Mining, Environment & Society
ESI is excited to announce that Scott Odell, our postdoctoral associate spearheading our Mining, Environment, and Society Program, has secured a seed grant from the MIT Sloan Latin America Office for his project “Climate change and mining in Chile: Hydrosocial relations over desalination and glaciers.”
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The grant, which builds on Scott's previous work in Chile, will fund research on the use of seawater by the mining industry, and intersections between mining operations and glaciers impacted by climate change. By examining the impact of trends in mining, climate change, desalination, and glacial melt among stakeholders at the national and local levels in Chile, this project seeks to bridge a gap between climate research and mining research, illuminating how proposed technological and policy solutions will relate to both sets of environmental challenges.
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The project is expected to produce policy recommendations regarding whether and how desalination can be used to meet water scarcity challenges, as well as identify areas of concern for Chile's glaciers and communities dependent on them, with implications for regulations currently under debate. The project will also help set the groundwork for long-term projects in Chile and other affected countries in Latin America.
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American Perceptions of Climate Change
Over 50% of Americans are worried about climate change – but why is the rest of the country not? ESI's Laur Hesse Fisher will host an IAP workshop this January 27 on the what and why of American beliefs about climate impacts and solutions. Members of the MIT community can register online.
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Environmental Justice Postdoc
ESI is hiring a postdoctoral associate focused on just energy transitions and environmental justice, to deepen the scholarship of our evolving community engagement agenda. This postdoc will help ESI create a pipeline of research/engagement projects and co-produce research with a variety of community partners. Learn how to apply.
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Graduate Research Assistant
ESI’s Natural Climate Solutions Program is seeking a graduate Research Assistant for our flagship research project analyzing data from drone flights in the city of Mocoa, Colombia. This position will assist with analyzing and predicting landslide probability from LIDAR and other data using machine learning. Learn how to apply.
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This Week
- Roundtable: Climate Policy Between State and Federal Level, a webinar on the boundary lines between federal and state authority on climate policy hosted by MIT CEEPR. Wednesday, January 26, 11 am. Register.
- Climate Cafe, a regular event from 350 Mass offering a supportive place to talk over your concerns about climate change or climate activism. Wednesday, January 26, 7-8:30 pm. Register.
- How to Explain Fusion Energy to Anyone, an IAP webinar in which children's book author Kathryn Hulick will read from her new book explaining how she approached researching and writing about fusion energy and she'll offer tips on how to explain scientific research to journalists, students, or the public in an exciting way. Wednesday, January 26, 11:00 am - 12:00pm. Register.
- American Perceptions of Climate Change, an IAP virtual workshop on public perceptions, engagement, and communications regarding climate change in America today, hosted by MIT ESI. Thursday, January 27, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm. Register.
- Ice Edge: The Ikaaġvik Sikukun Story, a virtual film launch and discussion on a pioneering Arctic climate study undertaken in collaboration with the Alaska Native Village of Kotzebue. Hosted by the Columbia Climate School. Thursday, January 27, 2-3:30 pm. Watch the film in advance and register.
- How Can We Divert the “Don’t Look Up” Comet? An Interactive Climate Workshop with the En-ROADS Simulator, a two part interactive online workshop that will use En-ROADS developed by MIT Sloan to visualize the impact of different climate solutions and propose actions, from solar energy to vegetarian diets to carbon pricing, and see the impact immediately. Thursday January 27, 7:00 am-8:00 am and 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm. Register for 7:00 am or 2:00 pm.
- The Wharton Energy Conference, which this year will be held virtually with the theme "Bridge to Bankability: Enabling the Clean Energy Transition from Today to 2030." Friday, January 28, 9:30 am-4 pm. Check out the schedule and get tickets.
Save the Date
- Investing in Infrastructure for the Energy Transition, a webinar discussing efforts to accelerate infrastructure investments and harness short- and long-term economic benefits in the context of the energy transition and decarbonization objectives. Wednesday, February 2, 11:00 am. Register.
- Testing Pathways to 1.5°C, a webinar using Climate Interactive's EnROADS climate policy simulator to show the effects of different policy choices on meeting the world's climate goals. Hosted by the MIT Alumni Energy, Environment and Sustainability Network. Tuesday, February 8, 8-9:30 pm. MIT alumni and their guests can register here.
- MIT Sustainability Summit: From the Ground Up, the annual MIT conference exploring critical topics in sustainability. This year's summit will focus on environmental justice and grassroots action. Friday, February 25, 8 am-6 pm in the MIT Samberg Conference Center. Get tickets.
- 2022 MIT Manufacturing Conference, this year with the theme "Disruption as the New Normal." Featuring a panel discussion on "the corporate sustainability imperative" and other climate and sustainability considerations in manufacturing and supply chains. Wednesday, March 16, 8 am-6 pm in the MIT Media Lab. Get tickets (free to MIT staff, faculty and students, with discounts for other MIT affiliates).
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How coastal cities can build climate resilience as the clock ticks: At the recent MIT Water Summit, various strategies were discussed for coastal communities to build climate resilience in the face of sea level rise and the increasing number of natural disasters.
- MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative
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TIL about what I eat: Our TILclimate podcast talks to agronomist Dr. Cynthia Rosenzweig to explore how climate change impacts the food on our tables, and how our dietary choices feed back into the larger food system driving land and energy use across the globe.
- TILclimate
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Internships, Fellowships and Work Opportunities
- Job: ESI is hiring a postdoctoral associate to pursue new scholarship and research/engagement projects in collaboration with our wide variety of community partners, with a focus on just energy transitions and environmental justice. Learn more.
- Job: ESI’s Natural Climate Solutions Program is seeking a graduate Research Assistant to design and implement a methodology to analyze and predict landslide probability in the city of Mocoa, Colombia, from LIDAR data from drone flights, multi-modal satellite imagery, weather data, and geographic information systems using machine learning methods. Learn more.
- Fellowships: The MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Laboratory is accepting nominations for its Water and Food Solutions Fellowships, awarding a semester of funding to at least three MIT PhD students whose research addresses global water and food challenges. Learn how to be nominated by March 2.
- Fellowships: The MIT Energy Initiative has opened calls for its Society of Energy Fellows, offering MIT graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the clean energy space full funding for their benefits and tuition and stipend or salary. Learn how to be nominated by March 23.
- Job: Terrascope, a first-year undergraduate environmental learning community at MIT, is hiring a Learning Community Associate to provide operational support and organize community-building activities. Apply.
- Job: The MIT Energy Initiative is hiring a research scientist for its Future Energy Systems Center, to execute high-impact research projects in electric power, energy storage and low-carbon fuels, transportation, industrial processes, carbon management, and/or the built environment. Apply.
- Job: The Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health is hiring a postdoctoral research fellow to contribute to their Transportation, Equity, Climate and Health Project. Apply.
- Jobs: The Environmental League of Massachusetts is hiring for a variety of positions in development, communications, and political advocacy. Apply.
- Jobs: The Recycling Partnership is hiring for positions in management, research, data analysis, development, and more. View open positions.
- Jobs: The Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology at Stanford is hiring two postdoctoral scholars. Apply to work in climate mitigation and biomass-based carbon dioxide removal solutions or sustainable agriculture and climate change.
- Jobs: The Better Future Project is hiring a Development Manager/Director and Operations Manager/Director to support a variety of climate advocacy projects in Massachusetts. Apply.
- Jobs: The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society at Dartmouth College is hiring two associate directors, a post-doc, and a program assistant. Apply.
- Job: Takachar, which works to convert biomass into useful products, is hiring a dragon tamer (a.k.a Pilot Prototype Engineering Assistant). Apply.
- Internship: Northwest River Partners is looking for an intern to perform research and data analysis on clean electricity generation with a focus on hydropower. MIT students can apply through Handshake by February 28.
- Internships: The Charles River Watershed is seeking two summer interns to advance water quality initiatives. MIT students can apply through Handshake to be a watershed science intern or data analysis intern by March 31.
- Internship: Conservation X Labs is looking for a software engineering and web development intern to work on a machine-learning project for wildlife researchers this summer. MIT students can apply through Handshake by April 1.
- Internship: WalkBoston is looking for a summer transportation and planning intern to support their mission to make walking safer through design, advocacy and community engagement. MIT students can apply through Handshake by April 30.
Grants, Scholarships, Contests and Funding Opportunities
- Contest: The MIT Knight Science Journalism Program has opened applications for the Victor K. McElheny Award, with a prize of $5,000 for an outstanding work of journalism by a local or regional science journalist covering issues in science, environment, technology or public health. Apply by January 31.
- Contest: The Rice Business Plan Competition awards student-driven startups with prize money to explore new ventures in sectors including energy, cleantech and sustainability, among others. Apply to compete by January 31.
- Contest: The Kellogg-Morgan Stanley Sustainable Investing Challenge invites graduate student teams to pitch creative financial approaches to social and environmental challenges. Learn how to compete by February 13.
- Grants: The MIT Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab has opened calls for its commercialization grants, offering up to $150,000 to move water and food technologies from labs at MIT into the commercial world. Learn more and submit your pre-proposal by February 22.
- Contest: The EPA has opened an environmental justice video challenge for students, awarding a grand prize of $20,000 to the student team whose video best demonstrates an innovative approach to using public data to identify opportunities to solve environmental justice issues. Learn how to compete by April 1.
- Contest: The Wilbur-Ellis Innovation Award challenges student teams to propose new and better approaches for providing food for more people. Apply for the $25,000 first prize by May 2.
Volunteer and Student Group Opportunities
- Energy and Climate Mentorship: The MIT Energy & Climate Club is connecting members of the MIT community with experience or interests in energy and climate. Sign up to be a mentor or mentee by January 31.
- Climate Education: Climate Interactive is seeking En-ROADS Climate Ambassadors to learn how to run climate policy simulation games for classrooms, legislators, and community groups. Learn how to apply.
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