News and Blog Landing | MIT Sustainability

This cut-away rendering of the MIT nuclear battery concept shows important components such as the instrumentation and control module, the reactor, and the power module.
Courtesy of the researchers

MIT News Office

June 25, 2021

3Q: Why “nuclear batteries” offer a new approach to carbon-free energy

Jacopo Buongiorno and others say factory-built microreactors trucked to usage sites could be a safe, efficient option for decarbonizing electricity systems.

According to some estimates, millions of objects created by humans orbit the Earth, creating a need for innovation to protect the space environment.
Image courtesy of the European Space Agency.

MIT News Office

June 25, 2021

A new chapter for space sustainability

MIT researchers are co-leading the design of a global Space Sustainability Rating system that will soon be operational.

MIT researchers have found a way to achieve high yields of ethanol with different types of cellulosic feedstocks, including switchgrass, wheat straw, and corn stover.
Image: MIT News, with images from iStockphoto.

MIT News Office

June 25, 2021

Engineered yeast could expand biofuels’ reach

By making the microbes more tolerant to toxic byproducts, researchers show they can use a wider range of feedstocks, beyond corn.

Merging species conservation and architectural design, MIT MArch student James Brice is studying the sustainable development of public spaces.
Image: Adam Glanzman

MIT News Office

June 24, 2021

From NYC zookeeper to aspiring architect

Merging species conservation and architectural design, graduate student James Brice is studying the sustainable development of public spaces.

Can a classical physics question be handled on a quantum computer? Abhay Ram believes the answer is yes, and that it will accelerate understanding of electromagnetic wave phenomena in plasma.
Photo: Priyanka Ram

MIT News Office

June 23, 2021

Revisiting a quantum past for a fusion future

Principal Research Scientist Abhay Ram circles back to his graduate school studies for a new initiative combining classical physics and quantum computing.

Grace Moore '21 will begin her studies at Sciences Po this fall. Her goal is to work in environmental policy to address climate change.
Image courtesy of Grace Moore.

MIT News Office

June 22, 2021

Grace Moore ’21 receives Michel David-Weill Scholarship

The first MIT student to be named a Michel David-Weill Scholar, Moore is planning a career at the intersection of sciences and environmental policy.

MIT earth science professor David McGee studies the atmosphere’s response to paleoclimate changes. “A really basic message that comes from the study of paleoclimate is the sensitivity of the Earth’s system,” he says. “A fe...

MIT News Office

June 16, 2021

Imagining the distant past — and finding keys to the future

Associate professor of earth science David McGee studies the atmosphere’s response to paleoclimate changes.

In their Energy, Environment, and Society class, MIT students learned that discarded cell phones and computers as well as retired parts of solar panels often end up in dumps like this one — the Richmond landfill in Bulawayo...

MIT News Office

June 15, 2021

Diving into the global problem of technology waste

Students in STS.032 (Energy, Environment, and Society) learn about environmental and health consequences of discarded electronics.

The 2021 Global Change Outlook presents the MIT Joint Program’s latest projections for the future of the Earth’s energy, food, water and climate systems, and prospects for achieving the Paris Agreement’s climate goals.
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MIT News Office

June 14, 2021

Why the Earth needs a course correction now

2021 Global Change Outlook from the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change shows how more aggressive policies can sharply reduce climate risk.