People in every region of the country are seeing and feeling the effects of our warming planet — from catastrophic wildfires in California, to more frequent and severe droughts, to sea-level rise and flash flooding in coastal areas, including here in Connecticut. According to a recent survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a majority of Americans are worried that their local area may be harmed by these extreme weather events or related impacts, such as air and water pollution, water shortages, and electricity power outages.

An increasing number of Americans, and people around the world, also believe climate change is directly impacting them, their families, and the cost of living — and they are increasingly looking for effective, scalable climate mitigation and adaptation strategies and innovative, equitable solutions.

Our faculty and alumni understand that to be effective, environmental and climate solutions must integrate every sector of our society, work across partisan lines, and expand economic opportunities for people and communities. In this issue of Canopy, you can see that commitment in action. You can learn more about a USDA-funded YSE research collaboration exploring how agroforestry can increase soil health and biodiversity and enhance carbon sequestration, while providing income in new markets for New England farmers.

You can also learn more about how our alumni are working to protect and restore the environment and expand economic opportunities in the U.S. and globally. These alumni include Port of Portland Executive Director Curtis Robinhold ’03 MEM/MBA, who led a $2 billion renovation of the Portland International Airport — the largest mass-timber project of its kind in the world. They include Soraya Walli ’22 MEM, a renewable energy expert from Mombasa, who has been working to expand access to renewable energy in Kenya. Across sectors and continents, our alumni are putting YSE’s science-to-solutions approach to work.

This deep integration of environmental practice, policy, and science has made our school resilient and enabled our faculty and alumni to shape practice and policy around the world for the past 125 years.

The next decade will be critical for our planet, and with your support and guidance, I am confident that YSE will continue to be a place where science meets solutions and where every student leaves ready to make an impact in the world.

Indy Burke 
Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Dean