GPS Department Presents Climate Change Simulation to Recognize Earth Day

To honor Earth Day, on Thursday, April 20, the Pioneer Valley STEM Network hosted a En-ROADS workshop in conjunction the Geography, Planning, and Sustainability Department (GPS) and Voices Rising Together, a local activism group. 

En-ROADS is an evidence-based global climate simulator that allows users to explore the benefits, challenges, and equity impacts of specific policies—such as electrifying transport, pricing carbon, and improving agricultural practices—on hundreds of factors like energy prices, temperature, air quality, and sea level rise.

GPS Professor Dr. Carsten Braun highlighted the imperative nature of the event, “The future has not happened yet,” but by attending, “students and allies can get informed, get educated, and get active.”

“This workshop [shows] us in real-time the impacts of different climate solutions -- what's effective and what is not all that effective,” he added. 

En-ROADS, developed by Climate Interactive, the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, and Ventana Systems, helps to simulate future climate changes based on policies that users imagine and enforce. The presentation of En-ROADS also advocated for its implementation inside university classrooms as well as community resources to build a wider audience. 

When asked about what people can do to help improve community health, Braun said, 

“Here, individual choices that we all make on a daily basis do matter, but ultimately, we need to come together and demand action at the local, state, and national level.”