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MIT modeling study finds 52% of projected global population in 2050 will live in water-stressed areas

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A modeling study by researchers at MIT projects that 5 billion (52%) of the world’s projected 9.7 billion people in 2050 will live in water-stressed areas. The researchers also expect about 1 billion more people to be living in areas where water demand exceeds surface-water supply. billion living in developing countries.

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Climate Change is NSF Engineering Alliance’s Top Research Priority

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Since its launch in April 2021 , the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance has convened a diverse set of experts to explore three areas in which fundamental research could have the most impact: climate change; the nexus of biology and engineering; and securing critical infrastructure against hackers.

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A New Energy-Efficient Hydrogel Pulls Water From Air

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Using a new kind of hydrogel material, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have pulled water out of thin air at temperatures low enough to be achieved with sunlight. Atmospheric water harvesting draws water from humidity in the air. The material is a hydrogel, a polymer network that naturally retains a lot of water.

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MIT and Caltech Study Finds Climate Change Will Result In More Extreme Rainfall

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A new MIT and Caltech study on the impact that global climate change will have on precipitation patterns concludes that extreme rainfall will increase in the future. The basic underlying reason for the projected increase in precipitation is that warmer air can hold more water vapor.

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MIT team discovers new family of materials with best performance yet for oxygen evolution reaction; implications for fuel cells and Li-air batteries

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MIT researchers have found a new family of highly active catalyst materials that provides the best performance yet in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in electrochemical water-splitting—a key requirement for energy storage and delivery systems such as advanced fuel cells and lithium-air batteries. Grimaud et al.

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Separate MIT, IEA reports both outline major expansion in role of natural gas; caution on climate benefits

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The new report, part of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2011 series, examines the key factors that could result in a more prominent role for natural gas in the global energy mix, and the implications for other fuels, energy security and climate change. MIT: The Future of Natural Gas. Source: IEA. Click to enlarge. Earlier post.)

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MIT Researchers Elucidate Model for Escape of Underground Methane in Frozen Regions; Current Rate of Escape May be Much Faster Than Earlier Believed

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Graphic / Ruben Juanes, MIT. Researchers at MIT have elucidated how underground methane in frozen regions—e.g., Some scientists have associated the release, both gradual and fast, of subsurface ocean methane with climate change of the past and future. The stability of the hydrate stability zone is climate-dependent.

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