The Bard CEP Eco Reader

REV: Transforming the Future of Energy in New York and Beyond

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s establishment of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) is changing the entire field of energy production and use. Traditional producers of electricity, such as large power plants, are transitioning from burning fossil fuels to creating renewable sources of electric generation. Private companies are becoming electricity producers, and …

Wading in Wonky Waters

My name is Buck Doyle, and I am an accidental “Huge Policy Wonk,” or HPW.  I never expected to become one, it just kind of happened.  It dawned on me when I caught myself flipping through an article entitled, “Spatial distribution of US Household Carbon Footprints Reveals Suburbanization Undermines Greenhouse …

Realizing a Sustainable Future with NRDC

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a national environmental non-profit organization that has worked “to safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends” since its foundation in 1970. NRDC draws on the expertise of lawyers, scientists, and policy advocates, as …

Creating an Alliance with the Alliance

As part of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy’s (CEP) Master’s program, we students are required to do a 4 to 6-month internship at an organization related to environmental or climate science and policy. This internship gives us the opportunity to apply what we’ve learned in our first-year coursework and …

Washington DC: Where the magic happens

The beauty of an internship is that you not only gain on-the-ground experience in a field of interest, but you also get to learn about yourself. Internships are a growing experience and to grow you’ve got to fling yourself out of your comfort zone (see diagram).   This is my …

Bard CEP to Lead Micro-Hydro Stakeholder Process

Over the next two years, students and faculty at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy will develop and test a “stakeholder process” to help communities and landholders evaluate the potential for micro-hydro installations. The initiative is part of a broader research focus at Bard on micro-hydro potential in New York …

Be a Hero and Wait…

  The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is tasked with many, many responsibilities. It “manages and conserves the City’s water supply; distributes more than one billion gallons of clean drinking water each day to nine million New Yorkers and collects wastewater through a vast underground network of pipes, …

Climate, Beyond the Partisan Divide: Webinar from Politics & Environment

In 1990, Gallop asked Americans if they thought more should be spent on protecting the environment. Democrats said yes 75% of the time. The number of Republicans saying yes? An identical 75%. Responding to the same question in 2012, Democratic support for more spending on the environment was still strong …

Politics & Environment: Non-Partisan Talks Coming Your Way

This coming fall, the election will be a front and center issue—including for sustainability and environmental educators. How can we engage our students to think critically about politics and the environment, in a non-partisan fashion that is consistent with our work as educators? A key answer is to provide historical …

We Can Work It Out: Working effectively with youth groups and teachers in Mexico

One of the many expectations of a Peace Corps Volunteer, besides learning a new language, a new culture, and which street food vendors to avoid, is to be able to work efficiently in a group setting.  The Peace Corps promotes group work over individual work, which is necessary for project …