Online Articles

Man fishing at dawn

Congress Puts Unregulated Fishing on the Hook

February 1, 2023 by Alyssa Greenstein Oceans Regulations Sustainability Wildlife

U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), respectively the Chairman and Ranking Members of the Senate Armed Service Committee, and U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (D-WA) and Mike Rogers (R-AL), their counterparts on the House Armed Services…

A panel of people at a long table clap while standing in front of the COP15 Logo. Source: https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-cbd-press-release-final-19dec2022

A Win for Wildlife: The COP-15 Global Biodiversity Framework

January 23, 2023 by Amandine Fromont Endangered Species International Oceans Sustainability Wildlife

From December 7 to 19, 2022, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held its fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15), culminating in the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework.[1] The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international…

Red Farm House

Can the Farm Bill Address Climate Change?

December 22, 2022 by Damon Hays Agriculture Sustainability

The industrial style of agricultural production practiced in the United States perfectly illustrates the nation’s relationship with the changing climate. Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions while also facing the rapid rise…

Aerial image overlooking a winding river in the Amazon Rainforest. Source: https://media.cntraveller.com/photos/611becca628f4910ed10222d/16:9/w_2992,h_1683,c_limit/gettyimages-1044285108.jpg

Are We Out of the Woods? What Brazil’s Elections Could Mean for Climate Change

November 9, 2022 by Katya Simon Forests International Natural Resources Sustainability

For decades, the Amazon rainforest has been an important natural resource in the fight against climate change due to its ability to absorb high levels of carbon dioxide from the air and act as a “carbon sink” for emissions from human activities.[1]…

Then U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry advocates for the Kigali Amendment during the 28th meeting of the parties to the Montreal Protocol in 2016

The Kigali Amendment: Congress's First Approved Climate Treaty in Decades

October 31, 2022 by Megan Algya Air International Sustainability

On September 21, 2022, the Senate voted 69-27 to ratify the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, marking the first climate treaty approved by the Senate in decades.[1] The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement to phase…

Using the Explore the Map tool to view data for a specific community in Washington, D.C.

The Biden Administration’s New Tool to Address Environmental Injustice

October 23, 2022 by Casey Hellman Climate change Regulations Sustainability

WHAT IS THE CLIMATE AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE SCREENING TOOL? On January 27, 2021, President Biden issued Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, an executive order intended to increase the primacy of climate issues in domestic and foreign policy…

Chemical symbol for carbon

The Viability of Personal Carbon Trading

April 11, 2022 by Hunter Johnston Climate change Regulations Sustainability

Personal carbon trading refers to a variety of downstream cap-and-trade policies that allocate rights and responsibilities for those greenhouse gas emissions caused by individual consumption of energy during household energy use and/or personal travel…

Tonopah Desert Recharge Project in Tonopah, about 65 miles west of Phoenix. (Central Arizona Project)

Water Banking: A Potential Solution or Misguided Idea

March 13, 2022 by Reuben Siegman Sustainability Water

Water is one of the most precious resources on the planet. It is the foundation for life, something we all need to survive. As climate change brings about an increase in global temperature and greater frequency of droughts, usable water will become scarcer…

Fisker Ocean all-electric SUV

The EV Tax Credit Phaseout: Necessary or Not?

March 3, 2022 by Isaac Golub Regulations Sustainability

In 2009, the Obama administration created the electric vehicle tax credit to encourage purchasing electric vehicles (EVs). However, the bill included a built-in phaseout that starts once a manufacturer sells 200,000 electric vehicles. Is the current phaseout quota necessary, or is it ending the tax credit prematurely?