-Climate Change
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Planning for the Future: a Corperate Example
As the world's larges chemical company, Dow has launched its 2025 sustainability goals to help redefine the role of business in society. Since 2006, Dow has issued sustainability reports on both a quarterly and annual basis. Their 2025 sustainability goals are a continuation of their 2015 sustainability goals. The company claims that is setting "Bold and aggressive sustainability targets designed to develop breakthrough product innovations, positively impact the lives of 1 billion people, and deliver $1 billion in cost savings or new cash flow for the company by valuing nature in business decisions."
Its seven 2025 Sustainability Goals are as follows:
#1-Leading the Blueprint-Dow will engage in 100 significant dialogues across the public and private sector and establish 10 new collaborations considering world progress towards sustainability and emerging challenges.
#2-Delivering Breakthrough Innovations-Dow's product portfolio will have a six-fold net positive impact on sustainable development. Their products will offset three times more CO2 than they emit throughout their life cycle and save three times more energy than they use throughout their life cycle.
#3-Advancing a Circular Economy-By 2025, Dow will have delivered six major products that facilitate the world's transition to a circular economy, where waste is designed into new products and services.
#4-Valuing Nature-Dow will generate $1 billion by 2025 in the form of cost savings or new cash flow as measured by net present value, a measure of future cash flows discounted to the present day.
#5-Increasing Confidence in Chemical Technology- Dow will work with non-profit, business and government partners to develop new, cutting-edge predictive modeling capabilities and integrate them into 100 percent of their new product assessments.
#6-Engaging Employees for Impact-Dow employees will give 600,000 hours to support students in STEM education and Dow volunteers will complete 700 sustainability projects around the world be 2025.
#7-World-Leading Operations Performance-By 2025, Dow will reduce its freshwater intake intensity at key water stressed sites and its waste intensity footprint by 20 percent. It will also obtain 400 megawatts of its power demand from renewable sources and strive to eliminate unplanned safey events.
http://www.dow.com/en-us/science-and-sustainability/sustainability-reporting?
Its seven 2025 Sustainability Goals are as follows:
#1-Leading the Blueprint-Dow will engage in 100 significant dialogues across the public and private sector and establish 10 new collaborations considering world progress towards sustainability and emerging challenges.
#2-Delivering Breakthrough Innovations-Dow's product portfolio will have a six-fold net positive impact on sustainable development. Their products will offset three times more CO2 than they emit throughout their life cycle and save three times more energy than they use throughout their life cycle.
#3-Advancing a Circular Economy-By 2025, Dow will have delivered six major products that facilitate the world's transition to a circular economy, where waste is designed into new products and services.
#4-Valuing Nature-Dow will generate $1 billion by 2025 in the form of cost savings or new cash flow as measured by net present value, a measure of future cash flows discounted to the present day.
#5-Increasing Confidence in Chemical Technology- Dow will work with non-profit, business and government partners to develop new, cutting-edge predictive modeling capabilities and integrate them into 100 percent of their new product assessments.
#6-Engaging Employees for Impact-Dow employees will give 600,000 hours to support students in STEM education and Dow volunteers will complete 700 sustainability projects around the world be 2025.
#7-World-Leading Operations Performance-By 2025, Dow will reduce its freshwater intake intensity at key water stressed sites and its waste intensity footprint by 20 percent. It will also obtain 400 megawatts of its power demand from renewable sources and strive to eliminate unplanned safey events.
http://www.dow.com/en-us/science-and-sustainability/sustainability-reporting?
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