At Climate Week NYC, The Rockefeller Foundation brought together 16 Fellows demonstrating a “big bet mindset,” or the belief that it is possible to use large-scale solutions to address climate change. Here, research program director Marcela Angel Lalinde highlighted the MIT ESI’s big bet to create participatory monitoring systems that increase community resilience against predictable climate risks, such as landslides, in Mocoa, Colombia. "Ultimately, my goal as an urban planner and researcher is to transform data into knowledge and action," Angel wrote after the event. "By harnessing technological advancements alongside community-based planning, we aim to bolster resilience against predictable climate risks, ensuring that communities like Mocoa are equipped to thrive in the face of adversity." This project was created in partnership with MIT's Department of Urban Studies and Planning, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Pratt Institute’s Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment, the Colombian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Corpoamazonia, Global Environment Facility, CAF -banco de desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe-, AirWorks, community-based groups (including representatives from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, community oversight groups, youth, and victims of the landslide), and others who would not have a sit at the table without the spaces created by the project.
MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Higher Education
Cambridge, Massachusetts 3,173 followers
MIT’s institute-wide commitment to climate and sustainability research, education and public engagement
About us
The MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) advances science, engineering, policy and social science, design, the humanities, and the arts towards a people-centric and planet-positive future. MIT launched the ESI in 2014, a major campus-wide effort to coordinate and develop interdisciplinary solutions to urgent challenges in environment and sustainability. The ESI aims to harness the MIT community’s ingenuity and the Institute’s unique culture of collaboration through diverse activities in research, education, and engagement.
- Website
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https://environmentalsolutions.mit.edu/
External link for MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
- Industry
- Higher Education
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Type
- Nonprofit
- Founded
- 2014
Locations
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Primary
21 Ames St
55-106
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, US
Employees at MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Updates
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How have science and technology historically caused harm to communities disproportionately affected by air pollution, contaminated water, and climate change disasters? Anyone — from students to growing professionals — can learn about the environmental justice movement, its history, and how science and technology can be used to tackle environmental challenges and injustice in the MITx Courses 11.068x: Environmental Justice, Science, and Technology. This boot-camp-style course, which starts on Tuesday, October 22: 💡 Utilizes a mix of readings, lectures, and interactive workshops 💡 Features lectures from Justin Steil (Associate Professor of Law and Urban Planning, MIT School of Architecture and Planning (MIT SAP)), Chris Rabe (The ESI Education Program Director), and Ufuoma Ovienmhada (Postdoctoral Scholar, University of Arizona, School of Geography, Development, and Environment) 💡 Includes presentations from community organizations including HEET (Home Energy Efficiency Team), Earth Hacks, and GreenRoots, Inc. If you're interested in environmental justice, civil rights, or climate activism, sign up for this free instructor-paced online course from the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning (MIT School of Architecture and Planning (MIT SAP)). There is a certificate track available for purchase. Enroll now to save your seat in the class!
Science, Technology and Environmental Justice
mitxonline.mit.edu
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MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative reposted this
Panelists at last week's seminar, Governing Critical Raw Materials and the Energy Transition, agreed that the energy transition seems to be moving faster than the governance frameworks for the critical raw materials essential to it. Key takeaways from Susan Park, University of Sydney; Weinthal Erika, Duke University; Hyeyoon Park, University of Stirling; Scott Odell, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Rasmus Klocker Larsen, SEI, include: ❌ Lack of regulation: Most regulatory measures are voluntary, allowing corporations to choose what they are held accountable for. Fragmentation in governance tools is also an issue—for instance, it's unclear how the European Critical Raw Materials Act aligns with directives like the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. ❌ Gaps in water governance and Indigenous rights: In Sweden, Sámi concerns are often disregarded in green transition projects. Negotiated agreements with developers are becoming a key governance tool but often lead to negative impacts on local communities. ✔️ Sustainable mining requires community engagement: Meaningful relationships with local communities and addressing concerns holistically, rather than just responding to influential voices, are essential for sustainable mining practices. ✔️ Rethink energy systems: The green transition presents an opportunity to not only make mining more sustainable but also rethink our energy systems, adopt circular economy practices, and reduce overall energy demand. cc Stockholm University #CriticalMinerals #GreenTransition #IndigenousRights
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As part of a larger initiative to prioritize climate justice education at MIT, the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (ESI) is excited to share the expansion of the Climate Justice Instructional Toolkit (CJIT) coming Summer 2025. The CJIT aims to support faculty members and instructors of introductory undergraduate courses across disciplines in facilitating the integration of climate justice content and related instructional approaches into their courses. Currently, the education team at the ESI is working toward the continued maintenance and implementation of the Toolkit, as well as the creation of new, disciplinary-specific modules with the help of MIT graduate students, who will take the lead in the development of these modules. As a refresher, some of the existing modules include: ✅ Introduction to Climate Justice ✅ Climate Justice Policy ✅ Global Climate Justice ✅ The Just Transition ✅ Indigenous Climate Action ✅ Mapping Environmental Justice The new modules will focus on the intersection of climate justice within computing, technology, and engineering disciplines to make it easier for faculty and instructors to include climate justice curriculum within some of MIT’s largest and most popular programs and courses; namely, those within Course 1 (MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Course 6 (MIT EECS). If you're a higher-ed instructor who is interested in incorporating climate justice into your coursework, please reach out to Chris Rabe at cjrabe@mit.edu. And if you're curious about climate justice in general, you can explore the modules on the ESI website.
Instructional Toolkit
https://environmentalsolutions.mit.edu
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MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative reposted this
Over the past few days at MIT we were fortunate to ideate how to #reduce_reuse_reimagine mine tailings 👇♻️💭 with several visionary industry, academic, and startup experts in mining and the circular economy. I am optimistic that collaborations such as these will catalyze action to reduce tailings volumes and risks in a way that generates new revenue streams for corporations and new resource streams for adjacent local communities. Thank you to our keynote speakers Jaidev Prasad and Bruno Pelli, and to ICMM for your collaboration and the support of your incredibly dedicated team Bryony, Tábatha, Yosuke, and Owen. It was a privilege to partner and participate in your tailings working group session as well 🪨👩💻🌳 At the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative and beyond, we have a lot of work to do to promote greater data sharing and transparency among academics and companies in the mining industry. Thank you Profs. Andrew Whittle, Elsa Olivetti, John E. Fernández for trusting me to get things started. I feel privileged to be a member of a community where students are empowered and encouraged to assume leadership roles in addressing our world’s most urgent sustainability challenges 🌎🌍🌏
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MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative reposted this
Excited to share our SERC Case Study that was published last week entitled: From Mining to E-waste: The Environmental and Climate Justice Implications of the Electronics Hardware Life Cycle. You can access it here: https://lnkd.in/e3xNkWM7 The goal of this case study is to explore the impacts of the global electronics hardware life cycle using environmental justice and climate justice as key frameworks. It is open access and meant for educational uses in computing or tech-related courses and includes discussion questions and mini activities for learners. Thank you to all of the students working with me in the SERC Scholars Program and shout-out to Lelia Hampton and Madeline Schlegel for all of their hard work in brainstorming, writing, and editing during the revision process. If you are interested in exploring environmental and climate challenges related to computing, please check this out or send me a message!
From Mining to E-waste: The Environmental and Climate Justice Implications of the Electronics Hardware Life Cycle
mit-serc.pubpub.org
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MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative reposted this
⛏️ SEMINAR: Critical minerals play a crucial role in the green transition, powering technologies like electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels. However, increased extraction can lead to environmental degradation and human rights violations. Finding the right governance tools to balance competing demands is essential for ensuring sustainability. Join international experts as they share their insights on the topic: 🔹 Susan Park of Global Governance, University of Sydney, Australia 🔹 Weinthal Erika, Professor of Environmental Governance, Duke University, US 🔹 Hyeyoon Park, Lecturer in International Politics, University of Stirling, Scotland 🔹 Scott Odell, Program Scientist, MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative, US 🔹 Rasmus Kløcker Larsen, Senior Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute 📆 03 October 2024 🕑 14:00 - 15:30 CEST 📍 Stockholm University, Department of Political Science, Room F702 🔗 Register: https://buff.ly/4dUHbrQ cc Mistra, Stiftelsen för miljöstrategisk forskning, Green industrial policy in the age of rare metals (GRIP-ARM), Stockholm University #CriticalMinerals #GreenTransition #Sustainability #HumanRights
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Get excited! There's just 1️⃣ week left until the MIT Global Summit on Mine Tailings Innovation! We're sold out of our in-person tickets, but you can still join us virtually. Some speakers include: ⛏️Herbert Einstein, Professor at MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering ⛏️Mollie Wilkinson, Investor at Orion Resource Partners ⛏️Robert Fetell, PhD Student at MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering ⛏️Lais Resende, Principal Engineer at Vale Register here for your virtual ticket: https://lnkd.in/ei2YhUnv ICMM #MITMine2024
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MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative reposted this
Announcing an upcoming VMS event: Building Climate & Sustainability Ventures Join founders with a passion for impact who are leading, gaining funding, and scaling innovative ventures helping to build a better world by solving climate, energy, and sustainability challenges. In this virtual session, founders will offer advice to strengthen your venture-building strategy with real-world, real-time, insights on funding sources, when to raise, resources available, how to engage funders, the vital role of your story, what worked (and did not), overall learnings, and finding your path to impact, success, and fulfillment. Please register today and join us on September 25 at 5:30 PM ET via Zoom. This session will focus on climate, energy, and sustainability ventures but all are welcome. Pre-registration is required. Sign up today! Register here: https://lnkd.in/emej2GQ9 Featuring Sissi Liu of Metalmark Innovations, Norhan Bayomi of Lamarr.AI, Sam Levang of Salient, and Paris Smalls, PhD of Eden
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MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative reposted this
Last week, we were excited to integrate an interactive workshop into the undergraduate orientation for the first time, welcoming hundreds of students for a deep dive into the #EnROADS climate simulator, led by John Sterman. En-ROADS is a cutting-edge tool developed by Climate Interactive and the MIT Sloan School of Management that lets users explore how different policies — like electrifying transport or pricing carbon — affect energy prices, temperature, air quality, and other key issues. We’re energized by the new students’ passion for #sustainability and the #climate, and are grateful for everyone’s participation in the event. Thank you to John for leading another exciting workshop, to all the students for attending, and to MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative for the opportunity!