Went to the Harvard Divest rally this morning which took place in front of Massachusetts Hall where the President, Provost, Treasurer, and Vice Presidents of the University have offices. There was a constant crowd of about 100 people coming and going, holding signs and talking with each other. Pretty good for an overcast and chilly day which threatens rain. I arrived too late for the morning speakers and passed by again for the beginning of the noon speakers.
FossilFreeMIT (http://www.fossilfreemit.org) is planning another action on Friday, May 2 and could use some help.
Here’s the story:
MIT’s campus sits a whole 9 feet above sea level. That means that, if a Hurricane-Sandy-strength storm were to hit again in 2050, the storm surge, on top of the projected sea level rise due to climate change, would put the majority of MIT’s campus under about 3 feet of water.
We’re planning a campus-wide art installation to help everyone at MIT see what unchecked climate change and a continued reliance on fossil fuels would bring to our campus, and to make the connection between climate change action and fossil fuel divestment. Think blue. Think LOTS of blue.
Sign up at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ISYzIr0GM8RwMtvYY4J6l09GNUzsIrSeT8DUB7SjmrY/viewform
to help between 12pm-3pm this Friday 5/2!I can’t say much more right now, except that we need LOTS of help to pull this off. (We’ve cleared things with MIT Facilities, so there’s no risk of getting in trouble.) This is our chance to make sure all of MIT knows about divestment, and if you’ve been waiting to get involved, now is the time! We’ll send more information about the plan and where to meet if you sign up…
Thanks so much, and we really hope to see you this Friday!
Patrick, with Fossil Free MIT
P.S. The annual MIT Sustainability Summit is this weekend, 5/3-5/4, at the Media Lab. It’s focused on coastal cities and their resilience to climate change. How relevant!
When they refer to a storm as a 100 year storm, it does not mean that the storms happen 100 years apart. It means a storm of that intensity is likely to hit once in a 100 year period. Which means there is a certain percentage chance of a storm of that intensity tomorrow, and the next day, and next week and next month etc. etc.
It is like flipping a coin, just because a coin was heads the last time it was flipped does not affect the probability on head the next time it is flipped. Basing any decisions on an arbitrary year 36 years from now is dangerous.
You’re right. There’s a 1% chance that a “100 year storm” could hit the Boston area next year or any year.
However, Boston city authorities have publicly announced they are planning based upon the assumption that what is now considered a “100 year storm” will be happening every other year or so by the end of this century.
MIT itself is in the planning process now for redevelopment of their East Campus, between Mass Ave and Kendall Square, as well as working on an eco-district with corporate partners in East Cambridge that will, presumably, be around from when it is built in the next few years until 2050, the end of this century, or even longer. When you’re making multimillion if not billion $$$ of real estate investments, it’s a good idea to think ahead.