Think there’s no way to tackle climate change? Think again.

Scientists and engineers all over the world have been grappling with the realities of climate change for decades: collecting evidence, communicating dangers, and working together to develop solutions. At Harvard, scientists at all career levels are developing solutions to protect the global food supply, clear the air of dangerous particles and gases, secure clean water supplies, and develop clean sources of energy.

To mark Climate Week 2019, we created a short video to highlight some of these discoveries and inventions. Here are a few of the science and technology stories that inspired it.

Using solar energy to turn sunlight, water, and air into liquid fuels and fertilizers

• Expanding the reach of the bionic leaf: With an eye on population growth, scientists expand their work on the artificial leaf to produce biofuels and biofertilizer, which can aid agriculture in developing world
• Bionic leaf turns sunlight into liquid fuel (video): New system surpasses efficiency of photosynthesis

Storing energy generated by wind and solar farms, so we can use it when it’s calm or cloudy

• New organic flow battery brings decomposing molecules back to life: “Zombie” molecules dramatically increase battery lifetime
• Organic Mega Flow Battery transcends lifetime, voltage thresholds: Dubbed “Methuselah,” new molecule outlives previous chemistries
• How flow batteries work (video)

Harnessing nature to make industries and homes cleaner and greener

• Saving the Planet with Robots, Microbes, and Nanotechnology: From the Redwood Forest to the gulf stream waters, biologically inspired engineering is enabling a more sustainable future
• Nanoarchitectures for air purification (video): Butterfly-inspired coating for catalytic converters dramatically lowers the cost of cleaning air
• Fouling marine fouling (video):Minimizing drag and energy consumption by ships

Using bacteria to produce more sustainable plastics

• Rewiring bacteria for large scale biofuel and bioplastic production: Changing the fatty acid metabolism of bacteria could pave the way toward a more sustained environment

Understanding how pollution affects our resources, and those of our neighbors

• From sea to rising sea: Climate change will affect every American in the coming decades. The question is, to what degree?
• Mercury levels in fish are on the rise: As water temperatures increase, so does risk of exposure to toxic methylmercury
• A precise chemical fingerprint of the Amazon: Drone-based monitoring system reveals important information on the health of the Amazon
• Researching how pollution affects climate change in the Amazon (video): Part of GoAmazon 2014, an international campaign coordinated with the U.S. Department of Energy

Creating new technologies to prevent erosion

• Laying some groundwork for environmental protection (video): Robot builds erosion barriers from interlocking metal sheets, while robot swarms could protect threatened areas

Helping cities to keep things moving, sustainably

• Transportation, Equity, Climate, and Health Study (TRECH) study to analyze potential health benefits of transportation policies aimed at curbing climate change
• Street battle: Transportation expert advocates agitating for more pedestrian-friendly spaces
• Pothole politics (audio story): Do pothole-reporting apps actually improve citizen participation in local government?

Getting the facts straight about climate and health, so people can take action to protect their communities

• Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative’s 2019 Climate Change Deep Dive: an in-depth view of the complexities and opportunities surrounding global climate issues
• Kids and climate: How climate solutions protect children from pollutants and help them live healthier lives
• Climate change, heatwaves, and health: How you can keep your child healthy in a warming climate
• Airborne dust threatens human health in Southwest: Increases in dust due to climate change could result in additional illness and deaths in U.S. Southwest by 2100
• Climate change takes heavy toll on health, lawmakers told: Aaron Bernstein testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform
• A focus on earth’s other greenhouse gas problem: Methane (video)

Working together, we can turn discoveries into solutions for a more sustainable world

• Tackling climate change in the MBA classroom (video)
• Greenland Foreign Minister Discusses Climate Challenges and Problem-Solving with Arctic Initiative
• Leadership and the climate change challenge (video)

Discover more

• Tackling Climate Change
• Browse stories: Climate research at Harvard
• Harvard Business School: Business and Environment
• Journalist’s Resource: Covering environmental issues