Interviews / Q&As

After spending nearly two decades introducing travelers to some of the world’s most beautiful places, Robert Powell came to Yale to study how tourism and other informal educational experiences can inspire people to connect with — and protect — the natural world.

 century, Miller says, Pinchot helped shape our modern understanding of conservation, environmental education, and the very notion of “public lands.”

Wildland firefighters who already face many risks during a typical season are confronted by a new threat this year: COVID-19. In an interview, Yale student James Puerini, who spent five years as a wildland firefighter, discusses why these firefighters are vulnerable to the virus and how government can better protect crews by providing healthcare assurances.

In the new Showtime series "Years of Living Dangerously," a group of celebrities help tell the story of climate change. But the real stars of the film are the people already living with its consequences or fighting to make the world more resilient - including Brendan Edgerton M.E.M. '15 M.B.A. '15.

In her debut book, “Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food,” Gina Rae La Cerva ’15 M.E.Sc. chronicles our relationship to “wild foods” by tracing the shift in America from foraging and hunting to wild foods becoming expensive luxuries. 

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.

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.

In an interview, Eric Desatnik ’10 M.E.M., founder of the Environmental Film Festival at Yale, discusses original vision for the festival, how it has evolved over the past decade, and why film is such an important medium for telling environmental stories.

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.

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.

Hurricane Irma devastated parts of the Caribbean last week, including the island of Barbuda, known for its sandy beaches and abudant wildlife. We reached out to Lia Nicholson '14 M.E.M. who works on climate change adaptation and mitigation for the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to learn more about living with the threat of hurricanes and what small island nations

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.

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.

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