2008 Internship Project Descriptions
Environmental Defense - North Carolina
Environmental Defense combines science,
law, and economics to find practical solutions to critical
environmental problems.
www.edf.org
Project Proposal 1
Developing a Carbon Marketplace for North Carolina
Background: Environmental Defense continues
to push for national climate legislation to establish a cap
on greenhouse gas emissions. Senator Elizabeth Dole made news
in North Carolina and across the county when she cosponsored
the America's Climate Security Act. As national politics and
local politicians increasingly push for a cap on greenhouse
gas emissions, North Carolina is poised to join the emerging
carbon market place. Livestock operations, row crop farmers
and forest landowners are best positioned to take advantage
of this new economic driver but policy questions and technical
obstacles must be addressed.
The North Carolina office of Environmental Defense
has technical and policy experts working on climate solutions,
ecosystem restoration, forest management and animal waste
systems. We are working with other NGO's, academics and public
agencies to develop the policy framework and in-state capacity
to aggregate and trade locally-derived carbon credits to enhance
all ecological functions, including nitrogen cycles, water
balance and biodiversity enhancement. We see carbon as the
first of hopefully many ecosystem services that will gain
economic value in the coming decade.
Responsibilities: Depending on the interest
and qualifications, the successful candidate for this position
will assist Environmental Defense staff in research, planning
and implementation of a carbon market for North Carolina.
The intern will work closely with natural and social scientists
on Environmental Defense staff to develop and articulate policy
positions and to assess the implications of various market
strategies. Additional work may emerge on issues related to
climate solutions and landscape scale impacts, such as biomass
energy utilization.
Qualifications: An understanding of economic
principles, cap and trade systems, political landscape and
rural landowner attitudes is preferred. Specific work or academic
experience with ecosystem services, carbon offsets, market
development or other related experiences are highly valued.
Depending on applicant interest and project progress, technical
skills in forestry or agricultural may be relevant.
Location: The successful candidate will
be supervised in Environmental Defense's Raleigh office by
Will McDow (MEM/MF '00). In addition to office and library
research, the intern should expect occasional field visits,
legislative hearings and / or multiparty meetings.
Supervisor: The intern will be supervised
by Will McDow
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Project Proposal 2
Achieving Strong Climate and Energy Policy for North Carolina
Background: The North Carolina office
of Environmental Defense has a major initiative focused on
climate change and energy policy in North Carolina. Impacts
of a changing climate threaten the state with flooding from
rising seas, increased air pollution, and changes in water
supply and agricultural productivity. Electricity generation
and transportation are the most significant contributors to
the state's greenhouse gas emissions.
Agriculture and forest product production are
key economic drivers in the state with abundant opportunities
to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions. Environmental
Defense's Climate & Air program develops and promotes creative
solutions to climate change, air pollution, and energy use
to protect public health, ecosystem function and important
natural resources. The program is led by experienced public
policy experts Kristen Coracini (MEM07) and Denise Choy (MEM05).
Responsibilities: The intern's work experiences
will include analyzing proposed policies, legislation, and
rules; preparing comments and testimony; collaborating with
other environmental groups; helping conduct public outreach
to achieve policy results; and working with senior staff at
Environmental Defense. The intern will assist Environmental
Defense staff in implementing selected goals from the activities
below:
- Develop recommendations to state leaders on policies
and economic incentives for reducing greenhouse gas pollution
- Work toward establishing a carbon market place as a mechanism
for capping global warming pollution in North Carolina
- Develop recommendations, strategies and policies for adapting
to climate change in North Carolina
- Develop recommendations to state leaders on policies
and rules for utilizing renewable energy for electricity
and transportation fuels
- Assist in efforts to develop energy efficiency and clean
energy policy in North Carolina
- Work with Environmental Defense staff to develop recommendations
for reforming electricity rates in North Carolina to encourage
conservation and efficiency
- Assist in efforts to reduce air and global warming pollution
from the transportation sector
- Prepare materials to educate the public and decision-makers
and to assist in building public support
- Interact with other grassroots and environmental groups,
other key strategic partners and state decision-makers and
staff.
Location:Raleigh, NC, with flexibility
to work away from the office
Supervisors: Kris Coracini, Acting Southeast
Climate & Air Policy Manager, 919-881-2922 and Denise Choy,
Program Associate, Southeast Climate and Air Program, 919-881-2928
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Project Proposal 3
Legal Intern
Background: Environmental Defense works
on a broad range of environmental issues. Some of our North
Carolina issue areas include: clean air and clean water for
North Carolina and the Southeast, healthy and sustainable
private forest lands, restoration of marine ecosystems and
design of and advocacy for fishery management tools for Southeast
Oceans.
Environmental Defense is a leading national
nonprofit organization representing more than 500,000 members.
Since 1967, we have linked science, economics and law to innovative,
equitable and cost-effective solutions to society's most urgent
environmental problems. Environmental Defense is dedicated
to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including
future generations. Guided by science, Environmental Defense
evaluates environmental problems and works to create and advocate
solutions that win lasting political, economic and social
support because they are nonpartisan, cost-efficient and fair.
Responsibilities: The intern/law clerk
will work in our Oceans Program with our senior attorney/SE
Ocean Program Director and with scientific staff on projects
relating to some of the following: marine fisheries management,
limited access privilege programs, coral reef and other marine
habitat protection; ocean energy law and policy, and Cuban
environmental law and policy. Specific projects will depend
on our needs, timeliness and on the interest and experience
of the law clerk. Work may involve legal/policy research,
analysis and writing, attending meetings, and administrative
or legislative lobbying. It is not expected that the position
will work on litigation.
Qualifications: The intern should have
some previous experience or knowledge of environmental issues,
strong writing and communication skills and general working
knowledge of computers, including basic word processing and
spreadsheet applications. The intern will need to be able
to work independently with minimal guidance. Proficiency in
Spanish is a plus, but not required.
Location: Environmental Defense's Raleigh,
NC office with flexibility to work away from the office on
occasion.
Supervisor: Dan Whittle, Southeast Oceans
Program Director
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Project Proposal 4
Oceans Program Internship
Background: The Southeast Oceans Program
at Environmental Defense focuses on implementing fishery management
tools in the South Atlantic (such as limited access privilege
programs-LAPPs), working to protect marine ecosystems and
supporting initiatives that promote sustainable coastal development.
LAPPs or "catch shares" dedicate a secure share
of fish to an individual fisherman, community or fishery association.
With a secure share of the catch, fishermen no longer need
to race: incentives change from spurring fishermen to capture
the most fish they can, to spurring them to maximize the value
of their share instead. As the fishery becomes more efficient,
fewer boats and gear are needed and seasons lengthen.
All around the United States, biologically-rich
habitats - estuaries, wetlands, coral reefs, mangroves, shellfish
beds, bays and sounds - provide feeding and spawning grounds
for an abundance of sea life. These sensitive areas are being
damaged or destroyed at alarming rates by coastal development
and pollution from fish farming and agriculture. Coral reefs
in particular are under siege from pollution, disease and
warmer water. MPAs, marine protected areas, are an important
tool to rebuild fish populations and revitalize ocean ecosystems.
Such areas are off-limits to offshore oil drilling and mining,
and fishing may be restricted or banned.
One of the greatest challenges for coastal
development is oceanfront erosion. The state Coastal Resources
Commission has rules which limit how close to the ocean construction
can occur so as to minimize risk to life and property. These
"setbacks" are based on the long-term erosion rate as well
as the size of the proposed structure, and were developed
when the average size of a residential dwelling was much smaller
than it is today. As oceanfront erosion occurs, municipalities
have pursued beach fill (aka, "beach nourishment") projects
to widen the beach, temporarily reducing the risk of further
erosion and allowing development to occur further oceanward.
Responsibilities: The intern will work
with the South Atlantic Oceans team to help with North Carolina
coastal outreach regarding LAPP and habitat protection initiatives.
The intern will have the opportunity to collaborate with staff
not only from other NC environmental organizations and governmental
agencies, but also work with fishermen and other community
partners.
Qualifications: The successful candidate
shall have a strong interest in the areas of fishery management
and habitat protection. Candidate should be familiar with
the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and North Carolina
Division of Marine Fisheries. It is preferred that the candidate
know (or have an interest in) national laws (Coastal Zone
Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Act), as well as state
statutes (Coastal Area Management Act, Fisheries Reform Act).
The successful candidate will be self-motivated and able to
work equally well independently or in a group setting. Computer
skills should include the basics of MS Excel and MS Word,
although familiarity with ArcGIS could also be useful.
Location: Environmental Defense's Raleigh,
NC office with flexibility to work away from the office on
occasion.
Supervisor: Dan Whittle, Southeast Oceans
Program Director
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Project Proposal 5
Advances in the Implementation of Innovative Animal Waste
Treatment Systems
Background: North Carolina is the home
of 10 million hogs and 8 million people. The standing population
of hogs produce an astounding 19 tons of manure a year, essentially
all of which is treated in open air earthen pits known as
lagoons. Serious public health and environmental concerns
have been identified with this form of animal waste treatment.
Environmental Defense has invested more than 10 years of work
in its efforts to make policy makers aware of these public
health and environmental concerns and to find solutions to
the technical challenges of treating such a large volume of
waste. During the 2007 session, precedent setting legislation
was passed which ban the permitting of lagoons for future
hog farms. The legislation (S1465) sets strong performance
standards for hog manure treatment and established a Lagoon
Conversion Cost Share Program to encourage farmers to install
innovative manure treatment systems (including those producing
renewable energy) so they can be made more cost effective.
Environmental Defense seeks an intern to assist
staff in the implementation of S1465. Rule making to quantity
the narrative standards in the legislation began in the Fall
of 2007 and will extend through 2008. In addition, the Lagoon
Conversion Cost Share Program will also be underway during
the internship period. Environmental Defense has a seat on
the Cost Share Program Advisory Council and is helping to
craft the criteria by which it will select farm projects.
By the Summer of 2008, the Lagoon Cost Share Program will
likely be looking at its second round of proposals and be
heavily engaged in evaluating the first round selection process.
Efforts will be fully engaged to appropriate additional funding
for the cost share program.
Responsibilities: The intern will be
responsible, in collaboration with staff, for selecting a
project from among the activities described above, in concert
with the state of affairs during the internship period.
Qualifications: Training in the waste
management, nutrient cycling and/or legislative process is
desirable.
Location: The intern will work with Dr.
Joe Rudek, senior scientist, and other Environmental Defense
staff in the Raleigh, NC office. Typically an intern produces
a report during the internship period which explores his or
her project area.
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Project Proposal 6
Working with North Carolina Water Flows
Background: For the last several decades
in the humid southeastern US most attention to water resources
has been centered on maintaining and restoring water quality.
The recent drought along with other factors is causing the
public and decision makers to take a closer look at managing
the quantities of our water resources.
Alterations of natural hydrology (e.g. impoundments,
levees, channelization, artificial drainage) of regional rivers
have been devastating. In the southeast, 144 major reservoirs
have been built. When the natural flow of a river is altered,
the aquatic and terrestrial communities experience adverse
impacts. The once-extraordinarily diverse aquatic systems
of the southeastern United States have been decimated. For
example, more than 90 percent of all documented species extinctions
in the United States have been of aquatic species in the southeast.
The growing human population and sprawling development patterns
along with changing precipitation patterns further threaten
to undermine natural hydrologic regimes.
To capitalize on the recent attention to water
supply, which has arisen due to (1) severe regional droughts,
(2) declines in coastal aquifers, (3) increasing demands for
human consumption, and (4) large scale proposals for inter
basin transfers, we plan to promote increased awareness and
legislative action to address water quantity and river flow
issues. Rising seas and altered precipitation also draw attention
to the complexities of flow management of coastal estuaries
and rivers. Our focus is to assure that the discussion does
not - in its haste to serve human consumptive interest - ignore
ecological needs. We intend to promote legislation to define
and require the setting of standards for ecologically derived
flow regimes for North Carolina rivers.
Responsibilities: The successful candidate
for this position will assist in two aspects of this work:
(1) the technical challenge of defining what constitutes ecological
flows and applications to specific NC rivers, and (2) the
development of proposed policy reform and legislation obligating
attainment and maintenance of ecologically derive flows. The
successful candidate will assist us with the development of
policies for various water resource allocation programs, and
in the analysis of potential legislative actions to benefit
our long-term objectives. The intern will work closely with
natural and social scientists on the Environmental Defense
staff to develop and articulate policy positions and to assess
the implications of water management strategies.
Qualifications: Extensive training in
relevant ecological, water resources, and public policy disciplines
is preferred. Interest in landscape scale protection of ecological
function is imperative.
Location: The successful candidate will
be supervised by Dr. David McNaught in the Raleigh office
of Environmental Defense. Dr. Joe Rudek, aquatic ecologist,
will also be participating in the intern's supervision. Intern
will be expected to attend various meetings with state and
federal agencies in the Raleigh area.
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