School Notes: School of the Environment
March/April 2010

American opinion cooling on global warming

Public concern about global warming has dropped sharply since the fall of 2008, according to a national survey released by researchers at Yale and George Mason universities in January.

The survey found: only 50 percent of Americans now say they are “somewhat” or “very worried” about global warming, a 13-point decrease; the percentage of Americans who think global warming is happening has declined 14 points, to 57 percent; the percentage of Americans who think global warming is caused mostly by human activities dropped 10 points, to 47 percent. In line with these shifting beliefs, there has been an increase in the number of Americans who think global warming will never harm people or other species in the United States or elsewhere.

“Despite scientific evidence that global warming will have serious impacts worldwide, public opinion is moving in the opposite direction,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change. He attributes this change to the economic downturn and political issues that have “pushed climate change out of the news,” as well as to “an erosion of public trust in climate science.”

Scandinavia and Costa Rica top Environmental Performance Index

Iceland, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Norway are the top performers in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by Yale and Columbia universities. (For more on EPI, see the Law School notes.)

Iceland got high scores on environmental public health, controlling greenhouse gas emissions, and reforestation. Switzerland, Costa Rica, Sweden, and Norway have all made substantial investments in environmental infrastructure, pollution control, and policies designed to move toward long-term sustainability. The United States ranked 61st—significantly behind the United Kingdom (14th), Germany (17th), and Japan (20th).

Kroon Hall gets LEED’s highest rating

Kroon Hall, the new home of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, has been awarded LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. Under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system for new construction, Kroon Hall was awarded 59 points, or 7 more than required for the top rating of Platinum. “The faculty and students of our environment school are working in a setting that superbly embodies their aspirations,” said President Richard C. Levin. “We hope Kroon Hall and all of Yale’s efforts to operate a sustainable campus encourage other institutions and governments to take the steps necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard the environment.” The building was designed to use 81 percent less water and 58 percent less energy than a comparable building and to generate 25 percent of its electricity onsite from renewable sources.