Explore Environmental Policy

The 2021-2022 Public Policy topic for the Self Graduate Fellowship is Environmental Policy. Thus far this semester the Fellows have learned about the work of the Environmental Protection Agency, environmental geopolitics, transportation policies, energy technologies, and policies to evaluate options for energy usage.

The Society of Self Fellows are also exploring the same public policy topic as an alumni group on Slack. Posted to the SSF Slack channel are several resources about environmental policy. We invite you to engage in dialogue about these and share additional resources. A few posts are highlighted below. Each links to the post on Slack, and keep in mind there’s many more in the channel.

USA TODAY Scientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning.

USA TODAY Scientists created the world's whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning. The world's whitest paint has been created in a lab at Purdue, a paint so white that it could eventually reduce the need for air conditioning. The paint has now made it into the Guinness World Records book as the whitest ever made.

Engadget California could ban gas-powered generators and mowers by 2024

Engadget California could ban gas-powered generators and mowers by 2024 California could ban sales of some gas-powered devices, including lawn equipment, generators and pressure washers. Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law over the weekend that orders regulators to prohibit the sale of small off-road engines. PBS NewsHour Can urban reforestation help lower rising temperatures? This past summer was the hottest on record in more than a century. To shield against rising temperatures, many cities around the country are taking a closer look at trees, which have been shown to cool the air by as much as 10 degrees. Special Correspondent Karla Murthy reports from Cleveland — a city once known as 'The Forest City' — to take a look at efforts to restore its once-prolific tree canopy. Marketplace Podcast: How We Survive This isn’t your typical climate podcast. Hosted by Molly Wood, “How We Survive” explores the technology that could provide some of those solutions, the business of acclimatizing to an increasingly inhospitable planet, and the way people have to change if we’re going to make it in an altered world. The need for lithium is driving a modern gold rush for the metal that could help save the world, but it relies on an old, dirty technology: mining.

PBS NewsHour Can urban reforestation help lower rising temperatures?

This past summer was the hottest on record in more than a century. To shield against rising temperatures, many cities around the country are taking a closer look at trees, which have been shown to cool the air by as much as 10 degrees. Special Correspondent Karla Murthy reports from Cleveland — a city once known as 'The Forest City' — to take a look at efforts to restore its once-prolific tree canopy.

Marketplace Podcast: How We Survive

This isn’t your typical climate podcast. Hosted by Molly Wood, “How We Survive” explores the technology that could provide some of those solutions, the business of acclimatizing to an increasingly inhospitable planet, and the way people have to change if we’re going to make it in an altered world. The need for lithium is driving a modern gold rush for the metal that could help save the world, but it relies on an old, dirty technology: mining.