Founded in the United States on April 22, 1970, Earth Day is now celebrated by more than a billion people around the world each year. At MIT, climate change is recognized as the defining challenge of our era, so it is not surprising that alumni from every generation have put mind and hand to work to improve the health of the planet. These endeavors are regularly covered in Slice of MIT.
In honor of the 53rd Earth Day, here’s a look at some of the environmental stories we’ve shared during the Earth’s most recent trip around the sun: alums working on clean energy, green housing, pollution reduction, and so much more.
Fighting for Impact on Inequality, Climate Change, and Development
“When you think about making an impact, you have to think about the health of the planet. How can you not care about that? I do care. And I’m in a position to do something about it.”
—Geeta Sankappanavar ’98
Wind Energy—as Exciting as Landing on the Moon
“I think to save our planet—to save our civilization...We have to shift—and we can.”
—Mike Zuteck ’67
Water Treatment Startup Is Cleaning Up Manufacturing
“The idea here is to give nature its water back, to elevate water to the level of respect that it deserves as an essential resource for life.”
—Anurag Bajpayee SM ’08, PhD ’12
Greening Affordable Housing
“We must address equity and affordability as part of an environmentally sustainable solution.”
—Kim Vermeer ’82
Talking Trash in India
“Making the policy has been very satisfying, and its reach has been beyond my comprehension.”
—Almitra (Sidhwa) Patel ’58, SM ’59
Four Decades on the Front Lines of Environmental Activism
“In the 1970s, the issues were much more local, and activism was more grassroots. It was much easier to reach consensus on action. Today, with environmental issues expanding from local to global, it’s much harder.”
—Steven Lewis Yaffee PhD ’79
Brewing Palm Oil from Yeast
“With our alternative, the goal is to prevent future destruction of tropical forests to produce palm oil.”
—David Heller ’18
For Air Force ROTC Alum, Energy Career Soars
“The amazing people I get to work with give me hope. They are all so driven by this vision to create a clean energy future for the world.”
—Kate (Zimmerman) Anderson ’00
