Sustainability
The Decades-Long Effort to Account for the Value of Natural Resources
Yale School of the Environment economist Eli Fenichel helped develop a national strategy to integrate environmental and economic decision-making.
Study: Rising Seas Aren’t Causing Coastal Property Values to Decline
Climate change is causing sea levels to rise, threatening expensive waterfront properties. But according to a new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Matthew Spiegel, prices are not falling in the areas most likely to be affected.
Skilled Workers Flee from Polluted Cities, Hampering Economic Growth
In China, highly educated people are more likely to move away from areas with poor air quality. Reducing pollution could substantially increase GDP there and in other countries, according to a new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Mushfiq Mobarak.
California’s Path to a Carbon-Neutral Grid
Elliot Mainzer ’98, CEO of CAISO, explains how California is working to avoid another summer of blackouts even as the state transitions to a carbon-neutral grid.
Maintaining Momentum on Climate Change
Tyler Van Leeuwen ’14 of Shell explains explains how his internal skunkworks team helps move Shell toward its decarbonization goals.
To Tackle Plastics Pollution, Embrace a Circular Economy
To cut down on plastics pollution, says Matt Kopac ’09, sustainable business and innovation manager at Burt’s Bees, we need a fundamentally different approach to sustainability.
Transforming Energy Infrastructure
We talked to Elliott Mainzer ’98, who recently began a role overseeing California’s electrical grid, about the progress he’s witnessed and the challenges that remain in creating a fully sustainable energy network.
A Climate for Change
Judy Samuelson ’82, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Program, explores whether this cataclysm will trigger lasting change.
Can We Make Recycling Work?
The ubiquitous blue bin for single-stream recycling obscures a set of tradeoffs and challenges, including contamination that complicates processing and lowers the value of recyclable materials.
Faculty Viewpoints: Will COVID-19 Set Us on a More Sustainable Path?
In the short term, COVID-19 has brought about what activists and governments haven’t been able to achieve: a sharp drop in carbon emissions. What does the pandemic mean for the longer-term trajectory of efforts to remake our economy in a sustainable way?
Consumption, Numbers and Time: The Arithmetic of Sustenance
On the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day in 1970, Yale SOM’s Shyam Sunder writes that humankind must grapple with a fundamental threat to our survival.
