History
Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since the formation of MACA.
MACA has been active since 2018. In October 2018, a group of alumni of MIT in Maryland sent an open letter on climate change to all candidates running for public office in the state. The letter was signed by more than 100 alumni and sounded the alarm on the effects of climate change. The letter was supported by US Senators and Congressmen, and State Senators and Delegates, and helped pass the Clean Energy Jobs Bill in the state.
In October 2020, a group of alumni from around the US and abroad sent a letter to the MIT administration in response to their request for feedback on the 2015 MIT Plan for Action on Climate Change. The letter illuminated certain gaps in MIT’s 2015 plan and outlined a vision for the 2020 plan, including: (1) increasing the campus greenhouse emissions reductions goals, (2) metrics for engagement with the fossil fuel industry, (3) guidance for divestment and moral leadership on climate (4) actions for leadership on development of climate technologies, and (5) broadening climate education on campus. The MIT administration responded and initiated a series of MIT campus climate action forums, released a greatly strengthened decadal climate action plan in 2021, named “Fast Forward”, and recognized MACA’s energy and contributions by awarding founder Shiladitya DasSarma (MIT PhD ’84, course VII), with the MacVicar Leadership Award in 2022.
During 2020-21, MACA signed on to a petition with 450 organizations in 49 countries to ban the importation of Russian oil and gas, and to rapidly phase out all fossil fuels in the name of peace. MACA also partnered with Environment America and over 100 other organizations to stop the unsustainable pressure on rainforests important for carbon capture and sequestration. MACA has also partnered with other climate groups to secure climate leadership in Washington DC through the Confirm Climate campaign. MACA has also partnered with Climate Reality to demand urgent action on the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement by sending letters to reps and with Climate Lit as a signatory for the National Strategic Planning Framework to support the creation of a national U.S. Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE).
MACA is continuing to work by forming working teams to address many different topics and efforts relating to the climate crisis. One of the first teams formulated in the fall of 2021 wrote A Roadmap for Responding to Climate Change, a comprehensive but readable document intended to create opportunities for engagement with US Representatives, Senators, and the Biden Administration as well as at the state, local, and international levels. A MACA education team recently completed a Climate Introduction resource to provide a solid scientific foundation for both students and teachers. Additional MACA teams are undertaking projects to address technologies important for addressing challenges from climate change.
The
MACA teams are also active in interaction with other MIT alumni, alumni
from peer institutions as well as young people and the general public.
Many of these interactions are facilitated by climate panels where
specific topics are addressed, from MACA educational resources to
climate technologies which can help address the challenges, shining a
light on issues around climate justice, and legislation for achieving a
goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier.