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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.

Q&A

Mapping Environmental Racism: Q&A with Jaime Madrigano and Benjamin Preston

Sep 7, 2021

Environmental policy experts Jaime Madrigano and Benjamin Preston are leading an effort to highlight how discriminatory policies have shaped environmental health disparities. Their goal: create an interactive map of the United States to motivate environmental policy that advances antiracism.
Essay

Costa Rica Leads the Way in Cutting Carbon Emissions

Aug 30, 2021

Almost every country has pledged to slash carbon emissions to slow the gears of global warming. Costa Rica's plan provides a glimpse of what a carbon-neutral future will look like. It shows how nations can take action and make investments that hold up, regardless of what future comes to pass.

Topics in Focus:

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Visualization

Potential Drivers of Crises in the Arctic

Historically in the Arctic, regional tensions have been resolved before turning into major crises. With the Arctic gaining more attention in recent years, are existing governance mechanisms enough to handle future diplomatic challenges?

Sep 22, 2021
Report

Evaluation of Energy Systems Network's Moving Forward Initiative in Indiana: Initial Program Outcomes and Potential Impacts

Moving Forward takes a novel approach to developing affordable, energy-efficient housing and transportation. The authors recommend ways to strengthen the program and increase the likelihood of achieving and verifying outcomes as the program matures.

Sep 21, 2021
Tool

Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts Summary and Outlook: Summer 2021

This climate summary aims to inform Mid-Atlantic policymakers and practitioners about summer 2021, regional climate trends, and the upcoming fall season. A tool shows an analysis of historic and future projected growing degree days across the Mid-Atlantic.

Sep 20, 2021
Research Brief

The Growing Exposure of Air Force Installations to Natural Disasters

Some Department of the Air Force installations face high levels of exposure to flooding, wildfires, or high winds. Twenty installations have areas with high or very high wildfire potential.

Sep 16, 2021
Commentary

Hurricane Ida Is Part of a Cycle of Disasters—Mitigating Their Impact Means Building Back Better

Building back better means focusing on recovery that not only restores damage from a disaster but also reduces future risk. To meet that goal today, we need to look at the ways our disaster preparedness and response systems actually create risk themselves, by reinforcing things like wealth inequality, systemic discrimination, or access to crucial services.

Sep 13, 2021
Blog

Boosting Vaccine Acceptance, Afghanistan's Refugee Crisis, Environmental Racism: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on addressing vaccine hesitancy, preventing an even-bigger humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, and how to develop antiracist environmental policies.

Sep 10, 2021
Commentary

Achieving Decarbonization and Energy Equity Through Reconciliation

The past two years have witnessed increasingly vocal calls for rapid decarbonization of the global economy through a clean energy transition. How can Congress ensure that new costs associated with a clean energy transition do not fall disproportionately on lower-income ratepayers?

Sep 9, 2021
Periodical

RAND Review: September-October 2021

The cover story highlights strategies to mitigate homegrown terrorism and ideologically inspired violence in the U.S. A second feature describes Costa Rica's ambitious decarbonization plan and its implications for nations around the world.

Sep 7, 2021
Blog

U.S. Failure in Afghanistan, Critical Race Theory Bans, Income Inequality: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how early mistakes led to America's failure in Afghanistan, the potential effects of critical race theory bans, an art installation that breaks down RAND data on income inequality, and more.

Sep 3, 2021
Report

Developing the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response: An Opportunity to Reduce Risk and Impacts of Future Spills in Freshwater

In 2016, Congress directed the U.S. Coast Guard to establish the Great Lakes National Center of Expertise for Oil Spill Preparedness and Response. This report makes recommendations for the center, its staffing, potential partnerships, and location.

Aug 31, 2021
Multimedia

Climate Change: An Issue of Equity

RAND senior policy researcher Benjamin Preston describes areas where climate change and equity intersect.

Aug 26, 2021
Commentary

Climate Change Is Only One Driver of Explosive Wildfire Season—Don't Forget Land Management

The fire seasons that have been scorching huge areas and wiping entire towns from the map appear to be the future. Accepting that wildland fires are a part of our environment and working to live with fires rather than continuously fighting against them may be the most responsible path forward.

Aug 16, 2021
Report

How Can the Department of the Air Force Prepare for Natural Hazards?

Some Air Force facilities are exposed to flooding, high winds, wildfires, or even multiple hazards. Future costs of damages are uncertain, and climate change could affect the frequency and scale of these hazards. The process for making investment decisions regarding resilience should be flexible.

Aug 9, 2021
Report

Addressing societal challenges in Norway: Key trends, future scenarios, missions and structural measures

Through a series of nine reports, the study identified priority missions that the Research Council of Norway could consider implementing in the future to address societal challenges, and potential structural measures needed to enable a resilient R&I environment in Norway.

Aug 9, 2021
Journal Article

Building A Resilient Telecommunications Sector in Puerto Rico in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria

Describes courses of action for rebuilding the telecommunications sector in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Significant progress has been made, but substantial investment is still required to achieve a resilient, robust telecommunications sector.

Aug 3, 2021
Blog

Historic Lynchings and Voter Registration, China in Space, Firefighters' Mental Health: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the link between historic lynchings and voter registration, Afghanistan in the era of fentanyl, supporting firefighters’ mental health, and more.

Jul 30, 2021
Journal Article

Arctic Shipping Guidance from the CMIP6 Ensemble on Operational and Infrastructural Timescales

The expectation of a seasonally ice-free Arctic by mid-century has sparked interest in Arctic opportunities and risks. This paper presents a framework for obtaining more timely and salient information to guide decisions relevant to operational and infrastructural horizons.

Jul 30, 2021
Journal Article

Data-driven Decision Support Tools for Assessing the Vulnerability of Community Water Systems to Groundwater Contamination in Los Angeles County

This research aims to develop an easy to deploy, data-driven method to identify community water systems that are vulnerable to drinking water quality degradation from groundwater contamination.

Jul 28, 2021

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