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Energy and Environment

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RAND energy and environmental analyses examine the implications of existing and proposed energy policies on the environment. Building on a long history of policy research, RAND helps balance the need for environmental protections and economic development.

Essay

Environmental Racism: How Historic Redlining Continues to Affect Communities

Jun 27, 2022

Starting in the 1930s, neighborhoods across America were redlined—marked on government maps as too hazardous, as in, too Black or too immigrant, for federal home loans. When zoning officials needed somewhere to put a new factory or freeway, those redlined neighborhoods were like a bullseye that they hit again and again.
Report

California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate: One Solution for Two Problems

Jun 21, 2022

Organic waste in landfills emits 20 percent of California's methane, and about 1.1 million tons of potentially donatable food were discarded in 2018. California's food recovery mandate, Senate Bill 1383, could make an important contribution toward mitigating the climate crisis and food insecurity.

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Explore Energy and Environment

Testimony

China's Gambit in the Pacific

The geostrategic dynamics between China, the Pacific Island countries, and the United States and its allies and partners have evolved over the years. What are China's strategic goals for the region? And how could the United States improve its profile as China continues to try to enhance its own?

Aug 3, 2022
Multimedia

Update on Findings of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

In this webinar, contributors to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and experts from the RAND Climate Resilience Center discuss findings from the report of the IPCC Working Group II.

Aug 3, 2022
Journal Article

Efforts to End a Stalemate in Landslide Insurance Availability Through Inclusive Policymaking: A Case Study in Sitka, Alaska

We explored how participatory techniques could overcome one disaster risk financing-related stalemate: the case of landslide insurance in a highly landslide-prone location, Sitka, Alaska.

Jul 28, 2022
Blog

U.S. Labor Market, 988 Hotline, Firearm Homicides: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the U.S. economy’s uneven pandemic recovery, a new national mental health hotline, firearm homicides, and more.

Jul 22, 2022
Dissertation

Ovens and Tinderboxes in the Golden State: A Mixed-Methods Exploratory Analysis of Joint Heatwave Power Outage Events

Examines associations between hazards, outages, and health outcomes for California cities from 2008–2020.

Jul 21, 2022
Report

Is Los Angeles County Prepared for California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate?

Experts in food recovery discuss findings from a RAND study into Los Angeles County's preparedness for a new law which requires California to significantly reduce organic waste and recover some edible food from going to landfills by 2025.

Jul 18, 2022
Commentary

Rebuilding Ukraine for a Changing Climate

When the war in Ukraine ends, the country will in all likelihood undergo a massive reconstruction. Ukraine could rebuild in a way that would both lower its carbon footprint and construct infrastructure resilient to the effects of climate change.

Jul 8, 2022
Blog

Abortion Misinformation, Deepfakes, Environmental Racism: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on abortion misinformation in a post-Roe world, the threat of deepfakes, environmental hazards in historically redlined communities, and more.

Jul 8, 2022
Multimedia

Three Steps to Protect Communities from Climate Change

RAND engineer and information scientist Michelle Miro presents three steps to reduce the risks that climate change poses to communities around the United States.

Jul 7, 2022
Tool

Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts Summary and Outlook: Spring 2022

This climate summary aims to inform Mid-Atlantic policymakers and practitioners about spring 2022, regional climate trends, and the upcoming summer season. A tool shows an analysis of future projected changes in total monthly precipitation, compared to two baseline periods.

Jun 27, 2022
Blog

Synthetic Opioids, Ukrainian Grain, the Metaverse: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on countering the illegal flow of synthetic opioids, freeing up Ukrainian grain to prevent famine, the importance of defining the metaverse, and more.

Jun 24, 2022
Journal Article

Development of Future Scenarios for Sustainable Pesticide Use and Achievement of Pesticide-Use and Risk-Reduction Targets Announced in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies by 2030

We conducted an evidence review of academic and grey literature and legal and regulatory documents to identify the key factors driving pesticide use in the EU. A PESTLE framework was used to structure the approach and identify potential factors across different influence areas.

Jun 24, 2022
Journal Article

Development of Future Scenarios for Sustainable Pesticide Use and Achievement of Pesticide-Use and Risk-Reduction Targets Announced in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies by 2030: Executive Summary

We conducted an evidence review of academic and grey literature and legal and regulatory documents to identify the key factors driving pesticide use in the EU. A PESTLE framework was used to structure the approach and identify potential factors across different influence areas.

Jun 24, 2022
Report

Streamlining Emergency Management: Issues, Impacts, and Options for Improvement

Researchers sought ways to streamline, simplify, and strengthen the U.S. emergency management system, assessing how overlap, duplication, and fragmentation could affect implementation and outcomes. They propose options and discuss trade-offs of each.

Jun 24, 2022
Multimedia

Preparing for California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate: Findings from the Los Angeles Food Recovery Study

Under a new state law, California must significantly reduce organic waste and recover some edible food from going to landfill by 2025. Is Los Angeles County prepared for the new mandate?

Jun 21, 2022
Report

Forecasting Public Recovery Expenditures' Effect on Construction Prices and the Demand for Construction Labor

Researchers developed cost-estimating tools and estimated future construction costs for Puerto Rico's recovery from Hurricane María. This report documents their approach, data, findings, and recommendations.

Jun 17, 2022
Research Brief

Future Price Forecasting in the Wake of Large-Scale Disasters: The Case of Puerto Rico After Hurricane María

Large-scale disaster recovery projects in isolated areas likely require unique future price forecasting. This brief describes an occupational analysis and model to estimate the effects of recovery on the price of labor, materials, and equipment.

Jun 17, 2022
Multimedia

Climate Change and Implications for Disasters in the United States

Climate change is contributing to more frequent and more severe disasters. In this video, three RAND researchers discuss climate change and risks for disasters in the United States, drawing on examples from the Arctic, the Caribbean, the Northeast, and the Gulf states.

Jun 10, 2022

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