From the Director

Examining Sustainability & Politics: A Collection of Blog Entries by Steven Cohen

In America’s classrooms and an increasing number of its corporate boardrooms, “sustainability” is the mantra of the moment. The sustainability perspective is that without a healthy and productive ecosystem, wealth is impossible; environmental protection is a prerequisite to wealth. If we do not develop an economic system less dependent on the one-time use of natural resources, then it is inevitable that energy, water, food and all sorts of critical raw materials will become more and more expensive. The development of a sustainable, renewable resource-based economy has become a necessity. Events such as the BP oil spill and the Fukushima nuclear disaster have proven that unsustainable practices not only damage the environment, but can also claim lives and livelihoods.

The following body of work is a collection of essays that focuses on sustainability, namely in politics, education, and management. Every week I examine contemporary issues, and this compilation is a way to collect my analysis on various issues, creating an easy tool for anyone wishing to explore sustainability issues. I also write a fair amount on politics and government and often integrate my discussion of sustainability with a discussion of the current political climate and of the public policy process, so those posts are also included in the collection.

Some important themes that have been in consistent throughout my essays since I started posting them in 2009 include our dependence on non-renewable fuel resources, the role of local government versus federal government in promoting sustainablity policy, the economics of sustainability, the growing field of sustainability management, and the increase in higher education opportunities in the field of sustainability.

Steve Cohen's Blogs - School of Professional Studies

Resisting the President’s Attack on State and Local Decarbonization Initiatives, Mat 12, 2025

Educating Professionals in Sustainability Management and Policy, May 5, 2025

The Growth of Sustainability Metrics and Inclusive Human Resource Practices in Routine Organizational Management, April 28, 2025

The Impact of the Mindless Attack on Regulation and Trade on America’s Political Stability and Economic Power, April 21, 2025

The Sustainable City Needs to Reduce Motor Vehicle Traffic, April 14, 2025

Trump’s Securities and Exchange Commission Abandons Sustainability Reporting, April 7, 2025

New York City Gets Serious About Residential Organic Waste, March 31, 2025

Responding to the Attack on Science, March 24, 2025

Lee Zeldin and the Birth of the Environmental Destruction Agency (EDA), March 17, 2025

Cancer Alley and the Field of Industrial Ecology, March 10, 2025

Destroying the U.S. EPA and the False Tradeoff Between Environmental Quality and Economic Growth, March 3, 2025

The Fact-Free Opposition to Congestion Pricing in New York, February 24, 2025

The High Level of Public Support for Environmental Protection in the U.S., February 17, 2025

Disruption as a Governing Strategy, February 10, 2025

The Clean Air Act and the Danger and Limits of Right-Wing Ideology, February 3, 2025

Technology and Environmental Sustainability, January 27, 2025

The Slow Roll-Out of Mandatory Residential Organic Waste Recycling in New York City, January 21, 2025

The Fires of L.A. and the Crisis of Climate Resiliency, January 13, 2025

Operational Versus Symbolic Environmental Sustainability Management, January 6, 2025

Searching for Certainty in An Uncertain World, December 30, 2024

Corporate Sustainability Reporting and the Second Trump Administration, December 23. 2024

Promoting But Regulating E-Bikes and Scooters, December 16, 2024

New York City Forest Fires and the Organizational Capacity for Climate Resiliency, December 9, 2024

Elon Musk and the Search for Government Efficiency and Effectiveness, December 2, 2024

The Connection Between Environmental Risk, Financial Risk, and Data-Based Sustainability Management, November 25, 2024

Funding Mass Transit and the Politicization of Congestion Pricing, November 18, 2024

The Sustainability Management Profession Will Continue to Progress, November 11, 2024

Protecting the Environment Despite a Dysfunctional National Government, November 4, 2024

The Biodiversity Council of Parties (COP16) Is Ignored Once Again, October 28, 2024

The Fossil Fuel Industry’s Ceaseless Assault on Climate Policy, October 21, 2024

We’re Getting the Lead Out of Drinking Water Pipes, but What Toxics Are We Ignoring?, October 14, 2024

Paying for Building and Reconstructing a Climate-Resilient Built Environment, October 7, 2024

Responding to Climate Panic, September 30, 2024

Let’s Make Every Week Climate Week, September 23, 2024

Progress Underway to Build a Sustainable New York City, September 16, 2024

Resisting the Retreat from Sustainability Metrics and Management, September 9, 2024

The Growth of Renewable Energy and the Need for Decentralized Sources of Power, September 2, 2024

Fifteen Years of Columbia’s Master of Science in Sustainability Management Program, August 26, 2024

Underfunding Environmental Science, August 19, 2024

New York Politicos and Climate Change Profiles in Cowardice, August 12, 2024

Sustainability Management vs ESG Ideology, August 5, 2024

Converting Abandoned Spaces to Urban Parks and Fully Funding NYC Parks, July 29, 2024

Crowdstrike’s Meltdown: The Fragility and Centrality of Technological Interdependence, July 22, 2024

The Fossil Fuel Industry, Electric Utilities, and Decarbonization, July 15, 2024

The Ethical Imperative of Environmental Protection, July 8, 2024

The Supreme Court and the Danger of Deregulation, July 1, 2024

The Importance of Amazon Abandoning Plastic Shipping Air Pillows, June 24, 2024

Food Waste, Food Insecurity, and the Circular Economy, June 17, 2024

Congestion Pricing and Governor Hochul’s Profile in Political Cowardice, June 10, 2024