Recent Articles and Projects
“Grid-enhancing technologies” can squeeze a lot more power from the existing electric grid
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), January 18, 2024
‘Dormant’ HIV has ongoing skirmishes with the body’s immune system
Science News, October 5, 2023
This seagrass is taking over the Chesapeake Bay. That's good and bad news
Science News, July 10, 2023
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), July 5, 2023
Innovation landscape for smart electrification
International Renewable Energy Agency, June 2023 (Edited full report)
Unearthing the origins of agriculture
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), April 5, 2023
The other benefit of electric vehicles
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), January 11, 2023
The Decarbonization Imperative
Canadian Pension Plan, November 2022
State and Trends in Adaptation Report 2022
Adaptation at the Core of a Prosperous Africa in an Uncertain and Warming World
Global Center on Adaptation, November 2022 (Wrote Executive Summary)
The drivers and implications of marine heatwaves
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), June 24, 2022
The complex case of Chesapeake Bay restoration
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), June 16, 2021
An EPIC Response: Innovative Governance for Flood and Risk Management
World Bank, 2021 (Wrote Executive Summary and edited full report)
Why Bill Gates and John Kerry are wrong about climate change
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 25, 2021
Managed retreat increasingly seen as necessary in response to climate change's fury
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), June 16, 2020
The best strategy for using trees to improve climate and ecoystems? Go natural
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), March 3, 2020
Global Energy Transformation (A Roadmap to 2050)
International Renewable Energy Agency, April 2019 (report edited by JC)
Interested in gauging a population’s health? Look to sewage
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), March 26, 2019
Electrification with Renewables: Driving the transformation of energy services
International Renewable Energy Agency, 2019
Clovis People Spread to Central and South American, then Vanished
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, November 8, 2018
(Children's book: Illustrations by Arch Carey)
The Race to Extinguish Insect Pests by Enlisting Their Own Kind
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), July 31, 2018
Animal Cognition Research Offers Outreach Opportunity
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), May 1, 2018
Ancient DNA Tells Tales of Humans' Migratory History
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, February 21, 2018
The Cat Conundrum: Tens of millions of free-roaming felines are take a huge toll of wildlife; what to do about them has spawned battles from coast to coast
National Wildlife, October/November 2017
Putting Fossils to Work in the Hopes of Restoration
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), August 15, 2017
A Tree that Survived the Civil War was Just Saved from Developer's Chain Saws in Arlington
Washington Post, August 13, 2017
Starting a Biotech Company: What Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know
EBD Group & Xconomy, July 2017
On the Brink of a Recycling Revolution?
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), January 24, 2017
From Risk to Return: Investing in a Clean Energy Economy
The Risky Business Project, November 2016
Crucial Role of Below Ground Diversity
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), July 12, 2016
Increasing the Benefits of Resilience
Report by Business Minds with support from the Rockefeller Foundation, 2016
Are We in the "Anthropocene"?
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), April 12, 2016
Musical Genes
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), February 23, 2016
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), January 26, 2016
The Democratizing of Investing
Report by OurCrowd & Xconomy, January 2016
From Google to Novartis: Business Showed Up Big at World Climate Talks
Xconomy, December 16, 2015
Intimate Partnerships: Recent research illuminates how symbiosis has been--and still is--a major player in evolution
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), August 18, 2015
Finding Precious Metals in Unlikely Places
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), July 21, 2015
The 9 Limits of Our Planet...and How We've Raced Past 4 of Them
Ideas.Ted.Com
How Mobile Technology is Transforming Healthcare
The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2015
Making a World of Difference - The National Academy of Engineering's 50th Anniversary Report
Why Moose Populations are Declining
National Wildlife, October/November 2014
Why are We Being Such Idiots about Climate Change?
Ideas. Ted.Com
Fracking: Boon or Bust?
Woodland, Spring 2014
Technical Wizards
Scientists get by with a little help from their engineering friends
HHMI Bulletin, Winter 2014
Architects of the Swamp
Scientific American, December 2014
Special Report
Science Business, November 2014
Precision Conservation
If we treat agricultural pollution with a scalpel instead of a hatchet, we might have a fighting chance of cutting the flow of fertilizers into rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.
Conservation, Fall 2013
Gas Pains
The recent boom in natural gas has divided environmentalists. While some envision gas
as a bridge to a zero carbon energy future, others see it as a dangerous detour.
So what’s the fastest way to get CO2 relief?
Conservation, Summer 2013
Presidential Timber
A look at the forest legacies of Washington, Jefferson and Madison
Woodland, Winter 2013
National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy (released March, 2013)
Edited full report and wrote highlights brochure:
Ecological Traps
Offering alluring habitat for songbirds, exotic plants such as Asian honeysuckle may actually decrease the animals' long-term survival and fitness
National Wildlife, February/March 2013
Drones at Home
Tiny, unmanned aircraft are ready to warn you about traffic or spy on you in your backyard
Scientific American, December 2012
Global Warming: Faster than Expected?
Loss of ice, melting of permafrost and other climate effects are occurring at an alarming pace
Scientific American, November 2012
Cat Fight
The strange case of the wildlife biologist turned cat poisoner is the latest round in a bitter battle over tens of millions of free-roaming feline hunters
Conservation, Spring 2012
Without Congress, There’s Still a Path to U.S. Progress on Climate
Don’t expect the U.S. Congress to take any action on climate change in the next four years. But by continuing to use its regulatory authority and working with the states, the Obama administration can make significant progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Yale Environment 360, 10 December 2012
Estate Tax Report for the American Forest Foundation
December 2012
Issue Brief for the National Resources Defense Council
Using the Clean Air Act to Cut Carbon Pollution from Existing Power Plants
December 2012
The Efficiency Catch-22
The more energy we save, the more we use
Conservation, Fall 2011
Opening Up Big Data
Mining the vast amounts of information on the Web is the next frontier for innovation and growth
Futures (Microsoft's European Innovation Magazine), Issue 10, June 2012, pp. 22-25
After the Deluge
A spate of floods, droughts, and heat waves is prompting city and state leaders to take bold steps to protect their people and property
Scientific American, December 2011
Hot Commodities
Temperate and boreal forests are among our best assets in the fight against global warming; but without better management, scientists say these woodlands instead may become part of the problem
National Wildlife, October/November 2011
Comprehensive Energy Strategy for Connecticut - 2013
Wrote first draft of the energy plan for the state of Connecticut (under contract to the Rocky Mountain Institute, which did the technical analysis for the State).
Final Plan
Extreme Weather and Climate Change
The evidence is in: global warming has caused severe floods, droughts and storms
Three part online series in Scientific American, 2011
Part I: Storm Warnings
Part II: Global Warming and the Science of Extreme Weather
Part III: Our Extreme Future
Editing Projects:
Reinventing Fire
Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era
by Amory B. Lovins and the Rocky Mountain Institute
Selected Businesss Week Stories
Global Warming
Why business is taking it so seriously, August 16, 2004
Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?
Research suggests that, except among high-risk patients, the benefits statins like Lipitor, are overstated, January 28, 2008
The Real Question: Should Oil be Cheap?
Expensive oil hurts, but there’s a business case to be made for a floor under the price of crude, August 4, 2008