Environment
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For Climate Migrants, Does the Past Shape Current Perceptions of Conflict?
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As climate change has altered environments across the globe, it has caused mass migration. For example, an intense drought in Honduras recently led thousands of people to leave their homes and head north to Mexico for an opportunity to earn an agriculture-based living. In Honduras and many other countries impacted…
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Global Insect Decline Linked to Light Pollution
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Artificial light may be devastating populations of insects, including species that provide crucial support for human agricultural systems. In a recent article published in the Annals of Applied Biology, researchers examined the effects of light pollution on insects. Artificial light increases environmental pressures faced by insects, the study concluded, and…
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How the EPA is Generating Grassroots Support for its Mission
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Less than a month after the 2016 elections, a lame duck session of Congress passed the bipartisan Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing Act of 2016, granting federal agencies explicit authority to advance their missions in partnership with individuals, private and nonprofit entities, and foreign governments through crowdsourcing and citizen science. Citizen…
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Projecting the Economic Implications of Carbon Pricing in China
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As one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters, China has recently been increasing its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which is the largest contributor to climate change. One of China’s goals, as set in last year’s Paris Agreement, was to cut emissions by 60 to 65 percent per unit…
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Islas sustentables: cómo transitar de los combustibles fósiles a las energías renovables
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A diferencia de lo que sucede en la política, en el ámbito científico hay consenso sobre la existencia del cambio climático como consecuencia de la acción humana. En particular, las islas son más propensas a sufrir los efectos del aumento en la temperatura terrestre, y actualmente 11% de la población…
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The Financial Impact of Natural Disasters: Beyond Disaster Aid
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Recent wildfires in California and catastrophic flooding in Louisiana have drawn public attention to natural disasters across the United States. Yet little is known about the total financial impact of extreme weather events, particularly on non-disaster social programs. Considering that the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is expected…
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The Future of Conservation in the Amazon Rainforest
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You have been involved in environmental research and deforestation issues in the Amazon from the earliest stages of interest in this area. What was that like? The Amazon appeared on the radar screen about 25 to 30 years ago as something that Brazilians needed to understand and wanted to learn…
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Shaky Ground: How the Disposal of Wastewater from Oil Production Increases the Risk of Earthquakes in Oklahoma
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Since the early 2000s, there has been an increase in the number of earthquakes observed near oil and gas exploration and production sites in the US, particularly in states such as Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. Until recently, details of the relationship between exploration techniques and the observed increase in seismic…
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Culture and the Environment: How Cultural Values Influence Global Ecologic Practices
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This piece, first published on December 4, 2014, is being republished as part of the Chicago Policy Review‘s 20th Anniversary Series. Please visit us here to learn more about the series from our Executive Editors. Cultural values influence a myriad of topics—education, wealth distribution, government oversight—but the extent to which these values influence environmental attitudes is…
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Paying Too Much for Energy? The True Costs of Our Energy Choices
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With less than five percent of the world’s population, the United States consumes about one-fifth (21 percent) of the world’s energy. In a working paper for The Hamilton Project published in 2012, Greenstone and Looney find that the true social cost (private costs on energy bills plus external costs) of energy…
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Saving the Forests and Reducing Poverty: Too Good to Be True?
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A program evaluation of Mexico’s PSAH shows the program’s effectiveness in achieving its environmental goals, but the same does not apply to achieving expected socioeconomic results.