Tag: <span>Bard Center for Environmental Policy</span>

Igniting a Love for Outdoor Cooking with Kids

Some of my most vivid outdoor memories revolve around the campfire. Whether I was sitting in the laps of my parents with a steaming mug of hot cocoa or wielding sticks with marshmallows, through all these memories there is always one constant: food. As your kids grow up, you might …

Biomimicry – Nature-inspired designs can make our low carbon future sustainable and efficient

Climate Change is one of the global challenges facing humanity. Climate disasters due to global warming have occurred almost everywhere. Yet, the world is still discussing how we might solve the problem, what action to take, and most of all, who is responsible? If we delay action, if humans allow …

The Mining Industry in Morocco: A Policy Paradox that Leaves Poor People Behind

Morocco holds 77% of the world’s total phosphate reserves and is the world’s largest phosphate exporter. The mining sector in Morocco, including copper and silver, represents 10% of Morocco’s GDP, with 90% coming from phosphates. Most extractive industry sites in Morocco are located in very poor villages where inhabitants are …

Middle America: A New Home for Climate Refugees

What if you were told your home would permanently disappear in the near future. How would you react? The citizens of the Republic of the Marshall Islands are currently dealing with this dilemma. Their country consists of over 1200 islands and two chains of coral atolls. With an average elevation …

Hope and Resilience in the Face of Climate Change: My Year at the Hudson River Estuary Program

When most people think of Climate Change, they imagine things like starving polar bears on thinning sea ice, or a wreck of debris after a major hurricane on the Gulf Coast.  This is certainly one aspect of the Climate Crisis.  However, there’s another more personal and immediate reality unfolding every …

Decoding the Language of the Flood: how terminology influences flood-risk perception

    It’s 2011 and we’re in Binghamton, New York. People here are mostly recovered from the massive flood of 2006 that displaced 20,000 people.  Foundations have been repaired, carpets replaced, and homes rebuilt.  Finally, people are feeling secure again. After all, the flood of 2006 was what’s known as …

A Dry Bathroom for a Dry Land

I duck under the tin roof of the cooking enclosure and my lungs immediately fill with smoke.  Gabby is explaining how they use the ash from the cooking fires in their newly installed dry bathrooms at the #131 Secondary School of San Miguel Suchixtepec.  We are 8,000 feet above sea …

Failure is a Badge of Honor: Leadership at the United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is a leading organization addressing complex and interdisciplinary issues on a global scale. My key areas of interests focused on by the UN are conflict, disaster response, environmental security, peacekeeping, and cooperation. During my internship experience at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, …

Make Food, Not Waste

This past July, I played a large role in the planning and execution of the first-annual NYC Food Waste Fair, but it definitely was not a solo effort! Louise Bruce, Senior Program Manager, NYC Organics, Elizabeth Balkan, Director of Policy and Senior Advisor, Office of the Commissioner, Marcel Howard, fellow …

Don’t Falter, Organize!

Before entering my internship with the Food & Water Watch (FWW) I was unsure exactly of what an organizer position consisted of. I have always considered myself somewhat organized, so I was interested in seeing if my organizing skills honed from years of academia were transferable to this line of …