Climate Effects on Calif. Beaches Studied

Rising sea levels are likely to change Southern California beaches in the coming century, but not in ways you might expect. While some beaches may shrink or possibly disappear, others are poised to remain relatively large, leaving an uneven distribution of economic gains and losses for coastal beach towns in Orange and Los Angeles counties, according to a study by researchers at Duke University and five other institutions. The study is featured in a special edition of the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change.

Monast Joins Expert Energy Bloggers

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions' Climate and Energy Program Director Jonas Monast is among the newest contributors on the National Journal's Energy and Environment Expert Blog. Read his latest post.

Institute Presenting at Top Carbon Event

Navigating the American Carbon World, one of North America's largest carbon-focused conferences, takes place in San Francisco April 10-12. The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, in partnership with Climate Action Reserve, is presenting the program for the event. Known to be one of the most trusted and reliable venues for updates and insights into climate policy and carbon market information, several Institute staff are slated to appear as speakers. 

Woody Biomass Accounting Focus of Study

A recent study by researchers at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and North Carolina State University suggests the methods used to estimate net greenhouse gas benefits stemming from biomass co-firing can strongly influence observed results and that policy makers and stakeholders need to be aware of the variation when evaluating biomass as a source of energy.

New Writer to Pen The Climate Post 

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions has tapped a writer from its own pool of researchers to pen its popular weekly roundup of energy and climate news, The Climate Post. Watch for Jan Mazurek's debut March 22. 

Holman Elected SWIC Chairman

Bill Holman, director of state policy at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, was re-elected chairman of the State Water Infrastructure Commission (SWIC) Feb. 17. This will be Holman's sixth term as chairman.

Journal Publishes Clean Air Act Work

The Environmental Law Reporter has published work by the 

Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions focused on regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing sources. The paper looks at how the Clean Air Act may be used as a future tool for regulating these emissions.

Follow our International Research 

Two researchers from the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions just returned from trips abroad to advance studies on water and the environment in Ethiopia and Southeast Asia. Learn more about what they were doing on The Water Log.  

Stacking Ecosystem Services Payments

Pilot programs for ecosystem services payments and markets are beginning to consider whether to allow stacking, where landowners combine multiple market or mitigation payments for a single management activity on a single property. A new article in the Environmental Law Reporter examines some of the benefits and pitfalls associated with stacking payments for ecosystem services.