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Energy

Energy plays a vital role in the global economy: fossil fuel dependency, the stability of the supply chain, and the prospects for harnessing previously untapped resources affect a range of policy concerns, from national security and international affairs to economic development and climate change. RAND's energy research covers the spectrum from energy conservation and security to emerging technologies and energy use by the U.S. armed forces.

Research Brief

Educators and Employers Could Align Efforts to Fill STEM Jobs

Middle-skills STEM workers are in high demand in the oil and natural gas industry, but they need the proper training and credentials. Better collaboration between employers and colleges could bridge the gap between the skills and knowledge employers seek and what instructors emphasize.

Feb 7, 2019
Report

Report

Supporting Middle-Skills STEM Workforce Development: Analysis of Workplace Skills in Demand and Education Institutions' Curricular Offerings in the Oil and Gas Sector

In this report, researchers examine the alignment of college STEM education with the needs of employers in the tri-state region of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, as well as STEM areas in which college students need more support.

Feb 7, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Resilience of the Eastern African Electricity Sector to Climate Driven Changes in Hydropower Generation

This study developed a framework consisting of long-term models for electricity supply and water systems management, to assess the vulnerability of potential electricity infrastructure expansion plans to the effects of climate change in Africa.

Jan 29, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Performance Comparison of Solar Photovoltaic Models for Plant Siting in India

India will add 100 GW of solar electric power generation by 2022. This report examines the performance of four annual solar photovoltaic production models against actual generation data from utility-scale plants in Gujarat, India.

Jan 9, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Tradeoff Between Water and Carbon Footprints of Barnett Shale Gas

This study takes an in-depth look at the energy water nexus in the context of hydraulic fracturing in a drought prone and natural gas rich region of Texas.

Jan 4, 2019
Commentary

Can Innovative Financing by the Public and Private Sectors Build on Momentum in Energy Efficiency Improvements for Affordable Multifamily Housing?

Nearly one in three American households in 2015 reported difficulty paying their energy bills or sustaining adequate home heating and cooling. Emerging models of energy services and financing show promise, and could identify creative ways to increase access to funding that could preserve and improve home affordability for millions of Americans.

Dec 12, 2018
Report

Report

Energy Efficiency as a Tool for Preservation of Affordable Rental Housing: Evaluation of the Efficiency Emphasis in the MacArthur Foundation's Window of Opportunity Initiative

From 2012 to 2015 the MacArthur Foundation awarded 39 grants and loans totaling $27.5 million to promote the energy efficiency of multifamily affordable rental housing. The initiative had a positive influence on most of its targeted outcomes.

Dec 10, 2018
Commentary

Overlapping Environmental Disasters Put a Strain on Gulf Communities

For Gulf Coast residents, dealing with the impact of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is challenging enough. With the Taylor Energy spill, they may face an even more daunting recovery, one that could take decades. Acknowledging the extent and complexity of recovery is the first step toward supporting coastal communities to build their resilience in the face of overlapping disasters.

Nov 29, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

SUCCEED: Summer Center for Climate, Energy, and Environmental DecisionMaking

Conference paper describing an annual summerschool held at Carnegie Mellon University that was started by Kelly Klima.

Nov 28, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Geographic Smoothing of Solar Photovoltaic Electric Power Production in the Western USA

We examined the geographic smoothing of solar photovoltaic generation from 15 utility-scale plants in California, Nevada, and Arizona and from 19 commercial building installations in California.

Nov 28, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Regulating Risks Within Complex Sociotechnical Systems: Evidence From Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Standards

One of the first empirical studies of the effects of mandatory cybersecurity regulations for critical infrastructure.

Nov 27, 2018
Commentary

Could America Use Its Leverage to Alter the Saudis' Behavior?

As the Saudis' chief political and military partner and the undisputed security guarantor in the Middle East, the United States has considerable influence it can wield over Saudi decisionmaking. The Trump administration could consider using its influence to encourage Saudi leadership to moderate its assertive and damaging policies abroad.

Nov 15, 2018
Tool

Tool

Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity Among Neighborhoods in the Gulf (STRONG) Codebook

This report describes the measures in the Survey of Trauma, Resilience, and Opportunity Among Neighborhoods in the Gulf (STRONG), which assesses the health and well-being of Gulf Coast residents five years after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Oct 23, 2018
Essay

Appalachia Partnership Helps Both Workers and Employers in a Changing Market

An innovative program in Appalachia is realigning the skills of the workforce with the needs of employers, getting people back on the job and providing a 21st-century model of workforce development.

Aug 30, 2018
Commentary

A Better Way to Think About Scooters

Unleashed in Santa Monica, California, last September, Bird and its competitors are now in 30 American cities and counting. Cities are responding to the scooter takeover with new regulations and increased law enforcement. But if officials rely only on 20th-century tools to integrate these 21st-century scooters into their cities, they will miss a big opportunity.

Aug 28, 2018
Report

Israeli-Turkish Ties Face Formidable Challenges

Israel and Turkey have mutual economic interests, such as trade, tourism, and energy. The two countries have usually been able to separate these interests from their political differences, but current relations remain contentious. Israel and Turkey differ on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the future of Syria.

Jun 27, 2018
Journal Article

Gaza's Water and Sanitation Crisis: The Implications for Public Health

Gaza's dire water, sanitation, and electricity challenges are complex and deeply intertwined. Even so, they could be addressed in the long term; current barriers to a policy solution are largely political.

Feb 14, 2018
Journal Article

Examining the Food-Energy-Water and Conflict Nexus

This article provides an in-depth review of the interactions between insecurity and conflict within the component sectors of the FEW nexus.

Jan 30, 2018
Report

Postsecondary Education and STEM Employment in the United States: An Analysis of National Trends with a Focus on the Natural Gas and Oil Industry

This report aims to contribute new knowledge to understanding the role that postsecondary education plays in meeting the increasing demands of the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce.

Dec 6, 2017
Report

Report

The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and the Community: Technical Appendixes

These technical appendixes provide more details on the methodology, data, and findings in the report, The Appalachia Partnership Initiative's Investments in Education, Workforce Development, and the Community: Analysis of the First Stage, 2014-2016.

Nov 10, 2017

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