Past Events
January 21, 2010
MIT Independent Activities Period - This session will explore two important issues in the realm of climate policy: technological change in the energy industry, and U.S. biofuels policies and their implications. Part 1 will focus on climate policy-induced R&D, innovation, and important technological change considerations within climate policy models. Part 2 will focus on policies that impact the production and use of biofuels and biomass, and the implications for the electricity, transportation, and agricultural sectors, food production, infrastructure, and the economy at large.
January 20, 2010
MIT Independent Activities Period - U.S. climate policy is on the move—the Waxman-Markey Bill passed the House last spring, and before you could say Kerry-Boxer the Senate had a bill too! Wondering what these landmark bills are made of, but don’t have time to sift through 1,400 pages of legalese? Come learn about the substance and potential impacts of these recent developments in U.S. climate policy. Led by Jennifer Morris.
January 19, 2010
MIT Independent Activities Period - Concerned about climate change, but unsure how our policy options stack up? Come learn enough to hold your own at a cocktail party on current climate policy topics! From the basic economics to the pros and cons of different policy options to the status of international negotiations on a global agreement, this course will be a tour de force of current issues in climate change economics and policy. This discussion will provide helpful background for the upcoming session on recent developments in U.S. climate policy legislation.
January 14, 2010
MIT Independent Activities Period - "Climate Science" is a two session series on fundamentals of climate science: the past to the present; and modeling the future. Session II will cover an introduction to climate modeling, followed by a discussion of recent observations, climate projections (IPCC), attribution of climate change to the various forcings in the atmosphere, and impacts of climate change, both currently observed and predicted in the future. Each presentation is designed to stand alone. Session II is led by Marty Singh and Dan Chavas.
January 12, 2010
MIT Independent Activities Period - "Climate Science" is a two session series on fundamentals of climate science: the past to the present; and modeling the future. Session I will cover paleoclimates: variations in the climate over longer time periods from millions of years to the recent past, and the history and development of climate science. Each session is designed to stand alone. Session I is led by Kat Patter and Tim Cronin.
January 11, 2010
This IAP course (for credit) will meet for 8 sessions (Mon, Wed, Fri, Jan 11-29, 10am-noon). Overview of the fundamentals of simulating the Earth's climate. Basic background on the processes maintaining the climate is provided. Students run simple climate models (radiative-convective equilibrium and energy balance models) in Matlab and analyze output from the comprehensive climate models used in global-warming assessments. The components of a modern general circulation model will be discussed.