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Get smart quickly on climate change. This award-winning MIT podcast, Today I Learned: Climate, breaks down the science, technologies, and policies behind climate change, how it’s impacting us, and what our society can do about it. Each quick episode gives you the what, why, and how on climate change — from real scientists — to help us all make informed decisions for our future.
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The latest in energy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Listen to hand-picked articles from the MIT Energy Initiative covering the future of energy.
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The landmark Paris Agreement of 2015 gave the world a shared target for halting climate change: that global warming should stop well short of 2 degrees Celsius. But how did that target come about, and what exactly does it mean? Prof. Maria Ivanova, a specialist in international environmental policy, shares with us the history and diplomacy behind t…
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The Earth naturally absorbs some of our climate pollution from burning fossil fuels. But how much, and how fast? Geophysicist Prof. Daniel Rothman joins the podcast to explain the nature and scale of the natural carbon cycle, and how our appetite for fossil fuels has pushed it out of balance. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to th…
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Today, companies are storing millions of tons of carbon dioxide underground every year to prevent this climate pollution from warming the planet. In the future it might be billions of tons. But is it dangerous to pump so much liquefied carbon below our feet? Geologist and carbon storage expert Prof. Bradford Hager joins the podcast to explain the r…
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What if there was a way to continue using fossil fuels for energy without emitting CO2 into the atmosphere? To prepare for a new listener question about carbon capture, we're re-airing this season two episode in which Dr. Howard Herzog and Professor Brad Hager talk about capturing, using, and storing carbon emissions, and how it fits into a clean e…
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Is hydrogen fuel a climate solution? That depends on how you produce it. Dr. Emre Gençer of the MIT Energy Initiative takes us on a tour of the hydrogen spectrum, from climate-polluting “gray” hydrogen made from natural gas to the much more promising “green” hydrogen made with renewable electricity. For a deeper dive and additional resources relate…
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Just 20 years ago, hydrogen cars and battery electric cars were pretty evenly matched as clean alternatives to gas-powered vehicles. But today, batteries are way ahead: the big car companies are rapidly electrifying their lineups, while only a few hydrogen cars are available. What happened? Sergey Paltsev, senior research scientist at the MIT Energ…
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Hydrogen gas acts like a fossil fuel, but with no carbon emissions. Is it the silver bullet we’ve been waiting for? To prepare for some new listener questions about hydrogen energy, we're re-airing this season four episode in which Prof. Svetlana Ikonnikova of the Technical University of Munich explains how hydrogen works and its potential in the e…
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Wind power is the largest source of clean, renewable energy in the United States. But the large turbines that create that power can endanger wildlife. MIT Professor Michael Howland returns to the podcast to answer a listener's question about the risks of wind energy to birds—and explain how wind turbines compare to coal plants, power lines, office …
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You might have heard how wind turbines failed in Texas during a terrible cold front in 2021. Does this mean we can’t rely on this clean, renewable source of energy when the weather turns extreme? MIT Professor Michael Howland joins the podcast to explain how wind turbine operators prepare for frigid conditions, and why some turbines failed in Texas…
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Plants take in CO2 from the air to grow—and today’s atmosphere has about 50% more CO2 than it did before we started burning massive amounts of fossil fuels. So, is that great news for plants? Prof. David Des Marais, a plant ecologist at MIT, helps answer this listener question. For a deeper dive and additional resources related to this episode, vis…
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The sixth season of Today I Learned: Climate is coming in two weeks, and this time we’re doing something a little different. People all around the world write into our team with questions about climate change. So this season, we’re working with scientists and experts at MIT and beyond, to answer those questions in language we can all understand.…
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The United States has a goal to power the country with 100% clean electricity by 2035. Unfortunately, our energy regulations are not set up to make this much change this quickly. Energy economist John Parsons of MIT joins the show to explain how much clean energy infrastructure we need to build, the obstacles to building it, and reform ideas to tra…
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The large majority of new energy we’re building today comes from clean, renewable wind and solar projects. But to keep building wind and solar at this pace, we need energy storage: technologies that save energy when the weather is favorable, and use it when wind and sun are scarce. Prof. Asegun Henry joins TILclimate to explain how energy storage w…
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Following record heat levels in the summer of 2023, MIT Associate Professor David Hsu describes what cities are doing as climate change accelerates. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/3-questions-cities-managing-record-setting-temperatures-0905 Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads Join the mailing list or send …
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We all want to live full, healthy lives. But climate change is threatening a growing number of people’s lives and well-being. Amruta Nori-Sarma, assistant professor of environmental health at Boston University School of Public Health, joins the show to help us see climate change not in tons of carbon dioxide, but as a matter of health. For a deeper…
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We were going to produce an episode on El Niño, and its relationship to climate change. And then we found out that Outside/In, from New Hampshire Public Radio, already did that. And they did a really good job. So please enjoy this episode of Outside/In, where you'll learn what El Niño is, how to tell if extreme weather events are caused by climate …
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If you live in the U.S. Mountain West, the Pacific Coast of the Americas, or large parts of Australia or southern Europe, there’s a good chance a major wildfire has passed near you in the last five or six years—maybe one more intense than anything you’ve ever heard of in your area. But why exactly are wildfires getting worse? Is climate change enti…
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MIT engineers have designed a new train-like system that harnesses the sun's heat to split water and generate hydrogen—a green, carbon-free fuel that can be used to power long-distance trucks, planes, and ships. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/mit-design-harness-suns-heat-produce-clean-hydrogen-fuel-1016 Listen to more audio articles: h…
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Today we’re talking about desalination: turning saltwater into freshwater, so we can drink it or use it to grow crops. And we’re talking about this because, in many parts of the world, freshwater is getting harder to come by. So… is converting saltwater a good solution? Our guest Prof. John Leinhard has devoted his whole career to this question—and…
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Refrigerants are in every refrigerator, freezer and air conditioner, and the world is on track to make a lot more of them in the years to come. They’re also powerful greenhouse gases: often thousands of times more warming than carbon dioxide. Prof. Ronald Prinn, an expert in the physics and chemistry of our climate system, joins TILclimate to discu…
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Carbon dioxide—CO2—is the greenhouse gas you’ve probably heard most about, on this podcast and elsewhere. But it turns out, methane is an incredibly important greenhouse gas too. Stopping methane emissions today is a powerful way to dampen climate change in the very near term—to keep the Earth cooler in the next 10 or 20 years. So today, Prof. Desi…
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To prevent worsening and potentially irreversible effects of climate change, the world’s average temperature should not exceed that of preindustrial times by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. But why 1.5 degrees C and how close are we to achieving this goal? Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2023/explained-climate-benchmark-rising-temperatures-08…
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You probably know that today’s climate change is caused by certain gases—what scientists call greenhouse gases—that human activity has been adding to our atmosphere. But—how do these gases actually keep heat from escaping into space? And why these gases in particular? To help answer these questions, we invited Desiree Plata, an associate professor …
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A new processing technique developed by an MIT-led team may be the key to 100% sustainable aviation fuel. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/making-aviation-fuel-from-biomass Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads Join the mailing list or send us feedback: https://energy.mit.edu/podcast/subscribe…
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This is MIT’s climate change podcast, Today I Learned: Climate. If you're looking to get smart quick on climate change – without the jargon and without the politicking – this podcast is for you! In each episode, we work with experts at MIT and beyond to explain climate change science and solutions in fifteen minutes or less. On October 5, TILclimat…
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Methane is the second most impactful human-generated greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Desirée Plata, an environmental engineer and professor at MIT, is developing tools to reduce methane with the goal of cutting emissions by 45% by 2030, which would save up to 0.5 degree Celsius of warming by 2100. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/…
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40% of global carbon emissions come from buildings. MIT professor Christoph Reinhart joins us to discuss how cities are leveraging retrofits to increase building energy efficiency and reduce their carbon emissions. Dig deeper into our article "Cutting urban carbon emissions by retrofitting buildings" in this footnote edition of the podcast. Show no…
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On August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It was the largest of three bills signed over the course of 10 months that together make up the United States’ largest investment in addressing climate change… well, ever. Dr. Liz Reynolds, lecturer in MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning and former…
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Waya Energy, a MITEI spinoff, is helping governments determine the most cost-effective ways to provide electricity to all their citizens. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/power-to-the-people Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads Join the mailing list or send us feedback: https://energy.mit.edu/podcast/subs…
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Cities around the world have been adopting policies and incentive programs to encourage building retrofits to reduce their energy use and carbon emissions. But analyses from an MIT team have revealed that cities’ retrofit plans often won’t achieve their goals—although decarbonizing the local grid could make the difference. This episode follows the …
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Energy researcher Ian Miller joins us to discuss modeling renewable energy, living in an active combat zone, energy and its connection to the war in Ukraine, and how he's helping to deliver aid to Ukrainians on the frontlines. Dig deeper into our article "Responding to Ukraine's 'ocean of suffering'" in this footnote edition of the podcast. Show no…
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Energy researcher Ian Miller is delivering medical aid, vehicles, and equipment to Ukrainians on the front lines through the nonprofit he co-founded, Zero Line. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/responding-to-ukraines-ocean-of-suffering Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads Join the mailing list or send us fe…
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Massachusetts has set ambitious goals for cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. State Senator Mike Barrett discussed the challenges the state has faced in meeting those goals, focused particularly on obstacles to offshore wind development. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/climate-goals-may-take-longer-but-well-get-there Listen to m…
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MIT senior Sylas Horowitz is tackling engineering projects with a focus on challenges related to clean energy, climate justice, and sustainable development. Their personal mission is to create systems and technology that "serve the well-being and longevity of communities and the ecosystems we exist within." Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/…
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A modeling framework by MIT researchers can help speed the development of flow batteries for large-scale, long-duration electricity storage on the future grid. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/flow-batteries-for-grid-scale-energy-storage Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads Join the mailing list or send us …
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Climate Action Through Education is a new multidisciplinary climate change curriculum for high schools that aims to engage and mobilize teachers and students in a range of disciplines—from science to language arts to math. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/new-multidisciplinary-climate-change-curriculum-for-high-schools-aims-to-engage-a…
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Combustion experts at MIT have designed a system that uses flames to produce materials critical to lithium-ion batteries. Their combustion-based method promises to be simpler, much quicker, and far less energy-intensive than the conventional method now used to manufacture cathode materials. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/using-combus…
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On Wednesday, April 19, TILclimate will host its first live event at the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts! Reserve your seat at tilclimate.org to watch a live recording and join the questions as your host Laur Hesse Fisher sits down with MIT lecturer and former Special Assistant to the President for Manufacturing and Economic Development Dr. …
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With the help of a children’s toy called Shrinky Dinks, carbon-based materials, nail polish, and a certain smelly bacterium, high school students spent the summer in an MIT lab creating electrodes for low-cost microbial fuel cells. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/shrinky-dinks-nail-polish-and-smelly-bacteria Listen to more audio artic…
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By studying how climate change is affecting wind of the future, MIT Assistant Professor Michael Howland is optimizing wind farms and finding ways to create more reliable energy production. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/michael-howland-gives-wind-energy-a-lift Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads Join the…
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The chemical industry is the world’s largest industrial energy consumer and the third largest source of industrial emissions; and yet, the chemical industry has been largely untouched when it comes to decarbonization. In a new paper, researchers from MIT and DC-MUSE urge industry and the research community to explore electrification pathways to red…
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We often hear about recycling as a way to make an impact on climate change right in your own home. But how big a difference are we really making when we recycle? For this episode, Anders Damgaard, senior researcher at the Technical University of Denmark, joins the TILclimate podcast to help us understand the climate benefits of recycling—and why th…
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As MITEI’s director of education, Antje Danielson manages a team devoted to training the next generation of energy innovators, entrepreneurs, and policy makers. She discusses new initiatives in MITEI’s education program and how they are preparing students to take an active role in climate action. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/3-ques…
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A new development from MIT can quickly and easily turn any surface into a power source. These thin-film solar cells weigh about 100x less than conventional solar cells while generating about 18x more power-per-kg. Read the article: https://news.mit.edu/2022/ultrathin-solar-cells-1209 Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energyreads…
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The next issue of the MIT Energy Initiative's Energy Futures magazine is releasing this month. In this episode, we are sharing a sneak peek of some of the engaging energy stories in our upcoming issue. Read the transcript: https://energy.mit.edu/news/coming-soon-in-energy-futures-magazine Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.edu/energy…
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At MITEI's Fall Colloquium, Philip Sharp, the former president of Resources for the Future, highlighted dramatic steps the U.S. government has recently taken to combat climate change despite a seemingly unending series of once-in-a-generation crises. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/decarbonization-amid-global-crises Listen to more aud…
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Winters are warming faster than any other season here in the U.S. So why are some winter storms getting even more intense? Today, we’re going to explore the connections between climate change and extreme winter weather. For this episode, we sat down with atmospheric science expert Dr. Jennifer Francis of the Woodwell Climate Research Center. Dr. Je…
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Could battery power from electric vehicles dispatched to the grid open a fast lane to a net-zero future? A new MITEI study uncovers how electric vehicles could boost renewable energy growth by serving as "energy storage on wheels." Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/reversing-the-charge Listen to more audio articles: https://energy.mit.e…
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How do different carbon tax policies impact U.S. household budgets? MIT researchers have developed a method to determine which U.S. households win and lose financially under these policies and suggest corrections to avoid inequities. Read the article: https://energy.mit.edu/news/policies-to-cut-carbon-emissions Listen to more audio articles: https:…
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What if you could pay someone else to cancel out your carbon emissions? As countries, organizations, and even individuals around the world commit to lowering their impact on the climate, many have been doing just that. So today, we’re going to look at how “carbon offsets” work and whether they are an effective tool for slowing climate change. For t…
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