Climate Change

The new agriculture: From food farms to solar farms Across the U.S., government agencies and energy developers are looking at agricultural land to develop renewable energy resources like wind and solar. Researchers will examine the policy shift from protecting farmland at all costs to promoting renewable energy over other uses. They will begin with a case study from California, which favors renewable energy development instead of agriculture, and make policy recommendations that could be applied to renewable energy development in Western New York.

A common refrain heard from boosters of the fossil fuel industry states that converting the US economy to run on renewables would be too costly and rely too heavily on unproven technologies. Why risk tanking the nation's economy, they ask, when coal, oil, and natural gas have powered our vehicles and heated our homes for over 150 years? It's a line of argument the green movement has struggled to counter, even as solar and wind prices plummet and nations such as Germany, Denmark, and even China have steeply ramped up their renewable energy production rates.

Kelly Sims Gallagher, who is on temporary assignment with the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) , moderated a panel to highlight President Obama’s new commitments at the UN Climate Summit in September on global resilience, and to invite NGOs, the private sector, and developing country partners to join in the new consortium on climate information for global resilience. Read more

Using cost-benefit analysis to help design and evaluate regulatory policy is nothing new in government circles, but deploying it as a tool to help meet the challenge of global climate change is quite novel and could be very effective. New research presented in the December 5th edition of Science outlines a practical new approach to measure the social cost of carbon (SCC) to better inform policymakers on the economic and environmental impacts of reducing carbon pollution. The article is co-authored by Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor Joseph Aldy.

Every year, the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) sends out a survey to PV solar manufacturers. Though companies do not have to respond, this does not stop the SVTC from evaluating them. It simply means there is less information and, consequently, they receive lower marks. The “Industry Leaders” on SVTC’s 5th annual 2014 scorecard are: Trina Solar (92), SunPower (88), Yingli Green Energy (81), SolarWorld (73) and REC (71).

Some of the first items on the Republicans’ congressional agenda are likely to involve energy, corporate tax cuts and trade policy — all long-held priorities for some of Texas’ top members of Congress. ...

WMU received the 2014 Climate Leadership Award from Second Nature, the support organization of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment. Just two research universities were among the six institutions that received the award that recognizes campus innovation and leadership in the realm of sustainability.

Kevin Kennedy was quoted in a New York Times article about the climate pact reached between the United States and China in November 2015. “It shows that the two big dogs in the room are taking the issue seriously,” said Kevin Kennedy of the World Resources Institute, a think tank. “It provides a real opportunity for the start of what could become a race to the top.” ...

Kelly Sims Gallagher is serving in The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as Senior Policy Advisor working on climate change and energy policy. She is also working on international climate policy in close coordination with the State Department, concentrating on international negotiations. Read more