FINANCE, IMPACT INVESTING FOR U.S. WATER

A new report from the 2016 Aspen-Nicholas Water Forum focuses on the shifting role of public and private financing for water infrastructure and the new universe of innovative financing solutions in the water sector. It explores how impact investing can bridge the ever-growing funding gap for infrastructure and how water resources protection and financial profit can be simultaneously pursued.

JOB: CLIMATE AND ENERGY PROGRAM DIRECTOR

The Nicholas Institute is seeking a director for its Climate and Energy Program. The director will lead the program's research and policy initiatives and serve on the Nicholas Institute's senior leadership team. The director will also strategically plan and implement initiatives to engage relevant decision makers and provide information and research in several related areas, including international, federal and state, climate change policy and environmental policy affecting the energy sector.

A BLUE ECONOMY AND THE OCEAN LANDSCAPE

In The Hill, the Nicholas Institute's John Virdin and the World Bank's Pawan Patil write that as we enter a period of uncertainty in both international and climate policy following the U.S. presidential election, identifying a concept that can help find the wins between the economy and the environment is even more important. In the context of the ocean, that concept could be the Blue Economy, which is "essentially, any policies and investments that simultaneously balance ecological health and economic activity in a given ocean space."

NATIONAL INTEGRATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Incorporating ecosystem services into decision processes provides a means for increasing public engagement and generating more transparent consideration of tradeoffs that may help to garner buy-in from communities and avoid unintended consequences. A 2015 White House memorandum from the Council on Environmental Quality, Office of Management and Budget, and Office of Science Technology and Policy acknowledged these benefits and asked all federal agencies to incorporate ecosystem services into their decision making. A new National Ecosystem Services Partnership working paper describes the ecological and social data and models available for quantifying the production and value of many ecosystem services across the United States.

2017 Winter Forum: Power to the People: Tackling Energy Inequality Through Clean Energy Solutions
January 8-10, 2017, Durham, North Carolina

An Accounting Approach to Ecosystem Services for Public and Private Sector Decision Making in the U.S.
February 23, 2017, Online

Rising CO2 Threatens Coral Reefs, People

As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise, very few coral reef ecosystems will be spared the impacts of ocean acidification or sea surface temperature rise, according to a new analysis in the journal PLOS ONE led by Duke University and the Universit� de Bretagne Occidentale. The damage will cause the most immediate and serious threats where human dependence on reefs is highest. It suggests that by 2050, Western Mexico, Micronesia, Indonesia, parts of Australia and Southeast Asia will bear the brunt of rising temperatures. Reef damage will result in lost fish habitats and shoreline protection, thereby jeopardizing the lives and economic prosperity of people who depend on reefs for tourism and food. View the interactive story map.

Washington Post, Why the Death of Coral Reefs Could be Devastating for Millions of Humans	Post and Courier, The Billion-Dollar Battle over Clean Air
EnergyWire, 2017 Could be the Year to Revamp Electricity Standards ($)	Radio Canada, Science in the Land of Donald Trump