2011-2015 Activities Report
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Since 1999, The Environmental Policy Initiative (EPI) at Ohio State University has facilitated environmental policy scholarship through graduate student research grants; travel grants for students to speak at international policy conferences; guest speakers visiting the OSU campus; targeted research projects on important environmental issues affecting Ohio; conferences; and other outreach efforts.
Graduate Student Support:
EPI supports 2-3 graduate students each summer to conduct research in advance of their general examination. Proposals for the summer grant program are reviewed by a group of environmentally focused faculty around campus. EPI also provides travel grants for students to present their research at policy conferences. Finally, EPI hires a graduate student to help administer its programs, and to conduct specific research projects.
Guest Speakers:
Since 2011, EPI has brought at least one speaker per year to campus, and it has supported other departments who bring environmental policy experts to campus as well.
Targeted Research:
The Ohio Wedges Project examined Ohio’s current and future carbon emissions by sector. This research helps policy makers assess a potential revision to Ohio's renewable portfolio standards and it will be useful as Ohio determines how to meet new federal regulations on carbon emissions.
Outreach:
EPI partially funded a conference on voluntary pollution abatement programs, and several state and national webinars on energy and water quality policy.