SIPA Archives - State of the Planet

Supermarket freezer aisle

Expanding Global Cold Chains: Effective Adaptation, or Dangerous Contribution to Climate Change?

Cooling technologies, including refrigerators and industrial chillers, can prevent food waste and are increasingly necessary in our warming climate. Are there ways to minimize their climate impacts?

by Benjamin Ritter, Carolyne Barker, and Kevin Karl |January 27, 2023
man sits at a fruit stand

COP27: Meaningful Progress and Missed Opportunities on Food System Emissions

Did the conference deliver on its billing as the first “food COP”?

by Benjamin Ritter and Kevin Karl |December 16, 2022
a woman sits next to a cookstove with an open flame and smoke

Traditional Cookstoves: Fueling a Health and Climate Crisis?

Switching to cleaner cookstoves can save lives, cut carbon emissions, and promote gender equality. At COP27, world leaders should take steps to ensure universal clean cooking access by 2030.

by Benjamin Ritter and Kevin Karl |November 14, 2022
squash plants on a farm

Stop Making Farmers Pay to Fight Climate Change

Regenerative agriculture is one way to farm more sustainably. The Farm Bill, up for renewal in 2023, could play a key role in helping this solution come to fruition.

by Cassidy Pearson |October 6, 2022
mangrove forests near mesoamerican barrier reef

Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability: What’s New in the Latest IPCC Release

An interview with Ben Orlove, lead author on the report’s chapter on decision-making around climate adaptation.

by |February 28, 2022

Public Service and Community Can Address New York City’s Post-COVID Crisis

As we struggle to emerge from COVID, we have the direct and clear leadership of our new mayor and the noble service and sacrifice of NYPD’s Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora to strengthen our resolve. But it will take all of us in service to each other to ensure our recovery.

by |January 31, 2022

Traditional Water Management Practices in Pakistan Threatened by Climate Change and Globalization

A practice used to manage glacial water resources that is central to cultures in northern Pakistan is facing enormous transformation in the modern day.

by |January 20, 2022
wind turbines and solar panels behind a chainlink fence

Let’s Come Clean: The Renewable Energy Transition Will Be Expensive

Europe’s surging energy prices show that switching to renewables can be costly. Politicians need to be honest about those costs.

by Lucas Toh |October 26, 2021

Alumni Spotlight: Julia Koppman Norton, District Supervisor at California Coastal Commission

The Environmental Science and Policy program gave Norton the tools she needed to become a protector of, and advocate for, California’s beaches.

by Taylor Goto |October 14, 2021

That’s a Wrap for SIPA’s 2021 Summer Ecology Courses

Students in the MPA in Environmental Science and Policy program learned about the ecology of NYC and other cities around the world this summer as they completed courses in Principles of Ecology and Urban Ecology.

by Alexis Earl |September 28, 2021