Fall Midterm Briefings for the MPA ESP Workshop Course

Throughout the 12-month MPA program in Environmental Science and Policy, students apply practical and professional skills gained in the program to three semesters of workshop courses. During the summer workshop, students focused on learning to convey scientific initiatives to non-scientists.  The fall workshops aim to establish the foundational knowledge necessary for the spring workshops where students work directly with clients. On Wednesday, October 14^th, the MPA ESP students presented their midterm Briefings for The Workshop in Applied Earth Systems Management course.  “This semester is like a simulation: we act as if the bills have been passed and then try to work out how to make them real and successful,” explains Steve Cohen, the MPA ESP’s Director and Executive Director of the Earth Institute.

The workshop course is a cornerstone of the program, enriching students’ understanding of sustainability initiatives while providing them with professional training.  With an emphasis on management training, the Workshops are designed around a set of proposed but not yet enacted state, federal, or local environmental laws or international agreements and teams of students focus on a different aspect of these environmental policies each semester.  During the fall, the course focuses on the operational design and management issues central to the implementation of these same laws, including the importance of interpersonal relations and strategic thinking in completing projects effectively.  In the spring, the students will work with clients in the public (not-for-profit and government sectors) to incorporate their research into professional work.

Steve Cohen, who is also an advisor for one of the five workshop groups, recognizes the value of the project: “After the summer semester when students try to understand the science behind these statutes and come up with potential solutions to the problems they address, the fall semester takes the analysis in a different direction. The Workshop groups try to figure out how to actually implement these bills with the assumption that they have been enacted.”

The Workshop brings in the expertise of experienced faculty who are practitioners in the field.  Lloyd Kass joins the Workshop faculty this fall. Mr. Kass has served as the Director of the Energy Department of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and a project manager at Wildan Energy Solutions. While in his role for the Energy Department, Kass led a large team of managers, energy accountants and engineers, and managed a multi-million dollar annual operating budget for energy costs in thousands of multifamily homes and commercial buildings. Professor Callahan returns to Workshop this semester, bringing to the program over 30 years of experience working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where she most recently served as US EPA Deputy Regional Administrator for Region 2.  Prior to managing the entire Regional Office, Professor Callahan managed the Superfund Program and also led Region 2’s environmental planning division. Professor Steven Cohen, who is the Director of the MPA ESP program, is also the Executive Director of The Earth Institute, Columbia University. Professor Cohen’s public management books are indispensable guides for public management scholars and are especially useful for students in the MPA ESP and other MPA graduate programs and related fields.  Professor Cohen also writes a weekly column for The New York Observer which focuses on critical issues of environment and sustainable development with a spotlight on New York City.  Also teaching Workshop this semester is Professor Matthew Palmer, whose research focuses on conservation, restoration, and ecosystem function. While serving as an advisor to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NYC Parks, NY State DEC, NJ DEP, and several NGOs on conservation, restoration, and ecological management issues, Professor Palmer brought his wildlife conservation expertise to his Workshop group this summer and continues to do so this fall.  Finally, Professor Andrea Schmitz is teaching Workshop this semester. She currently serves as the Deputy Ombudsman for the Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison) and was formerly the Director for Con Edison’s Environment, Health and Safety program and Manager of the Asbestos and Wetlands Programs, and National Gas Star Program for the EPA, Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Division. Professor Schmitz shares her management, energy, environment, and safety expertise in the Workshop course this fall. 

The environmental legislation being covered this fall includes the Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 S.171; the Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act; the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009; H.R.669: Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act; and H.R. 890: American Renewable Energy Act.  Each student team, under the guidance of experienced faculty advisors, outlines and presents plans for the implementation of these pieces of legislation. Below are summaries of the workshop projects this fall.

Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009 S.171
Faculty Advisor: Lloyd Kass

Mr. Kass holds an MPA from Columbia and his management experience will provide practical experience to lead the operational thinking in the fall MPA ESP Workshop. 

According to the Congressional Research Service, the Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act aims to “develop and maintain an integrated system of coastal and ocean observations for the Nation’s coasts, oceans, and Great Lakes, to improve warnings of tsunami, hurricanes, El Niño events, and other natural hazards, to enhance homeland security, to support maritime operations, to improve management of coastal and marine resources, and for other purposes.” At their mid-term briefing, this group focused on the creation of functional integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation Systems.

Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act
Faculty Advisor: Kathleen Callahan

The Great Lakes Collaboration Implementation Act workshop, led by Professor Kathleen Callahan, examines the Presidential allocation of $475 M in 2010 for multi-agency restoration of the Great Lakes.  In Workshop, students work in small, faculty-advised project teams. During the fall, the groups design detailed operational plans for implementing those proposed laws. During the spring, students form new groups and work with public sector clients addressing challenges in various areas of environmental policy. During the summer, students analyze the scientific problem behind a proposed but not yet enacted piece of environmental legislation. This summer, the group assessed the discrepancies between the amount of funding allocated by the Collaboration Implementation Act and the amount of funding necessary for state and local governments to provide comprehensive action, concluding that potential disagreements over the proper technology and scientific approach need to be resolved and that implementation should be pragmatic in order to find a compromise between cost and protection. At the October 14^th briefing, the team concluded that centralizing agency interaction will be a key step in implementing multi-agency interaction.

American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009
Faculty Advisor: Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen brings his extensive experience in environmental consulting and management, having worked for the USEPA and the Department of Energy before coming to Columbia.  Cohen advises the group working on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which seeks to promote clean energy, more energy efficient technology, global warming pollution reduction, and to create an economy based on these practices. Some specific goals of the bill are: 1) Requiring utilities to use renewable energy for 6% of their power generation in 2012 and 25% by 2025, 2) Making clean coal a reality, 3) Providing greater incentives for electric vehicles, 4) Furthering installation of Smart Grid and Electricity Transmission.  Last semester, the students concluded that the Bill reflects a compromise between political debate and scientific uncertainty surrounding the issue of global warming, and, if passed through the Senate, would mark a federal policy precedent. Continuing their work this fall, the team focused on approaches for successful implementation, including an agency staffing plan, comprehensive budget, and detailed program timeline.

H.R.669: Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act
Faculty Advisor: Matthew Palmer

Professor Palmer’s Workshop group is spending this semester learning about the Global Warming Wildlife Survival Act. This bill “requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a national strategy for assisting wildlife populations and habitats in adapting to the impact of global warming.” The bill aims to assist wildlife in adapting to climate change through research and creating new coping strategies for impacted species. The goals of the bill center around imperiled species; enhancing the monitoring of current and prospective programs, guiding restorative efforts with its newly established advisory board, establishing corridors for wildlife, reducing threats that are not related to climate, and improving the management wildlife.

Under the guidance of Matthew Palmer, the group working with the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act is focusing on legislation created to prevent the introduction of harmful nonnative wildlife species into American ecosystems, including the economic ramifications of this introduction. The implementation of this Act would require the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations establishing a process for assessing the risk of all nonnative wildlife species in the United States. If successful, there should be an observed decrease in invasions and associated damages. In their presentation, the team explored paths to increase public awareness about the dangers of invasive species, as well as outlets for expanding partnerships.  

H.R. 890: American Renewable Energy Act
Faculty Advisor: Andrea Schmitz

Ms. Schmitz brings her expertise in the field of energy and her practical experience in management to her student group which is focusing on the American Renewable Energy Act.

Andrea’s team is examining the possibility for a federal renewable electricity standard for electric utilities and the growth of renewable energy.  The act urges utility providers to develop renewable capabilities such as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and landfill gas, marine and hydrokinetic, or new and additional hydroelectric sources. If the act is successful, there will be an increase in renewable capacity and a decrease in both the price of renewable energy and air emissions. The mid-term briefing examined program design with special focus on creating efficient, transparent, and cost effective implementation options.