Osasenaga Idahor
Osasenaga Idahor grew up in Hyde Park, Boston, a neighborhood that has had hazardous chemicals polluting the nearby community for decades. Osasenaga’s activism in his high school’s climate action group galvanized him to raise the alarm about the second-class priority of environmental health in his own community. He learned that his community is largely unaware of this tangible connection between environmental injustice, environmental health, and climate change. In August 2022, Osasenaga started his podcast “The Climate Doctor (no MD),” to communicate to people who come from similar backgrounds the importance of this intricate link. Since being honored with his role on the Environmental Protection Agency’s inaugural National Environmental Youth Advisory Council, Osasenaga has sought to boost local community resilience in the battle against climate change using community-based, environmentally sustainable solutions that address the everyday challenges and concerns of life. One of Osasenaga’s long-term goals is to assert one day that his work has improved Hyde Park’s resilience in the face of climate change. At Harvard, Osasenaga has served as executive director and community chair of the Harvard Undergraduate Black Health Advocates, and was one of the inaugural members of the Harvard Climate Coalition.
The Salata Institute
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action, including high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so. Faculty interested in the Climate Research Clusters program should note an upcoming deadline for concepts on April 1, 2024.