Author: Fission Today

The trade association representing for-profit electric utilities hosted utility regulators alongside industry lobbyists in a luxury Fenway Park suite for a Red Sox game on the sidelines of a regulators’ conference last July, according to public records obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute. The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) is the trade association for monopoly investor-owned electric utilities. With a $100 million revenue stream, funded in part by customers across the country, EEI works to advance the interests of its utility members through lobbying, advocacy, communications, advertising, and other activities. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), which represents…

At MIT, a strong spirit of mentorship shapes how students learn, collaborate, and imagine the future. In a time of accelerating change — from breakthroughs in artificial intelligence to the evolving realities of global research and work — guidance for technical challenges and personal growth is more important than ever. The Committed to Caring (C2C) program recognizes the outstanding professors who extend this dedication beyond the classroom, nurturing resilience, curiosity, and compassion in a new generation of innovators. The latest cohort of C2C honorees exemplify these values, demonstrating the lasting impact that faculty can have on students’ academic and personal journeys.The…

Overcoming water-related challenges is inseparable from tackling energy-related issues. It takes lots of water to generate energy, for example to cool thermal power plants and nuclear reactors. Energy, in turn, is needed for water-related activities such as drilling, transportation, purification, desalination, and wastewater treatment. Because the relationship between water and energy is so close and complex, problems such as access, scarcity, or mismanagement of one can significantly affect the other. If water is scarce, this can hamper energy production and hinder efforts to cut carbon emissions. And energy production that ignores water limitations can lead to pollution, as seen in…

Energetica doesn’t have a single optimal strategy. Success depends on a player’s location, available resources, weather conditions, and the decisions of other players.For those curious to explore these complexities further, the Energetica wiki provides a detailed breakdown of the game’s mechanics, offering a glimpse into the depth and realism of its design.Teaching through playThe educational potential of games is immense but often overlooked, especially for adult learners. Energetica demonstrates how games can be used to teach complex topics in an accessible and engaging way. During a pilot test at ETH Zürich, students showed high levels of engagement, working together to understand…

Around 11 billion tons of goods, or about 1.5 tons per person worldwide, are transported by sea each year, representing about 90 percent of global trade by volume. Internationally, the merchant shipping fleet numbers around 110,000 vessels. These ships, and the ports that service them, are significant contributors to the local and global economy — and they’re significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.A new consortium, formalized in a signing ceremony at MIT last week, aims to address climate-harming emissions in the maritime shipping industry, while supporting efforts for environmentally friendly operation in compliance with the decarbonization goals set by the…

Recent breakthroughs at U.S. fusion labs, along with new public-private partnerships, are bringing us closer than ever to realizing fusion energy’s limitless potential. With the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) new Office of Fusion, the Genesis Mission executive order, Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap, and public and private investment, fusion is officially on the national agenda. America is standing on the cusp of a trillion-dollar future. However, the U.S. has a major gap to fill in fusion research and development (R&D), and workforce development. Public investment lags behind rival nations, slowing progress toward commercialization and leaving a shortage of skilled…

“Aerial view Denver, Colorado” by Carol M Highsmith/ CC0 1.0 On April 22, 2024, the Colorado Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Metro Denver, Colorado and Lodging Association, Inc., and NAIOP Colorado Chapter filed a complaint in federal district court against the State of Colorado and City of Denver challenging building performance standard regulations designed to decrease energy use and consequent GHG emissions in new and existing covered buildings (Colorado Apartment Association, et. all v. Ryan, et. all, Case No. 1:24-cv-01093 (Filed 4/22/24). This litigation follows the same legal challenge used against the City of Berkeley that overturned the City of…

U.S. News and World Report has again placed MIT’s graduate program in engineering at the top of its annual rankings, released today. The Institute has held the No. 1 spot since 1990, when the magazine first ranked such programs.The MIT Sloan School of Management also placed highly, in rankings announced April 8. It occupies the No. 5 spot for the best graduate business programs.Among individual engineering disciplines, MIT placed first in six areas: aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering, chemical engineering, computer engineering (tied with the University of California at Berkeley), electrical/electronic/communications engineering (tied with Stanford University and Berkeley), materials engineering, and mechanical engineering. It…

In 1945, nuclear bombs were used for the first and only time in history, taking the lives of thousands of people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Eighty years later, we are in the face of an unfolding genocide. The world is dealing with multiple crises, all of them urgent, and all of them requiring great courage from all of us. To achieve a future that is just and equitable for people and the planet, we need to work together: individuals, communities, and civil society organisations must build our collective power to ensure a better future for all. As part of…

Statehouse Happenings This Week: Our final pre-WEALTH event will be Wed/Thur (3/22 – 3/23). We’ll be talking with Rabbi Moti Rieber and others on the HOT topic of the session: WATER! The legislature has one more week of committee hearings and there’s a few things we’re closely monitoring this final week of committees! SB 49 is the wind lighting mitigation bill and it will be worked in the House Utilities committee on Tuesday morning. Please urge House Utilities members to pass the bill out with no additional amendments.  In the Senate, the Utilities committee will hear SB 278, a bill championed by…