Environmental Policy

Air Quality

By: Lauren Bedell

Published: Spring 2026

Abstract: Air pollution poses a serious and inequitable threat to public health in the United States, with racial and ethnic minorities and low-income populations bearing a disproportionate burden of exposure. Rooted in the legacy of racist housing policies and systemic segregation, these communities are more likely to reside near industrial facilities, congested roadways, and other pollution sources, resulting in elevated exposure to PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide and worsened health outcomes. This brief examines environmental racism through the lens of New York State’s air quality initiatives and evaluates three policy alternatives: green spaces, Community-Based Air Quality Monitoring (CBAQM), and maintaining the status quo. Using criteria of pollution reduction effectiveness, equity in health outcomes, and cost, this brief recommends CBAQM as the strongest path forward. By deploying affordable sensors to identify localized pollution hotspots, CBAQM empowers communities and policymakers with actionable data. Effective implementation requires coordinated oversight, sustained funding, and enforceable data-to-policy mechanisms to ensure monitoring translates into meaningful, lasting reductions in pollution-related health disparities.

Climate Change

By: Katherine Graham McCormick and Kate Harbour

�ʳܲ��:��Spring 2024

Abstract: Globally, aviation is responsible for 3.5% of human-driven climate change and 2.4% of global carbon outputs; 4% of carbon emissions from aviation are due to private jet use (Collins, Ocampo, & Thomhave, 2023). Traveling by airplane is the least environmentally friendly method of transportation, with an average of 1/4 tonne of CO2 equivalent per passenger per hour of flying (Carbon Independent) on a commercial plane. For private jet passengers, this number is at least ten times higher. Private jet usage has rapidly increased in the last two decades, with the amount of private jets globally growing from 9,895 in 2000 to 23,122 in mid-2022, an almost 133% increase (Air Industry Review). Despite their rapid growth within the aviation industry, negative impacts on the environment, and heavy reliance on taxpayer funded services, private jets go relatively unchecked and untaxed. The following policy memo will analyze existing regulations on private jets and provide potential solutions to address the shortcomings in current private jet regulation.

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