FALL 2022 COURSES

ESPP 78. Environmental Politics
Sheila Jasanoff
An introduction to the history, organization, goals, and ideals of environmental protection in America. Examines the shifts in emphasis from nature protection to pollution control to sustainability over the past hundred years and develops critical tools to analyze changing conceptions of nature and the role of science in environmental policy formulation. Of central interest is the relationship between knowledge, uncertainty, and political or legal action. Theoretical approaches are combined with case studies of major episodes and controversies in environmental protection.

ESPP 90G. The Law and Policy of Climate Change: Influencing Decision Makers

Aladdine Joroff

Empirical data demonstrate that the climate is changing and that these changes could produce increasingly serious consequences over the course of this century.  Governments and private actors around  the world are strategizing, debating, lobbying, implementing, and defending mechanisms to both mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.  This course will explore (i) the legal framework in which climate change action occurs in the United States, (ii) policy tools available to regulators, (iii) impacts on regulated entities and individuals and (iv) opportunities for private stakeholders to participate in and influence climate change decisions.

ESPP 90N. Addressing the Global Climate Crisis: Challenges for Both Developed and Developing Economies
Michael B. McElroy
The seminar will discuss the nature of the climate challenge and the implications it poses for different communities and different parts of the world. Mitigating negative impacts of human induced climate change will require an urgent transition from the current global fossil fuel-based energy economy to one based on renewable alternatives. Possibilities include wind, solar, hydro, biomass and potentially nuclear. The seminar will review options with specific attention to differences in the challenges faced by developed economies such as the US and Europe and large developing economies such as China, India and parts of Africa. Can we chart a feasible path to net zero global carbon emissions by 2050?

ESPP 90P. Climate Responsibility and Climate Action

Peter Frumhoff 

Who bears responsibility for climate change? Confronting this question is central to establishing equitable policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the adverse impacts of now unavoidable climate disruption.  International climate policy frameworks focus on the “common but differentiated responsibilities” of nations. But climate responsibilities also extend to non-state actors, including individuals, utilities and fossil-fuel companies at the base of the carbon supply chain whose responsibilities are increasingly the focus of attention by civil society, policymakers and the courts. This course examines the nature of climate responsibility from ethical, historical, scientific and policy perspectives and the efficacy of approaches to accelerate responsible climate action by both state and non-state actors.

ESPP 171 Solid Waste in Developing Countries

Ken Thomas
This course will examine major issues of solid waste (i.e. production, management, storage, treatment, disposal, infrastructure costs and financing, policy) in the developing world at various geographic locations and scales across municipal, industrial, electronic, biological/medical, and radioactive waste. Specific solid waste issues will be highlighted through in-depth case studies from Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Middle East, and Small Island Developing States. Analysis of the environmental commitment and regulations, appropriate technology availability and reliability, and key geopolitical factors that affect the amount of solid waste to be handled and how it is disposed of will be explored in all cases. To understand fundamentals in the developing world context, the course will compare how solid waste is managed in the developed and developing world at the local, state, and federal levels. Fundamentals cut across solid waste-related policies, transport, sources, collection, disposal/treatment, recycling, and material recovery. The course will emphasize – both quantitatively and qualitatively – the real-world challenges and systemic issues of the developing world that make solid waste planning and management complicated. 

SPRING 2023 COURSES

ESPP 90H. Climate, Crops and Commonwealth
Peter Huybers 

ESPP 90M. Natural Climate Change Solutions: Feasible or Fantasy?

“Natural climate solutions” are a set of conservation, restoration and improved land management actions that some have claimed can offer more than 30% of the required mitigation of “near-term” carbon emissions to hold global warming below 2°C.  Some have criticized these claims for overstating the potential of biological carbon sinks, arguing that the advocates for natural climate solutions are motivated by conservation of biodiversity rather than mitigation of climate change.  And yet the clamor around natural climate solutions in the policy world continues to grow, with multiple bipartisan legislative efforts in the new Congress focused on strategies such as carbon sequestration in soils by farmers.  In this course, we will explore various dimensions of natural climate solutions, including reduced deforestation, reforestation, afforestation, wetlands restoration, biochar, no-till agriculture and other farming practices to increase carbon content of soils.  We will examine the feasibility of each proposed action and also the potential limitations.  We will also explore policy dimensions for encouraging such efforts, if desirable, through direct subsidies, regulation, or integration into carbon pricing regimes including carbon offsets.  By the end of the semester, we hope that all participants will have a clearer understanding of the potential role for natural climate solutions in national and international climate mitigation strategies.

ESPP 90S. The Technology, Economics, and Public Policy of Renewable Energy
Course ID Number: 127572
George Baker
Energy is the lifeblood of economic activity, indeed of human society. However, the planet's stores of easily accessed fossil fuels are limited, and the climatological cost of continuing to rely on fossil fuels is high. This course examines the long run and short run prospects for renewable energy. We start by understanding the technology of various renewables, including hydro, solar, wind, biomass, etc. We then examine the economics of these technologies, and how policies (subsidies, taxes, regulations) affect their viability. Special attention will be paid to the interaction of technology, economics, and public policy.

ESPP 173. Water Resources in Developing Countries
Ken Thomas
This course will examine major issues of water resources (i.e. water sources, supply, quality, treatment, use, distribution and storage, policy) in the developing world at various geographic locations and scales. Specific water resources issues will be highlighted through in-depth case studies from Africa, Asia, and Small Island Developing States. Analysis of the hydrological, technological, legal, and geopolitical factors that affect the availability of water for human consumption and agriculture will be explored in all cases. To understand fundamentals in the developing world context, the course will compare how water resources are managed in the developed and developing world. Fundamentals cut across water-related policies, water flows, water sources, water supply, water and wastewater treatment, water distribution, and water storage. The course will emphasize – both quantitatively and qualitatively – the real-world challenges and systemic issues of the developing world that make water resources planning and management complicated.