CAS Researchers Working to Predict Future Climate Change
Findings could have implications for carbon cycling Harvard Forest in Petersham, Mass., is a more than 3,700-acre ecological research area where scientists have been carrying out experiments since 1907. Photo courtesy of Mark Friedl and Minkyu Moon. Forests’ role in absorbing carbon from fossil fuel emissions is important Researchers study spring’s timing to understand how […]
BU Trustees Approve Aggressive Climate Action Plan
Effort prepares University for global temperature rise The BU Climate Action Plan adopted by the BU Board of Trustees recommends new building efficiencies, changes to renewable energy sources, and ways to make climate change a bigger part of the University’s curriculum and research. Illustration by Rubén D. Cerón Guevara (MET’19) and BU Metropolitan College Professor […]
CAS Scientists Develop ACES to Monitor Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
Tool will give cities data needed to reduce concentrations of carbon dioxide Lucy Hutyra and Conor Gately have developed a new tool called ACES, which provides fine-resolution data on CO2 emissions. A key to climate change regulation, says Hutyra, is monitoring emissions “in a robust, transparent, and reproducible way.” Photo by Cydney Scott. In June […]
NSF Awards $3 Million for Research Traineeship Grant
Will prepare a new generation of interdisciplinary scientists to tackle urban environmental problems Boston University faculty Lucy Hutyra (from left), Pamela Templer, and Jonathan Levy are leading an NSF Research Traineeship program aimed at providing graduate students the technical, policy, and communications skills needed to help cities address multidimensional environmental and public health issues. Photo […]
Yes, Harvey Could Happen Here
CAS climate expert Anthony Janetos on the causes, effects of extreme weather Harvey made landfall for a second time, striking southwest Louisiana early Wednesday. Moss Bluff, La., residents (above) rescue those stranded and retrieve items from flooded homes on Tuesday, August 29. Photo by Rick Hickman/American Press via AP. In the last week, Tropical Storm […]
What Antarctica’s Massive Iceberg Could Mean for the Future
A warning for climate change? BU scientist weighs in. Scientists have been monitoring the accelerating crack in the Antarctic ice for more than a year. Last week, the crack caused a massive iceberg to break off from the Larsen C ice shelf. Photo by John Sonntag/NASA. Sometime between Sunday and Tuesday of last week, an iceberg […]
The High Cost of Summer Energy Price Spikes
Cranking up the AC during peak electric hours will raise your electricity bill Forecast for the future: hotter summers, more peak power consumption, and higher electricity bills. Photo by Dan Logan/iStock. On one of the hottest days on record in recent Massachusetts history—August 2, 2006—the mercury hit 37 degrees Celsius (about 99 degrees Fahrenheit), with […]
Putting Cities on the Climate Map
CAS researcher, undergrad UROP project tackles heat island problem Many cities form “heat islands,” partly because impervious surfaces, like sidewalks, lead to less water evaporation. Photo by winstonwolf89/iStock. More than half of the people on the planet live in cities, yet cities have been largely ignored by climate scientists. But city climate is important, because […]
Trustees Adopt Broad Climate Change Strategy
Cutting energy demand and avoiding investment in coal, tar sands included The Board of Trustees Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing has held several forums on fossil fuel divestment, including this one last December with CAS Professor Anthony Janetos. Photo by Cydney Scott. Expanding BU’s efforts to curb climate change, the Board of Trustees last […]
BU Talks Climate Action at the White House
Pledges to reduce its carbon emissions by 35 percent.