Category: <span>CEP Students</span>

Angie Fyfe: Forging the Tools for Climate Justice

Local Governments for Sustainability ICLEI is quite possibly the most important NGO you’ve never heard of.  The acronym stands, or at least stood, for the ‘International Coalition for Local Environmental Initiatives.’  ICLEI these days more often goes by ‘ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability.’  The organization is a global nonprofit aiming …

Saffir-Simpson and Sensibility: Hurricane Risk Miscommunication

“It’s just a Category 2” I drawled to my anxious friend, as a hurricane that would prove to be the one of the most costly storms in the nation’s history advanced on us from across the Atlantic. The hurricane proceeded to skirt the coast of Virginia as a Category 1 …

Hitchhikers Ride from the Foreign Trees

Springtime is here – the first of two seasons that campers most enjoy will bring friends and families from all around to the Catskills and Adirondacks.  If you love camping, you may be planning your trip right now, thinking about the equipment you’ll need, what you’re going to wear, or …

What Can I Do About the Palm Oil In My Food?

  Have you ever been grocery shopping when you were in a rush or hungry–or both? When that happens, we tend to throw items in our cart quickly, without checking their ingredients. We can end up buying items that contain ingredients that we’d typically try to avoid. Palm oil is …

Freedom is in Energy Democracy

Imagine a time when, in your town, everyone is an innovator, planner, or decision-maker for the energy that you consume. Your voice and knowledge are put to use. You might not want to depend on foreign fuel, you might seek lower energy rates, or you might just want to have …

Expiration Dates: Why Confusion Surrounding Product Dating is Driving Household Food Waste

Most of us have had that two-week-old gallon of milk in our fridge we weren’t too sure about. When we check the expiration date and find that it expired two days ago…we become skeptical. Hesitantly, we take a whiff…non-conclusive. Some brave people might bite the bullet and actually have a …

Nature Prescribed: Let Nature Help You Feel Better

The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician must start from nature, with an open mind. – Paracelsus Paracelsus, a 16th century Swiss physician, incorporated minerals, plants and earth metals into medicinal treatments for patients. His homeopathic practices led to the union of medicine, …

Decoding the Language of the Flood: how terminology influences flood-risk perception

    It’s 2011 and we’re in Binghamton, New York. People here are mostly recovered from the massive flood of 2006 that displaced 20,000 people.  Foundations have been repaired, carpets replaced, and homes rebuilt.  Finally, people are feeling secure again. After all, the flood of 2006 was what’s known as …

APPROPRIATE APPROPRIATIONS: BUDGET CUTS OR POLLUTION CUTS?

Imagine that you’re walking through a park, breathing the fresh air. The soil right off the path is rich and healthy looking. You get to a water fountain, and you take a drink of the clean, refreshing water. In 2019, we expect this type of scenario. We can safely breathe …

Pies for Flies

When I say composting, what’s the first word that comes to your mind? Is it soil? food? dirt? worms? It’s almost definitely not flies–but maybe that’ll change soon. Using the foundation I built in my first year at Bard’s Center of Environmental Policy through classes in food policy, systems, and …