John Fullerton, founder of the Capital Institute and former JPMorgan managing director, joined IBES' Professor Ricardo Bayon for a fireside chat.
Institute at Brown for Environment and Society
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Large language model reveals an increase in climate contrarian speech in the United States Congress
IBES and Sociology Professor J. Timmons Roberts William Kattrup '25 contributed to this study.
Millions of U.S. Students Attend Schools Near Environmentally Hazardous Sites
Professor of Education and IBES faculty affiliate Matthew Kraft conducted a nationwide assessment of U.S. PreK-12 public and private schools’ proximity to known environmental hazard sites.
Brown researchers examine ‘climate realism,’ an attempted bipartisan solution to climate change
IBES Affiliate Jeff Colgan, a professor of political science and international studies and director of Brown's Climate Solutions Lab, co-authored a recent paper that assesses the merits and weaknesses of climate realism, which favors long-term climate investments over near-term solutions.
Reimagining how fossils from Lakota treaty lands are displayed and interpreted
With the help of an IBES Catalyst Research Award, Associate Professor of History and IBES Faculty Affiliate Lukas Rieppel has teamed up with Oglala Lakota scholar Craig Howe to help people further understand the Earth’s history.
Tropical Cyclone Exposure and Psychoactive Drug–Related Death Rates
IBES and Epidemiology Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou is among the co-authors of a recent study that links tropical cyclones to spikes in drug-related deaths for months after impact.
Invisible Harms: Drug-Related Deaths Spike After Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
IBES and Epidemiology Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou is among the co-authors of a recent study that links tropical cyclones to spikes in drug-related deaths for months after impact.
IBES faculty bring climate expertise to the Rhode Island State House
Professors Stephen Porder and Timmons Roberts offered research-driven perspectives on climate change, energy policy, and equity during recent testimonies to state policymakers, urging them to stay the course on Rhode Island’s climate commitments.
A week of climate collaboration across Brown
Brown Climate Week, March 2–7, 2026, will spotlight Brown’s climate research, career exploration, and sustainability leadership through talks, conferences, networking events, and more.
Proposed Climate Superfund Act, Seeking Restitution from Polluters, Is ‘Basic Kindergarten Ethics’
IBES Professor Timmons Roberts expressed support for a proposed bill that would hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for their emissions.
Act on Climate Law, State’s Energy Mandates Under Scrutiny
Testifying before the RI House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, IBES Professor Stephen Porder discussed how the state could electrify the economy to meet mandates outlined in the Act on Climate.
Climate action moves forward despite Trump’s policy rollbacks. Will it be enough?
Baylor Fox-Kemper, an IBES Faculty Fellow and Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, offered commentary on the clean-energy economy and climate change.
February 2, 2026
News from Brown
Parts of the tropics may warm more than expected as CO2 rises, study finds
A reconstruction of temperature in Colombia during the Pliocene, when CO2 levels were similar to today, suggests that parts of the tropics might soon experience more dramatic warming than previously expected.
Some tropical land may experience stronger-than-expected warming under climate change
A new study led by former IBES Voss Postdoc Lina Pérez-Angel used lake sediments from the Colombian Andes to reveal that, when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice as much as the ocean.
Brown University collaborates with local students to examine environmental comfort in state
Erica Walker, an IBES Faculty Affiliate and Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, discussed her new research project, for which students in Mississippi will be trained to collect air quality, noise, and light pollution measurements.
2025-2026 Brown University Book Award
"Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait" by IBES and History Associate Professor Bathsheba Demuth has been selected as the 2025-2026 Brown University Book Award.
U.S. Schools’ Proximity to Environmental Hazard Sites: A National Analysis
Professor of Education and IBES faculty affiliate Matthew Kraft and members of his SustainableED team conducted a nationwide assessment of U.S. PreK-12 public and private schools’ proximity to known environmental hazard sites.
January 30, 2026
News from Brown
Childhood lead exposure associated with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence
A federally funded study led by Brown University researchers links increased childhood blood lead concentrations with increased depressive symptoms in adolescence, with larger increases when exposure occurred later in childhood.
Stephen Porder Testifies to RI House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
"There is no way to comply with the Act on Climate and continue to rely on gas and oil," IBES Professor Stephen Porder testified at the Rhode Island State House.
Citing study, OPPD said its Omaha coal plant poses no ‘significant’ health threat. That’s misleading, experts say.
Corwin Zigler, a professor of biostatistics and an IBES affiliate, was consulted as an expert for this reporting.
“Let them eat kale!”: Appeals to class-based resentment in American conservative opposition to climate change solutions
IBES Assistant Professor Rachel Wetts and coauthor Loredana Loy reveal that "appeals to class-based resentment against cultural elites are one prominent strategy to urge publics to reject climate mitigation strategies."
The new suite of student offerings includes a 500% increase in paid internships and research opportunities as well as professional development workshops, alumni networking, and an annual Climate Career Fair.
Find your place in the climate space: Brown's first Climate Week is March 2-7, 2026.
With IBES as the lead sponsor, Brown’s first-ever Climate Week is an open invitation for students, faculty, alumni, and community members to come together to explore how research, policy, and practice intersect to drive meaningful climate solutions.
Europe gets ‘green energy’. These Southern towns get dirty air.
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology Erica Walker, an IBES affiliate faculty member, offered commentary on the public health impact of pellet mills in the American South, which are 50% more likely to be located in communities with a high proportion of poor and nonwhite residents.
Brad Marston on science, democracy, and the hard work ahead
Brad Marston — an IBES faculty fellow, professor of physics, and 2026 president of the American Physical Society — discussed his research and priorities for the year ahead, including focusing on climate science and the role of democracy in scientific discovery.
A Simple Silver Fix May Finally Stop Solid-State Batteries From Cracking
Professor of Engineering Yue Qi, an IBES affiliate and deputy director of Brown's Initiative for Sustainable Energy, is a senior author on a study that found a nanoscale silver coating could be the key to making ultra-powerful solid-state batteries work.
The Usual Suspects When It Comes Climate Action Obstruction in Rhode Island
This opinion piece cites recent research from the IBES-based Climate and Development Lab, led by Professor Timmons Roberts.
WATCH | GIS Career Panel
Held during the 2025 Geography Awareness Week, the November 19 panel brought together professionals who have built diverse careers in transportation, utilities, government, and environmental planning.
Lobbyists’ Opposition to Climate Legislation Has Profound Effect, Brown University Report Finds
According to a new report from the IBES-based Climate and Development Lab, opposition to climate legislation from Rhode Island’s main utility company and business interests are slowing climate legislation in the state.
Interpersonal and Self-Inflicted Violence Linked to Temperature Spikes
This article relays key findings from a new study of which Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, a professor at IBES and the School of Public Health, is a co-author.
Higher temperatures are associated with increased interpersonal and self-inflicted violence-related Medicaid hospital visits in the United States
IBES and Epidemiology Professor Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou is among the authors of this new study, which links violence and temperature spikes.
Pachyderm Pharmacies
Voss Postdoc Elodie Freymann, who studies self-medicating behavior among chimpanzees in Uganda, offered commentary about new research on elephants' search for medicinal plants.
Who’s Obstructing Climate Action in the Rhode Island Legislature?
Members of the IBES-based Climate and Development Lab found that Rhode Island Energy and the Public Utilities Commission are among the entities obstructing climate action in the state.
WATCH | Values at Risk 2025: Nature, Climate, and the Systemic Risk to our Economic Future
Experts from finance, insurance, policy, and environmental science joined IBES for a timely conversation on how escalating climate and nature-related risks are reshaping economic stability—and what tools can help safeguard our financial future.
Climate change played a key role in some significant weather events in 2025
IBES Director Kim Cobb discussed the physical and economic toll of 2025's most devastating weather events, including the Palisades and Eaton Fires and Hurricane Melissa.
In halting offshore wind projects, we hinder our own clean energy potential
This letter to the editor cites research from the IBES-based Climate and Development Lab.
White House pushes to dismantle leading climate and weather research center
IBES Director Kim Cobb was interviewed about the role of the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Trump administration's recent moves to shutter it.
New study finds sea level rise is speeding up, contradicting federal report
IBES Fellow Baylor-Fox Kemper, a professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, offered commentary for this article.
Trump Administration Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center
IBES Director Kim Cobb described the National Center for Atmospheric Research as “the beating heart of our field” and called its end “unthinkable.”
Trump Administration Aims to Dismantle Key Climate Research Hub
IBES Director Kim Cobb called plans to shutter the National Center for Atmospheric Research "a national security risk."
IBES at COP30: Faculty examine wins, setbacks, and what comes next
Through on-the-ground interviews and new insights on misinformation, IBES faculty members Myles Lennon and Timmons Roberts uncovered what COP30 achieved—and what still stands in the way.
The man behind the fall of offshore wind
Professor Timmons Roberts offered commentary on opposition to offshore wind, which is often based in misinformation.
Snapshots of Censorship: Tilting at Windmills
Professor Timmons Roberts penned this column, which reflects on recent political threats to academic research.
Meet Voss Fellow Piete Gatesi ’27: Balancing safety, performance, and durability in formulating the next alternative battery
Gatesi, an Engineering Physics and ENVS concentrator, is researching “the most promising alternative” to standard lithium ion batteries by manipulating Lithium Lanthanum Zirconium Tantalum Oxide (LLZTO) to be more sustainable.
Research provides new design specs for burgeoning sodium-ion batteries
Yue Qi — an engineering professor, IBES affiliate, and deputy director of Brown's Initiative for Sustainable Energy — discussed her new study, which offers guidance for designing sodium-ion batteries.
Fighting the College Hill floods: Brown takes steps to contain stormwater
IBES Director Kim Cobb offered commentary on Brown's efforts to increase climate resilience on campus.
Many Fighting Climate Change Worry They Are Losing the Information War
IBES Professor Timmons Roberts offered commentary on "sophisticated and extremely well funded" disinformation campaigns that have "succeeded at undermining climate action globally.”
November 26, 2025
News from Brown
Expanding seasonal immunization access could minimize off-season RSV epidemics
Researchers found differences in how respiratory syncytial virus spreads among children in rural versus urban communities and concluded that year-round immunizations would minimize risks of large seasonal outbreaks.
Corporate broadcast news covered this year’s COP30 global climate summit for 2 minutes — cable networks covered it for just over 3 hours
This article cites commentary from IBES Director Kim Cobb, who discussed COP30 and the global state of clean energy on CNN.
Obstruction tactics delay climate action, says global assessment
The IBES-based Climate Social Science Network, led by Professor Timmons Roberts, recently released "Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment," which explores who is blocking action on climate change and how they are doing it.