Energy Science | Penn Today

Mississippi crisis highlights climate threat to drinking water nationwide

Allison Lassiter of the Weitzman School of Design says that the infrastructure act doesn’t inject enough money into public water supply systems to fundamentally change them.

With COP27 approaching, cities like Philadelphia are ‘powerful tools’ for climate adaptation

Mark Alan Hughes of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy says that cities are powerful tools for collective action on climate change, noting that Philadelphia is vulnerable on climate adaptation but well-positioned to improve.

Renewable energy is maligned by misinformation. It’s a distraction, experts say

Shelley Welton of Penn Carey Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy says that blaming renewables is a distraction, a way to forestall a transition that is underway but needs to be moving faster.

Dangerous heat predicted to hit three times more often in future

Michael Mann of the School of Arts & Sciences says that a new study about rising heat waves focuses on mathematical probabilities rather than the true political obstacles.

A GOP misinformation campaign targets Democrats’ climate spending packages

Shelley Welton of Penn Carey Law and the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy says that continued reliance on fossil fuels will create a worsening cycle of threats to the electricity grid.

Solar panels with sunlight shining on the top right corner.

Marrying models with experiments to build more efficient solar cells

Penn chemist Andrew M. Rappe, in collaboration with former postdoc Arvin Kakekhani and researchers at Princeton University, has gained insight into how the molecular make up of solar cells can affect their properties and make them more efficient.

Two construction workers work on the interior of Penn Boathouse.

With school out, construction crews work in earnest

Campus may have depopulated for the summer, but construction workers have moved in to begin or accelerate work on projects both big and small. Here, an overview of what’s in progress on Penn’s campus—and beyond.

Side of a building. Some of the window spaces are covered with bars. Others are covered with plants and other options for greening the building.

Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC

The latest assessment offers both a harsh reality check and a path forward. Experts William Braham, Peter Psarras, and Michael Mann offer their thoughts.

Wind turbines in water, with a sunset in the background.

Talking energy at Penn

Energy Week 2022, hosted by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, runs April 4-8. It includes student presentations, along with conversations about renewables, energy and the war in Ukraine, and much more.

Person in SCUBA fear floating over bleached coral reefs.

Four takeaways from the IPCC’s report on climate adaptation and vulnerability

The assessment gets explicit about the effect of climate change on people, places, and ecosystems. Experts from Penn weigh in on what it means.

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