Environmental and Natural Resource Management

A new study about the Colorado River Basin—nearly three years in the making—provides the most comprehensive look to date at how growing water needs combined with uncertain but possibly deteriorating future hydrologic conditions could stress the system in the coming 50 years.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released the study last week. It was funded and managed through a partnership between the seven Western States that use the Colorado River water and the bureau. RAND researchers joined the study team, composed of bureau staff and consultants from CH2M Hill and Black & Veatch, to help develop and implement a framework for analyzing the potential supply and demand gap in the basin and evaluate options for alleviating it.

This commentary appeared on CNN.com on November 8, 2012.

Natural disasters have a way of concentrating minds and creating political openings for change that can otherwise be difficult to achieve under normal conditions. Indeed, infrastructure like subways, roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, water and wastewater systems, electricity and communications networks rarely make the news except when they fail.

The massive damage and disruption caused by "Super Storm" Sandy has created a rare moment when New York City, New Jersey and surrounding areas are singularly focused on the infrastructure they need in a changing environment – not just the infrastructure they already have thanks to the vision and investments of past generations.

It is actually a moment to look south—at how Louisiana has chosen to shape its post-Katrina approach to protecting coastal populations and restoring eroding coastal lands...

The remainder of this op-ed can be found at cnn.com

Louisiana is home to one of the largest and most productive coastal ecosystems in the world and to many vibrant and unique cultures. But the region is in peril. Almost 2,000 square miles of Louisiana coastal land have been lost in the past 80 years because of rising sea levels, land subsidence, oil and natural gas development, and the management of the Mississippi River for flood control and navigation at the expense of other regional and national interests. Without action, land loss will not only continue but actually accelerate in the coming decades, exceeding the current loss rate of one football field of land every 45 minutes.

In this video, Policy Researcher David Groves describes how RAND helped develop a comprehensive, 50-year master plan designed to achieve sustainability in the coastal region, which will reduce flood risk and ensure a vibrant and productive coastal ecosystem.

This commentary appeared on the National Journal's Energy Experts blog on May 23, 2012 as a response to "Powering Our Military: What's the Role of Clean Energy?"

To reduce its reliance on petroleum-derived fuels, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few years to develop, test, and certify renewable fuels—that is, liquid fuels manufactured from renewable sources of energy like vegetable oil from seeds or algae, animal fat, or various types of biomass. Renewable fuels derived from hydrogenated renewable oils are produced by processing animal fats or vegetable oils (from seed-bearing plants such as soybeans, jatropha, and camelina) with hydrogen. Various types of algae also have high oil content and are another possible source of oil for hydrotreatment. Fifty-fifty blends of hydrotreated oils have been successfully demonstrated in flight tests sponsored by the commercial aviation industry, and laboratory analyses and testing strongly suggest that hydrotreated renewable oils can also be formulated for use in tactical weapon systems. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that appreciable amounts of these renewable oils can be affordably and cleanly produced in the near future.

As people around the world prepare for the 42nd annual Earth Day this Sunday, we look back at some of the recent research from RAND's Environment, Energy, and Economic Development program.

RAND analyzes the effects of existing and proposed energy policies on the environment to help lawmakers put policy proposals in context.