Sustainability & Environment

Thirty years ago, Harvard’s Six Cities Study was the first to link excess mortality in six U.S. cities to emissions of PM2.5—findings that prompted new regulations on industrial smokestack emissions.

Exposure to fine particulate air pollutants from coal-fired power plants (coal PM2.5) is associated with a risk of mortality more than double that of exposure to PM2.5 from other sources, according to a new study led by George Mason University, University of Texas at Austin, and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

An EPA plan to eliminate all of the nation’s lead pipes in 10 years relies heavily on research conducted by wife-and-husband team Ronnie Levin, instructor of environmental health, and Joel Schwartz, professor of environmental epidemiology at the Harvard Chan School. 

As founder of Coastal Protection Solutions, Alex Berkowitz MLA ’23 is developing offshore floating “speed bumps” that can help reduce the destructiveness of waves on coastal regions.   

In a recent TEDx Talk, Harvard Chan School environmental health chair Kari Nadeau MD ’92, PhD ’95 explains how investments in climate resilience save money in the long run and protect people’s health.  

Cofounded by Viraj Sikand MBA '24, MPA '27 and Mark Tracy MPA '11, EarthAcre makes it lucrative for Indigenous communities to protect biodiverse habitats by selling "biocredits."

Postdoctoral researcher Amir Baniassadi works with doctors, architects, and engineers to assess how buildings could be designed to better protect the elderly from heat as global temperatures rise.

Inspired by a friend’s case of mercury poisoning and a recent oil spill in Ohio, students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design have developed a 3D-printed device—dubbed “TINA”—that can remove heavy metals from contaminated rivers and lakes by expediting a naturally occurring bacterial process.

Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and affiliated professor of earth and planetary sciences at Harvard, was selected for her work to expose corporate efforts to undermine the scientific consensus about human-caused climate change.

Yo-Yo Ma AB ’71, MusD ’91 partnered with climate activist Pattie Gonia and indigenous Alaskan Quinn Christopherson for “Won’t Give Up,” a song and video to inspire hope and action.