As scientists learn more about how the environment responds to human activity, it has become an area of increasing concern to the global community. RAND research has helped inform policies and direct further studies of environmental issues, from building efficiency and natural resource management to risk management and decisionmaking in the face of deep scientific and economic uncertainties.
Multimedia
Policy Researcher David Groves describes RAND's role in helping to develop a plan to guide Louisiana's coastal investments, help its coastal citizens plan for the future, and create a sustainable coast.
Project
RAND is working with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to explore the use of Robust Decision Making in the Bureau's long-term planning for the Colorado River.
Journal Article
Despite extensive messaging about the importance of citizen preparedness and countless household surveys purporting to track the preparedness activities of individuals and households, the role individual Americans are being asked to play is largely based on conventional wisdom.
Report
Resilient communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural and man-made disasters. RAND experts offer expertise on evaluating and implementing community resilience–building activities throughout the world.
Project
Climate change presents decisionmakers with a fundamental quandary: how to address a potentially serious, long-term, and uncertain threat. A joint project of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment and the RAND Pardee Center sought to address this problem through basic research and computer modeling.
Commentary
Technological development challenges suggest that it is highly unlikely that advanced approaches for producing hydrotreated renewable oils suitable for military applications will constitute an important fraction of the commercial fuel market until well beyond the next decade, writes Keith Crane.
Commentary
RAND President and CEO Michael Rich writes about how RAND computer models and empirical analyses are helping protect and restore the Louisiana coast.
Journal Article
This paper focuses on the Wellcome Trust's African Institutions initiative, an example of the networked research capacity-building initiatives emerging in response to the need for research capacity growth.
Report
There are large quantities of coal mine water in Pennsylvania—much more than could be used in the coming decade for hydraulic fracturing. Researchers and operators will need to further explore quantity and quality needs to confirm whether coal mine drainage sources represent a viable, large-scale alternative to fresh water.
Report
By examining not only how a service is produced but how it is provided, energy services analysis can lead to greater reductions in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions than conventional approaches.
Commentary
In case after case, the theory that best fits the data is the one that also leads inexorably to the conclusion that human influence is one of the most important forces currently changing the climate, writes Robert J. Lempert.
Past Event
At this March 2012 program, physical scientist Tom LaTourrette discusses the pros and cons of nuclear energy, and sheds some light on lessons learned in the year since Japan's nuclear disaster in Fukushima.
Report
This briefing offers a menu of potential future activities for the nonaviation lands at Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) to enhance the quality of life in Santa Monica through community-linked programs.
Project
The Forest Allowance Program (Programa Bolsa Floresta) is an avoided deforestation initiative in Brazil that pays the local population a monthly allowance for environmental services and increases deforestation monitoring and enforcement. RAND is studying this and similar initiatives to determine their success in reducing deforestation.
Report
A first systematic picture of United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) leaders' views of priorities and approaches regarding sustainable development (SD). Survey and interview responses are drawn on to show the importance of SD and ways forward.
Report
Applies robust decision methods to evaluate California's transportation policies that considers multiple views of the future, and identifies strategies that consistently reduce emissions at acceptable costs regardless of future conditions.
Announcement
RAND helped Louisiana develop its 2012 Coastal Master Plan to guide the state's coastal investments and help its coastal citizens plan for the future. The plan strikes a balance between providing immediate relief to hard hit areas and laying groundwork for large-scale efforts.
Report
National security implications and interconnections are explored among climate change, water scarcity, and pandemics, using examples of familiar and new policy approaches to inspire innovative thinking about threats to the global commons.
Journal Article
The unusually cold conditions in Arctic winter 2010/11 that led to large stratospheric ozone loss are investigated.
Journal Article
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is an important social goal to mitigate climate change. A common mitigation paradigm is to consider strategy "wedges" that can be applied to different activities to achieve desired GHG reductions.
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