Climate Action Hands-On: Harnessing Science with Communities to Cut Carbon
A citizen-science course on using field data to support community climate action, organized by ClimateX and Fossil Free MIT during MIT's Independent Activities Period. Participants learn to frame environmental problems, design data-collection methods, and gather their own field measurements, with a particular focus on methane leaks in the natural gas distribution system, a significant and underrecognized source of greenhouse gas emissions. The course covers monitoring equipment supported by the National Science Foundation and asks how the resulting data can be turned into actionable community advocacy. Materials include problem-framing exercises and hands-on data collection assignments rather than lectures alone. It is offered free through MIT OpenCourseWare, aimed at students and community members interested in the practical mechanics of measuring and addressing local emissions sources.