Peter Alagona
History
Professor Alagona’s research focuses on biological diversity and endangered species. His recently published book, titled “After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California,” explores the history of endangered species conservation in California and beyond. Professor Alagona is also involved in studying the history of the UC Natural Reserve System and its contributions to environmental science and management in a project titled “A Sanctuary for Science.”
Environmental Humanities Initiative
Sarah Anderson
Bren
Along with her other policy studies, Dr. Anderson has done research on environmental politics, environmental representation, and post-fire treatment in the Western US. Her research speaks to the environmental policy realm. Her current projects include work on the framing of environmental politics and how ecological, political, and economic factors affect forest management.
Dr. Barandiarán’s research is focused on environmental politics. It aims to understand how states come to know about the environment in order to regulate it. Currently, Dr. Barandiarán is working on a book that explores four environmental conflicts in Chile. This research focuses on the ways in which the Chilean state organizes, accesses, and believes in environmental information since the end of the Pinochet regime. The environmental conflicts include a toxic waste spill by a paper and pulp mill in Valdivia, the mine at Pascua Lama, the virus ISA in salmon farming, and the hydroelectric dams of HidroAysén.
Center for Nanotechnology and Society
Mark Buntaine
Bren
Mark Buntaine’s research investigates the sources of effective environmental policy in developing countries, with an emphasis on the targeting and impact of foreign aid. Although many of the world’s most significant environmental problems occur in developing countries, the implementation of environmental policies is often challenging because of inadequate resources and poor governance.
Raymond Clemencon
Global Studies
Dr. Clemencon’s policy research has focused on international environmental institutions, sustainable development, and globalization. Currently, he is examining how different countries define and try to operationalize the concept of sustainable development. He examines the political processes that determine the allocation of funds for climate change in different countries (for both multilateral mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund and the GEF, as well as for bilateral efforts). Dr. Clemencon also researches the domestic sources that determine a country’s ability to provide leadership in the climate negotiations.
Osherenko Gail
Marine Science Institute
Osherenko’s research focuses on coastal and ocean law and policy, including property rights and sea tenure, the public trust doctrine, marine spatial planning, and the California coastal management regime. She was a principal investigator in the NCEAS working group on Ocean Ecosystem-Based Management: the role of zoning. She has published extensively on co-management of natural resources and indigenous peoples in Siberia, the Northern Sea Route, Canada, and Alaska. She is currently exploring the use of film and media in environmental education and has had two films in the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, including “Dark Side of the Loon” (www.darksideoftheloon.com) and “Arctic Expedition” (www.FilmsfromtheNorth.com).
Gregory Graves
Environmental Studies/History
Dr. Graves’ research interests include public history, California history, environmental history, and U.S. history. He specializes in federal water resources development and resource allocation. He also conducts environmental and historical investigations of industrial sites in the partnership Graves & Neushul Historical Consultants. His publications include Pursuing Excellence in Water Planning and Policy Analysis: A History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources; From These Beginnings: A Biographical Approach to American History; and “The Rhetoric of Opposition: Anti-conservation and the Early Forest Reserves,” in Journal of the West.
Carsey-Wolf Institute
Han Hahrie
Political Science
Dr. Han specializes in the politics of environmental and social policy, focusing particularly on the role that civic associations play in mobilizing participation in politics and policy advocacy. Her recently published book, How Organizations Develop Activists: Civic Associations and Leadership in the 21st Century (Oxford University Press 2014) examines the strategies that the most effective civic associations use to engage activists and develop civic leaders in health and environmental politics.
Center for Social Solutions to Environmental Problems
Brandon Kuczenski
Bren
Dr. Kuczenski’s research in industrial ecology concerns how researchers, firms, and policy makers assess the environmental impacts of products and consumption decisions and how they share that information with stakeholders and with the public. His research focuses on Life Cycle Assessment, including the use of modern Web-based technologies for sharing life cycle inventory information, and techniques for protecting the privacy of confidential information during publication. He also studies the environmental implications of waste management, recycling, and extended producer responsibility.
Institute for Energy Efficiency
Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research
Melvyn Manalis
Environmental Studies
Professor Manalis’s research interests surround the development of quantifiable sustainability measures, as well as integrated energy planning, industrial ecology, and green nuclear energy. He is also a member of the Economics and Policy Solutions Group that strives to understand the environmental and economic impact of energy efficiency advancements and investigate the range of ways that research, economics, and the environment interact to find policy solutions that proactively shape the market for the benefit of society.
Economics and Policy Solutions Group
Matto Mildenberger
Political Science
Dr. Mildenberger’s research explores the political drivers of policy inaction in the face of serious social and economic threats posed by global climate change. Straddling comparative political economy and political behavior, Mildenberger’s work focusses on comparative climate policymaking and the dynamics of US climate opinion. His current book project compares the politics of carbon pricing across advanced economies, with a focus on the history of climate reforms in Australia, Norway and the United States.
Matthew Potoski
Bren
Dr. Potoski’s research focuses on management, voluntary environmental programs, and public policy. He examines dynamics in environmental politics on a regional and global level.
Jim Salzman
Bren
Dr. Salzman’s broad-ranging scholarship has addressed topics spanning drinking water, trade and environment conflicts, policy instrument design, and the legal and institutional issues in creating markets for ecosystem services.His most recent book, Drinking Water: A History, was praised as a “Recommended Read” by Scientific American and is in its third printing. His co-authored casebook, International Environmental Law and Policy, is in its 5th edition and the market leader with adoptions at over two hundred schools around the world.
Eric Smith
Political Science
Professor Smith’s work focuses on U.S. public opinion and political behavior regarding energy and environmental issues. He investigates, for example, public support for or opposition to renewable energy production facilities and offshore oil drilling. He is also working on the problem of how much people know about energy and environmental issues and why people accept or reject factual claims about energy and environmental issues by scientists.
Carsey-Wolf Center
Michael Stohl
Communication/Political Science
Professor Stohl is current involved in a project entitled: Sustainability at the Crossroads: Examining the Vulnerability of New Zealand’s Global Environmental Positioning. The research project aims to understand how interested parties, including NZ policy makers, media, and business leaders think about, frame, and prioritize environmental, social and economic sustainability issues and with what consequences.
Carsey-Wolf Institute
Leah Stokes
Political Science
Leah Stokes’ research primarily examines public policy, public opinion and political behavior in North America, with a focus on energy and the environment. Her most work examines expansion and retrenchment in renewable energy policies across US states, using qualitative and quantitative methods. Her work on energy and environmental policies has been published is Energy Policy, Environmental Science & Technology, and The American Journal of Political Science. She also researches international environmental negotiations, particularly the Minamata Convention on mercury and the climate change negotiations.
Oran Young
Bren/ Carsey-Wolf Institute
Dr. Young specializes in institutional and international governance and environmental institutions. His research encompasses basic research, focusing on collective choice and social institutions, and applied research dealing with issues pertaining to international environmental governance and to the Arctic as an international region.
Director, Institute of Arctic Studies
International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change
Robert Wilkinson
Bren
Dr. Wilkinson’s research is focused on water and energy policy with regards to climate change. He has analyzed US freshwater management policies, California water supply management, and climate change adaptation strategies.