Professor of Population Studies and Environment and Society (Research) Elizabeth Fussell discussed her research on relocation efforts after Hurricane Katrina.

Members of the Sustainable Education Initiative, based at the Annenberg Institute and supported by an IBES Catalyst Award, provide a readable overview of how education policy and climate change are interconnected issues.

Professor of Population Studies and Environment and Society (Research) Elizabeth Fussell offered commentary on how New Orleans has changed since Hurricane Katrina, noting that 20 years later, the city is smaller, wealthier, and has fewer Black residents. 

IBES faculty affiliate Mark Blyth, a professor at the Watson School for International and Public Affairs, penned this article with Daniel Driscoll, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia.

IBES Research Professor Elizabeth Fussell studied where tens of thousands of New Orleans residents fled to after Hurricane Katrina.

Associate Professor Bathsheba Demuth penned this essay, which poignantly describes how declining salmon populations threaten the future of the Yukon River and its surrounding communities.

In her senior thesis, Morris explored how Maine’s climate action process can better include a group on the frontlines of climate change.

IBES affiliate Matthew Kraft, a professor in the Department of Education and founder of the SustainableED initiative, makes the case for teaching about climate science and investing in resilient, sustainable schools.

IBES Professors Stephen Porder and Meredith Hastings discussed heatwaves' consequences and prevention.

Voss Podstoc Elodie Freymann led a scientific review that found chimpanzees use some of the same medicinal plants as humans.

This paper, coauthored by IBES Professor Stephen Porder and Declan Johnson '24, suggests that wood vaults are a promising emissions-reduction strategy, but challenges remain.

This article features commentary from IBES Director Kim Cobb, who is one of dozens of scientists working to respond to a Department of Energy report that casts doubt on the severity of climate change.

IBES Professor Stephen Porder discussed nitrogen and phosphorous pollution, examples of effective mitigation, and key steps for bringing essential elements back into balance.

Professor Meredith Hastings attended this event and discussed lessons learned from her hyperlocal air quality monitoring research.

Urban Studies and Mathematics concentrator Rafael Ash ’26 is investigating how communities in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Warren, Rhode Island, adapt to their rapidly changing environments through democratic planning, local partnerships, and managed retreat strategies.

Assistant Professor of Environment and Society Rachel Wetts examines how the social value of education contributes to partisanship within climate debates.

IBES Professor Dov Sax coauthored this article, which highlights why ecology's space-for-time substitution method can be misleading, and makes suggestions for improving the reliability of ecological forecasts.

Visiting Professor of Environment and Society Robert Brulle offered commentary on the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to reverse climate regulations.

IBES Professor Timmons Roberts spoke in favor of an offshore wind project during a public forum in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

This article describes the cancellation of IBES faculty affiliate Mara Freilich's NASA grant, which engaged citizens in studying the air quality around California's Salton Sea.

Education Professor and IBES affiliate Matt Kraft provided commentary on SustainableEd, an IBES-supported initiative he founded that launched in July with a new report that synthesizes research examining the relationship between climate change and education.

IBES affiliate and Catalyst Research Award recipient Erica Walker, an assistant professor of epidemiology, was interviewed about air quality reports from her Community Noise Lab's environmental monitoring research.

The first working paper from the Sustainable Education Research Initiative, led by IBES affiliate Matthew Kraft (Department of Education) and supported by an IBES Catalyst Research Award.

Recent titles that inform and inspire fresh ways of thinking about people and the planet.

A conversation with Bathsheba Demuth, associate professor in IBES and the Department of History, about her first book and forthcoming writing.

Myles Lennon, assistant professor in IBES and the Department of Anthropology, discusses his new book on this podcast episode.

The Institute at Brown for Environment and Society is pleased to introduce two new faculty members jointly appointed in the School of Public Health: Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou, Professor of Epidemiology and Environment and Society, and Meredith Niles, Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Environment and Society.

Brad Marston, a professor of physics and IBES faculty fellow, penned this article on climate solutions.

Incoming IBES and Epidemiology faculty member Marianthi Kioumourtzoglou discussed the limitations of and current models for assessing wildfire-smoke exposure and its health impacts.

A recent study from IBES and the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology highlights gaps in reference databases that are required by scientists for DNA sequencing.

After a rare wildfire scorched part of southern Rhode Island, ENVS concentrator Diandra Polt ’25 saw a unique research opportunity. Her findings may help shape the region’s ecological future.

IBES and Sociology Professor Timmons Roberts offered commentary on anti-wind activism.

This obituary honors Professor Emeritus Harold Ward, an environmental studies elder beloved by students and colleagues.

Virgo, an experienced higher-ed administrator, will oversee the Institute’s finances and operations in this multifaceted role.

Sarah Gottlieb, a children’s science journalist, spoke to IBES Director Kim Cobb in the aftermath of the early 2025 Palisades Fire.

IBES Fellow and Professor of History Nancy Jacobs was interviewed about her research on the grey parrot.

IBES affiliate Cory Zigler, a professor of biostatistics, offered commentary on the effects of a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations, asserting that “more of this type of pollution that we know kills people will be in the air.”

IBES affiliate Erica Walker, an assistant professor of epidemiology and founder of the Community Noise Lab at Brown’s School of Public Health, was interviewed about her noise pollution research.

The Community Noise Lab, led by IBES affiliate Erica Walker in the School of Public Health, recently launched a rotating environmental monitoring network to measure a variety of pollutants, meteorological conditions, and noise levels in the Southern United States.

Filled with warmth and purpose, this year’s celebration featured powerful programmatic additions and carried momentum through the passion of over 50 new graduates.

Planeteer Capital, a venture firm led by ENVS alumna Sophie Purdom '16, defied the odds this year by closing a $54 million first-time fund to invest in climate-tech startups.