Tag: <span>development</span>

Realizing a Sustainable Future with NRDC

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a national environmental non-profit organization that has worked “to safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends” since its foundation in 1970. NRDC draws on the expertise of lawyers, scientists, and policy advocates, as …

Turning Midwives into Solar Engineers – A Barefoot Initiative

“A Forty-five-year love story with the poor, those making less than a dollar a day”   More than 40 years ago, Bunker Roy, a young Indian fresh out of grad school, decided to work in one of India’s poorest states. There, in the village of Tilonia, Rajastan, he befriended Merghaj, …

4 Reasons that Tesla will not Succeed in China

When the Tesla Model 3 was released and started accepting pre-orders on April 1st, people in the US and Europe went crazy.  Three weeks later, there were more than 400,000 pre-orders, according to the official statistics. There are many benefits of driving electric vehicles (EV) such as Tesla:  Do not require …

Succeeding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem…and Beyond

Big Sky Country. What runs through your mind when you read those three words? A never-ending canopy of blue skies, perhaps? The wide open spaces of ranch land, home to cowboys and cattle? Or crystal-clear rivers teeming with trout, meandering through green meadows bordered by snow-capped peaks? For me, and …

Trip to Japan: Education and Agriculture

Written by Elisabeth Darnell My name is Elisabeth Darnell and I was fortunate enough to receive funding from the Henry Luce Foundation to study organic agriculture in Japan. I graduated from Bard College in the class of 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Urban Studies. During my studies, …

The Toughest Job You’ll Ever Love: My Life as a Peace Corps Mexico Volunteer

By Danielle Salisbury, M.S. Environmental Policy 2016 I got off the plane in Mexico City with a groggy group of new acquaintances I would soon be calling my friends, fellow adventurers, and in rougher times, my support system. I had made it. I had joined the Peace Corps and been …

Catalyzing Mobility in Lagos: BRT and other Public Transit Developments

Originally published on April 29th via CoLab Radio. During winter break of my senior year, I spent several weeks at home in Lagos doing fieldwork for my thesis on the challenges and opportunities in the waste management sector. Most of the time, I relied on public transportation to get around. …

Bard CEP Hosts Student Research Conference on Asia and the Environment

Today it is impossible to think seriously about the challenges of sustainable development and the environment without understanding the local and global environmental footprint of rapid economic growth in Asia—and the Asian response. At the same time, Asian Studies students increasingly require familiarity with the scientific, cultural and political dimensions …

Insights on Ground-level Interactions as a Development Agent

“So, what did you gain from your Peace Corps experience?” people often ask me following my return from 26 months abroad in the Republic of Cameroon, Central Africa. To answer that question in one sentence would group all of my relationships with friends and work partners, on-the-ground experiences and ups-and-downs …

Time to Adapt

By Judson Peck, M.S. Environmental Policy ’15 “Mitigating and adapting to climate change is entirely compatible with pursuing development.” – Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator UNDP and Climate Change Efforts to tackle climate change have largely been focused on isolated, distinct, and often competing goals and actions on mitigation (lowering emissions) or adaptation …