Research Publications

Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) is the primary livelihood for an estimated 40 million people in 80 countries and supports an additional 130 to 270 million people in mining communities. With the...

Metered-dose inhalers prescribed for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease contain hydrofluorocarbon propellants, potent greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere thousands of times...

Urban farms, particularly those utilizing vertical space and hydroponics, have the potential to address many challenges of the existing food system. The use of organic inputs in hydroponics can conser...

Electrification with heat pumps is often cited as a preferred pathway to decarbonize US space heating in the transition to a net-zero energy system. However, fully electrifying building heat may signi...

The growing number of threats facing continental-scale transboundary water treaties warrants contemporary evaluation of not only the political and climatological conditions under which they were const...

Green hydrogen produced by electrolysis with renewable electricity can be used directly or in synthetic fuels (e-fuels) to decarbonize road, rail, marine, and air transportation. However, system ineff...

The production of maple syrup from sap requires extensive processing, which has traditionally led to significant energy inputs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per gallon produced. Technology advanc...

Comprehensive assessments of hydrological components are crucial for enhancing operational water supply simulations. However, hydrological models are often evaluated based on their surface flow simula...

The Great Lakes contain 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water, a drinking source for 30- million people. The system is vital to manufacturing, largely due to efficient transportation of commod...

We investigate the impact of adoption of electric vehicles and cleaner fuels on future surface levels of PM2.5 and ozone over Delhi for two contrasting seasons, pre-monsoon and post-monsoon. We run th...

Vehicle electrification is one of the primary strategies being pursued for the decarbonization of the transportation sector. But to meet emissions reduction goals for that sector, the current vehicle ...

Informal settlements in African cities are faced with a combination of severe economic, infrastructural, and health-related challenges, which we hypothesize are linked to historical urban planning pro...

Understanding how consumption patterns affect the environment and shape well-being hinges on the rationale that the data collected on what is consumed, who consumes it, and where are indeed accurate. ...

This report examines current and potential demand for hydrogen in hard-to-abate end-uses including petroleum refining, chemicals, pulp and paper, steelmaking, cement, glass, semiconductor ma...

Urban road network is crucial stormwater infrastructure as city roads serve as paths for stormwater runoff and urban flooding. However, it remains unclear how different road networks influence urban f...

Environmental impacts of cannabis production are of increasing concern because it is a newly legal and growing industry. Although a handful of studies have quantified the impacts of indoor production,...

Health care is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change and public health harms. Changes are needed to improve the environmental sustainability of health-care practices, b...

Residential heat pumps could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but increase energy burdens, the proportion of income households spend on utility bills. We analyze utility bills, thermostat settings, an...

The burgeoning global cannabis industry, particularly in legal recreational and medical markets, raises environmental concerns. This study integrates Canada's cannabis industry data, employing a life ...

One-third of food produced globally is wasted while approximately 800 million people suffer from hunger. Meanwhile, food losses produce approximately 8% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emi...

The protection of Earth’s stratospheric ozone (O3) is an ongoing process under the auspices of the universally ratifed Montreal Protocol and its Amendments and adjustments. A critical part of this pr...

Urban agriculture has myriad benefits for those who participate in it, but it’s not guaranteed to be more climate-friendly than conventional agriculture. That said, there are some very specific steps ...

Automated trucking could be deployed based on a 'transfer hub' model. Human driven tractors will haul loads from urban origins to transfer hubs at the edge of Interstates; automated tractors will haul...

Rooftop solar adoption is critical for residential decarbonization and hinges on its value to households. Climate change will probably affect the value of rooftop solar through impacts on rooftop sola...