Christina Chang’s inventions are building a more sustainable world
This is one in a series of profiles showcasing some of Harvard’s stellar graduates. As a kid, Christina Chang was already a mini-sustainability activist. She recycled and reused. She turned lights off in empty rooms. She screened “Captain Planet and the Planeteers” at her school on Earth Day. And, for two years in high school, she showered sustainability-style, turning the water on just long enough to get wet, then lather up, and rinse off under a quick burst of cold water. “I was unwarrantedly stoically proud of my extreme shower practices,” Chang said, “until I learned about the order of magnitude that is needed to make a real difference.” Most individuals won’t clench through two years of sustainability showers. But it doesn’t matter. Compared to industrial production, livestock farms, and highways jammed with cars, a cold shower won’t foot the climate bill. That power gap might deflate the most ardent environmentalist, but for Chang,...