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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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Journal Article

Infrastructure Resilience to Navigate Increasingly Uncertain and Complex Conditions in the Anthropocene

Resilience theory can help infrastructure managers navigate increasing complexity of the systems and environments in which they operate.

Mar 4, 2021
Journal Article

The Family Crisis Migration Stress Framework: A Framework to Understand the Mental Health Effects of Crisis Migration on Children and Families Caused by Disasters

We synthesize relevant theories and models of disaster, migration, and family resilience to create a framework to organize the complex processes that occur within families as a result of migration and that affect the mental health of children.

Mar 2, 2021
Blog

Teachers Quit Due to Stress, Peace in Yemen, America's Middle Class: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on how stress leads teachers to quit their jobs, U.S. strategy in the Middle East, America's shrinking middle class, and more.

Feb 26, 2021
Multimedia

RAND Remote: Partnering with Communities on Puerto Rico Disaster Recovery

In this RAND Remote conversation, Marielena Lara and Gabriela Castro discuss the partnered approach they used to support reconstruction and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Feb 25, 2021
Commentary

California Needs a More Flexible Approach to Sea Level Rise Planning

Rising seas create significant risk to the health, safety, and economic vitality of California's coast communities, and we must prepare. A contingency-planning approach would provide flexible action over time and would build capacity that California and the nation need to respond to the many other serious and growing climate-related risks.

Feb 18, 2021
Tool

Chesapeake Bay Model Inventory and Selection Tool (MIST)

The Model Inventory and Selection Tool (MIST) is an interactive, searchable database of empirical, statistical, and conceptual models relevant to water- and climate-related planning and decisionmaking in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and beyond.

Feb 16, 2021
Journal Article

Planificación De Infraestructura Hídrica Para El Futuro Incierto En América Latina: Un Enfoque Eficiente En Costos Y Tiempo Para Tomar Decisiones Robustas De Infraestructura, Con Un Estudio De Caso En Mendoza, Argentina

El presente estudio demuestra la utilidad del enfoque de Toma de Decisiones Robustas para evaluar la vulnerabilidad y las oportunidades de adaptación de la gestión de los recursos hídricos en Mendoza, Argentina.

Feb 11, 2021
Journal Article

Modeling the Uncertainty of Potential Impacts on Robust Stormwater Management from Neighborhood-Scale Impervious Cover Change: A Case Study of Population-Based Scenarios in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

This work presents a method for applying high-spatial resolution population-based scenarios to pre-existing stormwater models. We explore the impact of two long-term population growth scenarios for the Pittsburgh region.

Feb 4, 2021
Brochure

Spotlight 2020–2021

Spotlight 2020-2021 features examples of our research that helped to improve people's lives during a turbulent year. It also highlights a selection of research initiatives on the horizon for 2021.

Jan 26, 2021
Journal Article

Development of a Quality-Controlled Chlorine Gas Concentration Data Base for the Jack Rabbit II Field Experiments

This paper describes the network of chlorine point sensors used during JR II, corrections to the measurements taken by MiniRAE sensors, and analyses using the concentrations measured along the concentric arcs 0.2–11 km away from the source.

Jan 26, 2021
Commentary

Local Communities Need a Voice in How to 'Build Back Better'

Long before it was popularized and made its way into political slogans and economic recovery battle cries, the phrase “building back better” was a central tenet of disaster recovery and community resilience. How should community voices be incorporated into “building back better” processes?

Jan 12, 2021
Commentary

Lessons for Central America's Recovery from Hurricanes

As the global community works to assist Central America in recovering from the disastrous 2020 hurricane season, other recent recovery efforts offer helpful lessons, both for the governments of the region as well as outsiders providing resources and support.

Jan 11, 2021
Journal Article

Achievements and Needs for the Climate Change Scenario Framework

Over the past ten years, the climate change research community has developed a scenario framework combining alternative futures of climate and society to facilitate integrated research and consistent assessment to inform policy. Here we assess how well this framework is working and what challenges it faces.

Jan 6, 2021
Journal Article

Exploring the Application of Machine Learning for Downscaling Climate Projections

In this proof-of-concept study, datasets derived from both observations and climate models were used together to train and test statistical methods to downscale.

Dec 22, 2020
Journal Article

Approaches to Analyzing the Vulnerability of Community Water Systems to Groundwater Contamination in Los Angeles County

This paper details the objectives, process and lessons learned from a workshop-based research project that examined the spatial extent of groundwater contamination in Los Angeles County's groundwater basins.

Dec 22, 2020
Journal Article

Research in Mathematics and Public Policy

This volume features a variety of research projects at the intersection of mathematics and public policy. The topics included here fall in the areas of cybersecurity and climate change.

Dec 17, 2020
Tool

Mid-Atlantic Regional Climate Impacts Summary and Outlook: Fall 2020

This climate summary aims to inform Mid-Atlantic policymakers and practitioners about fall 2020 weather, regional climate trends, and the upcoming winter season. A tool shows historic tropical cyclone tracks in the Mid-Atlantic from 1980 to 2020.

Dec 16, 2020
Commentary

Curb Climate Change After COVID-19? Fast-Growing India and Brazil Are Key

India and Brazil are facing pressure to launch recoveries after the economic devastation caused by the pandemic. Will they backslide on their Paris climate agreement commitments, or will the expected return of the United States to the pact encourage them to build a more sustainable economic future?

Dec 15, 2020
Journal Article

The Measurement of Disaster Recovery Efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis: An Application to Electric Power Restoration

This paper considers disaster severity to assess efficiency for electric utilities. We provide an application to recent post-hurricane restoration activities across different electric power companies in the states and territories of the United States.

Dec 15, 2020
Report

When Hurricanes Happen During Pandemics

Hurricanes can change patterns of mobility and expand the spread of COVID-19, for example, to communal shelters. On the other hand, fear of the virus could cause people who might otherwise evacuate to shelter in place, resulting in more deaths from a hurricane. How can policymakers prepare for this threat?

Dec 9, 2020

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