Spatial management of marine areas continues to expand around the world as a viable means of reducing human impacts on marine ecosystems. A new policy brief explores challenges to the design and implementation of marine managed areas and identifies the issues that can be addressed through better cooperation and dialogue among key institutions and individuals.

Educating the next generation of environmental leaders is one of the many ways the Nicholas Institute bridges the gap between research and policy. This fall, staff members are aiding in this mission by teaching Duke courses focused on energy, law, environmental policy and statistics. 

The Nicholas Institute's Billy Pizer and the Center on Global Development's Scott Morris think through when the World Bank should and shouldn't fund coal. The bottom line: "The bank should be ambitious in working toward clean energy approaches in its development strategies, but it would be a mistake to definitively rule out coal in all circumstances." 

Nicholas Institute Director Tim Profeta discusses Barack Obama's Climate Action Plan, in which the president called for greenhouse gas regulations for new and existing power plants, in this Q&A with Argus Media. 

So far this summer, the Nicholas Institute has welcomed five new additions to our staff. They include senior policy associate Kay Jowers, grant specialist Jenny Hirtz, research aide Christy Ihlo, editor/writer Melissa Edeburn and research aide Whitney Ketchum.  

A new Environmental and Energy Economics Working Paper Series analysis evaluates the effectiveness of energy efficiency labels in guiding household decisions. Using a choice experiment with alternative labels, the authors find that simple information on the economic value of saving energy is the most important element guiding more cost-efficient investments in appliance energy efficiency; information on physical energy use and carbon emissions has no significant additional value.