March 31, 2008

"Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Discuss Energy and Environment–Related Challenges for China and the World"

By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program and Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy

Harvard Kennedy School Dean David Ellwood and HKS faculty John P. Holdren and Kelly Gallagher participated in a panel discussion on "The Challenge of Energy and Environment in China" in Shanghai, China.

February 2008

DOE Budget Authority for Energy Research, Development, and Demonstration Database

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy

This document contains 2008 updates to a database on U.S. government investments in energy research, development, and demonstration (ERD&D). The database, in Microsoft Excel format, tracks budget requests on ERD&D from 1978-2009 and includes several charts.

February 2008

"Giving Green to Get Green: Incentives and Consumer Adoption of Hybrid Vehicle Technology"

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy and Erich Muehlegger

Federal, state and local governments use a variety of incentives to induce consumer adoption of hybrid-electric vehicles. The authors study the relative efficacy of state sales tax waivers, income tax credits and non-tax incentives and find that the type of tax incentive offered is as important as the value of the tax incentive.

March 14, 2008

"Ending the Energy Stalemate: A Bipartisan Strategy To Meet America’s Energy Challenges"

By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

John P. Holdren provides the context for and an overview of the recommendations made by the National Commission on Energy Policy its 2004 and 2007 reports to the President and Congress of the United States.

Winter 2008

"Global Warning"

John F. Kennedy School of Government Bulletin

By Robert O'Neill and John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

Someone usually asks Holdren why we should be worried about it. Holdren, who has been thinking about climate change since the late 1960s, has a prepared list: “Heat waves, drought, wildfires, rising sea level, reduced agricultural productivity, damage to ocean fisheries, loss of coral reefs,” he says. “I mean, I have a much longer litany,” he reminds his audience. This isn’t just about beach erosion on Cape Cod or warmer summers in Europe, it’s about trying to preserve the conditions for our economic, social, and political well-being.

March 2008

"The Dimensions of the Policy Debate Over Transportation Energy: The Case of Hydrogen in the United States"

Energy Policy, issue 3, volume 36

By Gustavo Collantes, Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy

The broad concern of this paper is the study of the process by which environmental and politico-strategic concerns have driven the increase in policy activity related to transportation in the United States, and the identification of the main issues of this highly complex policy debate.

January 25, 2008

"Science and Technology for Sustainable Well-Being"

Science, issue 5862, volume 319

By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

"I would urge every scientist and engineer with an interest in the intersection of S&T with sustainable well-being...to 'tithe' 10% of your professional time and effort to working in these and other ways to increase the benefits of S&T for the human condition and to decrease the liabilities. If so much as a substantial fraction of the world's scientists and engineers resolved to do this much, the acceleration of progress toward sustainable well-being for all of Earth's inhabitants would surprise us all."

Summer 2007

"Policy Options for Reducing Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector"

By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy, Gustavo Collantes, Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy, John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, Henry Lee, Director, Environment and Natural Resources Program and Robert Frosch, Senior Associate, Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program

The goal of this paper is to contribute to the current policy debate about how to effectively limit or reduce oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. transportation sector.

April 2007

Energy Policy Recommendations to the President and the 110th Congress

By John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program

The National Commission on Energy Policy proposes revised policies regarding a cap and trade proposal for addressing global climate change, increases in fuel economy standards, approaches for the storage of nuclear waste, development and deployment of advanced coal technologies, adoption of a national renewable energy standard, and other major energy policy issues.