10.20
Amanda Mott
Associate Director for News
ammott@upenn.edu
Climate Change
Answering ‘How will we live together?’ at the Venice Biennale
Answering ‘How will we live together?’ at the Venice Biennale
After more than a year of delays, Penn faculty and students were able to participate in La Biennale di Venezia architectural exhibition with both virtual and physical submissions.
‘Poldergeist’ videos make knowledge of climate change accessible
‘Poldergeist’ videos make knowledge of climate change accessible
In the first video of a series, Simon Richter of the School of Arts & Sciences, alongside a team of interns, works to demystify the Netherlands’ handle on sea level rise.
‘The climate girl’ at Penn
‘The climate girl’ at Penn
In a Q&A with Xiye Bastida, the second year describes how she’s bringing climate activism to her college experience, how her Indigenous background influences her path, and why storytelling and protecting Earth go hand in hand.
Rethinking resilience in the face of climate change
Rethinking resilience in the face of climate change
Hurricane Ida brought record-breaking rainfall and flooding, and stronger, more destructive storms will inevitably come. Being better prepared will require reconsidering how to protect people and their homes.
Learn, reflect, and act during Climate Week
Learn, reflect, and act during Climate Week
Climate Week at Penn, sponsored by the Provost’s Office, offers a variety of events—both in-person and online—that invite the whole University community to learn about, reflect on, and address the climate crisis.
Arthur van Benthem on new cars, old cars, and air pollution today
Arthur van Benthem on new cars, old cars, and air pollution today
The associate professor of business economics and public policy at Wharton discusses key findings from his research on vehicle air pollution and emissions standards.
What will give electric cars a boost in the U.S.?
What will give electric cars a boost in the U.S.?
Wharton’s John Paul MacDuffie discusses President Biden’s executive order to dramatically increase electric car sales by 2030.
Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report
Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report
The assessment describes ‘unequivocal’ human influence that no doubt caused ‘widespread and rapid changes’ to the atmosphere, oceans, and more. Professors Mark Alan Hughes and Michael Weisberg discuss the findings, plus how we can avoid passing the point of no return.
Identifying an elusive molecule key to combustion chemistry
Identifying an elusive molecule key to combustion chemistry
Researchers made the most direct observation of a key intermediate formed during the breakdown of hydrocarbons during combustion and in the atmosphere, results that could help in the future design of fuels that burn more efficiently.
‘Cities in water’
‘Cities in water’
Architect and landscape architect Anuradha Mathur and anthropologist Nikhil Anand are collaborating on questions of design and human practices to create new ways of thinking about low-lying coastal cities in India and around the world.
Media Contact
In the News
Marketplace (NPR)
Lots of homeowners are dropping flood insurance, study shows
Carolyn Kousky of the Wharton School said the lack of detailed data on dropped flood insurance policies makes it difficult to determine why homeowners made the decision.
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The New York Times
Collapse raises new fears about Florida’s shaky insurance market
Carolyn Kousky of the Wharton School weighed in on Florida’s insurance market, where insurers are raising premiums and refusing new and renewed policies in the wake of the Surfside collapse. “Coastal areas all across the Gulf and up along the East Coast could start to see very similar dynamics,” she said.
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Marketplace (NPR)
What role does the Fed have in mitigating climate change?
Christina Skinner of the Wharton School spoke about how the U.S. Federal Reserve can address climate change. While the Fed can adjust monetary policy to mitigate loss, it can’t do things like “using its balance sheet to go out into the world and buy green bonds. To try and direct the flow of capital in that direction is not really on the table like it is for some other central banks,” she said.
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CNBC
Off-the-grid homes are coming to your neighborhood, as climate change creates suburban survivalists
Benjamin Keys of the Wharton School said off-the-grid features like solar panels are increasingly popular with homeowners. “It’s not just for extremists. I think you’re going to see more and more people looking for ways in which they can protect themselves as there are increased risk from storms, more utility disruptions, and more need for resiliency,” he said.
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The Hill
Stopping price reform won't eliminate flood risk
Carolyn Kousky of the Wharton School wrote an op-ed about helping at-risk households who can’t afford flood insurance by adopting a means-tested disaster insurance program for those in need. “Climate change is escalating flood risk around the country,” she wrote. “Failure to update pricing, though, effectively hides this risk from the market and limits financial incentives for risk reduction.”
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The Atlantic
Why celebrities are agog over this tiny climate think tank
Zane Cooper, a doctoral candidate in the Annenberg School for Communication, said all networked computation, including cryptocurrency, is powered by fossil fuels and harmful to the environment. “Bitcoin reveals a fundamental truth about the relationship between computing and energy,” he said.
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