Digital Technology Opportunities for the Colorado River Basin
Author
Environmental Law Institute & Water Foundry
Date Released
November 2019
Digital Technology Opportunities for the Colorado River Basin

The American West, including the cities of Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles, California; Phoenix, Arizona; and Denver, Colorado, falling under the reaches of the greater Colorado River Basin (CRB), is now among the world's water stressed regions facing the environmental, economic, and social challenges of increased water scarcity. The CRB supplies more than 1 in 10 Americans with some, if not all, of their water for municipal use, including drinking water.

Environmental Impacts and Opportunities for the Cannabis Industry
April 2019

(Washington, D.C.)—The cannabis industry is lighting up, but at what cost? The social and health implications of cannabis have been hotly debated, but the environmental impacts and opportunities offered by the rapidly expanding cannabis industry have received far less attention, despite calls to add the environment to the conversation on marijuana liberalization.

New Online “Inventory of Blockchains” Tracks Emerging Applications for the Environment
March 2019

Washington, D.C.—The hype around blockchains—the programming protocol originally created for the Bitcoin—is bidirectional, ranging from apocalyptic predictions of bitcoin energy use that will “destroy our clean energy future” to rosy scenarios that “blockchain technology can usher in a halcyon age of prosperity for all.” Given this lack of clarity, how do we ensure that the environment profits in the end? Fortunately, a new “inventory of blockchains” will help policymakers head toward the right direction.

David Rejeski, Director of ELI’s Technology, Innovation, and the Environment Program, Joins New National Academy of Public Administration Panel on Science and Technology
January 2019

(Washington, DC): David Rejeski, Director of the Environmental Law Institute’s Technology, Innovation, and the Environment Program, has been selected to sit on a five-member panel of National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) fellows tasked with providing recommendations on how to improve the science and technology assessment capacity of Congress. Recommendations could include the creation of a new version of the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which was eliminated in 1995. Rejeski has been a fellow with NAPA since 2016.

ELI Announces Eight Research Projects on the Energy and Environmental Implications of the Digital Economy
September 2018

(Washington, D.C.): The Environmental Law Institute, in partnership with the Center for Law, Energy & the Environment at UC Berkeley and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, has selected eight projects to receive financial support under a two-year project to study the implications of the digital economy for energy and the environment. Funding comes from a $550,000 grant issued by the Alfred P.

Cellular Agriculture: A Comparative Analysis of Press Coverage in the United States, the United Kingdom & France (2013-2018)
Author
Nina Pusic and Dave Rejeski
Date Released
September 2018

In cellular agriculture research, development and commercialization since 2013 have transformed the prospects for the future of food production, particularly regarding animal-based agriculture. With the first cultured burger taste-tested in London in August 2013, advances in cultivating meat through cellular agriculture have grown and expanded capturing the attention of the press, the public, and investors.

Blockchain Salvation
Author
David Rejeski and Lovinia Reynolds
Date Released
June 2018
Blockchain Salvation

The hype around blockchains—the programming protocol originally created for the Bitcoin—is bidirectional, ranging from apocalyptic predictions of bitcoin energy use that will “destroy our clean energy future” to rosy scenarios that “blockchain technology can usher in a halcyon age of prosperity for all.” The question for policymakers, therefore, is how to ensure that the environment profits in the end.

Blockchains: Environmental Hype or Hope?
July 2018

Washington, DC: The hype around blockchains—the programming protocol originally created for the Bitcoin—is bidirectional, ranging from apocalyptic predictions of bitcoin energy use that will “destroy our clean energy future” to rosy scenarios that “blockchain technology can usher in a halcyon age of prosperity for all.” The question for policymakers, therefore, is how to ensure that the environment profits in the end.

Novel Entities and the GEF: Background Paper
Author
David Rejeski, Sunday Leonard, Ph.D., and Christina Libre
Date Released
June 2018
Novel Entities and the GEF: Background Paper

“Novel entities” can broadly be defined as “things created and introduced into the environment by human beings that could have disruptive effects on the earth system.” These may include synthetic organic pollutants, radioactive materials, genetically modified organisms, nanomaterials, and/or micro-plastics. This report, a background paper prepared for the Global Environment Facility (GEF), presents the results of a process developed to systematically identify novel entities that are relevant to the GEF.

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