MIT students, staff, and faculty marched in Boston and around the world last Friday as part of the Global Climate Strike. Graduate students in EAPS organized their department and convened a group of organizers across the institute to promote participation by the MIT community in the strike. They circulated a ‘Climate Scientists’ Climate Strike Pledge’, where members of the MIT community publicly committed to "stand in solidarity with young people" organizing the strike, to "monitor, project, and understand climate change and also to take decisive action." Days before the march, Boston Dig published an article written by these MIT graduate students in climate and climate-related sciences called, Young Climate Scientists Speak Out. Their perspective is also discussed in Mara Freilich's article, Climate Science in a Changing Climate.
The strike preceded Climate Week, a week filled with events showcasing global climate action. It is taking place in New York City from September 23 to 29, and run by The Climate Group. It is concurrent with the United Nations Secretary General's Climate Action Summit, which was held on Monday, September 23. Here are some ways the MIT community is getting involved in Climate Week:
- MIT Solve is holding the Solve Challenge Finals 2019
- Inma Borrella, a Postdoctoral Associate at the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, is giving an oral presentation at the International Conference on Sustainable Development. Her presentation is titled "Higher Education for Anyone, Anywhere - The MicroMasters Revolution."
- Julie Newman, Director at the MIT Office of Sustainability, is giving an oral presentation at the International Conference on Sustainable Development. Her presentation is titled “Grappling with scales of impact: Considering the campus, the city, and the globe."
- Curt Newton, OCW Publication Director at MIT Open Learning, is helping to organize a series of five forums being put on by Sustaining All Life.
- Robert Stoner, MIT Energy Initiative's Deputy Director for Science and Technology, leads a research team that supports the Rockefeller Center's Global Commission to End Energy Poverty (GCEEP). The GCEEP co-chairs are partaking in a panel event during the United Nations General Assembly on September 25.
The sign that MIT ESI Education Manager Sarah Meyers created for marching in Boston.
A view of the Philadelphia march, taken by MIT ESI Program Director Laur Hesse Fisher.
A photo of the Boston Climate Strike rally, taken by MIT ESI Program Intern Alyssa Farkas.
The Sustainability Initiative at MIT Sloan participates at the Boston Climate Strike, taken by Director Jason Jay.
Members of the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab participate in the Boston Climate Strike.
Cover photo credit: Chris Noble
If you'll also be attending Climate Week in NYC or in other parts of the world, leave a comment below or send us a message letting us know what you'll be involved in!
