Tag Archives: New York

First-Principle Chemistry: Carbon Intensity

My last two blogs (May 4th and 11th) dealt with the challenges inherent in a new law that mandates carbon footprint reduction within large buildings in New York City, where I live and work. As with many other laws, there’s … Continue reading

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From Commitments to Penalties: Measuring Carbon Emissions

  Since President Biden’s inauguration, I have looked a lot at carbon emissions and what we are doing to minimize them. As an educator and a New York City resident, I am especially invested in this change. Not only do … Continue reading

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Looking at the Future Through Coronavirus-Infected Eyes

The iconic MAGA hat exemplifies the Trump administration’s unilateralist “America First” philosophy, to the detriment of global welfare I am starting to write this blog on Thursday, August 6th. The coronavirus situation is currently: Globally: around 19 million cases, more … Continue reading

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Energy Saving on Specific Campuses

There are two branches to making campuses more sustainable: reducing carbon emissions (with the objective of zero carbon by mid-century) and increasing resiliency in the energy supply. We have dealt with both objectives throughout this blog. One campus’ conversion to … Continue reading

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School Energy Use: Smart Grids & the Long Term

Last week I outlined my school’s effort to measure its energy use during the COVID-19 lockdown. As I mentioned there, I got the data following my (approved) visit to the campus. While I was there, I realized that even without … Continue reading

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Using COVID-19 to Measure Energy Consumption at Brooklyn College

I am on the faculty at both CUNY Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan. CUNY is a huge institution: The City University of New York is the nation’s largest urban public university, a transformative engine of social … Continue reading

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Scaling Properties of COVID-19

Saturday was a beautiful spring day. The Brooklyn green market downstairs was open. The street and the market were relatively (in the pandemic era) crowded; well managed social distancing was enforced but many people went without masks. The talk of … Continue reading

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Solar Roads: Driving Into the Future

The last three blogs were not fun. Some of my readers have asked, “Where can we move that isn’t here?” The answer, sadly, is nowhere. We must try to fix this place. Many of us are already doing so. We … Continue reading

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Climate Change Refugees: Where Will They Go?

I have seen some alarming new reports of late. Two of them describe the start of environmental, climate change-powered migrations within rich countries. In the US, the key motivator is sea level rise: The Great Climate Retreat is beginning with … Continue reading

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Climate Change Economics: Present Costs and Long-Term Threats

The Davos meeting in Switzerland is in full swing. President Trump is there, as is Greta Thunberg; climate change will be at the top of the agenda. The World Economic Forum (WEF) is organizing the meeting. In preparation, the WEF, … Continue reading

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