Air Quality

This summer, many Americans watched the skies turn orange. Wildfire smoke particulates, now endemic to the West Coast, were also felt on the East Coast with unprecedented severity. As American agencies attempt to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis and protect public health, environmental challenges such as air quality defy the rigidity of the federal-state hierarchy, originating in one locality but spreading dangerous externalities across state or country lines.

The Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP) and Columbia University’s Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) recently released their 2022 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), ranking 180 countries across a variety of indicators that represent a cross-section of environmental priorities. This biennial report is intended to facilitate data-driven policymaking by providing an in-depth snapshot of a country’s sustainability and allowing for its progress in the field to be charted.

The United States is in the midst of an environmental watershed moment - the U.S. has announced its intent to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, and there has been federal deregulation of many environmental laws. At a recent book talk, Center Director Dan Esty, editor of “A Better Planet: Forty Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future,” discussed what is needed for a sustainable future across different issues, sectors, and political views. Douglas Kyser, the Joseph M.

The Green New Deal proposal has provided a vision of what a sustainable future in the United States could look like. Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2019, the resolution proposes a transformation of the U.S. economy to enact major societal change and actively address climate change. Key among its goals is achieving economy-wide net zero greenhouse gas emissions and establishing millions of high-wage jobs.