Author: Steven Cohen46
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President Obama Continues to Build His Environmental Legacy
There are limits to how much a president can do without a congress willing to legislate. Barack Obama produced his environmental legacy through the creative and determined use of his executive authority.
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The Role Of Government In Rebuilding After Disasters
The fundamental job of government is to provide security and safety for its people. Natural disasters may be predictable to some degree, but they are unavoidable. What is avoidable is the sense of economic hopelessness that follows these events.
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“We All Cherish Our Children’s Future. And We Are All Mortal.”
It is very important that our politics reflect the universality of human experience as well as the distinctiveness of this place we call America. Let’s treasure our common values and distinctiveness and make a world safe for both.
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California’s First In The Nation Climate Plan
The goal of the energy transition is to create a renewable energy system that is as effective and reliable as the current fossil fuel-based system. Microgrids provide backup capacity and vastly increase the reliability of power systems for consumers. A second goal of the energy transition is to switch off of fossil fuels and rely…
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Back to Public Service
Encouraging public service requires constant effort at promoting a value and sense of ethics that is essential to national well-being. The broad consensus of shared values is the basis of our political stability and that stability is why the American story remains one of positive, forward moving progress. T
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Climate Change and the Complexity of Science
The diplomatic debate about phasing out HFCs has been underway for seven years, but the technology of refrigerant coolants appears to have finally caught up with the need for replacement technology. Once replacement technology is available, diplomacy becomes possible.
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Changing Environmental Values and a Changing World
I believe that concern over tap water is part of the growing movement for locally-sourced food, physical fitness, and what has been termed “wellness.” The underlying source of support for environmental protection is a growing understanding of the relationship between a toxic environment and human health.
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Interdependence, Sustainability, and a Sense of Place
As important as global economic and cultural forces may be, I see the push for distinctive identity and a sense of place ensuring that communities and nation states will maintain their power in a more globally interconnected world. Part of it is expressed in Not in My Back Yard (NIMBY) local politics that resists development…
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Science And Sustainability Management: 20 Years of Columbia’s Earth Institute
This fall, Columbia University’s Earth Institute will mark its 20th anniversary. There were two central ideas that animated the creation of this university-wide institute. The first was to promote basic understanding of earth system science, and the second was to apply that knowledge to decisions made by governments and businesses around the world.
