Presentations

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Yellowstone Buffalo Clean Power Solid Waste Management Watershed Protection

Developing Management Plans for Proposed Environmental Projects: Fall Semester Workshop Final Briefings

On December 1st, the MPA Program in Environmental Science and Policy hosted final briefings of semester-long projects for its Applied Earth Systems Management Workshop. Over 70 people attended the review, which included topics ranging from the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to Solid Waste Management in New York City.

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. Since a government agency is not likely to allow the students to take over their operations for a semester, the students simulate management innovation projects, and address the management problems associated with selecting and operating program changes over a one-year period. While we are conducting the 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.

Mid-way through the semester, students conducted midterm briefings, which gave an overview of each project, the current program designs, and the initial implementation of their procedures. Their final briefings finalized these original plans and provided details on organization, budget and measurements of success.

In the program’s spring semester workshop, students undertake real-world policy and management analysis for public and nonprofit agencies. Faculty in the program are now working with a number of public organizations to develop five new projects that will be launched in late January, 2005.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafetey – Faculty Advisor Professor Tanya Heikkila

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety provides protection of biodiversity from threats posed by Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). LMOs are the modification of existing genes and the introduction of new genes. While the benefits include the preservation of endangered species, the risks include genetic pollution and unintended impact on target species as well as other species. Students presented an overview of the protocol, its political implications, and a detailed look at a proposed program design that would function under the Environmental Protection Agency. Details on management, budget, critical first year tasks, as well as the protocol’s future were included.

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Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act – Faculty Advisor Professor Gary Weiskopf

The proposed Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act addresses the problem of buffalo migrating outside of Yellowstone Park borders. Due to the spread of Brucellosis, a disease that causes abortion in cattle and buffalo, buffalo migration becomes a substantial problem for the cattle industry. Students presented a first-year outline for the Yellowstone Buffalo Interagency Preservation Plan, which would effectively integrate multiple agencies to protect the Yellowstone buffalo herd. The team looked at critical management tasks for the program including recruitment, the introduction of a relocation program, and training for monitoring and mapping.

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Clean Power Act – Faculty Advisor Professor Eileen McGinnis

The proposed Clean Power Act targets electric power plants and addresses the harmful results of emissions such as: carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and mercury. In turn the Clean Power Act, if enacted would help to limit the dangerous effects of global climate change, ground-level ozone, acid rain, and bioaccumulation. The proposed legislation reduces emissions by implementing an emissions allowance and trading system. Students analyzed the problem and policy design, focusing on both federal (EPA) and state management to reduce CO2 emissions. The team also discussed measures of success, such as minimized economic impact and continuous program assessment, and looked ahead to future political and scientific challenges.

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Solid Waste Management – Faculty Advisor Professor Steve Cohen

New York City now exports all of it waste to landfills and incinerators outside of the city. A piece of proposed legislation in the New York City council would require the department of sanitation to develop new technologies to dispose of waste without landfills or incinerators. Students proposed a program that would force rapid development of two alternative technologies of waste management: gasification and anaerobic digestion. Their plan would save money per ton, use facilities both inside and outside of New York City, and create a new division in the Department of Sanitation. Students explored their plan’s initial implementation and created guidelines to measure first-year success.

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Watershed Protection – Faculty Advisor Professor Tanya Heikkila

The Public Surface Water Supply Act was proposed in New York to protect drinking water supplies especially to the 9 million inhabitants in New York City. Current threats to providing clean water are agricultural and developmental. During their presentation students discussed a cooperative design program, utilizing both state and local agencies, in order to create buffer zones around streams that supply New York City’s drinking water. Students provided a detailed program design, which would implement the buffer zones, permitting, enforcement, and monitoring. The team prioritized the establishment of project staff and the marking of buffer zones in the first year.

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