Environmental Policy and Planning Spring 07
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND PLANNING SpRING 07 Department of Urban Studies and Planning Massachusetts Institute of Technology web.mit.edu/dusp/epp News and Views EPP International Environmental Practicum: Environmental Justice and The Energy Efficient City: As I’m sure you know, MIT has launched an Energy Initiative -- mainly a research program Water Resources in South Africa designed to attract substantial corporate funding. While it is supposed to cover the gamut of energy issues, a number of us in the School of Architecture and Planning feel that the effort thus far has underplayed the importance of strategies for reducing the demand for and the environmental impacts of energy development. That’s why the School-wide Committee appointed by Dean Santos has proposed something called Designing the Energy Efficient City. We feel that our School should take the lead on the campus in pressing for research, teaching and policy interventions focused on reducing the demand for fossil fuels by showing how the design of buildings, city districts, metropolitan areas and even larger regions can substantially reduce the demand for energy and the environmental impacts of energy development The Energy Efficient City Initiative will begin with a China Resevoir of the Ethekwini Water and Sanitation Programme in Durban, South Africa. credit: Ethekwini Water and Sanitation Programme Project, a Renewable Energy Project, an on-going Campus Project and an interdisciplinary research effort aimed at EPP is sponsoring a practicum on environmental justice and extending the technology focus of the green building design water resources in South Africa next spring and summer. Students work already underway in the School of Architecture and picture 2 enrolled in the practicum will engage in preparatory work Planning. The China Project will focus on a section of Bejing during the spring semester at MIT, followed by approximately and examine ways in which changes in the approaches to four weeks of fieldwork in the vicinity of Durban, South Africa’s city design and development might reduce the demand for second largest city. Practicum students will be responsible for energy. collecting primary data, analyzing the data, and developing The Campus Project will focus on ways in which we can a report that details the potential benefits and constraints of experiment with new technologies and tools (like better the choices made by a municipality with respect to their water life cycle analysis) can reduce energy demand on the MIT supply and sanitation services. The students also will analyze continued on page 2 continued on page 6 INSIDE Lori Ribeiro working in Renewable Energy ............. 3 Catherine Ashcraft in the Field ............................... 10 MUSIC update ......................................................... 4 Awards .................................................................. 11 Zoe Wilson, Visiting Lecturer .................................. 6 Recent Dissertation and Theses ............................ 11 Incoming EPP Students .......................................... 7 Energy and the Environment Class ......................... 8 Susskind Receieves Global Environment Award ... 12 Navajo Peacemaking and Natural Resources......... 9 SPRING 2007 News and Views Continued from page 1 studios. The Renewable Energy Project is one that will be of EPP is one of the four program groups in the Department. special interest to students in EPP. A number of states have The EPP faculty works hard to ensure continuity in the basic recently adopted policies requiring all electricity suppliers undergraduate and graduate courses offered each year for SB, within their border to commit to a goal of supplying 20% of all MCP and PHD students. If everyone on the faculty only gave the electricity from non-polluting sources by 2020. Unfortunately, courses he or she wanted to teach each year, students would this goal has mostly been adopted on the grounds that it is a never be able to pursue a planned course of study. So, it is up worthwhile objective with little or no analysis of the desirability to the Program groups to ensure that a sequence of courses is or impacts of various options for achieving the 2020 goal. always available, regardless of who may be on leave. Program groups lobby the Department for the funds required to make We propose to team up with the systems dynamics group at replacement appointments when someone is away. Sloan as well as members of the School of Engineering who work on renewable energy assessment to do the modeling EPP organizes a range of informal activities throughout the year and policy analysis that should have preceded the adoption designed to build community among students, faculty and of such policies. In addition, we propose to organize regional staff with environment/sustainable development/renewable policy dialogues (that would be informed by our analysis), energy interests. We also make sure that there are sufficient so that a wide range of stakeholders can be involved in thesis advisors to go around for EPP students. We raise research considering the policy options available. All this will depend, funds to support incoming and returning EPP students who of course, on whether our School is allocated any of the “seed need financial aid. DUSP aid for MCP students in EPP is more money” currently being sought from large corporate donors than doubled by the funds generated by the EPP faculty. EPP who are being asked to underwrite the MIT Energy Initiative. also helps students make connections to EPP alumni who can assist them in their job searches. We communicate what students and faculty are doing so that the rest of the campus Net-Energy Producing Houses: Bill and Margot Moomaw as well as potential applicants and colleagues around the world gave a great presentation at the EPP Luncheon Series a few know about our work. weeks ago describing their efforts to build a seriously energy efficient house (in Western Massachusetts). EPP faculty makes sure that there is someone available to meet with all potential applicants to MIT with environmental Bill is a Professor of Environmental Policy at Tufts (and a interests. We review applications folders, and try to admit MCP chemist). Margot has been involved in the health planning and PHDs students who, together, will constitute a sufficient field for many years. It took a enormously focused effort on community to justify the courses and the research activities we their part to find contractors willing to work with the super- have in place. If we count Associated EPP faculty (like Michael energy-efficient materials that Bill and Margot selected. They Flaxman who is also a mainstay of UIS, Anne Spirn, Eran Ben also insisted that all work on the house had to be undertaken Joseph, and Terry Szold who are part of CDD, and Nic Ashford with solar powered tools. In the end, they have built a house who is on the TPP faculty) we are a group of 0. We need to that is a net-energy producing structure. They walked us meet regularly to pay attention to cross-cutting interests like through the steps in their design and investment decisions and the new EPP Certificate Program. While students in DUSP are told us about the homework required to inform their choices. admitted through Program Groups and then encouraged They have set the standard in Massachusetts for LEED Platinum to become part of more than one or none at all, once they home design (by an individual home builder). It is incredibly arrive at MIT, the EPP faculty needs to commit substantial exciting to see what can be accomplished when someone administrative and personal time to ensuring that the group sets their mind to the goal of building net-energy producing functions effectively. While it makes increasing sense to work houses! on projects, teach certain courses, and encourage interventions Reflections on Program Groups in the Department of Urban that cut across program group interests, there wouldn’t be Studies and Planning. Some people think Program groups anything to cut across if we didn’t work equally hard to meet create boundaries and obstacles for students who want to our program group obligations. While we need to make sure pursue cross-cutting themes. While I don’t think any student that the Program Groups don’t create obstacles to creative should be restricted from taking course work in as many inquiry or department-wide collaboration, students and faculty program areas as they like, we should not lose sight of the need to pitch in to make sure that Program Groups like EPP do important role Program groups play. the important tasks assigned to them. 2 ENVIRONmeNtaL POLICY AND PLANNING Lori Robeiro Working on Renewable Energy Lori was pleased to speak at an EPP Career Forum in May to share her experiences. Although it was very difficult to complete a one-year program at DUSP as a single working parent, Lori sees the benefits in her daily work and is grateful that she had the opportunity. She can be reached at lribeiro@ bluewavestrategies.com . Lori Robeiro stands next to the City of Brockton’s Brownfields to Brightfields which is New England’s largest solar energy generating station. Lori Ribeiro completed her Master of Science from EPP in August 2006. Her thesis was entitled, “Does it have to be so complicated? Municipal renewable energy projects in Massachusetts.” Lori had direct experience through several years she had invested in developing the City of Brockton’s Brownfields to Brightfields project. In September 2006, Brockton completed installation of New England’s largest solar energy generating station – or Brightfield – on a former manufactured gas plant brownfield site. Lori is now working half time as a senior consultant at BlueWave Strategies in Boston where she is consulting with several renewable energy clients. Her first project was to help Evergreen Solar, a Massachusetts manufacturer of solar panels, to work with the state to develop and advocate for a set of policy reform and financial incentives necessary to create a robust marketplace for solar energy generation in Massachusetts.