Distributed energy resources (DERs) are important pathways in the clean energy transition. However, valuing these pathways is challenging. New research examines what value these technologies bring to the grid and how utilities should structure payments for them in the distributed energy system of tomorrow.
The emerging offshore wind industry presents a significant opportunity for the United States to achieve its decarbonization goals. However, the nation lags considerably in offshore installations compared to the rest of the world. A recent study explains how connection to the electricity grid, technology, and policy have hindered offshore wind development.
Biofuels have been a cornerstone of U.S. climate mitigation policy, but new research on outcomes of the Renewable Fuel Standard—the country’s flagship biofuels policy—suggests that its costs may outweigh its benefits. Land-use impacts of growing more crops for fuel have likely resulted in higher greenhouse gas emissions, water contamination, and soil degradation.
A long-term study of bison grazing in tallgrass prairie shows that bison create richer, more resilient grasslands. Bison enhance biodiversity, support native plants and help prairies withstand severe drought.
Nearly 2.4 billion people (about 40 percent of the world’s population) live within 100 kilometers of the coast. As coastal cities continue to grow, so too will their influence as actors in shaping sustainable development. A new paper highlights the largely overlooked role of ocean cities in international legal frameworks to address environmental degradation in marine and coastal environments.
A cultural shift away from animal consumption has been met with a counter-cultural glorification of meat. These two societal trends reflect a redrawing of moral boundaries – the lines people draw to assert moral status. An interdisciplinary approach threading philosophical, psychological, and sociological perspectives offers unique insight to understand the formation and evolution of moral boundaries in meat consumption.
How much do U.S. fossil fuel companies benefit from the absence of appropriate regulation? What is the most appropriate level of carbon taxation? Yale professor and YER advisor Dr. Matthew J. Kotchen sheds light on the impact of lenient government policies on the fossil fuel industry.
Achieving more equitable and sustainable food systems is not just realized by larger systems transformation. Women practice everyday provisioning activities that empower communities and free them from dependencies on market economies.
