Brazil is working on reducing air pollution. (Photo Credit: Daniel Hardman, CC By 2.0) Walter Figueiredo De Simoni is program officer at the Institute for Climate and Society, which funds nonprofits working on climate policies in the power, transport and waste sectors in Latin America. This is the fifth Q&A in a weeklong series celebrating Earth Day 2016. …
Outdoor Afro’s 2016 leadership team in Yosemite National Park. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Outdoor Afro) Rue Mapp is founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, an organization that promotes African-American leadership and participation in nature. This is the fourth Q&A in a weeklong series celebrating Earth Day 2016. How did you become involved with the environment cause? I …
Raahgiri Day in Gurgaon, India. (Photo Credit: Courtesy of EMBARQ India) Tahira Thekaekara is Strategy Head-Institutional Development of EMBARQ India, a project of the World Resources Institute that helps cities achieve sustainable urban mobility. This is the third Q&A in a weeklong series celebrating Earth Day 2016. How did you become involved with the environment cause? I …
Jeffrey Schub is executive director of the Coalition for Green Capital, a nonprofit that works at the state, federal and international levels to create clean energy finance initiatives known as green banks. This is the second Q&A in a weeklong series celebrating Earth Day 2016. How did you become involved with the environment cause? I …
(Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mosaic Solar and Green for All) Earth Day, on April 22, is a moment for us to reflect on how we’re protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, the species that share our habitats, and the spectacular landscapes we cherish. In honor of Earth Day 2016, the Hewlett Foundation …
A classroom in Senegal, Africa. (Photo Credit: Dana Schmidt) At the Hewlett Foundation, every program officer is limited to one eight-year term. Mine ends this week. As I reflect on my time here, I think about those moments of doubt when I wondered if I was doing meaningful work. It’s easy to feel removed from …
Women learning about health issues in a village in Sahre Bocar, Senegal. (Photo Credit: Jonathan Torgovnik/Reportage by Getty Images) The positions are polarized. The debates are divisive. Arguments mischaracterize opponents’ views. Am I talking about the U.S. presidential election? Nope. I’m talking about the repetitive, tendentious quarrels on the merits and disadvantages of random assignment methods to assess …
(Photo Credit: Ken Teegardin, licensed under CC BY 2.0) Sometime in the next month or so, I’m going to sit down at my dining room table, open up a file folder stuffed with paper, and double-click on TurboTax. Then, like most Americans, I’m going to fill out forms that connect me to my government – forms …
Community members in Dallas, Texas, rally in support of strong clean energy policies. (Photo Credit: Sierra Club, used with permission) Recent news from the Supreme Court may have raised some questions about U.S. climate change policy, but it hasn’t changed the inevitability of the country’s shift to clean energy. On February 9, the Supreme Court …
Policymakers diverting funds earmarked for long-term investments to pay for immediate political fire-fighting, then using accounting technicalities to conceal their budgetary sleight of hand. NGOs calling attention to the high-stakes shell game, only to see the government practices worsen the next year. This all sounds depressingly familiar, doesn’t it? What’s surprising is where it’s happening: …