The Baines Report
By Kathleen Hillery Human-accelerated climate change is the most urgent crisis of our time. Each successive iteration of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change hammers home the increasingly desperate environmental come-back necessary to prevent cascading disruption to ocean currents, biodiversity, and humanity’s way of life. Scientists have published robust studies confirming human activity has caused […]
On Nov. 13, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference – also known as COP26 – came to an end with mixed results. The two-week conference held in Glasgow, Scotland had two main goals: coordinate international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and provide countries an opportunity to update their Nationally Determined […]
What does it really mean to stop climate change? The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently made headlines around the world with the release of its Sixth Assessment Report on the state of the global climate. The report presents a variety of potential scenarios for the future based on how much the planet warms […]
As of 2018, over one hundred municipalities in the United States have committed to using 100 percent renewable energy in the coming decades. Yet, complete decarbonization paths have yet to be trodden. Recent collaborative research out of Cal Tech and Carnegie Mellon published in Science magazine addresses the challenges of energy sectors that are difficult-to-decarbonize […]
The Cockrell School has said in a statement that its new distinguished lecture series “aims to bring influential leaders…to the Cockrell School [and] offers students an opportunity to hear and learn from successful individuals at the top of their fields.” I feel let down by the Student Engineering Council for selecting Rex Tillerson, former CEO […]
If the midterm elections result in a so-called blue wave, Democrats could lead the push in securing funding for much-needed infrastructure investments. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), America’s infrastructure has a near failing grade of D+. ASCE recommends an additional $2 trillion in investments over the next decade, from all levels […]
On Feb. 1, 2018, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addressed UT students and faculty on U.S. engagement in the Western hemisphere, before embarking on his “diplomatic mission” to Latin American and the Caribbean. He identified economic growth, security and democratic governance as the “three pillars of engagement” for the State Department’s strategy for regional […]
Kenyan electoral politics are in a perilous state. After the Kenyan Supreme Court threw out the results of the most recent presidential elections, a new election was called. In the run-up to the re-election, chaos ensued. Just 15 days prior to the re-election, opposition leader Raila Odinga withdrew. Two days before the re-election, the bodyguard […]
Late in July, an off-the-record gathering of experts and academics converged on the Grand Summit Hotel in Newry, Maine to talk climate change. The handpicked coterie of conference-goers did not discuss carbon emissions or unveil next-generation renewable energy tech. Instead, the topic at hand was climate engineering: a sci-fi-sounding, catch-all term that refers to deliberate […]
Photo: Jurgen 2017 Crook Fellow Amara Uyanna is interning with Sustainability International this summer in Nigeria, and updates us here on the environmental conditions of the Niger Delta region, where among other responsibilities she is coordinating bioremediation efforts in the area: “Time is an illusion” just as much as “time is of the essence.” Either of the […]