The application period has opened for EPH 555 / ENV 959, Clinic in Climate Justice, Climate Policy, Law, and Public Health. This course, a collaboration between Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of the Environment, and Vermont Law School, includes students from both Yale and Vermont Law School and is open for application to Yale juniors and seniors. In the course, interdisciplinary student teams carry out applied research or practice projects related to the course theme. Enrollment is by application only. If you are interested, please apply by November 20th using this online form.
How: Use this online form to apply for entry into EPH 555 / ENV 959, Clinic in Climate Justice, Climate Policy, Law, and Public Health(instructors: Robert Dubrow, Marianne Engelman-Lado, Laura Bozzi, and Vermont Law School Environmental Justice Clinic Fellow Ruthie Lazenby), open to graduate and professional students and undergraduate juniors and seniors. Students find the practical experience and real-world impact of this course to be very rewarding, but it is also a lot of work. Students are expected to spend 8-10 hours per week outside of class and team meetings on course-related work.
Course description: In this course, which is a unique partnership between Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of the Environment, and Vermont Law School, interdisciplinary student teams (3-5 students each) carry out applied public health research or practice projects related to the course themes, in collaboration with a sponsoring organization. The course will meet on Monday, 10:00 am to 11:50 am via Zoom. You can find the course syllabus here.
The clinic gives you the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills learned in your coursework to an important problem related to the course themes. Useful (but not required) knowledge and skills for one or more of the projects include environmental justice; climate change and public health; community engagement; cultural sensitivity; community-based participatory research; policy review, research, and analysis; reviewing peer-reviewed and gray literature; qualitative research, including developing interview questions and analyzing qualitative data; survey research; written and oral communication; legal research and writing; economic analysis; life-cycle analysis; and Spanish.
Application timeline: Applications are due November 20. Once the course is full, students may apply to join a waiting list in case there are last-minute openings. To apply, complete the online application available here, which includes submitting a resume/CV and transcript (unofficial is acceptable).
Once accepted into the clinic, each student will be matched to a project based on student project rankings and faculty assessment of team skill needs. There are four projects in Spring 2021:
1. Climate Justice for Persons Vulnerable to Heat Stress: Auditing Cooling Centers in Northern Manhattan. Sponsoring organization: WE ACT for Environmental Justice
With climate change, exposure to extreme heat has become more prominent as a public health concern. Public cooling centers are spaces where people can go to keep cool during heat emergencies. The overarching goal of this project is to formulate evidence-based recommendations to improve the effectiveness and quality of cooling centers in Northern Manhattan. Students will conduct a survey about barriers to and facilitators of cooling center use among residents of Northern Manhattan and will plan a summer 2021 audit of Northern Manhattan cooling centers.
2. Connecticut Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3): Environmental Justice and Public Health. Sponsoring organizations: GC3 Working Groups: Equity and Environmental Justice; Public Health and Safety
Executive Order 3, which established the Governor’s Council on Climate Change (GC3) in Connecticut, explicitly requires consideration of environmental justice in the development of mitigation and adaptation strategies. This project’s goal is to analyze and develop legislative and policy proposals on public health and that bear on equity and evaluate how to strengthen public engagement in the GC3 process.
3. Northern New England Rural Transportation & Climate Justice. Sponsoring organization: Conservation Law Foundation
The project’s goal is to develop a set of strategies aimed at bridging the rural transportation divide through the lens of climate change, equity, and the social determinants of health for small and rural communities in New England. The Spring 2021 team will work with partners in one or more locations in Vermont to plan and design pilot projects related to rural transportation, climate justice, and health, which will inform policy priorities addressing these critical issues.
4. Climate Justice Petition on Application of Low Carbon Fuel Standards to Biogas from the Dairy Industry in California (Biogas Petition). Sponsoring organization: Public Justice, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, Association of Irritated Residents
The California Air Resources Board implements a Low Carbon Fuel Standard program aimed at reducing the total lifetime greenhouse gas emissions produced by transportation fuels, including biogas produced by dairy CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations). The program considers biogas from dairies to be a relatively low carbon intensity fuel and therefore, producers receive credits they can sell on California’s cap and trade market. Building on work during the fall semester, the Spring 2021 team will research and evaluate the current standard for the carbon intensity of biogas from dairies, as well as the health and other impacts of the industry. Ultimately, the team will file a petition at the Air Resources Board to amend the regulation as appropriate.
Questions and additional information: Contact Dr. Laura Bozzi