Climate.mit.edu

A healthy wind MIT Climate Portal

WebNearly 10 percent of today’s electricity in the United States comes from wind power. The renewable energy source benefits climate, air quality, and public health by displacing emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants that would otherwise be produced by fossil-fuel-based power plants.

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URL: https://climate.mit.edu/posts/healthy-wind

Mitigation and Adaptation MIT Climate Portal

Web1 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change uses the following definitions. Mitigation: “A human intervention to reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases.”Adaptation: “In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial …

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What is the ideal level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for …

WebMay 18, 2021. According to NASA, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) in Earth’s atmosphere was about 416 parts per million (ppm) in April 2021. 1 This level has been rising for 200 years—a worrying sign for the planet, since CO 2 is a powerful heat-trapping greenhouse gas. Climate experts warn that humanity must drastically lower its CO 2

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Planetary Health at MIT: Connections Amongst Ourselves and with …

WebThe answer to further exploring this relationship and developing sustainable solutions for healthy communities is planetary health. Planetary health focuses on understanding the human health implications of the rapid transformation of our earth's ecosystems due to anthropogenic changes in our environment. This emerging, …

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Extreme Heat MIT Climate Portal

WebExtreme heat is a dangerous weather condition that is becoming more common and severe as climate change warms the planet. It is the leading weather-related cause of death in the United States 1 and a significant, and likely undercounted, cause of death worldwide. 2 In addition to its health effects, extreme heat can damage roads, …

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What is “sustainability”

WebClimate action is just one form of sustainability—a concept that asks us to see the big picture of what we are taking from the Earth, and how our actions affect future generations.

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E6: A public health expert’s guide to climate change

WebProf. Amruta Nori-Sarma is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Health Department at Boston University School of Public Health. She studies the relationship between environmental exposures associated with climate change and health outcomes in vulnerable communities. Her current research aims to understand the …

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A community approach to improving the health of the planet

WebEarlier this month, MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE) hosted a Health of the Planet Showcase. The event was the culmination of a four-year long community initiative to focus on what the mechanical engineering community at MIT can do to solve some of the biggest challenges the planet faces on a local and global scale.

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Health, wealth, and cities MIT Climate Portal

WebCities have wealth disparities: Picture fancy downtown condos and trendy shopping areas in contrast to, say, streets with rundown housing and boarded-up shops.

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Heating and Cooling MIT Climate Portal

WebHeating and Cooling. From burning wood or natural gas in a furnace to window air conditioning units, we heat and cool our homes, schools, and offices in a number of ways. But keeping our buildings a comfortable temperature uses a lot of energy: almost 25% of the energy produced worldwide is used to heat and cool homes and commercial …

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MIT collaborates with Biogen on three-year, $7 million initiative to

WebMIT and Biogen have announced that they will collaborate with the goal to accelerate the science and action on climate change to improve human health.

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Air Pollution MIT Climate Portal

WebMany common pollutants threaten our health when we breathe them in, including ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide. The most dangerous type of air pollution is “particulate matter,” or small solid particles floating in the air. These particles damage our lungs and contribute to heart disease, lung disease and cancer. 1.

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Will mining the resources needed for clean energy cause problems …

WebAlmost all mining—including for the clean tech sector—damages ecosystems and communities. Water contamination and scarcity, and the resulting social conflicts, are key concerns as clean energy grows.

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How is climate change affecting the weather today

WebExperts agree that, in warmer climates, major storms are dropping more rain. Rain gauges show that the rainiest day each year has gotten roughly 3.5% wetter for every degree Fahrenheit of global warming, the same rise we’re seeing in humidity. This makes sense, says O’Gorman: if there’s more water vapor in the air when a storm starts

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Public Transportation MIT Climate Portal

WebPublic transportation gets people where they’re going while emitting far fewer climate-warming greenhouse gases than private cars. The reason is simple efficiency: while cars usually carry just one or two people at a time, a bus can carry 50 or more, and a train in a large city may carry thousands. 1 Since transportation creates more than a fifth of the …

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Urban Heat Islands MIT Climate Portal

WebUrban Heat Islands. The urban heat island effect is a phenomenon whereby cities experience higher air temperatures than the surrounding countryside. This effect can be quite noticeable. On average, cities tend to be 1-7°F warmer during the daytime. 1 This difference continues well into the night, during which cities can still be as much as 5

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How is lithium mined

WebHow is lithium mined? Lithium is found in rock ores, which are mined and crushed, or in briny water, where it can be extracted using evaporation. February 12, 2024. Lithium is an essential component of clean energy technologies, from electric vehicles (EVs) to the big batteries used to store electricity at power plants.

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Soil-Based Carbon Sequestration MIT Climate Portal

WebSoil-Based Carbon Sequestration. Soils are made in part of broken-down plant matter. 1 This means they contain a lot of carbon that those plants took in from the atmosphere while they were alive. Especially in colder climates where decomposition is slow, soils can store—or “sequester”—this carbon for a very long time.

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What is the risk that CO2 stored underground after carbon …

Web1 United States Geological Survey: "Oklahoma has had a surge of earthquakes since 2009. Are they due to fracking?" Accessed September 28, 2023. 2 United States Geological Survey: "Do all wastewater disposal wells induce earthquakes?" Accessed September 28, 2023. 3 United States Geological Survey Geologic Carbon …

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