Climate Writings

How Economics and Ecology Interact: Interview with Eyal Frank

Chicago Policy Review’s Shivani Shukla discusses Eyal’s interdisciplinary research with earth’s nonhuman co-habitants as protagonists, the ecological emergency, policy solutions to the crisis, and Princess Mononoke.

Eyal Frank is an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, Harris School of Public Policy. As an environmental economist, he works at the intersection of Ecology and Economics, with a focus on understanding the costs of conservation policies, impact of market dynamics on wildlife levels, and how animals fit into human economic systems.

Impact of Disproportionate Air Pollution and Heat Exposure on Pregnancy

Impact of Disproportionate Air Pollution and Heat Exposure on Pregnancy

Climate change, environmental pollution and ecological degradation have been linked to undeniable and debilitating consequences on human health outcomes. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that climate change is expected to cause approximately 250,000 additional deaths every year between 2030 and 2050. This assessment includes direct mortalities as well as indirect deaths, such as from higher rates of infectious di

Disaster Relief in the U.S. Often Depends on Your Race

Disaster Relief in the U.S. Often Depends on Your Race

One of the first Executive Orders from President Biden’s Administration reads, “We must deliver environmental justice in communities all across America.” Amongst the many, many moving parts in climate and environmental policy, one of supreme importance is environmental justice and its nexus with racial and economic disparities. Certain communities have been historically disadvantaged through mechanisms of colonialism, primarily along racial

The City Is Not Designed for Women

The City Is Not Designed for Women

As stated by author and feminist-issues researcher Caroline Criado-Perez, the world is designed mostly by men with mostly other men in mind. The gender-based gap in data has been known to exist for a long time, and male-biased data has affected the living experiences of women in oft-realized but nether-talked ways. This holds for our built environments as well, where women are often left disadvantaged by existing infrastructures.

According to the American Ins

Insights on Biden Administration’s Climate Policy: Interview with Professor Amir Jina

Amir Jina is an Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, UChicago. His research focuses on the role of the environment and environmental change in shaping of how societies develop. He has conducted fieldwork related to climate change adaptation with communities in India, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Uganda. Professor Jina is a founding member of the Climate Impact Lab – an interdisciplinary collaboration examining the socioeconomic impacts of climate change around the world. He was p

Racial Disparities in Access to Public Green Space

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages around the globe and ravages communities, racial disparities in many aspects of public life in the US have been highlighted. Access to public green spaces, including parks, nature preserves, forests, and community gardens (Wolch et al., 2014) varies across racial and economic lines. Income and higher education are positively correlated to green space access. These findings suggest that certain sectors of the population are not able to obtain the health-related bene

Who is Responsible for Climate Change Action?

Climate change is undoubtedly at the forefront of global problems. Calling it merely a human problem is not comprehensive of the ensuing disasters it is likely to bring about of all forms of life. We are now at a time when denial of climate change is a fool’s act. Amongst all of the cataclysmic realisations, which often go beyond an ordinary individual’s singular cognition, emerges the quintessential question: who is responsible for countering climate change?

Recycling Facilities in Sutherland Mark Positive Move towards Green Flag

The decision to install recycling and composting facilities in the Sutherland Law Building in UCD has come to be after a year-long student-led campaign. According to Matthew Mollahan, a stage 3 law student, the campaign started when “a group of law students met at a campus meeting last year and wanted to do something about the recycling facilities in Sutherland. It has been between this group and UCD Estates.”