Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability

#Zimbabwe’s economic development rests on its #mining industry, but due to fractured governance and Chinese corporations, this may be limited. Tsitsi Musasike and others assess the impacts of this industry on local communities. Read more: spr.ly/63320BG0ho0

#Heat is a well-documented threat to human #health. However, estimating #heatexposure for health studies has long been a challenge. IGS affiliated authors recommend a nuanced approach to analyzing heat for #epidemiological studies in a new paper. Read more: spr.ly/63323BGbaFz

Save the date: IGS's event series, Convergent Conversations, continues November 10 at 2:30 pm! Join us as we build convergent research connections across Boston University that address real-world sustainability challenges. Open to the public. Register: spr.ly/63321BHHcIU

In a city as loud as #Chicago, it’s easy to get used to the background noise, but what if this #noise had wider implications? In a new study by Jonathan Levy, researchers observed the relationship between #transportation noise and #dementia. Read more: spr.ly/63323BGbSO7

At IGS’s Convergent Conversations, panelists discussed BosTen, a feasibility project exploring whether clean thermal energy networks could help decarbonize Boston buildings, with potential benefits for air quality and electricity demand. Recording: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYpB...

In a new study, BU and Harvard researchers were able to utilize near real-time #data from last year’s summer #heatwave to study the relationship between #epidemiology and #heat. Read more in Inside Climate News here: spr.ly/63326BGbSop

IGS was at Climate Week NYC! 🌎 Patricia Fabian, Jonathan Buonocore, and Kevin Gallagher, all IGS affiliates, joined the conversation on climate solutions.

CANCELLED, stay tuned for more information about possible rescheduling

Welcome to our new Visiting Researcher, Sonia Hassan! Her focus lies at the intersection of energy, sustainability, and economics. 👤 Bio: spr.ly/63322BGUv7e

Our research at Climate Week NYC shows that building modernization barriers are institutional, not technical. Read the full report: spr.ly/63328BG5bT4

Join us Oct. 1 for a conversation with Amy Westervelt on her new book "Brought To You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy". Moderated by @commscholar.bsky.social RSVP ⬇️ spr.ly/63326BGdnzQ

🗓️ BU's Institute for Global Sustainability is at #ClimateWeekNYC! Our faculty are there to share what they know, learn from others, and build partnerships on climate solutions. Attending? Let's connect.

TIME CHANGE: Now 12 pm - 1:30pm!

Congratulations to IGS affiliated Nellie Amosi and Benjamin Sovacool who have been honored with the 2026 Best Paper Awards from Energy Research & Social Science! Read more: spr.ly/63329BGVjxF

RSVP now: IGS's Fall Open House is October 1 at 3pm! Join us as we celebrate the start of the school year. Come meet our team, learn about our upcoming events, and find out about ways to get involved. RSVP: spr.ly/63323BGTzj9

Coastal marsh plants predict methane emissions better than salinity. “Plants live in certain environments; they reflect the long-term conditions – that is they integrate environmental signals,” says Robinson ("Wally") Fulweiler. Read more: spr.ly/63326B1INAy

Save the date: IGS's event series, Convergent Conversations, returns October 6! Join us as we build convergent research connections across Boston University that address real-world sustainability challenges. Open to the public. Learn more & register: spr.ly/63321BGMcaB

Western Europe experienced unprecedented summer heat exceeding 104°F (40°C) for weeks, including dangerous nighttime temperatures. "Nighttime heat is especially harmful for older adults whose homes lack air conditioning," says Deborah Carr. Read more: spr.ly/63327B1I27z

TX electricity costs up 30% since 2020—nation's highest. 3 million households faced disconnection in 2024. IGS affiliates Patricia Fabian & Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba weigh in on solutions: weatherization, urban cooling/trees, income-based payment plans. spr.ly/63322B10Qnw

AI data centers strain power grids and harm the environment. But what if they could be more flexible? Ayse Coskun and her colleagues at Emerald AI are making data centers adapt their power consumption more efficiently. Read more: spr.ly/63328B1xH6G

Carbon capture needs materials that work in real conditions: with moisture and without extreme heating. New research by Sean Lubner and colleagues shows TriptH does both. It captures CO2 from air and factories, releasing it using vacuum already available industrially. spr.ly/63323B1Q7bS

Global urbanization is accelerating urban heat. Lucy Hutyra's new research shows cool roofs could reduce city temperatures by up to 0.5°C. Her team mapped rooftops to identify which buildings to prioritize. The results could reshape how cities fight heat. Read more: spr.ly/63328BE0soo

A new study reveals that working men in El Salvador experience higher exposure to metals compared to those in the US. Madeleine Scammell and her colleagues concluded that the high exposure is likely due to diet and occupational factors. Read more: spr.ly/63328BE0tOr

Fossil fuel companies greenwash through misleading native ads. Research by Arunima Krishna, Michelle Amazeen, and Chris Wells found these ads increase misperceptions. The solution: call out the ad as paid content and cite regulatory sanctions. Read more: spr.ly/63324B1KOkj

IGS announces Cutler Cleveland as interim director. A 35-year BU veteran and leading scholar on energy, climate, and sustainability, Cleveland brings significant expertise. Read more: spr.ly/63325B1zo7b

CAREER OPPORTUNITY: We're #hiring a #PostDoc with the Clean Energy and Environment Legacy Transition (CELT) Initiative, a BU, UMass Lowell & MA partnership! Conduct #research on energy, health impacts & affordability. Collaborate across disciplines. Apply: spr.ly/63324B1JCZo

The 2026 IGS Graduate Student Summer Fellows advanced research on climate adaptation, carbon capture, AI sustainability & more! Congratulations to all 11 fellows across our 5 colleges. Learn more: spr.ly/63327B1BwUV

📚 Sharing the love of research! IGS Summer Fellows collaborated with The Trustees of Reservations Outdoor Ambassadors. The two groups shared their research with each other and worked on refining elevator pitches together. Grateful for the partnership!

Trading the office for the outdoors! 🪏🌱 Our IGS team had a blast volunteering at the Besse Barnes garden with The Trustees of Reservations. We loved learning about Boston's community garden history on this beautiful summer day! ☀️ Thanks to everyone who got their hands dirty! 🙌

Meet Seongje Park (Chemistry), and Sheida Hooshmandi and Dorsa Mohammadi (@buearth.bsky.social), the IGS Graduate Student Summer Fellows from CAS! 🌏 These fellows are studying everything from plant pigments to climate aid programs and flood recovery. www.bu.edu/igs/get-invo...

Meet Jena Santi, the IGS Summer Fellow from @buquestrom.bsky.social! She is studying whether political pressure affects the alignment between mutual funds' public sustainability commitments and their investment behavior. Learn more about Jena: spr.ly/63323BEzEC9

👋 Welcome Tanai Dawson to IGS! Tanai, Research Fellow, brings expertise in data analysis, web development, and environmental advocacy. Learn more: www.bu.edu/igs/profile/...

Meet the IGS fellows from the College of Engineering - Alexander, who’s researching materials to capture atmospheric CO2; Lizzy, who's trying to improve AI model efficiency; and Jiguang, who’s studying how 5G/6G tech could make weather forecasts more accurate! Learn more: spr.ly/63322BEz8D2

New research by Ayse Coskun and colleagues shows AI data centers can provide 18-55% power flexibility to support grid stability. As these facilities reach 50+ GW by 2030, this flexibility could be critical for grid resilience. Published at ACM e-Energy '26. Read more: dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

A warm welcome to IGS’s Fellows from @busph.bsky.social: Grace, who studies the pathways for decarbonizing heating and improving AC efficiency in Boston homes, and Feven, who studies the health effects of biomass fuel on children in Ethiopian homes. Learn more: spr.ly/63325BEKAn9

BU Earth & Environment professor and IGS associate director Cutler J. Cleveland published the op-ed “Improve Mass Save, don’t shrink it” in The Boston Globe, in which he argues that the energy efficiency program should be reformed rather than cut back. Read more: spr.ly/63322BEK2Tq

@patriciafabian.bsky.social is increasingly bringing her community-led, transdisciplinary research approach to the world stage. "The idea is that there are diverse efforts underway all over the world, and we are helping cities learn from each other," Fabian says. Full Q&A ➡️

Community-led research is paving a path toward a more just clean energy future in New England. A multi-institution research team is working to understand, document, and amplify the experiences of two New England communities that have recently adopted offshore wind projects. Keep reading ➡️

Tawnya Smith’s book chapter “Must We Define Music as an Anthropocentric Endeavor? Toward an Eco-centric Identity” proposes a new approach to music education that includes non-human sounds as a form of music to help people connect with the natural world. 🎶🌳 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

We’re welcoming Postdoctoral Associate Frederic Traylor to IGS! 👋 Dr. Traylor brings expertise in organizational sociology and science communication and will be researching barriers and pathways to renewable energy adoption and climate solution acceptance. Learn more: www.bu.edu/igs/profile/...

IGS & Pardee Center Summer Fellows came together to collaborate on sustainability research spanning climate adaptation, health equity, and more. Thanks to Patrick Keys for the insights and to our research community for the connections!

Boston University Researchers Team Up with Massachusetts to Launch New Clean Energy Tools Collaboration with the state produces online data tools that aim to help cities and towns implement greener energy programs.

Invasive plants can dramatically change ecosystems, and a new paper in the journal Biological Invasions reveals more about how they do it. 🌲 The results support the idea of "invasional meltdown," in which invasive species help one another take over.

Welcome to the third cohort of CELT Municipal Fellows! ☀️ This summer, they will join municipalities and regional planning agencies across Massachusetts to help advance clean energy, climate resilience, and sustainability projects in communities throughout the Commonwealth.

The Anthony Janetos Climate Action Prize was awarded to PhD student Pranav Sultania, who designed a compact and energy-conserving fluid pump for research labs inspired by squid propulsion. The Prize goes to one Campus Climate Lab project each year. www.bu.edu/articles/202...

NEW STUDY: US consumers prefer smartphones with sodium-sulfur (NaS) batteries over lithium ones, per Emily Ryan & colleagues. Preference for NaS batteries is bipartisan, especially when consumers are informed of their sustainability. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...