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Energy and environment

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News

Congratulations to Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi, both now associate professors, with tenure

May 21, 2021

Professors Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi have received promotions to associate professor, with tenure, at the Ford School. Their status was approved by the U-M Board of Regents at their meeting on May 20. "Natasha Pilkauskas is deepening...

Headshots of Kaitlin Raimi and Natasha Pilkauskas

In the Media

Hanson comments on risks of Line 5 pipeline

May 19, 2021 The Globe and Mail

For years, the Line 5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac has been a hot topic in Michigan politics. Jonathon Hanson, a Ford School lecturer, shed light on the potential consequences of continuing to allow the pipeline to exist. “You think...

Publication

Rabe urges Biden administration to address methane reduction

May 9, 2021

"Methane has contributed one-quarter of of global warming to date," Ford School professor Barry Rabe writes in "Thought from Our Fellows" published by the National Academy of Public Administration. "The Biden Administration has an opportunity to...

In the Media

Environmental advocates should help implement Washington's cap-and-trade law, Basseches opinion

Apr 29, 2021 Washington State Wire

Washington will become second state to adopt cap-and-trade Law. But what happens next really matters Climate advocates in Washington are celebrating the passage of a second-in-the-nation economy-wide carbon pricing bill, which Governor Inslee is...

In the Media

Haverkamp says Biden's ambitious climate goals are technologically attainable

Apr 24, 2021 TRT World

"The goal is ambitious. There are several routes we can take to get there. But at the highest level what they have to do is to transform all the sectors of the economy away from their reliance on fossil fuels," Haverkamp said in an interview on TRT...

In the Media

Rabe speaks on Biden's efforts to return U.S. to credible climate policy role

Apr 23, 2021 NHK World-Japan

"The return to Paris, and then the Summit are part of an effort by President Biden, especially on the heels of the previous Trump Administration, to signal to Japan and other nations around the world that the US is back in serious engagement on...

News

Robert Hampshire appointed chief science officer at USDOT

Apr 23, 2021

Robert Hampshire will serve as the U.S. Department of Transportation's chief science officer, a role that has not been filled in more than 40 years. He was appointed assistant secretary for research and technology for the department, and will advise...

Publication

Private sector action may be linchpin to conservative support on climate change

Apr 23, 2021

Private sector initiatives may be the key to spurring climate action across the political spectrum, particularly among moderates and conservatives. That finding is based on new research by Kaitlin Raimi, an assistant professor at the Ford School...

In the Media

Rabe: Kerry needs strong U.S. environmental action to be successful

Apr 22, 2021 LaCroix

“For John Kerry to do his job well, the United States needs to be exemplary at home from an environmental perspective. However, this will not be easy because there is resistance to Joe Biden's climate ambitions, particularly in states, such as...

Publication

Raimi research on economic and environmental benefits of plugging orphan wells reflected in Biden infrastructure proposals

Apr 16, 2021

Hundreds of thousands--perhaps millions--of oil and gas wells in the U.S. have been walked away from by oil and gas companies over the past 150 years. Known as “orphan wells,” they represent a threat to the environment through leaking the greenhouse...

News

Ford School students examine food waste as part of U-M Carbon Neutrality Commission

Apr 16, 2021

What is the carbon footprint for all of the food the University of Michigan consumes? And how can that footprint be reduced? That was one of the many study areas the President’s Commission on Carbon Neutrality addressed in its final report,...

In the Media

Increasing EVs will not be easy, says Rabe

Apr 15, 2021 E&E News

As the Biden administration looks to replace the federal government's fleet of cars and trucks with electric vehicles, Professor Barry Rabe commented, "This involves the entire supply chain from raw materials, including computer chips, to production...

In the Media

Despite Biden's ambitious electric vehicle plan, challenges remain, says Rabe

Apr 8, 2021 E&E News

President Biden's infrastructure plan calls for $174 billion in spending for electric vehicles. Despite this ambitious plan, experts, like Barry Rabe, say that Biden's EV plan will nonetheless be difficult to implement: "However much money is in...

News

Rabe discusses government's role in addressing climate change in NAPA spotlight

Apr 4, 2021 National Academy of Public Administration

Barry Rabe appeared in The National Academy of Public Administration's Fellow Spotlight to celebrate Earth Month. The full text of his interview is included below. How would you describe the government's role in the sustainable use of natural...

In the Media

Daniel Raimi: Enbridge has strong incentive to keep Michigan's Line 5 flowing

Apr 4, 2021 Michigan Radio

"Growing opposition to new pipeline infrastructure could even protect Line 5’s profitability in the near-term by limiting the number of competitors able to transport oil from Alberta," said Daniel Raimi. [Enbridge] has a very strong incentive to...

News

Ford School recognized again as the #1 program in social policy

Mar 30, 2021

The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan is recognized again as one of America’s top graduate programs in public affairs, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. According to the rankings, based...

In the Media

Rabe comments on immediate use of a debated climate metric

Mar 16, 2021 Bloomberg Law

The Biden administration changed a key climate change metric—the social cost of carbon—to $51 in late February, in a move that will allow regulators to write more stringent carbon emissions rules. Barry Rabe said two of Biden's priorities—cutting...

In the Media

Rabe on Senator Manchin's climate position

Mar 15, 2021 Automotive News

With a 50-50 split Senate, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a conservative Democrat, will play a key role in any legislation passed to promote renewable energy because, according to Professor Barry Rabe, West Virginia's economy is heavily dependent on...

In the Media

Rabe comments on oil industry "backing" carbon pricing

Mar 8, 2021 Grist

In an article in Grist about the oil industry's biggest lobbying group backing carbon pricing, Rabe says that a carbon price seems less threatening to oil and gas companies than other regulations — the European Union and Canada already have prices...

In the Media

Biden appoints new, diverse voices in climate policy posts, says Parthasarthy

Mar 5, 2021 Environment & Energy News

“I am really struck by the fact that [Biden] has done this now on multiple appointments,” said Parthasarathy. "He’s reaching out to totally different kinds of people, kinds of experts who bring a nuanced understanding of the social world when he is...

Professor Shobita Parthasarathy leads a discussion in the Betty Ford Classroom

In the Media

Hausman: Carbon tax can pay for the cost of climate damage

Mar 3, 2021 Marketplace

“You tax the person who’s taking that barrel of oil out of the ground, so they’re going to sell that oil at a higher price to the refinery,” Hausman said to NPR...

News

Ford School expert tells lawmakers: Equity needs to go hand-in-hand with innovation in energy, climate

Mar 3, 2021

Pursuing energy and climate innovations grows ever more critical, but must include the involvement and participation of marginalized, vulnerable communities from the beginning. That's the message Ford School professor and director of the Science,...

News

Rein in or win over utility monopolies, says Basseches

Mar 2, 2021 Grist

Postdoctoral fellow Josh Basseches researches the power of investor-owned utilities on state climate policy. His opinion appeared in Grist. Now that we’ve had a couple weeks to process all that went wrong in Texas, people are paying more...

News

Parthasarathy testifies about equity in innovation before key Congressional subcommittee

Feb 25, 2021

On February 25, Shobita Parthasarathy testified before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies. The hearing included four invited experts to speak about energy and climate innovation issues....

Screen cap of Shobita Parthasarathy testimony

In the Media

Incorporating climate policy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission like turning a battleship, says Rabe

Feb 18, 2021 Grist

Barry Rabe comments on the relatively unknown Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which plays a prominent role in overseeing the nation's pipelines, natural gas infrastructure, and more: "I would put FERC in the basket of agencies that have...

News

Raimi awarded grant from U-M's new Carbon Neutrality Acceleration program

Feb 18, 2021

The Graham Sustainability Institute’s Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Program (CNAP) announced a series of projects chosen for an initial round of funding, each with dramatic potential to help reduce net carbon emissions. The multi-year,...

News

Students address climate change migration at the U.N. in Integrated Policy Exercise

Feb 6, 2021

The United Nations General Assembly recently agreed to three resolutions addressing the rights of climate migrants and refugees. It was a landmark moment for international cooperation on an issue that will become more urgent as the effects of...

News

Ford School students named as Dow Sustainability Fellows pursue equity and people-centered solutions

Feb 4, 2021

Four Ford School students will spend the next year working to make Michigan water resources cleaner and more accessible, helping Great Lakes Bay region businesses dedicate to sustainable practices, and promoting environmentally-sensitive tourism in...

Students Kristina Curtiss (MPP ‘22), Tyler Orcutt, (MPP, MS ‘23), Anna Seifert (MPP ‘22) and Javier Piñeiro

News

Rabe comments on GM's historic move to electric vehicles

Jan 28, 2021

General Motors announced Thursday, January 28, that it would eliminate gasoline and diesel powered engines in their passenger cars, vans, and SUVs by 2035. They also pledged to make their factories carbon neutral by 2040. In an interview with...

In the Media

Rabe on climate politics: Democrats should look to Virginia and Colorado

Jan 27, 2021 The Brookings Institution

As Democrats take control of government at the federal level, albeit narrowly, Professor Barry Rabe writes that congressional Democrats should follow the lead of Colorado and Virginia -- two states with similarly narrow Democratic-controlled...