Environmental Policy Initiative

April 2000 Newsletter

Email: epi@osu.edu Phone: (614) 688-0234

The EPI will be hosting two visiting speakers in the month of May. There is still some available time in both visiting speakers schedule to meet with EPI members. Please send us an email if you would like to schedule some time with either guest.

Stephen Polasky is the Fesler-Lampert Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics at the University of Minnesota with a joint appointment in Applied Economics and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. Current research interests include biodiversity conservation, endangered species policy, common property resources, game-theoretic models of resource extraction, and environmental regulation. Served on the Council of Economic Advisers 1998-1999. Recent publications have appeared in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Economic Perspectives, and Science.

"Setting Priorities for Species Conservation: Biological and Economic Objectives"

Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics Seminar

Timothy Beatley is an associate professor in the School or Architecture at the University of Virginia. Primary teaching and research interests are in environmental planning and policy, with special emphasis on coastal and natural hazards planning, environmental values and ethics, and biodiversity conservation. In recent years his research and writing has been focused on the subject of sustainable communities, and creative strategies by which cities and towns can fundamentally reduce their ecological footprints, while at the same time becoming more livable and equitable places. To this end, he is the recent author of The Ecology of Place, with Kristy Manning, which reviews innovative local sustainability practice from around the country and provides practical guidance on creating more sustainable urban form, restorative local economies, and stronger communities. In the last several years, Beatley has spent much of his time researching innovative urban sustainability programs and initiatives in Europe. He has just completed a study of the experiences of some 25 cities, in eleven European countries, soon to be published as a book entitled Green Urbanism: Lessons from European Cities.

EPI Futuring Session

This Spring Quarter marks the one-year anniversary of the Environmental Policy Initiative. We would like to take this opportunity to bring all of the EPI membership together to do some constructive work in evaluating our strengths and weaknesses on campus. It will be an opportunity for all of us to take an active role in shaping the EPI into a recognizable local, national, and international policy institution. You should expect to receive a formal invitation to the meeting in your campus mailbox in the next week, which will contain a detailed agenda for the meeting. Dinner will be served at the Faculty Club. Please set aside the time to be at this very important meeting.

EPI Workshop Series

Seed Grants

The Environmental Policy Initiative still has the potential of providing up to $40,000 for qualified research seed grants dealing with environmental policy issues. The successful proposal must be collaborative in its approach and must have strong potential for future external funding. Teams interested in submitting a proposal should submit a one page pre-proposal to the EPI Executive Committee. The EPI Executive Committee will then invite one or more teams to submit a full proposal, and will provide guidance for its preparation. If you have any questions please contact us directly. Teams who desire funding during the Summer Quarter of 2000 must submit the pre-proposal no later than May 15, 2000.