ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
May 22, 2012
"Post-Kyoto International Climate Policy: Implementing Architectures for Agreement"
News
By Bryan Galcik
Carol Dahl, Professor of Mineral and Energy Economics at the Colorado School of Mines, recently published an extensive review and summary of this Harvard-Project volume, along with the companion Post-Kyoto International Climate Policy: Summary for Policy Makers, in the Energy Journal (Vol. 33, No. 2, 2012). Professor Dahl notes that "Anyone interested in climate policy, especially economists and policy makers that are non-specialist in the area, but looking for a good overview of the problems and potential solutions, can benefit from this book."
Summer 2012
Belfer Center Newsletter Summer 2012
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Summer 2012 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights Belfer Center involvement with the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit and other activities to help shape debate on national and global security. We also spotlight Henry Kissinger’s return to Harvard and his remarks about power and politics, James Baker’s acceptance of the 2012 Great Negotiator Award, and Graham Allison’s cover story in TIME magazine describing decisions behind the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. And more....
Summer 2012
Intensive Workshops Examine Energy Technologies, Future of Oil and Gas Reserves
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Traci Farrell, Communications Assistant
A group of American and European academics working on understanding the future prospects of energy technologies and the role of governments shaping these prospects gathered at Harvard Kennedy School in April. Hosted by Laura Diaz Anadon, director of the Energy Technology Innovation Policy.... the group discussed the need to incorporate uncertainty around technical change, the challenges of utilizing expert elicitations to inform policy decisions using models, and future collaborative work combining different expert elicitations and different energy-economic models.
Summer 2012
Case Competition Encourages Student Involvement, Real-World Problem Solving
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Traci Farrell, Communications Assistant
The Belfer Center’s Geopolitics of Energy Project challenged students across the Harvard and MIT communities to develop a strategy to solve the case, “New Finds of Energy in the Eastern Mediterranean: Cause for Conflict or Cooperation?” as part of the project’s second annual energy policy case competition held at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) on April 19.
Summer 2012
Roy Family Supports Student Engagement in Environmental Efforts
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Traci Farrell, Communications Assistant
The Roy Family Summer Environmental Internship supports returning Kennedy School students interested in specific internships for public, private, or non-profit organizations abroad or in the United States. These paid scholarships allow students to participate in innovative summer projects that would ordinarily not offer a salary. There are four award recipients for 2012, and each received a $6,500 stipend to work with organizations that are not able to hire an intern.
Summer 2012
Film Series Promotes Environmental Activism
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Traci Farrell, Communications Assistant
Organized by Environment and Natural Resources Assistant Director Amanda Sardonis and senior fellow Cristine Russell, ENRP kicked off its 2012 Environmental Film Series with screenings of three widely heralded documentaries: “The Last Mountain,” directed by Bill Haney focuses on citizens fighting to prevent large coal companies from practicing mountain top removal in their town.... “A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet,” directed by Mark Kitchell, highlights the major environmental movements from the last 50 years, while "The Grand Energy Transition: Natural Gas - The Bridge To Our Sustainable Future," directed by Belfer Center International Council Member Robert A. Hefner III argues that natural gas is the future of U.S. energy.
Summer 2012
Newsmakers
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Traci Farrell, Communications Assistant
"Belfer Center Newsmakers" highlights members of the Belfer Center community who have been featured recently in the news.
AP Photo
April 26, 2012
New Policy Idea: Buy Coal! A Case for Supply-Side Environmental Policy
News
By Bryan Galcik
Bard Harstad, Associate Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, recently released a study, "Buy Coal! A Case for Supply-Side Environmental Policy," which will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Political Economy.
AP Photo
Forthcoming July 2012
"A New Case for Promoting Wastewater Reuse in Saudi Arabia: Bringing Energy into the Water Equation"
Journal Article, Journal of Environmental Management, volume 102
By Arani Kajenthira, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, Afreen Siddiqi, Visting Scholar, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program and Laura Diaz Anadon, Associate Director, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program; Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy research group; Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy
Saudi Arabia is the third-largest per capita water user worldwide and has addressed the disparity between its renewable water resources and domestic demand primarily through desalination and the abstraction of non-renewable groundwater. This study evaluates the potential costs of this approach in the industrial and municipal sectors, exploring economic, energy, and environmental costs (including CO2 emissions and possible coastal impacts). Although the energy intensity of desalination is a global concern, it is particularly urgent to rethink water supply options in Saudi Arabia because the entirety of its natural gas production is consumed domestically, primarily in petrochemical and desalination plants.
Photo by Stefanie Le
April 12, 2012
"Film Series Features 'Fierce Green Fire' and Discussion with Filmmaker"
News
By Stefanie Le
"From the Grand Canyon to climate change, environmental activists have fought for five decades to save the earth’s most vital natural resources for generations to come. Veteran filmmaker Mark Kitchell chronicles the successes and challenges of this global green movement in his far-reaching new film A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet. The San Francisco director came to Cambridge recently to screen his documentary at the Belfer Center as part of the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center’s Environment & Natural Resources Program’ 2012 Environmental Film Series."
