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Students Present their Final Workshop Briefings for the Fall Semester
As the second semester of the
Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy program
came to a close, students gave their Final Presentations for the Workshop in
Applied Earth Systems Management on Wednesday, November 28. The final workshop
briefings are the culmination of semester-long projects on a proposed but not
yet enacted environmental law or treaty with an emphasis on management issues. The
purpose of the fall-semester workshop is to provide students with the
opportunity to manage and implement a public earth system and environmental
program. During this management simulation, students learn first-hand, the importance
of both interpersonal relations and strategic thinking to the process of
completing projects in an effective manner.
The workshop teams were advised
by Professors Kathleen Callahan, Steve Cohen, Tanya Heikkila, and Andrea
Schmitz. Professor Callahan is the EPA Deputy Regional Administrator of Region 2
and advised the workshop team covering National Ocean Policy. Professor Cohen, Director
of the MPA-ESP program as well as Executive Director and Chief Operating
Officer of the Earth Institute, advised the Global Warming team. Professor
Heikkila, a SIPA professor who was recently awarded a three-year grant by the
National Science Foundation to study interstate river basin compacts in the
Western United States, worked with the team covering Great Lakes Water Resource
Compact and the team concerned with the Convention on Biological Diversity. Professor
Schmitz, currently Director of Environment, Health and Safety for Consolidated
Edison Company of New York, Inc. overseeing their Environmental Response Team, advised
the team reporting on Energy for our Future.
National Ocean Policy (Prof. Kathy
Callahan, Faculty Advisor)
Addressing H.R. 21: Oceans
Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act, this
team outlined the policy objectives, design goals, implementations, and
successes of the pending legislation. The marine ecosystems of our planet are facing
grave decline due to erosion, warming, land loss, and severe storms. The
ultimate goal of their policy is to institute an ecosystem-based
approach to managing marine ecosystems rather than one that is politically-based.
This would require clearly established baselines for ocean governance, national
and regional coordination within new framework, and strategic planning for
instituting the best practices in the first year and over the long term. They
proposed an $8 million budget to cover education, analysis and planning, and
organizational development within the NOAA. They believe that the heart of the
work must be done at each regional level, but coordinated on a national or even
international scale.
Global Warming (Prof. Steve
Cohen, Faculty Advisor)
The perils of global warming are
increasing at an alarming rate, leading policymakers to create legislature to
attempt to curb its environmental hazards. Addressing S. 309: Global Warming
Pollution Reduction Act, this team examined the US proposal to address global
warming, which aims to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. They outlined
the incremental emissions cut over the next 40 years, to be achieved by
increasing vehicle emissions standards, instituting renewable and clean energy
requirements and cap-and-trade programs, implementing carbon sequestration
techniques, and continuing research and development of new technologies. By 2050
the program aims to achieve 80% of 1990 emission levels and to maintain a
global temperature increase under 3.6ºF. They outlined immediate demands for
the first year of program, which includes a government budget of $8.8 million.
They
hope to create a S.309 working group, draft regulations with staff and
consultants, and open applications for a sequestration grant program in that
time. The group believes that the act has a fair chance of passing in 2009 if
there is a change of administration at the top.
Great Lakes Water Resource
Compact (Prof. Tanya Heikkila, Faculty Advisor)
In the face of increasing
stresses on the Great Lakes and diminishing global resources of fresh water,
this
group reviewed the goals and mandates of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence River
Basin Water Resources Compact as it might be applied in New York. These include
limiting diversions and other withdrawals of water from the Basin, improving
scientific knowledge of the region, and coordinating and enhancing conservation
efforts. They project that this will require development of a database, revision
of permitting and efficiency of water consumption, and the creation of an
Advisory Council within the first year of implementation. They hope that in the
end this program will help to establish a sustainable use of water in the Basin.
Convention on Biological Diversity (Prof. Tanya Heikkila, Faculty Advisor)
The Convention on Biological
Diversity’s goal is to preserve biological diversity and ensure equal resource
sharing. In their presentation this team explained how the convention was the
first global treaty to explicitly take comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach
to conserving biological diversity. This is supported by the multi-lateral, voluntary
agreement ratified by 190 countries which allows each party to implement its
own provisions according to guidelines and mandates that financing and administration
are shared according to ability. If ratified, this team explained that the US
Pilot Program would focus on three articles in the first year: ecosystem
monitoring, reports, and the biennial conference of parties, focusing on coral
reefs. The projected budget for the first year is just under $550,000. In
conclusion, the team emphasized that the United States is a powerful world
leader and must take immediate action to address conservation of biological
diversity for current and future generations.
Energy for Our Future (Prof. Andrea
Schmitz, Faculty Advisor)
This team tackled the aim of
improving energy efficiency in the United States by allocating resources to
renewable solar power and away from coal. They state that although the
technology is viable, there has been a lack of investment since the 1970s and
it is not currently cost-competitive. Thus, they suggest a performance-based
approach with minimal government involvement wherein more money can be spent on
Solar Technology. The first year focus of this program will be Research and
Development Grants from the US Department of Energy, aiming to make solar cost-competitive
by 2015. This would require $148 million in that time. They also emphasize the
need for minimum renewable generation requirements for all electric companies. They
assure that this approach to energy for our future will be both environmentally
and economically gratifying as soon as a commitment is established.
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