Policy Topics

Energy and environment

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In the Media

Rabe on the transition away from coal

Oct 2, 2020 Chicago Tribune

“I’m hard-pressed to think of any state or analyst upbeat about the future of coal,” said Rabe. “Increasingly, the discussion is about how we can navigate a just, humane transition.” Read the full Chicago Tribune article...

Publication

Rabe examines Trump’s “Administrative Presidency” in a new book

Oct 1, 2020

The administration of Donald Trump has used executive orders and regulatory changes in a far-reaching expansion of presidential power to reverse many policies of the Obama administration. In a new book published by the Brookings Institution Press,...

News

U-M survey finds strong interest among Michigan communities in sustainability and energy collaborations

Sep 30, 2020

Few local governments in Michigan report collaborating with another community on energy and sustainability issues, but nearly half expressed interest in teaming up with others to pursue opportunities, according to survey results released today by...

In the Media

Rabe: A conservative Supreme Court could diminish unilateral executive action on environmental policy

Sep 28, 2020

"Even if former Vice President Joe Biden wins the White House," said Rabe, "the high court’s new makeup would set up a questionable future for aggressive Biden administration environmental policies. I think it likely dials back ambition for any...

In the Media

Rabe discusses how Democratic governors tackle climate policy

Sep 24, 2020 Environment & Energy News

“We’re in a window where a lot of Democratic governors are trying to do something related to climate, and if the executive order approach is their only route, carbon neutrality is a kind of popular step,” said Rabe. Read the full E&E News...

In the Media

Rabe: Linking climate to infrastructure and job creation requires a plan

Sep 23, 2020 Roll Call

“On one hand, in terms of initial public perception, [linking climate change to infrastructure] can be attractive because you’re allowing each citizen to paint with their imagination what it will be like,” Rabe said. But the challenge, he added,...

In the Media

Rabe says climate concerns matter in 2020 vote

Sep 22, 2020 Environment & Energy News

"In ways that we haven't seen before, the climate and environment issues never really go away. It keeps resurfacing in ways that are relatively unique to the last 20 years or so," Rabe told E&E News. Read the full Environment & Energy News...

Publication

Government science boards are seen through a political lens - study

Sep 9, 2020

The current debate about federally-funded scientific research reflects an ongoing trend: What people think of the scientists who advise the federal government partially depends on their own political persuasion and where the scientists work. That is...

Alumni spotlight

Laura Bishop (MPA ‘99) ‘leans in’ on environmental sustainability in the public and private sectors

Aug 17, 2020

Laura Bishop (MPA '99) recently came full circle moving between the public and private sectors, and back to state government. Her time at the Ford School gave her the foundation in public administration, analytics and economics, as well as the...

Alumni spotlight

Kenneth McFarlane (MPA ‘14) pivoted from highest profit to greatest outcome

Aug 10, 2020

Kenneth McFarlane’s (MPA '14) transition from a civil engineer to Chief Deputy Director in the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development was guided by the Ford School. McFarlane landed a civil engineer’s dream job in Las Vegas,...

News

Rabe: Green Super PACs can have real influence in 2020 elections

Jul 30, 2020

In an article in E&E News, Ford School professor Barry Rabe is quoted as saying that the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), among other environmental organizations, can have a real impact on the elections in 2020. The article states, “The LCV...

News

Rabe lauds the Great American Outdoors Act

Jul 20, 2020

Ford School professor of Environmental Policy Barry Rabe writes in an essay for the Niskanen Center July 16 that” the recent Senate passage of the Great American Outdoors Act–buoyed with overwhelming bipartisan support–is a remarkable achievement in...

Alumni spotlight

Interdisciplinary studies and applied learning prepare Fernandes (MPP/MS ‘08) to protect environment

Jul 8, 2020

As a policy analyst for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nicole Fernandes (MPP/MS '08) analyzes the environmental, political, and programmatic impacts of proposed coastal resilience and science policies, including those...

News

Future presidential climate change actions are limited, Rabe argues

Jun 25, 2020

In a FixGov blog for the Brookings Institution, Ford School professor Barry Rabe argues that environmental policy has been shaped for too long by executive order and administrative powers rather than more enduring legislation. "So should the 46th...

Domestic Policy Corps, Policy for the People, Environmental Policy Association stand in solidarity with Black lives

Jun 10, 2020

Domestic Policy Corps, Policy for the People, and the Environmental Policy Association, three Ford School student organizations, have released statements of solidarity with the Black community and the movements for Black lives. We share them,...

Black background with white text: "Student organization statements: Domestic Policy Corps, Policy for the People, and Environmental Policy Assoc. in solidarity with Black lives."

News

Plugging orphaned oil and gas wells can protect the environment, create jobs

Jun 2, 2020

At a forum convened by the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on June 1, Daniel Raimi, Ford School lecturer, testified that capping “orphaned” oil and gas well – those which are no longer productive and...

Alumni spotlight

Ford School alum supports small businesses and sustainable energy in East Africa during COVID-19

May 28, 2020

Because it is easy to transport and produce, wood charcoal is an important cooking fuel in developing countries, particularly in urban areas. Unfortunately, traditional wood charcoal, is often unsustainably produced and consumed, putting severe...

Sylvia Herzog, The Charcoal Project, with Betty Ikalany and Helen Acuru, AEST Ltd. Uganda

News

Biden risks alienating voters with climate policies, according to Rabe

May 15, 2020

Ford School professor Barry Rabe was quoted in an article in the Washington Examiner on May 14 about the risks of Vice President Joe Biden's campaign veering too far left in its climate policy. “At some point, there will be disappointment,” said...

News

Rabe explores taxing methane emissions

Mar 16, 2020

Representing a new line of research, Ford School professor Barry Rabe explores the politics around taxing methane gas releases. Rabe argues that consensus among economists is “the best way to reduce climate risks linked to carbon dioxide emissions...

News

Rabe addresses the feasibility of Democratic electric vehicle proposals

Mar 9, 2020

Throughout the Democratic primary process, candidates have released climate change plans calling for the full electrification of vehicles within the next two decades. Professor Barry Rabe weighed in recently on how these proposals could impact...

News

Farmers harvesting the benefits of wind energy

Mar 5, 2020

With U.S. farm bankruptcy rates rising, farmers have been turning to the wind energy to make ends meet. Sarah Mills, senior project manager at the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) was featured in a USA Today article...

In the Media

The Economics of Environmental Justice, with Samuel Stolper and Catherine Hausman

Mar 3, 2020 Resources

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Annual DC career trip fosters connections between students and alumni

Feb 11, 2020

On February 6 and 7, 2020, the Ford School held its annual DC career trip with record student attendance (55 graduate students) and alumni participation (140). A Ford School tradition, this year’s Washington, DC experience provided students with...

James VanSteel (MPP/MURP '21) co-authors electric vehicle report for The Ecology Center

Jan 31, 2020

With research conducted during his summer 2019 internship with The Ecology Center, Ford School student James VanSteel (MPP/MURP '21) co-authored “EV Report: Paying Their Fair Share,” published on January 13, 2020. In the report, VanSteel and his...

News

U-M survey finds sharp increase in energy efficiency steps among Michigan local governments

Jan 15, 2020

Half of Michigan’s local governments have taken steps to improve energy efficiency in their facilities—more than double the 22% who reported similar efforts a decade ago, according to a survey by the University of Michigan Ford School of Public...

New BA minor opens policy education to more U-M students

Dec 10, 2019

Starting fall 2020, the Ford School will offer University of Michigan undergraduates a 16-credit minor in public policy. The minor will have a competitive application process that will go live in April 2020. The school expects to enroll around...

Trump’s revocation of the Clean Air Act’s states’ rights waiver sends a ‘chilling message’, says Rabe

Oct 10, 2019

Last month, President Trump revoked California’s waiver under the 1970 Clean Air Act, stripping California and 13 other states of their authority to set state-level standards on tailpipe emissions. Contrary to typical Republican values favoring...

News

Barry Rabe contributes to New York Times reporting and analysis on greenhouse gas emissions policy

Oct 3, 2019

“If you look at the whole tweet thread, this is remarkably specific,” said Barry Rabe, professor of public policy at the Ford School, in The New York Times article “Trump Defends Plan to Kill California’s Auto-Emissions Authority”. “It almost moves...

Science, technology, and society… Oh my!

Oct 2, 2019

Professor Shobita Parthasarthy and a colleague have launched “The Received Wisdom”, a new podcast that will explore the potential of science and technology by challenging commonly held wisdom.On Monday, September 23, “The Received Wisdom” launched...

News

Democratic presidential candidates’ climate change proposals may be unrealistic, says Rabe

Sep 12, 2019

Addressing climate change tops the majority of democratic presidential candidates’ political agendas. The two main policies candidates propose are a full transition to electric vehicles as well as drastically reducing total greenhouse gas...