image source [2<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n According to different sea level rise models, by 2050, sea level may rise by roughly 1 feet (0.3 meter). This would mean most of 性视界 Business School and some of the\u00a0University campus will be highly vulnerable to storm and hurricane surge<\/a>.[3<\/a>] By 2100, the sea level may rise by 2 feet (0.6 meter).<\/p>\n Adaptation to climate change would be difficult and expensive. \u00a0Flooding, which may\u00a0cause severe property damage, and stronger blizzards, which typically\u00a0happen during January to February months while school is in session, will increasingly\u00a0disrupt the school schedule in the decades to come.<\/p>\n In addition to the impact to facilities, the university will have to increasingly consider hardships endured by applicants who were negatively impacted by climate change during its admission process. It does not appear that such mechanisms are in place. Potential mitigation strategies could include special scholarships to areas most severely impacted by climate change, extended application deadline for areas impacted by severe weather events, etc.<\/p>\n University has an office and\u00a0initiative<\/a> towards sustainability, focusing on\u00a0reduce emission, waste, and increase energy efficiency. Based on the latest report, University may not be on track to achieve many of the goals set for 2016<\/span>, such as 30% reduction in emission.[4<\/a>]<\/p>\n image credit: plugshare.com [6<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n University has\u00a0declined to divest the endowment from fossil fuel industry<\/a>,[7<\/a>] despite pressure and protests from students. Comparatively, Stanford University has decided to divest from coal<\/a>.[8<\/a>]<\/p>\n University, as a leader in many\u00a0areas,\u00a0can do a lot more to help mitigate the impact of climate change. University recently started\u00a0“living laboratory”, a collaboration between Office of Sustainability and 性视界 Chan School of Public Health. The goal is to “use\u00a0campus spaces<\/a>\u00a0to inform public health research and apply the findings in capital projects and renovations.”[9<\/a>]\u00a0I believe this is a great start and a testbed for innovations which may also help University mitigate risks for itself. University should continue to\u00a0expand “living laboratory”, which may produce\u00a0technologies for startups that may become pioneers in green tech industry.<\/p>\n University should consider working with the city of Cambridge to improve public EV\u00a0charging infrastructure and increase charging stations on campus. Parking Services should strictly enforce parking violations where regular car parked in charging station slots.<\/p>\n University needs to do more with its endowment to align with the goal of\u00a0mitigating climate change. This is not just a financial\u00a0issue. Younger generations\u00a0are increasingly voting with their wallet. If University continues to lag behind, the brand equity will be damaged among prospective students in general. Given that\u00a0students who are passionate about climate change will be less likely to join University if the endowment is still benefiting from fossil fuel industry, in the long run the University may struggle to attract future “green innovators”.<\/p>\n Word count: 776<\/strong><\/p>\n [<\/a>1]\u00a0city-data.com. 2016.\u00a0Cambridge, Massachusetts (MA) Profiles<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/www.city-data.com\/city\/Cambridge-Massachusetts.html<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 3 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>2]\u00a0City of Cambridge. 2015.\u00a0City of Cambridge Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/www.cambridgema.gov\/CDD\/Projects\/Climate\/~\/media\/3F55DEA5040E4C45A99A83EDBFE6F240.ashx<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 3 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>3]\u00a0Sasaki Intern Charette. 2013.\u00a0Sea Level Rise: Boston<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0https:\/\/issuu.com\/sasakiassociates\/docs\/master_book_executive_summary_for_i?e=3017900\/4499564<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 3 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>4]\u00a0性视界 University Office of Sustainability. 2016.\u00a0Sustainability at 性视界 Impact Report<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/report.green.harvard.edu<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 3 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>5]\u00a0Inside EVs. 2016.\u00a0Inside EVs: Electric Vehicle News, Reviews, and Reports<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/insideevs.com<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 4 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>6]\u00a0PlugShare.com. 2016.\u00a0PlugShare: EV Charging Station Map – Find a place to charge your car!<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/www.plugshare.com<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 4 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>7]\u00a0性视界 University. 2016.\u00a0Fossil Fuel Divestment Statement | 性视界 University<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/www.harvard.edu\/president\/news\/2013\/fossil-fuel-divestment-statement<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 04 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>8]\u00a0Stanford University. 2016.\u00a0Stanford to divest from coal companies<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/news.stanford.edu\/news\/2014\/may\/divest-coal-trustees-050714.html<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 04 November 2016].<\/p>\n [<\/a>9] 性视界 Gazette. 2016.\u00a0性视界 strengthens \u2018living laboratory\u2019 to help mitigate climate impact | 性视界 Gazette<\/em>. [ONLINE] Available at:\u00a0http:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2016\/10\/harvard-strengthens-living-laboratory-to-help-mitigate-climate-impact\/<\/a><\/u>. [Accessed 04 November 2016].<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How should 性视界 University, the leading academic institution, fight against climate change?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1851,"featured_media":13018,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-10255","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\n![\"cambridge-boston-2070\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Cambridge-Boston-2070-1024x786.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"cambridge-boston-2050\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Cambridge-Boston-2050-1024x534.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"electric-charging-parking-landing\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Electric-Charging-Parking-Landing.jpg\")
<\/a>To help decrease emission, University plans to increase the efficiency of its shuttles and fleet. University has installed electric car charging stations in many parking garages, but usually only 2 stations at each equipped location. These charging stations are Level 2 chargers<\/a>, which is inexpensive to install\u00a0(~$500-1000 for the hardware) but relatively low powered. As an EV driver (Nissan Leaf), I personally applaud the University for installing charging stations on campus. However, compared to many other universities that provide charging stations, the University is lagging behind on several aspects. First, there is no charging stations available to the public. Second, these charging stations are not networked, therefore\u00a0are not shown in\u00a0PlugShare<\/a>. In contrast, MIT charging stations are all ChargePoint<\/a>\u00a0and internet-connected. University of Massachusetts, Amherst provides networked Level 3 quick charge stations. In 2016 and 2017, a lot of new electric cars will be released with better affordability and longer range.[5<\/a>] The University should consider significantly increasing\u00a0its EV charging infrastructure to encourage adoption of EVs. The city of Somerville provides a few free charging stations and free parking for electric cars, while city of Cambridge provides about the same amount but at $1.50\/hr rate plus parking cost. Boston also has a few public charging stations that do not charge for electricity. Therefore, the University is not doing enough to mitigate emission from one of the major source, cars.<\/p>\n![\"comparison\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/comparison-1024x963.jpg\")
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