Yale School of the Environment

News : Faculty

June 1, 2021

Cutting-Edge Wildlife Ecologist Nyeema Harris to Join YSE Faculty

Nyeema Harris, whose groundbreaking research explores carnivore behavior and movement, ecology and conservation in urban systems and national parks at a global scale, will join the faculty of Yale School of the Environment as associate professor of wildlife and land conservation on July 1.
May 14, 2021

Advances in Energy-Climate Change Models Will Help Refine Policies

Narasimha Rao, associate professor of energy systems at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE) testified May 4 on climate and energy research at the Department of Energy  (DOE) before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Energy.  Rao, whose research examines the relationship between energy systems, climate change and human society, discussed the importance of more inclusive and realistic modeling to help formulate policies on climate change.
May 3, 2021

What is Driving Reductions in Residential Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the U.S.?

A study led by PhD student Peter Berrill finds smarter home construction and decarbonization of electric supply are contributing to lower emissions from individual households, but troubling trends show other factors could begin to cancel out this progress.
May 3, 2021

A New Vantage Point: At Nobel Summit, YSE Professor Karen Seto Explains How Satellites Are Changing How We Understand Human Activity

Karen Seto, Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography and Urbanization Science at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE), spoke at the recent Nobel Prize Summit, a worldwide gathering of Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, business leaders, and youth leaders.
April 21, 2021

New Horizons Conference Highlights Challenges, Emerging Voices, and Reasons for Optimism in Environmental Justice

More than 880 people attended the conference, which celebrated the work of people of color across the fields of environmentalism and conservation, while also exploring how justice, inequality and environment are connected.
April 6, 2021

Aquatic Ecosystems Source of Half of Global Methane Emissions

The global contribution and importance of aquatic ecosystems as methane emitters has been underestimated, says Judith Rosentreter, postdoctoral associate at the Yale School of the Environment.
April 1, 2021

Proposed Infrastructure Plan Provides Opportunities for Green Innovations

Ken Gillingham, associate professor of environmental and energy economics at the Yale School of the Environment, assesses the climate-focused initiatives embedded in Biden Administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure package.
March 25, 2021

Turning Wood Into Plastic

A research team, led by YSE professor Yuan Yao and Liangbing Hu from the University of Maryland, has created a high-quality bioplastic from wood byproducts that they hope can solve one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues.
March 24, 2021

Fossil Fuel Companies Benefit from Inefficient Pricing on Climate and Health Consequences

Fossil fuel producers in the U.S. are directly benefiting from implicit subsidies on the order of $62 billion a year because of inefficient pricing that doesn’t properly account for the costs of damages to the environment, climate, and human health.
March 22, 2021

The Dirt on Crop Insurance

A new study from YSE researchers investigates the complex world of crop insurance, suggesting a simple adjustment in determining insurance premiums could be beneficial to both farmers and insurers in the face of increased extreme weather events.
March 16, 2021

Karen Seto Spotlighted for Earth Observation Research

Karen Seto, Yale School of the Environment (YSE) Frederick C. Hixon Professor of Geography Urbanization, has been named one of 15 leading women in machine learning for Earth observation by Radiant Earth Foundation for her research of global importance.
February 17, 2021

Haaland DOI Nomination Provides Opportunities to Advance Environmental Justice

Gerald Torres, professor of Environmental Justice at the Yale School of the Environment, weighs in on the nomination of New Mexico Representative Deb Haaland to be the next Department of the Interior Secretary.
February 5, 2021

Study Finds Americans Went Out More after Face Mask Mandates

Face masks mandates have led people to spend less time at home, but whether this has exposed Americans to more risk is still a question, according to a new study published Thursday in Scientific Reports.
January 27, 2021

Study Reveals Gender Imbalance in Scholarly Submissions During Pandemic

A study of submissions to a major peer-reviewed academic journal conducted by YSE Professor Michelle Bell and postdoctoral associate Kelvin C. Fong revealed a concerning imbalance in submissions by gender.
January 27, 2021

The Outsider’s Advantage

Dr. Dorceta Taylor ’85 MFS, ’91 PhD, who joined the YSE faculty in July as a full professor, on why she was excited to return to Yale and her kinship with the celebrated environmentalist Rachel Carson. 
January 12, 2021

Creating ‘Public Will’ for Climate Action

Anthony Leiserowitz, the 2020 winner of Climate One’s Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Change Communication, weighs in on the ever-growing field of climate change communication and how the Biden administration has a “pathway” to achieve meaningful climate action.
December 16, 2020

Five YSE Faculty Members Make ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ List

YSE faculty members Michelle Bell, Mark Bradford, Karen Seto, Peter Raymond and Anthony Leiserowitz were recognized by Clarivate Analytics for their published papers from the past decade being among the most cited in their field.
November 30, 2020

Brodersen Receives Generous Gift to Support Research on How We Build More Resilient Plants

YSE Professor Craig Brodersen has received a $2.5 million gift from The Howard and Maryam Newman Family Plant Research Fund, which will support his innovative research and collaborative work on the coordination between plant anatomy and physiology.
October 19, 2020

Bell Elected to the Prestigious National Academy of Medicine

Michelle Bell, the Mary E. Pinchot Professor of Environmental Health at YSE, was elected today to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, recognizing individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
October 8, 2020

Researchers Find Increases in Nitrous Oxide Emissions, Outpacing Global Predictions

In a recent study, a team of researchers — including YSE professor Peter Raymond and postdoctoral fellow Taylor Maavara — show nitrous oxide emissions are increasing at a “devastating” rate, faster than predictions introduced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
August 18, 2020

The Pandemic Has Dramatically Changed Rural Attitudes toward Government

A new Yale-led study found that the Covid-19 pandemic may have at least temporarily altered some historical anti-government attitudes that tend to be stronger in rural communities, particularly in the West. 
July 27, 2020

Helping Companies Avoid ‘One Size Fits All’ Approach to Sustainability Solutions

In a new business venture, OnePointFive, Neil Yeoh ’20 MEM is building a multidisciplinary team of experts that can create tailored strategies to a company’s unique, and complex, sustainability challenges.  
July 16, 2020

Wherever the Sun Shines: Bringing Solar to Low- and Middle-income Communities

A new guidebook based on research by YSE scholars offers a roadmap for installing rooftop solar panels in communities that are often overlooked when it comes to promoting renewable energy solutions.  
July 1, 2020

Integrity of Purpose

Gerald Torres, who joined the Yale School of the Environment faculty in January as a professor of environmental justice, talks about two pivotal events in his career that continue to inform and inspire his work and teaching on environmental and social justice.
July 1, 2020

The Urban Effect

Over the past few decades, it has become increasingly clear that the existence and growth of cities are significantly linked to environmental issues. At the Yale School of the Environment, where a new urban specialization will be added this fall, nearly every member of the faculty is doing something that relates to the urban environment.
July 1, 2020

‘You Can’t Be a Forester without Understanding Chad’s Work’

The idea that forests are dynamic systems — that disturbance is the norm — might seem obvious now. But that's only because it was demonstrated by Professor Chad Olive, one of the many ways the retiring professor has impacted forestry and forest education throughout his 45-year career.
July 1, 2020

Paradise Lost or Found?

For his new book, “Billionaire Wilderness,” Professor Justin Farrell spent five years in Teton County, Wyoming — the richest county in the U.S. and the one with the greatest income inequality. In an interview, he talks about what he learned about wealth concentration and environmental conservation in this corner of the rapidly changing American West.
June 30, 2020

Red Lights to Green Lights: Toward an Innovation-Oriented Sustainability Strategy

In the 20th century, environmental policy centered on telling people what not to do. Daniel Esty makes the case that we need to move people away from traditional, top-down regulations and toward a system of incentives that promote innovation and problem solving.
June 30, 2020

Building Public and Political Will for Climate Change Action

 One important means to achieve meaningful reductions in carbon emissions is government policy, yet there remains a critical lack of ‘political will’ for climate action. One important influence on government leaders is engaged citizens who demand action, says YSE’s Anthony Leiserowitz. 
June 30, 2020

Science as a Foundation for Policy: The Case of Fracking

Some research on the impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on public health has yielded unexpected results — including findings that some expected risks have not materialized. The history of fracking offers important lessons on the proper role of science in environmental policy.
June 29, 2020

Supporting Research in the Tropics During the COVID Era

Each year the Tropical Resources Institute sends students across the world to conduct research in the world’s tropical regions. This year, of course, is not like most years.
June 29, 2020

New Study Examines Whether COVID-19 Virus Has Entered Rivers and Streams

Yale researchers are studying whether the COVID-19 virus is present in streams and rivers, a first step to determine if it could then be transmitted through rivers and streams to humans.
June 22, 2020

Decline in Green Energy Spending Might Offset COVID-Era Emissions Benefits

Researchers have documented short-term environmental benefits during the  COVID-19-related lockdown, but that silver lining could be far outweighed by a long-term decline in clean energy investments, a new Yale-led study finds.
June 1, 2020

Dorceta Taylor, Preeminent Environmental Justice Scholar, to Join the F&ES Faculty

Dorceta Taylor ’85 M.F.S., ’91 Ph.D., one of the nation’s preeminent scholars in the field of environmental justice, has been named full professor at the Yale School of the Environment.
June 1, 2020

What Does Sustainability Look Like? New Global Scorecard Will Offer a Glimpse

On June 4, the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) will issue its 12th biennial ranking of 180 countries on how they are performing in terms of environmental health and ecosystem vitality. In an interview, Dan Esty discusses how over the past two decades the EPI has offered a roadmap for sustainability policy.
May 28, 2020

Hybrid Vigor: Forest School Builds on Historic Strengths — and Creates New Opportunities

On July 1, the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies will be known as the Yale School of the Environment. Simultaneously, we will establish The Forest School at the Yale School of the Environment in recognition of the ongoing importance of forestry. The new Forest School builds upon Yale’s traditional strength — and creates exciting new opportunities.
May 21, 2020

Rising Star in Industrial Ecology
Joins F&ES Faculty

Yuan Yao, whose research examines the environmental and economic impacts of emerging technologies and industrial processes, has been named assistant professor of industrial ecology and sustainable systems at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
May 4, 2020

Forum on Religion and Ecology Launches Partnership with UN Environment Programme

A new partnership between the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology and the UNEP’s “Faith for Earth” initiative will highlight the moral and practical contributions of the world’s religions to addressing the planet’s mounting environmental challenges.
May 4, 2020

When Disaster Strikes Locally, Urban Networks Spread the Damage Globally

Disasters that occur in one place can trigger costs in cities across the world due to the interconnectedness of the global urban trade network. In fact, these secondary impacts can be three times greater than the local impacts, a Yale study finds.
April 21, 2020

Will Politicization of COVID-19 Crisis Erode National Consensus On Response?

A new survey on public perceptions of the COVID-19 crisis found a national consensus that protecting public health should come ahead of opening the economy. But that dynamic could change quickly as the issue — like climate change — becomes increasingly politicized, Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communications, says in an interview.
April 15, 2020

As ‘Ultra Wealthy’ Seek Shelter in Quiet Western Town, Deeper Tensions Laid Bare

In his new book, “Billionaire Wilderness,” Justin Farrell explores a growing tension in Teton County, Wyoming, as the ultra-wealthy buy up huge swaths of land. These tensions have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis, he writes this week in The New York Times.
April 14, 2020

New Values: Online Yale Summit to Explore Shift in Corporate Sustainability

On Wednesday, the CEOs of seven leading organizations will join the online Yale Business Sustainability Summit to discuss the role of corporations in achieving a more sustainable future. In advance of the event, we talked with Daniel Esty, professor of environmental law and policy at Yale and co-organizer of the event, about how the role of business has changed over the past five decades. 
 
April 9, 2020

EPA Rollback of Mercury Rule Relies on Flawed Analysis, Yale Economist Asserts

An attempt by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to roll back federal limits on mercury emissions ignores important public health benefits, an economist at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies writes in a new paper. And it could set a dangerous precedent.
April 3, 2020

Spring Comes to Yale-Myers Forest

While the coronavirus crisis has kept many F&ES students and researchers away from Yale-Myers Forest this spring, Joseph Orefice ’09 M.F., a lecturer and director of forest and agricultural operations at F&ES, takes you there in a series of videos.
April 2, 2020

The Benefits and Tradeoffs of Social Distancing

For more than a decade Eli Fenichel has studied the benefits and challenges of using social distancing in the face of an epidemic. In an interview, he discusses what that research revealed, how it is applicable to the current global crisis, and how the COVID-19 threat might strengthen future research and response to other global threats.
March 23, 2020

The Complex Implications of COVID-19 on Global Energy Markets, Consumer Behaviors

February 6, 2020

Energy Choices Can Be Contagious – But Why? New Insights Into Peer Influence

A growing body of research shows that the behavior of peers has a significant influence on an individual’s energy-related decisions, whether it’s choosing to install solar panels or to purchase a hybrid vehicle. In short, personal energy choices can be contagious.
January 29, 2020

Can Wood Construction Transform Cities From Carbon Source to Carbon Vault?

A new Yale study predicts that a transition to timber-based wood products in the construction of new housing, buildings, and infrastructure would not only offset enormous amounts of carbon emissions related to concrete and steel production — it could turn the world's cities into a vast carbon sink.
January 9, 2020

A Decent Living, A Livable Planet

Narasimha Rao has spent much of his career showing that poverty in the developing world can be eradicated without making climate change worse. Now he wants those insights to be translated into real policy.
January 1, 2020

Welcome to Perspectives

To solve “wicked problems,” a group of Yale students is learning how to think differently in a unique new course.
January 1, 2020

Pedal Power

A group of Yale professors are using bicycles to measure heat stress in New Haven.
January 1, 2020

Professional Symbiosis

Over the past three decades Marian Chertow has advanced the growing field of industrial ecology across the world — and inspired generations of Yale students to assert themselves as leaders of the field.
December 18, 2019

Global Urban Growth Typified
By Suburbs, Not Skyscrapers

An F&ES analysis of 478 cities with populations of more than 1 million people finds that urban growth across the world is predominantly moving outward rather than upward, a trend that is generally considered inefficient and unsustainable.
December 6, 2019

Incentives for Innovation Can Drive Decarbonization, Esty Tells Lawmakers

November 25, 2019

Environmental Justice Conference
Brings Emerging Scholars to F&ES

The day-long Global Environmental Justice Conference brought emerging scholars from around the world and from across disciplines to discuss how scholarship, social justice, and environmental management can be effectively integrated.
November 19, 2019

Gerald Torres, a Pioneering Scholar in
Field of Environmental Justice, Joins F&ES

Gerald Torres, an acclaimed global scholar of environmental law, critical race theory, and federal Indian law, has been named full professor of environmental justice at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES).  
November 18, 2019

How Much Energy Do We Really Need?

Two fundamental goals of humanity are to eradicate poverty and reduce climate change, but achieving these goals will involve trade-offs. New research by Narasimha Rao of F&ES provides insights into these tradeoffs — including the tools needed to relate basic needs directly to resource use. 
November 14, 2019

For Some Urban Areas, Warming
Climate is Only Half the Threat

Urban expansion will cause the average summer temperature in these areas to increase about 0.5 to 0.6 degrees C by midcentury — but up to 3 degrees C in some locations, according to a new F&ES study.
November 11, 2019

Finding Common Ground for Scientists and Policymakers on Soil Carbon and Climate Change

In an opinion published in Nature Sustainability, a group of scientists argue that public debate about the role of soil carbon in battling climate change is undermining the potential for policymakers to implement policies that build soil carbon for other environmental and agricultural benefits.
November 7, 2019

Yale Conservationist Honored for Strides
In Human-Centered Wildlife Protection

Over several years in Rwanda, Bill Weber developed a conservation strategy that has strengthened mountain gorilla populations by putting local people at the center of the effort. Weber, who has applied these principles in regions worldwide, was recently nominated for the prestigious Indianapolis Prize.
October 31, 2019

Farrell Testifies Before U.S. Lawmakers on
Dark Money and Climate Misinformation

In testimony before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, F&ES Prof. Justin Farrell described a decades-old “well-coordinated and well-funded” movement intended to deceive the American people about the reality of climate change.
October 25, 2019

To Tackle Environmental Threats, New
Thinking — and More Voices — Needed

Effective strategies to confront the vast environmental threats facing the planet require a new way of talking about these challenges — and who is invited to the conversation — panelists said last week during an event in Washington, D.C. hosted by the Yale Environmental Dialogue.
October 22, 2019

A Better Planet: New Book Offers
Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies this week released a book, “A Better Planet: 40 Big Ideas for a Sustainable Future,” in which dozens of experts share their suggestions for tackling global environmental challenges.
September 27, 2019

YED Explores ‘Big Ideas’ as Kickoff
To Climate Week in New York City

The Yale Environmental Dialogue, an F&ES-based initiative that aims to add new energy to the national conversation about environmental issues, hosted an event at the Yale Club of New York to kick off Climate Week NYC.
August 16, 2019

Chertow Awarded Society Prize for Impacts on Field of Industrial Ecology

Marian Chertow, associate professor of industrial environmental management at F&ES, has received the International Society for Industrial Ecology’s Society Prize, awarded for “outstanding contributions to the field of industrial ecology.”
August 7, 2019

Study to Examine Human-Robot Collaboration to Reduce Recycling ‘Bottleneck’

During a four-year study, funded by the National Science Foundation, researchers will examine whether a collaboration between humans and robots can improve the efficiency and profitability of the world’s threatened recycling sector.
August 5, 2019

Will Marshland Keep up With Rising Seas? Study Finds Clues in the Sediment

A new Yale-led study describes a novel methodology that tracks the inland movement of marshland by analyzing for microscopic fossils in the sediment, a process that might provide important insights into the future of these vulnerable coastal ecosystems.
June 3, 2019

Water Scarcity and Inflexible Demand
Puts World’s River Basins at Risk

A new analysis of global water usage, co-authored by Yale’s Julie Zimmerman, builds on existing research on where carbon is embedded in the global energy infrastructure.
April 24, 2019

Seto Receives National Honor for Outstanding Contributions to Remote Sensing Research

Karen Seto, a professor of geography and urbanization science at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES), this month received the Outstanding Contributions to Remote Sensing Research award from the American Association of Geographers. 
April 16, 2019

How Inland Waters ‘Breathe’ Carbon
– And What it Means for Global Systems

A new Yale study reveals important insights into the factors that influence the release of greenhouse gases from rivers and streams, including a key relationship between storm events, ecology, and topography in moderating this release.
April 15, 2019

Comita Receives NSF CAREER Award for
Research on Diversity of Tropical Forests

Liza Comita, an assistant professor of tropical forest ecology at F&ES, has received a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation that will support her research into the factors that shape the rich and persistent biological diversity in the world’s tropical forests.
April 11, 2019

Mark Ashton Honored by New England Society of American Foresters

Mark Ashton ’85 M.F., ’90 Ph.D., the Morris K. Jesup Professor of Silviculture and Forest Ecology, was named the sixth recipient of the 2019 David M. Smith Award by the New England Society of American Foresters at the group’s winter meeting in March. The 
April 2, 2019

The Complicated Future of
Offshore Wind Power in the U.S.

In recent years the U.S. Department of Energy laid out an ambitious plan to grow the U.S. offshore wind sector. In a new paper, Yale researchers make the case that it might not be as easy as it seems.
March 27, 2019

For F&ES Scholars, Africa Trip Offers
Glimpse of Partnership Opportunities

During a recent trip to a research center in central Kenya, three F&ES faculty members — including Dean Indy Burke — discovered the potential for long-term collaboration that could re-shape the experience for the next generation of F&ES students and scholars.
March 19, 2019

Landmark Report Finds Urban Natural
Forests Require Greater Management

Researchers at F&ES have partnered with the Natural Areas Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land on a first-of-its-kind report on how U.S. cities manage urban natural forests — critical greenspaces that they found are frequently lacking the proper resources.
March 19, 2019

Fishing for Fun, Not Food: Paper Takes
Stock of Recreational Fishing Impacts

A new paper co-led by Yale economist Eli Fenichel argues that decision-makers and fishing organizations must recognize the growing role of recreational fishing and the potential pressures it places on fish stocks.
March 7, 2019

‘Specialized’ Microbes Within Plant Species Promote Diversity, Study Finds

A Yale-led research team conducted an experiment that suggests microbes can specialize within plant species, which can promote plant species diversity and increased seed dispersal.
March 1, 2019

Climate Change in Connecticut’s ‘Quiet Corner’

The F&ES-based Quiet Corner Initiative’s first-ever winter seminar brought the impacts of a warming world to northeastern Connecticut
February 28, 2019

As Experts Examine Tropical Change,
An Artist Creates a Living Document

During the 25th annual conference of the Yale Chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters, calligrapher Heather Leavitt Martinez captured each session’s dynamic, interweaving themes as they unfolded. View a gallery.
February 22, 2019

Bell, Lauenroth Elected to Connecticut
Academy of Science and Engineering

Michelle Bell, a professor of environmental health at F&ES, and William Lauenroth, a drylands ecologist and professor in the practice at F&ES, have been elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
February 6, 2019

Rwanda Had Different Plans: Yale
Partners with Environmental ‘Rising Star’

Rwanda has become a global leader in sustainability and environmental stewardship. A new reciprocal partnership between Yale and the African nation will create opportunities for collaborative teaching and research, foster an exchange of resources, and allow Yale students to study, intern, and conduct research in Rwanda.

January 24, 2019

Common Policy Premise on Link Between
Soil and Crop Yield is Valid – to a Point

While many policy initiatives assume that increasing “soil organic matter” will improve soil health, there’s surprisingly little evidence that this strategy will actually improve crop output. A new paper by Yale scientists affirms that this strategy will improve yields — up to a point.
January 14, 2019

Research Reveals Strategies for
Combating Science Misinformation

Nowhere has the impact of scientific misinformation been more profound than on the issue of climate change, where a well-funded network has coalesced around the goal of undercutting the legitimacy of climate science. But as a new paper illustrates, an emerging field of research is providing new insights into this critical dynamic.
January 8, 2019

Yale Economist on Flaws, Big and Small,
In Trump’s Fuel Economy Rollback Plan

In an interview, Kenneth Gillingham, a Yale economist and co-author of a new Science paper on the Trump administration's proposed fuel economy rollbacks, describes some of the flaws with the plan — and what it would take to pass fuel efficiency standards that are grounded in sound economic theory.
December 17, 2018

New Environmental Ethics: 20 Years of
The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology

As the F&ES-based Forum on Religion and Ecology celebrates 20 years, we sit down with co-founder Mary Evelyn Tucker, who describes the growing global awareness of the relationship between the world’s religious and spiritual traditions and it can help humankind solve its environmental challenges.
December 13, 2018

New Yale Online Certificate Programs
Target Emerging Professionals Worldwide

In 2019, two centers based at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies will introduce new online certificate programs that allow emerging professionals in countries across the world to access Yale’s faculty, training materials, and networks.
December 6, 2018

Missing the Forest for the Trees: NYC Forest Inventory Paints Unexpected Picture

There are still forests in New York City, and we’re not talking about Central Park. A surprising new study led by Yale researchers reveals that the natural forested areas of America’s largest city are largely native, healthy, and productive.
December 5, 2018

New Algorithm Provides a More
Detailed Look at Urban Heat Islands

Urban areas are warmer than the adjacent undeveloped land, a phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect. A new interactive map developed by Yale researchers gives us the most detailed look yet at these “urban heat islands” across the world.
December 4, 2018

Yale Environmental Dialogue Aims to
Inform Public Debate and Policy

The Yale Environmental Dialogue, an F&ES initiative that aims to inject new energy and fresh thinking into the national conversation about sustainability related issues, recently hosted the first in a series of national events.
December 4, 2018

Three F&ES Faculty Make ‘Highly Cited Researchers’ List

Professors Michelle Bell, Mark Bradford, and Karen Seto were three of 6,000 researchers worldwide to be recognized by Clarivate Analytics for their published papers from the past decade being among the most cited in their field.
November 1, 2018

Editing Nature: A Call for Careful
Oversight of Environmental Gene Editing

For all the promise of gene editing technologies, there remain profound concerns about the potential unintended consequences of releasing gene-edited organisms into the environment. In Science, a Yale-led team argues for new global governance to  assure a neutral and informed evaluation of these benefits and risks.
October 31, 2018

‘Cryptic’ Interactions Drive Biodiversity
Decline Near the Edge of Forest Fragments

The fragmentation of tropical forests weakens the effects of the ”natural enemies” of some tree species, reducing their ability to maintain biodiversity, a new Yale-led study found.
October 24, 2018

Want to Nudge Others to Install Solar?
Actions Speak Louder Than Words

A new study confirms that when it comes to convincing consumers to install solar panels, one factor stands out above all others: whether the individuals advocating this choice practice what they preach.
October 12, 2018

F&ES Scientist Contributes to Alarming
IPCC Report on Looming Climate Costs

Professor Edgar Hertwich contributed to a major report on climate change from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which predicts that crisis-level drought, food shortages, and coastal erosion could happen within the next 20 years.
October 12, 2018

From Research to Carbon Charge, Nobel Prize Winner Has Deep Influence at F&ES

This week William Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale, won the Nobel Prize. At the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, where he holds a secondary appointment, his research and teaching have influenced and inspired generations of scholars.
October 3, 2018

At F&ES, Rwanda Official Makes Case for
Stronger Policy-Academic Partnership

During a visit to F&ES, the Rwandan Minister of Environment said a strengthened Montreal Protocol reflects the importance of a close relationship between policymakers and scientists.
September 5, 2018

Where Does Our Trash Go? Study Picks
Through Pieces — and Value — of Waste

New Yale research provides an insightful new measurement of just what is found in the more than 200 million tons of waste discarded each year in the U.S.
August 25, 2018

Energy, Identity, and Rural America:
Research Earns Farrell NSF Career Award

Justin Farrell, an assistant professor of sociology at F&ES, has received a prestigious award from the National Science Foundation that will support his research on how a long-term shift in the U.S. energy sector is changing the nation’s rural communities.
August 22, 2018

Why are Tropical Forests so Diverse? New
Study Examines Role of ‘Natural Enemies’

A new Yale study affirms a long-held hypothesis that the presence of specialized ‘natural enemies’ promotes tropical biodiversity. Except when it doesn‛t.
August 16, 2018

Narasimha Rao, Global Energy Scholar, Named Assistant Professor of Energy Systems

Narasimha Rao, whose research examines the relationship between energy systems, climate change, and human society, has been appointed asssitant professor of energy systems analysis at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
July 25, 2018

RFF Awards Yale Collaboration Examining
the ‘Value’ of Remote Sensing in Himalaya

An interdisciplinary collaboration between two professors from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies that aims to define the “value” of satellite-based earth observations has received a $100,000 award from Resources for the Future (RFF).
July 25, 2018

Community Stormwater Partnership Receives National Environmental Award

A community partnership including the Yale-based Urban Resources Initiative (URI) that has helped the city of New Haven tackle the challenge of stormwater runoff has received a prestigious award from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
July 19, 2018

Drought and Tree Mortality: Science
Reveals Harsh Future for World’s Forests

New research on the inner workings of trees and plants is providing clarity on just how vulnerable these living organisms are to the effects of climate change. In an interview, Craig Brodersen, a pioneer in this emerging field, describes how a warmer — and drier — climate threatens the world’s trees and forests.
June 28, 2018

Two F&ES-led Teams Receive Leitner
Grants for ‘Uncommon’ Collaborations

F&ES this week announced the winners of the first Leitner Awards for Uncommon Environmental Collaborations, a grant fund that promotes collaborations for environmental teaching and research across the Yale campus.
June 11, 2018

Safer by Design: ‘Meta’ Review Examines
Expanding Branches of Green Chemistry

Two decades after Paul Anastas introduced the 12 principles of green chemistry, a new review paper by Anastas and other Yale researchers documents the range of scientific research and innovation that have emerged from those principles.
May 24, 2018

Yale Climate Communication Program Receives National Innovation Honor

Anthony Leiserowitz and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication have received a prestigious national award for their work developing new statistical methodology to understand and map public opinion on climate change at state and local levels across the nation.
April 18, 2018

By 5:1 Ratio, Americans Think Global Warming is Happening, New Survey Finds

A new national survey co-led by Yale researchers finds that a large majority of Americans think global warming is happening — outnumbering those who don’t by 5 to 1.
April 2, 2018

Does Metal Use Slow When a Country’s Wealth Grows? Maybe Not, Study Shows

In a new study, a Yale-led team of researchers found that GDP remains intrinsically linked with metal use even as affluence grows — a relationship that might threaten long-term global access to critical metals and hopes for a low-carbon future.
March 2, 2018

Burke, Seto Elected to Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

Ingrid C. “Indy” Burke, a professor of ecosystem ecology and F&ES dean, and Karen C. Seto, a professor of geography and urbanization science at F&ES, have beenelected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
February 20, 2018

New Grant Opportunities Promote
Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching

A newly funded grant opportunity will promote environmental collaborations for teaching and research across Yale University.
January 31, 2018

Taking the Long View: U.S. Scientists
Affirm Value of Long Term Research

A new Yale-led study provides a detailed glimpse into how the U.S. ecological community views the direction of long-term research and its critical role in the advancement of knowledge.
January 10, 2018

Coalition to Improve Sustainability in
Connecticut Taps into Yale Expertise

A new Connecticut initiative is bringing together tools and resources from across the state — including expertise from F&ES — to help the state’s cities and towns adopt more sustainable practices.
December 14, 2017

Climate Benefits of Wind and Solar
Outweigh Costs of ‘Hidden’ Emissions

Even low-carbon energy technologies like solar cells and wind power plants have associated greenhouse gas emissions, but those impacts pale in comparison with the emissions prevented by the displacement of fossil fuel sources, a new study co-authored by a Yale researcher finds.
November 27, 2017

Raymond and Seto Elected AAAS Fellows

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Peter Raymond and Karen Seto, two F&ES faculty members as AAAS fellows in recognition of their contributions to science.
November 14, 2017

At Bonn, Data Driven Yale Wins Award
in UN Data for Climate Action Contest

A team from Data-Driven Yale, an F&ES-based project working at the intersection of data science and policy, was awarded the UN Data for Climate Action Challenge’s inaugural award for linking climate change to sustainable development goals.
November 10, 2017

Yale at COP23: On the Ground in Bonn

Forty members of the Yale community, including faculty, alumni, and 35 students from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES), will be in Bonn, Germany this month for the UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP23.
October 25, 2017

Yale-Led Study to Examine
Health Disparities in Senior Population

A research team led by F&ES Professor Michelle Bell has received a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine environmental health disparities within the U.S. senior population.
October 25, 2017

Can Science Keep Up with Growth of
The World’s ‘Mega-Urban’ Areas?

In a Special Feature of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, edited by Yale Professor Karen C. Seto, some of the field’s leading thinkers examine the growing implications of global urbanization trends, including their impacts on resource use, potential environmental tradeoffs, and human wellbeing.
October 18, 2017

Is Fracking a Threat to Public Health?
Yale Scientists Aim to Provide Answers

In an interview, F&ES Prof. James Saiers describes the health concerns historically associated with fracking and how a new Yale research project could provide important insights into whether there is a link between unconventional drilling and adverse birth outcomes.
October 10, 2017

Conference Shines Light on Town-Gown- Inspired Advances in Urban Sustainability

Across the U.S. some of the most successful sustainability-related projects are the fruits of partnerships between cities and universities. A one-day conference at Yale will highlight some of these success stories — and provide insights into how they might be replicated elsewhere.
October 5, 2017

Yale Economist: Trump Water Rule
Ignores Millions of Dollars in Benefits

The economic analysis conducted by the Trump administration to justify revoking the Waters of the U.S. rule falls short of a defensible and consistent basis, a Yale economist writes this week in Science. The implications go beyond weakening the Clean Water Act — it could undermine the credibility of economic studies conducted by federal agencies.
October 5, 2017

The Challenge of Creating
‘Ecological Civilization’ in China

In the last decade the Chinese government has realized the need to create not just a prosperous and technologically sophisticated society but an “ecological civilization” based on its cultural and religious traditions. In the sacred mountains of Henan, Yale Professor Mary Evelyn Tucker recently participated in the Songshan Forum, an annual meeting that has become part of this effort.
September 29, 2017

Newly Rebuilt Yale Myers Camp
Showcased at Annual Harvest Festival

The Yale Myers Forest, the flagship of the Yale School Forest system, unveils its newly rebuilt camp this week at their annual Harvest Festival. The buildings honor the traditional look and feel of the old camp, which was destroyed in a catostrphic fire Memorial Day weekend 2016. 
September 27, 2017

Honors for Anastas Include Lifetime
Achievement Award from U.S. EPA

Professor Paul Anastas, a pioneer in the field of green chemistry, in recent months was named recipient of two major honors, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
September 27, 2017

Report: Latinos Want Action on Climate Change

A new national study finds that Latinos in the United States are more convinced global warming is happening and human-caused than their non-Latino counterparts. They are also more worried about it, supportive of climate change policies, and willing to take political action. Further, Spanish-language Latinos are more engaged with the issue than English-language Latinos.
September 22, 2017

Yale and WBCSD Announce Collaboration
to Improve Corporate Reporting

Recognizing the critical role that private capital flows will play in moving society toward a more sustainable future, Yale has launched an academic effort to provide high-quality research on the flow of capital into sustainability-oriented projects and sustainable companies.
September 20, 2017

Esty-Led Panel Highlights ‘Bottom-Up’
Solutions in Climate Week NYC Kickoff

An international climate gathering in New York City this week was kicked off by a panel, moderated by F&ES Prof. Dan Esty, which showcased “bottom-up” strategies delivering transformative change across the U.S. and the world.
September 14, 2017

Paris Climate Talks Chair Headlines
Inaugural Yale Environmental Dialogue

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies on Sunday, Sept. 17 will host former French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius during the inaugural Yale Environmental Dialogue (YED).
September 14, 2017

Cities Aren’t Ready for Weather Extremes
— No Matter What You Call Them

Xuhui Lee, a professor of meteorology at F&ES, says that it’s difficult to link climate change to two recent hurricanes that devastated parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean. But decades of scientific research do suggest that weather extremes such as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will become more common — and cities will pay a steep price.
August 14, 2017

Yale-Inspired Connecticut Green Bank
Wins National Award for Innovation

The Connecticut Green Bank, a first-of-its-kind model for green financing first conceptualized at Yale, has been awarded the 2017 Innovation in American Government Award from Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
July 26, 2017

‘I Came Here to Teach’: Forestry Professor
Camp Retires After 17 Years at F&ES

Ann Camp ‘90 M.F.S. recently retired from F&ES where she served as a lecturer and research scientist for nearly 17 years. 
July 20, 2017

Even in Polarized U.S., Sequel to Gore Climate Doc Has Potential to Engage Millions

The long-awaited sequel to “An Inconvenient Truth” arrives at a time when the U.S. is even more polarized on climate change than it was a decade ago. Nonetheless, a Yale researcher who studies public opinion on climate change says the film, if done well, has the potential to engage millions of Americans.
June 7, 2017

Holistic Management Makes
Ecosystems Healthier, People Wealthier

A Yale-led study puts a price on ecosystems by recognizing the value of a “natural capital” asset — in this case, fish in the Baltic Sea — and connecting it with holistic ecosystem management to calculate asset values for the interacting parts of an ecosystem.
June 6, 2017

Yale Excavation in Syria Continues to
Reveal Secrets of World’s Earliest Cities

In the 1970s Yale archaeologist Harvey Weiss began excavating an ancient city in present day Syria that would reveal critical insights into the world’s first cities. Although the site is now sealed off from research due to the country’s civil war, it continues to yield important discoveries — including the agricultural strategies of the earliest civilizations.
May 25, 2017

Environmental Challenges Require
‘New Kind of Science’ from Academia

In an essay published in BioScience, a group of 22 environmental leaders — including three from F&ES — challenge the academic community to make “institutional innovations” to better address the challenges of our time.
May 15, 2017

Gladiator Games: In Nature’s Showdowns, Biodiversity Shields Weaker Competitors

A new Yale-led study of fungi competition illustrates that maintaining a diverse collection of species indeed not only safeguards weaker species but also protects the genetic diversity of the larger community.
May 2, 2017

Seto Elected to the Prestigious
National Academy of Sciences

The National Academy of Sciences, considered the most prestigious scientific society in the U.S., has elected Yale Prof. Karen C. Seto as a member in recognition of her distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
April 27, 2017

Global Project Will Help Promote
Green Chemistry in Developing Countries

The F&ES-based Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale has entered into a three-year global collaboration that will promote the principles and implementation of green chemistry in low- and middle-income countries.
April 19, 2017

Scientists Brace for Potential Federal
Research Cuts, Regulatory Shifts

Federal funding has long played a key role in supporting scientific research to improve human health and the environment. But since the onset of the Trump administration, concerned scientists at F&ES have wondered about the future fate of research funding.
April 18, 2017

Dean’s Conversation: Energy Specialist on Tough Choices and Possible Solutions

David Lawrence, a global energy consultant and former Shell executive, will be the guest in the next Dean’s Conversation on Thursday, April 20. The title of his talk is “The World Needs More Energy and Less CO2: Tough Questions, Hard Choices and Possible Solutions.
April 17, 2017

Lyme Disease Imposes Large Cost
On the Northeast United States

In a new study, Yale researchers find that perceived risks of contracting Lyme disease on average cause a person in the Northeast to forego eight 73-minute outdoor trips per year, exacting a total cost roughly $2.8 billion to $5 billion annually in the densely populated region.
April 12, 2017

Major Science Organizations Honor
Seto For Work on Urban Land Systems

Two major U.S. science organizations recently honored Karen C. Seto, professor of geography and urbanization science and Associate Dean for Research at F&ES, for her work on understanding urban land systems.
April 4, 2017

Drought Linked With Health Risks in Older Adults, Yale-Led Study Shows

A Yale-led analysis of health claims in 22 U.S. states found that severe drought conditions increased the risk of mortality — and, in some cases, cardiovascular disease — among adults 65 or over.
April 3, 2017

Program Empowering Leaders in Tropics
Receives $4.9 Million Grant from Arcadia

The Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative, an F&ES-based program that makes the latest tools and research in forest restoration and sustainable management accessible to the people who manage tropical landscapes, has received a $4.9 million grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Peter Baldwin and Lisbet Rausing, to continue its work.
April 3, 2017

Return to Rwanda

F&ES Professors Amy Vedder and Bill Weber have worked on dozens of conservation projects across the globe. But they are best known for their efforts to conserve mountain gorillas in Rwanda, a place where they still bring Yale students every year.
March 28, 2017

Yale Economist: Trump Order Unlikely
To Alter Tightening U.S. Coal Market

President Trump today ifted a moratorium on the federal coal leasing program, predicting that it will create new jobs and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign energy sources. The order will do neither, predicts Kenneth Gillingham, a Yale economics professor who has published extensive research on the program.
February 17, 2017

Raymond Elected to Connecticut
Academy of Science and Engineering

Peter Raymond, a professor of ecosystem ecology at F&ES, this week was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
February 16, 2017

YPCCC Wins Friend of the Planet Award

The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication this week received a Friend of the Planet award from the National Center for Science Education.
February 8, 2017

Lauenroth Named 2017 Fellow by
Ecological Society of America

William Lauenroth, a Professor in the Practice at F&ES and pioneer in the field of drylands ecology, has been named a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America for his contributions to research and discovery.
February 8, 2017

Yale to Help Guide National Institute on
Improving Industrial Energy Efficiency

F&ES researchers will play a lead role in a new U.S.-funded consortium that will aim to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s industrial manufacturing processes.
February 1, 2017

Ucross Symposium Addresses
Complexities of Ranching with Carnivores

The symposium, Ranching with Carnivores: Modern Perspectives on Coexistence, held this week at F&ES, will bring together a range of perspectives from people working to balance livelihoods with conservation of the West’s most iconic predators.
January 30, 2017

Mark Bradford, Soil and Ecosystem
Science Expert, Promoted to Full Professor

Mark Bradford, an expert in soil and ecosystem science at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, was recently promoted to full professor with tenure.
January 25, 2017

Center for Earth Observation Turns 25
Amidst ‘Golden Age’ of Remote Sensing

At a time when Earth information is “more important than ever,” the Yale Center for Earth Observation is marking 25 years as the only Yale center exclusively devoted to remote sensing.
January 18, 2017

Survey: Record Number of Americans
‘Very Worried’ About Global Warming

A nationally representative survey conducted shortly after the presidential election finds that the number of Americans “very worried” about global warming has reached a record high (19 percent), since first measured in 2008. 
January 17, 2017

Himalaya Study Eyes How Urban Shifts
Affect Land Uses and Natural Disasters

In a new study, Yale researchers will use remote sensing data to assess changes in urban settlements across the Himalayan region — and how those shifts have affected land use, the frequency and magnitude of natural disasters, and just how sensitive the region’s socio-economic systems are to these stressors.
January 11, 2017

In Meeting Future Energy Demands,
Density is as Important as Efficiency

Population density will be a critical factor in determining how much energy is needed to cool and heat buildings in the world’s urban areas by mid-century, according to a new study co-authored by Yale Prof. Karen Seto.
January 10, 2017

As First Siccama Lecturer, Duguid Aims
To Get More Yale Students into the Field

Marlyse Duguid ’10 M.F. ’16 Ph.D. has been appointed the first Thomas G. Siccama Lecturer in Environmental Field Studies, a new endowed position that emphasizes the teaching of field studies and ecology.
January 5, 2017

Remembering Stephen Kellert, Who
Explored Links Between People and Nature

Stephen R. Kellert ’71 Ph.D., a revered professor of social ecology at F&ES whose research and writing advanced the understanding of the connection between humans and the natural world, died in November after a long illness.
January 3, 2017

Growth of Mega-Cities Will Consume
Swaths of Cropland in Africa and Asia

The growth of mega-cities will eliminate massive areas of valuable cropland in some parts of the world by the year 2030, according to a new international study co-authored by F&ES Prof. Karen Seto.
December 13, 2016

Unraveling Ecological Mysteries
In a Vanishing American West

In an interview, new F&ES Prof. William Lauenroth discusses the challenges facing the western drylands, the changes he has observed during four decades of research, and strategies that could help protect remnants of a vanishing U.S. West. 
December 8, 2016

F&ES Students Apply “Systems Thinking”
To Flint Water Contamination Case

An F&ES course this semester tackled the Flint water crisis, allowing students to examine a crisis unfolding in real time, and to hear directly from community members.
November 30, 2016

Losses of Soil Carbon Under Global
Warming Might Equal U.S. Emissions

A new global assessment led by Yale researchers finds that warming will drive the loss of at least 55 trillion kilograms of carbon from the soil by mid-century, or about 17 percent more than the projected emissions due to human-related activities during that period. Carbon losses will be greatest in places that had largely been missing from previous research.
November 30, 2016

John Grim on Standing Rock: ‘This is Not
Only About Water, It’s All About Water’

In recent days, the conflict has escalated over construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. John Grim, a senior lecturer and research scholar at F&ES and an expert in Native American religions, discusses the historical, cultural, and spiritual significance of the Standing Rock demonstrations for Native people.
November 22, 2016

Road Salt Can Change Sex Ratios
in Frog Populations, Study Says

Naturally occurring chemicals found in road salts commonly used to de-ice paved surfaces can alter the sex ratios in nearby frog populations, a phenomenon that could reduce the size and viability of species populations, according to a new study by scientists at Yale and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
October 27, 2016

City in Hot Water? Students Help
New Haven Confront Climate Threats

A recent F&ES course was structured to not only support student learning but also to help the city of New Haven plan for future impacts of climate change.
October 27, 2016

On Connecticut Shoreline, Yale Team
Helps Communities Face New Realities

Work done by several F&ES students and faculty members is helping communities along the Connecticut coastline prepare for the threats of climate change.
October 24, 2016

Yale-Led Project to Widen Access to
Household Solar Receives Federal Grant

A Yale-led project aiming to further broaden the appeal of solar power to a mass market — including low- and moderate-income households — has received a $1.35 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
October 24, 2016

Predicting Climate Impacts on Ecosystems
Will Require Scientists to Widen the Lens

In a new paper F&ES scholars make the case that overly simplistic studies on the climate impacts on ecosystems avoid the inherent complexity and interconnectedness of natural systems — and thus yield erroneous climate predictions.
October 17, 2016

CBEY: A Decade of Innovation at the
Nexus of Business and the Environment

To mark the 10th anniversary of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment (CBEY), we asked several of the center’s most esteemed alums to reflect on how CBEY prepared them to address challenges at the nexus of business and the environment and where those lessons have led them.
October 4, 2016

Case Studies Integrate Perspectives
On Complex Environmental Themes

A new F&ES initiative aims to help faculty and students integrate different disciplinary perspectives on complex environmental themes through the use of online case studies.
September 20, 2016

In India, a Model for Reducing
‘Retaliation Killings’ of Wild Cats

A new Yale-led study finds that communities in central India have an uncanny understanding of the wild cats in their backyard and where they are most likely to hunt livestock — a key factor in preventing the human-carnivore conflicts that threaten these animals.
August 30, 2016

Online Courses on Cosmology and Ecology
Offered as First Yale MOOC Specialization

A series of F&ES online courses examining the nexus of cosmology and ecology is now available to global learners through Coursera, the world’s largest provider of massive open online courses (MOOCs).
August 23, 2016

Study Reveals Surprising Role of Haze
In the Warming of Chinese Cities

A new Yale-led study suggests that regional variations may cause the phenomenon known as the urban heat island effect, and that the impacts of haze pollution in the U.S. and China vary significantly.
August 10, 2016

Health Risks from Wildfires in U.S. West
To Increase Under Climate Change

A surge in major wildfire events in the U.S. West as a consequence of climate change will expose tens of millions of Americans to high levels of air pollution in the coming decades, according to a new Yale-led study conducted with collaborators from Harvard.
August 2, 2016

Economics Professor Kotchen Named
New Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Matthew Kotchen, a Professor of Economics at F&ES, has been appointed the School’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs.
August 1, 2016

Managing Uncertainty: How Soil Carbon Feedbacks Could Affect Climate Change

A new Yale-led paper makes the case that developing meaningful climate projections will rely on understanding the role of “soil carbon turnover” — and how it might trigger climate feedbacks in a warming world.
July 21, 2016

Ecologist Indy Burke Named F&ES Dean

Ingrid C. “Indy” Burke, an accomplished ecosystem ecologist and director of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming, has been appointed the 16th Dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
July 19, 2016

Senate Resolution Draws on Yale
Research on Climate ‘Denier’ Network

A recent resolution by 19 U.S. senators condemning certain corporations, think tanks, and other organizations for intentionally misleading the public about the seriousness and harmful effects of climate change cited research by F&ES Prof. Justin Farrell. 
July 7, 2016

Yale Honors Liza Comita
For Postdoc Mentorship

Liza Comita, an Assistant Professor of Tropical Forest Management at F&ES, has received Yale University’s 2016 Postdoctoral Mentoring Prize. The award recognizes one faculty member annually who best exemplifies the role of mentor to postdoctoral trainees. 
June 21, 2016

Saiers Named Interim F&ES Dean

James Saiers, the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at F&ES, will serve as the School’s Interim Dean until a permanent replacement is appointed, Yale President Peter Salovey announced on June 21.
May 29, 2016

Fire at Yale Myers Forest Camp

A message from Dean Peter Crane about the fire at Yale Myers Forest
May 19, 2016

Untangling the Hidden Linkages
Between Urbanization and Food Systems

In a new paper, Karen Seto makes the case that achieving food and environmental security in an era of rapid urbanization will require a better understanding of how urban and food systems are intertwined.
May 9, 2016

‘Father of Green Chemistry’ Wins
Royal Society of Chemistry Award

Paul Anastas, a Yale professor and pioneer in the field of green chemistry, was awarded the prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Award.
May 6, 2016

New F&ES-Based Center Receives EPA
Grant to Study Air Quality, Public Health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced major funding for three major U.S. universities, including Yale, to study regional differences in air pollution and the effects of global climate change on human health.
April 21, 2016

Funding Shortfalls Hamper Knowledge
Of Social, Economic Climate Impacts

While scientists have made important advances in understanding the physical science of climate change, a relative lack of support for social science research has made these findings less impactful than they might otherwise be, according to a new paper in Science co-authored by three F&ES researchers.
April 21, 2016

Yellowstone Issue of National Geographic
Highlights Work of F&ES Researcher

The May issue of National Geographic, about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, features research, including a special map supplement, by Arthur Middleton ’07 M.E.M., associate research scientist at F&ES.
April 20, 2016

City, Corporate Actions are Crucial to
Global Climate Response, Researchers Say

The climate commitments made by cities, states, and corporations will play a critical part in achieving the promise of the Paris Climate Agrement. A new Yale analysis says these responses must be tracked comprehensively so that policymakers can fully understand the role of non-state actors.
April 13, 2016

The Academic Value of
Yale’s Carbon Charge Experiment

As F&ES students and administration work on strategies to reduce their own carbon emissions as part of the Yale Carbon Charge project, they are also looking beyond the School to see how they can help other buildings slash their energy consumption.
March 23, 2016

Chertow Represents U.S. at G7 Alliance
Forum on Industrial ‘Life Cycle’ Concepts

F&ES Prof. Marian Chertow this week is participating in a workshop of the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency, an invitation-only gathering of international leaders that explores life cycle-related concepts in sustainable supply chain management.
March 22, 2016

Yale Himalaya Initiative, F&ES
Map Risks in Post-Earthquake Nepal

The F&ES-based Yale Himalaya Initiative recently completed a map of Nepal that highlights the risk for landslides across the entire country, and hopes it serves as a launching point for future collaborations with Himalaya-based organizations.
February 8, 2016

What’s Nature Worth? Study Puts a Price
On Groundwater and Other Natural Capital

A Yale-led research team has adapted traditional asset valuation approaches to measure the value of natural capital assets, linking economic measurements of ecosystem services with models of natural dynamics and human behavior.
February 1, 2016

Major Storm Events Play Key Role
In Biogeochemistry of Watersheds

A new Yale-led study finds that heavy weather events cause an inordinate amount of organic material to bypass headwater systems, pushing them downstream into larger rivers, coastal waters and inland basins — with profound implications for water quality through the watershed.
January 19, 2016

New F&ES Research Center
Launched With $10 Million EPA Grant

F&ES Prof. Michelle Bell will lead an interdisciplinary team of scientists at the newly created SEARCH Center working to improve air quality and human health.
January 14, 2016

F&ES’s Gillingham Helps Obama
Administration Craft its Climate Strategy

F&ES Prof. Kenneth Gillingham is spending the year as the Senior Economist for Energy and the Environment at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, helping the White House climate team develop strategies to confront climate change and other environmental and energy-related issues.
November 30, 2015

UN Report Led by F&ES Professor Takes
Global View Of ‘Green Energy Choices’

Finding the right mix of green energy technologies for generating electricity will be crucial in reducing the global impact of pollution for the next generation, according to a United Nations report led by F&ES Professor Edgar Hertwich.
November 5, 2015

Yale Event Explores the Future of
Urban Parks in the 21st Century

On Nov. 13 the F&ES-based Hixon Center for Urban Ecology will convene a conference to examine the future of urban parks — and how researchers and practitioners can create and sustain better public green spaces.
September 30, 2015

Out of Their Comfort Zone: Students
Merge Ecology and Design in Baltimore

A Yale-led initiative recently allowed students to work closely with Baltimore leaders to integrate ecological experiments into local design projects — and move the city closer to environmental sustainability.
September 14, 2015

Yale’s Lifset Honored for Helping to
Build the Field of Industrial Ecology

As editor of the F&ES-based Journal of Industrial Ecology since 1997, Reid Lifset has done more than create a respected academic journal. He has helped the emerging field of industrial ecology develop its identity and boundaries.
September 2, 2015

F&ES Study Reveals There are
Many More Trees Than Previously Believed

A new Yale-led study estimates that there are more than 3 trillion trees on Earth, about seven and a half times more than some previous estimates. But the total number of trees has plummeted by roughly 46 percent since the start of human civilization, the study estimates.
September 1, 2015

Diversity and Environmental Leadership:
Beinecke Leads Seminar Series at Yale

At F&ES this semester, former NRDC President Frances Beneicke will co-teach a course that explores how the environmental movement can better reflect all segments of American society.
September 1, 2015

Edgar Hertwich, Global Leader in
Industrial Ecology, Joins F&ES Faculty

Edgar Hertwich, who helped transform the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) into a leading global institution in the study and teaching of industrial ecology, joins the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) this semester as professor of industrial sustainability.
July 27, 2015

Yale-led Study Reveals What the World Thinks of Climate Change — and Why

New Yale-led research reveals for the first time what the world thinks about climate change and why. Using data from the 2007-2008 Gallup World Poll, conducted in 119 countries, researchers identified the factors that most influence climate change awareness and risk perception for 90 percent of the world’s population.
July 15, 2015

The Battle for Yellowstone:
Morality and Environmental Conflict

In a new book, “The Battle for Yellowstone,” F&ES Professor Justin Farrell makes the case that decades of intractable conflict in Yellowstone National Park have deep cultural, moral, and spiritual roots.
June 18, 2015

Pope Francis and the Environment:
Yale Examines Historic Climate Encyclical

Yale experts say Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment could transform the global climate debate for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
May 22, 2015

Re-framing the Climate Story

This semester, a course at F&ES encouraged students to explore new communications methods based on emerging interdisciplinary communications models that create messages with deeper impact.
May 19, 2015

Diverse Soil Communities Can Help
Offset Impacts of Global Warming

Maintaining a healthy and diverse soil community can buffer natural ecosystems against the damaging impacts of global warming, according to a new study led by researchers at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
May 12, 2015

Anastas Awarded Merck Prize for Pioneering Work in Green Chemistry

Paul Anastas, a Yale professor and pioneer in the field of green chemistry, has been awarded the 2015 Emanuel Merck Lectureship, an international award that recognizes scientists who have made significant contributions to chemical and pharmaceutical research.
May 7, 2015

Yale Responds to Nepal Earthquake:
‘Our Commitment Will Continue’

In an interview, the Yale Himalaya Initiative’s Alark Saxena describes how Yale has coordinated its resources to assist Nepal after a deadly earthquake — and how the Initiative’s longer-term mission will help make communities across the Himalayan region more prepared for future threats.
April 29, 2015

Schmitz and Comita Named
Ecological Society of America Fellows

Two members of the faculty at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Oswald Schmitz and Liza Comita, have been named Fellows of the Ecological Society of America (ESA).
April 28, 2015

Three Members of F&ES Faculty
Appointed to Endowed Professorships

The Yale Corporation has approved the recommendation of Yale President Peter Salovey and Dean Peter Crane to appoint three members of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies faculty to prestigious endowed professorships in the School.

April 27, 2015

Yale Honors Thomas Graedel,
Pioneer in Field of Industrial Ecology

In his eighteen years at F&ES, Thomas Graedel has made Yale a global center in the emerging study of industrial ecology, and cemented his role as one of the field’s founding figures.
April 23, 2015

Yale-Based Journal of Industrial
Ecology Awards First-Ever ‘Graedel Prize’

The Journal of Industrial Ecology (JIE) has introduced a new prize, the Graedel Prize, honoring the best papers by a junior and senior author published in the journal. The prize is named for Yale Professor Thomas E. Graedel in recognition of his vital contributions and pioneering work in the development of the field of industrial ecology.
April 13, 2015

Sabin Prize Seeds Business Plans
That Do Good for the Environment

On April 17, the Sabin Prize will award $25,000 to a for-profit business idea that helps achieve a more sustainable way of life. The competition is part of the first ever Entrepreneurship Across Yale event.
March 31, 2015

Building the Future of Fisheries: Designs
for Government, Market and Community

On April 3, an international group of scholars will meet at F&ES to discuss the challenges facing fisheries worldwide and strategies to achieve a more sustainable future.
March 23, 2015

Study: Metals Used in High-Tech
Products Face Future Supply Risks

In a new paper, a team of Yale researchers assesses the “criticality” of all 62 metals on the Periodic Table of Elements, providing key insights into which materials might become more difficult to find in the coming decades, which ones will exact the highest environmental costs — and which ones simply cannot be replaced as components of vital technologies.
March 10, 2015

Yale Partnership Receives National Honor For Project that Promotes Solar Adoption

A Connecticut-based partnership and major Yale research project led by Kenneth Gillingham, associate professor at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES), has received a national award for innovative research that has increased adoption of residential solar power in the state.
January 22, 2015

Study Yields Surprising Insights into
Global Effects of Wood Fuel Burning

The harvesting of wood to meet the heating and cooking demands for billions of people worldwide has less of an impact on global forest loss and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than previously believed, according to a new Yale-led study.
January 20, 2015

Analysis Finds Troubling ‘Synchronicity’
In When Resources Reach Their Limits

A new study co-authored by F&ES Professor Eli Fenichel has found an alarming synchronicity in the so-called 'peak rate' for many of the world's most critical renewable and nonrenewable resources,  a finding that suggests how difficult it might be for humankind to find replacements when important resources run dry.
January 14, 2015

New Online Course Explores Social and
Ecological Diversity of Himalayan Region

A new F&ES online course will explore the complexities of the Himalayan region, the challenges it faces, and opportunities to achieve a more sustainable future.
January 8, 2015

F&ES Research Spawns New Insights
Into Aquatic Release of ‘Ancient’ Carbon

A group of scientists with origins at F&ES; has reported the first global estimate of how much “ancient” carbon is released from the terrestrial landscape through aquatic systems.
December 18, 2014

New Online Forest Atlas
Tracks State of Global Forests

A new online resource launched by the F&ES-based Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry will provide an overview of the world’s forest resources. Ultimately, its creators say it will be a sort of living almanac of forest resources worldwide for journalists and advocates, scientists and general readers.
December 17, 2014

Special Publication Highlights
Thirty Years of TRI Student Research

The F&ES-based Tropical Resources Institute (TRI) this month published a Special Issue that highlights three decades of student work in commemoration of the organization’s 30th anniversary. 
December 3, 2014

Why Solar Adoption Can Be Contagious

In a new study, F&ES Professor Kenneth Gillingham found that solar adoption rates depend less on wealth or population size, and more on whether your neighbors decide to go solar.
 
 
December 1, 2014

Dean Crane Receives Prestigious
Biology Prize at Tokyo Ceremony

Peter Crane, the Dean of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, was awarded the 2014 International Prize for Biology during a ceremony held in Tokyo on Sunday.
October 30, 2014

Marian Chertow Honored by
Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame

On Oct. 29, Prof. Marian Chertow was honored by the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame for her longtime commitment to environmental innovation 
October 14, 2014

F&ES Creates William R. Burch Prize
To Honor Student Research at TRI

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies this week announced the creation of a new student award, the William R. Burch Prize, which is named in honor of the founder of the School’s influential Tropical Resources Institute. The new prize will be awarded annually to the best paper written by a TRI Fellow, and will include a $1,000 cash prize.
October 9, 2014

Xuhui Lee Honored by
American Meteorological Society

Xuhui Lee, the Sara Shallenberger Brown Professor of Meteorology at F&ES, has received the 2015 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biometeorology from the American Meteorological Society.
October 7, 2014

Tom Siccama, Field Naturalist Who
Inspired Generations at F&ES, Dies at 78

Tom Siccama, 78, a revered professor of forest ecology whose field lessons in the forests and landscapes of New England were a defining part of life for generations of F&ES students — and, for many, life-changing events — died on Oct. 3 after a long illness.
October 1, 2014

Professor Brad Gentry Appointed
Associate Dean for Professional Practice

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) has appointed Brad Gentry, professor at F&ES and the Yale School of Management, to fill the new post of Associate Dean for Professional Practice.
September 30, 2014

Study: Creepy Crawlers Play
Key Role in Structure of Grasslands

A new F&ES-led study shows the critical importance of earthworms, beetles, and other tiny creatures to the structure of grasslands and the valuable ecosystem services they provide.
September 10, 2014

Yale-Led Team Swarms Meeting
To Bridge Worlds of Ecology and Design

A Yale-led coalition recently descended on the annual meeting of theEcological Society of America to illustrate how ecology can be used to help solve larger societal challenges.
September 2, 2014

Dean Peter Crane Wins Prestigious International Prize for Biology

F&ES Dean Peter Crane has been awarded the 2014 International Prize for Biology administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) for his work on the evolutionary history of plants.
August 28, 2014

Yale Study Shows How Conversion
Of Forests to Cropland Affected Climate

The conversion of forests into cropland worldwide has triggered an atmospheric change that, while seldom considered in climate models, has had a net cooling effect on global temperatures, according to a new Yale study.
August 27, 2014

‘A Constant Struggle to Survive’:
Learning from the Structure of Plants

Throughout his career, Prof. Craig Brodersen has explored the fundamental relationships between plant structure and function, and how different species have adapted to utilize limited resources.
August 27, 2014

Getting to the Roots of Humankind’s
Relationship With the Natural World

While many frame the debate over environmental conflict in terms of economics or natural science, Prof. Justin Farrell believes it often reflects much deeper cultural, moral, and spiritual questions. Exploring these questions has become his life’s work.
August 26, 2014

An Allegiance to the Tropics: New
Mentor, Researcher Takes Lead at TRI

In an interview, Simon Queenborough, the new Musser Director of the Tropical Resources Institute (TRI), shares his thoughts on the greatest challenges facing the planet’s tropical areas, and how TRI can make a difference.
August 26, 2014

Sifting Through the ‘Noise’
To Assess Health of Tropical Forests

Some of the things that made Prof. Liza Comita want to study tropical forests in the first place are the same things that can make it a rather daunting field of research. And they raised some of the questions she has been trying to answer during more than a decade as researcher and professor.
August 20, 2014

Lessons in Exceptional Leadership

Two new F&ES courses being taught under the guidance of Dean Peter Crane will introduce students to the types of skills and relationships needed to achieve social change through new and existing organizations — and to reflect on the talents and strategies of some of history’s most revered environmental leaders.
August 18, 2014

Dean Crane’s Book, Ginkgo, a Finalist
For Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science

Dean Peter Crane’s 2013 book, Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot, has been named a finalist for the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science. 
August 13, 2014

F&ES Launches First
Online Courses in Religion and Ecology

This fall, Professors Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim will launch for the first time two online courses in the study of religion and ecology. While the courses will initially be open to Yale students only, the instructors intend to eventually make it available to a wider audience.
July 30, 2014

Yale Project Aims to Propel
Green Walls into the Mainstream

A team of Yale researchers has received a $299,000 grant to develop a new class of “green wall” technologies capable of rejecting waste heat for a range of processes, a potentially valuable green infrastructure alternative to the cooling towers that have become ubiquitous worldwide.
June 6, 2014

Karen Seto Succeeds David Skelly as
Associate Dean & Doctoral Studies Director

F&ES Professor Karen Seto has been named the School’s next Associate Dean for Research and Director of Doctoral Studies, succeeding Professor David Skelly, who was recently appointed new director of the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.
May 27, 2014

Moving ‘Natural Capital’
From Metaphor to Reality

In a new paper, F&ES Prof. Eli Fenichel and a co-author report developing an approach to calculate a fair and consistent price for natural capital stocks that is grounded in the same theory of economic capital that governs the pricing of other capital assets, from stock prices to factories.
May 13, 2014

On Yale Day of Service, Dean Crane
Lends a Hand to F&ES Alum in Kentucky

On the annual Yale Day of Service, Dean Peter Crane joined more than two-dozen other Yalies working the soil at the Parklands of Floyds Fork, a network of urban parks created by Daniel Jones ’84 B.A. ’06 M.F.
May 13, 2014

Science on the Fly: Dam Release
Offers Rare Opportunity for Yale Scientists

When operators lifted the gates of the Morelos Dam at the U.S-Mexico border, allowing a rare pulse of water to pour into the parched, final stretches of the Colorado River Delta, it offered a rare opportunity for F&ES researchers.
May 5, 2014

Zimmerman Promoted With Tenure

The Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies’ Standing Advisory and Appointments Committee this week voted to promote Julie Zimmerman to Full Professor, with tenure, at F&ES based on her outstanding record of scholarship in the field of environmental engineering.
April 22, 2014

Connecticut River Watershed Study Will
Assess Impacts of Extreme Rain Events

A team of Yale researchers will lead a five-year, $3 million study to determine whether an increase in extreme rain events is affecting the transport of dissolved organic matter through the Connecticut River watershed, a phenomenon they say could alter the chemical composition and water quality of the watershed and the Long Island Sound.
April 8, 2014

For Yale and WBCSD,
Sustainability is Good Business

Yale scholars and global business leaders will work together to address critical sustainability issues through a new partnership between the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, the Yale School of Management, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
April 8, 2014

Cashore Receives IUFRO Award for
Advances in Global Forest Governance

F&ES Professor Benjamin Cashore has received the prestigious Scientific Achievement Award from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) for achievements in research related to governance of forest resources worldwide.
February 24, 2014

As Sea Levels Rise,
Can Salt Marshes Keep Up?

A team of F&ES researchers has received a grant to investigate the ability of coastal salt marshes to migrate upland in the face of sea level rise and how the land types at higher elevations affects potential migration.
January 30, 2014

Yale Researchers Receive Google
Earth Engine Award for Land Studies

A team of Yale researchers has received a “Google Earth Engine Research Award” for ongoing land stewardship studies being conducted in Wyoming.
January 15, 2014

Esty, Connecticut Environment
Commissioner, Returns to Yale Post

Daniel Esty, the F&ES and Yale Law School professor who served as commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection since 2011, will return to Yale this semester.
January 14, 2014

Book Explores the Downside
Of Latin America's Biofuels Boom

A new book edited by Robert Bailis explores how the growth of the biofuels sector affects social, economic and environmental systems across Latin America and the Caribbean, and how different nations are addressing the challenges.
December 6, 2013

Coastal Oceans Shift from
Carbon Source to Carbon Sink

In a new paper, a team of researchers, including Peter A. Raymond, contends that human activities have transformed the role that coastal oceans play in the global carbon budget.
November 20, 2013

Video: F&ES Class Explores
‘Sustainable’ Responses to Disaster

In a video interview, Professor Gordon Geballe discusses an F&ES class that helps students explore how sustainable development can improve the response to disaster in
nations like Haiti.
November 6, 2013

A Roadmap for Embedding
Ecologists Into Urban Design

In a new article published in the journal Bioscience, Alexander Felson, an assistant professor at F&ES and the Yale School of Architecture, lays out a “roadmap” for integrating ecology into urban design.
October 31, 2013

Green Infrastructure:
F&ES Class Produces More than a Grade

The research produced by a group of F&ES students yielded the framework for the stormwater management component of Yale University's new sustainability plan.

October 25, 2013

Tucker, Grim Honored for Linking
'Languages of Many Disciplines'

Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim were honored by the University of Massachusetts, Boston for work that transcends national and cultural lines to find solutions to planetary challenges.
October 24, 2013

Video: How Market Forces
Can Help Protect the World's Forests

In an interview with The MacMillan Report, F&ES Professor Ben Cashore describes how market forces can help protect the world's forests.
October 16, 2013

Carbon Models Underestimate
Role of Animals, Paper Says

Animals can have a greater impact on the carbon cycle in regional ecosystems than is typically recognized by global models, according to a paper authored by F&ES researchers.
October 8, 2013

Salovey Kicks Off Historic
Inauguration Week With F&ES Visit

Yale President Peter Salovey kicked off the final week before his historic inauguration with a visit to the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.
September 19, 2013

Middleton Receives Camp Monaco Prize

Arthur Middleton M.E.M. ’07, who has spent six years exploring how ecological changes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem are affecting the region’s migratory elk herds, has received a $100,000 research prize for his ongoing efforts to monitor and conserve the iconic species.
June 6, 2013

Crane appointed to second term as F&ES Dean

Evolutionary biologist Peter Crane has been reappointed dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2014.
June 9, 2012

F. Herbert Bormann, Helped Discover Acid Rain, Dies at 90

F. Herbert Bormann, an ecologist at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies who along with Gene Likens discovered acid rain in North America, died on June 7 in North Branford, Conn. He was 90.
May 29, 2012

Research News: May 29, 2012

New Journal Publications by Jason Clark, Kristofer Covey, Anobha Gurung, Michelle Bell, Jiyoung Son, Graeme Berlyn, Nadine Unger, Joshua Pan, Kevin Barrett, and Xuhui Lee.  New Grants awarded to Mark Ashton & Brad Gentry, Annie Claus, YIBS Grant Recipients, Hixon Center Research Fellows...

October 17, 2011

U.S. Rivers and Streams Saturated With Carbon

The researchers assert that a significant amount of carbon contained in land, which first is absorbed by plants and forests through the air, is leaking into streams and rivers and then released into the atmosphere before reaching coastal waterways.
January 1, 2000

Streams and Rivers
Breathing Carbon Dioxide

January 1, 2000

Experts of Thangmi Culture Join Himalaya Initiative

 

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