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Harvard Magazine.
Harvard leveraged construction of its massive new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in Allston in order to coax building-materials manufacturers into removing hazardous chemicals from their supply chains, the University reports. Heather Henriksen, the University’s principal sustainability officer, and Elsie Sunderland, the Gordon McKay professor of environmental chemistry, described their work with suppliers during a press call to announce that the SEC had earned the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating (LEED platinum) from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The LEED rating system specifies standards for buildings that conserve resources by lowering energy and water use, using renewable and recycled materials in construction, and controlling erosion and storm water runoff. Such buildings also create healthy work environments by optimizing natural lighting, ventilation, and heat. While LEED-certified bu
In his first weeks in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden signaled that climate change is a national priority. On Inauguration Day, he rejoined the Paris Agreement and halted the controversial Keystone XL pipeline that would have carried oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. On Jan. 27, Biden signed an executive order that officially elevates climate as an essential focus of U.S. foreign policy and national security. The order also pauses new oil and natural gas leases on public lands or offshore waters.
Across the Carnegie Mellon University campus, experts study climate, the environment and energy, as well as the policies that shape each of these sectors. What are the most critical issues that need to be addressed in the next four years? Below is a sampling of CMU expert opinions.