State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tag: environmental policy7

  • The Climate Crisis and the Transition to a Renewable Economy

    What I am betting on is the growing sense of awareness and understanding of environmental issues among the people of the world. It could be that my personal perspective is a little warped. I’ve seen the environmental issue move from the outer fringes to the center of our political agenda.

  • Assessing Conflict in the Policy Process, Using Fracking as a Lens

    Assessing Conflict in the Policy Process, Using Fracking as a Lens

    Conflict is essential in the policy process, and understanding conflict better has the potential to assist policymakers and improve outcomes.

  • The Presidency and Sustainability

    The president’s accomplishments are particularly noteworthy given the toxic political environment he must operate within. Flint, Michigan’s water crisis provides an example of how partisan politics is dominating federal environmental policy.

  • Slowly Moving to Protect the Environment

    In some cases we do not understand the impact of human actions on the planet and we need to do more observation and analysis to understand those impacts. In other cases we don’t really know how to repair the damage once it has been done.

  • Federal Environmental Policy Can’t Find the 21st Century

    The issue comes down to willingness to pay upfront for improved systems, rather than pay to address environmental emergencies later on, when pieces of the system fall apart. Both water and energy systems carry user charges, but weak, ideologically-bound politicians refuse to allow these fees to grow to pay the capital cost of modern infrastructure.

  • Electoral Politics and Environmental Sustainability

    The political consensus for sustainability that could emerge might be based on increased funding for the science of renewable energy, battery technology, energy efficiency and smart grids. It could also include incentives for private sector investment to commercialize new energy technologies, and tax expenditures that make it easier for consumers to adopt these new technologies.

  • Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Quiet Green Revolution

    In many respects, Cuomo’s approach to sustainability mirrors the approach taken by Mike Bloomberg when he was New York City’s mayor. Sustainability is viewed as a tool of economic development and environmental goals are integrated into the goals of economic development.

  • Growing the Global Economy Without Destroying the Planet

    We need to focus our attention on the existing systems of management and influence now in place and attempt to turn them toward sustainability. This includes national, state and especially local governments, corporations and nonprofit organizations.

  • Symbolic Politics, the Keystone Pipeline, and Climate Policy in the Real World

    The Clean Power Plan, the renewable energy tax credit, and state and local sustainability initiatives may not have the glamor of climate conferences in Paris or the media currency of the fight over the Keystone XL Pipeline, but they are the real, operational policies and programs that actually reduce fossil fuel use and speed the…

Columbia campus skyline with text Columbia Climate School Class Day 2024 - Congratulations Graduates

Congratulations to our Columbia Climate School MA in Climate & Society Class of 2024! Learn about our May 10 Class Day celebration. #ColumbiaClimate2024

  • The Climate Crisis and the Transition to a Renewable Economy

    What I am betting on is the growing sense of awareness and understanding of environmental issues among the people of the world. It could be that my personal perspective is a little warped. I’ve seen the environmental issue move from the outer fringes to the center of our political agenda.

  • Assessing Conflict in the Policy Process, Using Fracking as a Lens

    Assessing Conflict in the Policy Process, Using Fracking as a Lens

    Conflict is essential in the policy process, and understanding conflict better has the potential to assist policymakers and improve outcomes.

  • The Presidency and Sustainability

    The president’s accomplishments are particularly noteworthy given the toxic political environment he must operate within. Flint, Michigan’s water crisis provides an example of how partisan politics is dominating federal environmental policy.

  • Slowly Moving to Protect the Environment

    In some cases we do not understand the impact of human actions on the planet and we need to do more observation and analysis to understand those impacts. In other cases we don’t really know how to repair the damage once it has been done.

  • Federal Environmental Policy Can’t Find the 21st Century

    The issue comes down to willingness to pay upfront for improved systems, rather than pay to address environmental emergencies later on, when pieces of the system fall apart. Both water and energy systems carry user charges, but weak, ideologically-bound politicians refuse to allow these fees to grow to pay the capital cost of modern infrastructure.

  • Electoral Politics and Environmental Sustainability

    The political consensus for sustainability that could emerge might be based on increased funding for the science of renewable energy, battery technology, energy efficiency and smart grids. It could also include incentives for private sector investment to commercialize new energy technologies, and tax expenditures that make it easier for consumers to adopt these new technologies.

  • Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Quiet Green Revolution

    In many respects, Cuomo’s approach to sustainability mirrors the approach taken by Mike Bloomberg when he was New York City’s mayor. Sustainability is viewed as a tool of economic development and environmental goals are integrated into the goals of economic development.

  • Growing the Global Economy Without Destroying the Planet

    We need to focus our attention on the existing systems of management and influence now in place and attempt to turn them toward sustainability. This includes national, state and especially local governments, corporations and nonprofit organizations.

  • Symbolic Politics, the Keystone Pipeline, and Climate Policy in the Real World

    The Clean Power Plan, the renewable energy tax credit, and state and local sustainability initiatives may not have the glamor of climate conferences in Paris or the media currency of the fight over the Keystone XL Pipeline, but they are the real, operational policies and programs that actually reduce fossil fuel use and speed the…