O'Neill Speaks

It’s difficult to take a glance at the news and not be inundated with stories about climate change, environmental disasters, and the legal controversies that surround anything having to do with the environment. The push and pull of policy makers and lobbyists and courts grab the headlines and are seemingly constant source of discussion, but often overlooked is the role of the people responsible for implementing any policy that might be presented.Environmental managers are the boots on the ground in local communities. An environmental manager plays a crucial role in an organization's efforts to reduce its negative impact on the environment, maintain regulatory compliance, and avoid unnecessary environmental liabilities. They are responsible for implementing policies and advocating for change at the intersection of humans and the environment, and their work is essential in tackling environmental problems and communicating with people across the globe to find solutions. But those skills don’t develop in a vacuum. They have to be learned, and in our ever-changing, often-contentious world, education about how to become a competent environmental manager has never been more important.We’re joined today by Clinical Associate Professor Emeritus Marc Lame, who spent three decades as a faculty member at the O’Neill School, including teaching courses in environmental management. He’s also the co-author, along with Richard Marcantonio, of Environmental Management: Concepts and Practical skills. The book is a contemporary textbook and manual for aspiring or new environmental managers that provides the theory and practical examples needed to understand current environmental issues and trends. It focuses on environmental management through the lens of protecting public health and protecting the environment.

In May 2023, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling that limited the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect millions of acres of wetlands from pollution by saying that the EPS could not regulate discharges into wetlands unless they have a continuous surface connection to larger bodies of water. Then, just a few weeks ago, the Indiana State house passed and Governor Eric Holcomb signed House Enrolled Act 1383, which redefined some protected wetlands, limiting their protection.Indiana’s wetlands are grouped into three tiers by the state. Class III wetlands, the highest tier, receive full protections. Class II wetlands have fewer protections, and Class I has none. Those standards were put in place in 2022, and the latest law will redefine select Class III wetlands as Class II. Wetlands are often overlooked by the general public but play a critical role in nature. Wetlands—aquatic environments that are covered by freshwater, saltwater, or a mix—are the planet’s natural waste-water treatment facilities and carbon-storing champions. They soak up excess nutrients in soil, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which are normally found in fertilizer and can leach from farmland, and wetlands catch and hold excess stormwater, reducing flooding on that landscape. Developers are lauding the latest bill as a boon to construction, but environmental advocates are angry about the loss of the protections.To learn more about this issue, we’re thrilled to welcome Janet Duey Professor of Rural Land Policy Chistopher Craft. Professor Craft is a professional wetland scientist, and has studied the effects of climate change, eutrophication, and other human activities on estuarine and freshwater wetlands and the restoration of those ecosystems. In 2012, he received the National Wetlands Award for Science Research. Craft has been a visiting professor with senior international scientists of the Chinese Academy of Sciences since 2010.

There was a time not so long ago during which the phrase “school-based law enforcement” personnel wasn’t part of our lexicon.Then came the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999, which marked a turning point in the expansion of campus policing. Federal support was key in the expansion of the strategy, and between 1999 and 2005, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the U.S. Department of Justice awarded over $750 million to schools to hire approximately 6,500 school resource officers. By 2019, this funding totaled nearly $1 billion.The professionalization, training, and visibility of SBLE personnel vary widely across states and often across school districts within individual states. To shed some light on how school-based law enforcement officials define their priorities, spend their time and interact with stakeholder groups, Associate Professor Amanda Rutherford and colleagues Nya Anthony and Lillian Rogers conducted a study to build a national profile on SBLEs.We’re joined today by Professor Rutherford, the lead author of the study. Amanda serves as the director of the Undergraduate Honors Program. Professor Rutherford’s central research interests include political control and performance accountability, bureaucratic careers and executive decision-making, and issues of race, equity, and representation in the bureaucracy. Much of her research is conducted in the context of K-12 and higher education.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

The COVID-19 pandemic pulled a number of issues into the spotlight, and one of the brightest spotlights fell on health care supply chain issues. Most stories focused on securing enough masks for medical professionals early in the pandemic, but everything from hand sanitizer to IV bags to medical tubing became an issue for the healthcare community. Crisis creates the opportunity for change, especially when it comes to the supply chain and the healthcare industry.With that thought in mind, the National Association of Manufacturers recently released a study, “Advancing Resilience in the U.S. Health Care Supply Chain After the COVID-19 Pandemic: Four Areas of Opportunity,” outlining steps to improve health care supply chain resilience to allow manufacturers in the United States to better prepare for and adapt to the next disruption.We’re joined today by Associate Professor and Director of the Manufacturing Policy Initiative at Indiana University Sameeksha Desai, who led the study.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

The field of human resource management is growing faster than the national average. It’s easy to understand why. As job markets evolve and companies innovate to recruit the best talent, a competent, trained HR manager is critical to helping employers navigate what can be a complicated area.We’re joined today by Senior Lecturer Cheryl Hughes, who specializes in human resource management in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Prior to coming to the O’Neill School, she built a career in human resources and is an expert in both the theory and practice of HR. We’re also thrilled to welcome Savier Ramirez, who is a senior pursuing his bachelor’s degree with a dual major in Law and Public Policy and Human Resources Management. Savier has been a part of the O’Neill School’s Washington Leadership Program and has served internships with the U.S. Department of State, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and is an instructional assistant in O’Neill’s human resources management program.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

What is the path to a rewarding career in public service for young people who have a passion for serving but don’t know where to get started? Show up. It’s as simple as that according to Brian Payne, the new executive in residence at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.Payne joins us to talk about his career, why he was drawn to the O'Neill School, and how his relationship with students is a two-way street.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

The mercury has been soaring for weeks now as summer temperatures have reached record-breaking levels throughout the United States and the world. For many, staying cool isn’t a luxury. It’s a matter of life and death. And, of course, staying cool doesn’t come for free. Rising temperatures lead to skyrocketing energy bills for consumers, and when those bills aren’t paid, utility companies are disconnecting service, putting customers at risk.It’s a bigger problem than you may think. Researchers at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs have been studying the issue of energy insecurity by tracking disconnections utility by utility across the country, and what they found is that one-quarter of Americans experience energy insecurity each year. Three million Americans have their electricity shut off annually because they can’t afford to pay their bills.We’re joined by Lynton K. Caldwell Professor David Konisky, whose research focuses on U.S. environmental policy and politics, with particular emphasis on environmental and energy justice, regulation, federalism, and public opinion. He also is the co-director of IU’s Energy Justice Lab and helped develop a dashboard at utilitydisconnections.org that tracks the growing crisis of energy insecurity.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

The issue of climate change is considered by many to be THE most critical issue of our time, and extreme weather-related disasters continue to stack up week after week. Combating climate change will require a number of strategies, the most critical of which is the drastic reduction of fossil fuel emissions. But another key strategy is the use of nature-based climate solutions that allow the use and enhancement of existing natural resources to help remove carbon emissions from the air.Two researchers from the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Assistant Professor Mallory Barnes and Professor Kim Novick, were recently awarded a three-year, $950,000 grant from NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System Program to propel innovative research into nature-based climate solutions focused on enhancing the precision of carbon sequestration estimates and bolstering our strategies to combat climate change.We’re joined by Mallory Barnes, an expert in quantitative analysis and integration of ecological data across spatial and temporal scales. Barnes’s research and teaching focuses on environmental informatics, remote sensing, ecohydrology, natural resource management, ecological analytics, and geographic information systems.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

The news was splashed across the country May 31 when police in Atlanta arrested three leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which supported protesters of the city’s proposed police and fire training center. Investigators from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation say they found evidence linking the trio of leaders to financial crimes, including money laundering and charity fraud. That’s how the story was presented in most news outlets.However, this is more than just a simple arrest. A SWAT team was deployed to arrest and jail the board members of a charity, leadership positions that come with distinct legal protections. Also, it’s unusual for a state Bureau of Investigation to head the prosecution of charity fraud as a criminal matter. Instead, this is coming across as an effort of a state to stifle protest by going against a group’s financial supporters.We’re joined by Professor Beth Gazley, who is a world-renowned expert in U.S. nonprofit management and civil society policy. She has published more than 85 research articles, books, and commentary addressing intersectoral collaboration, volunteerism, nonprofit governance, public service coproduction, association management, disaster response, and other topics.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars. Be sure to subscribe to O’Neill Speaks on Apple Podcasts or on your favorite podcatcher app so you don’t miss an episode.

For more than a year, Ukraine has been defending itself from the invading Russian army, and the world has been watching to see what happens next. The outcome of the war is in doubt, but Bob Kravchuk, a professor at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and a world-renowned expert in Ukrainian-Russian relations, says that the very survival of Russia may be at stake in the conflict.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

Replacing traditional combustion engine vehicles with electric vehicles is seen as a critical component of transitioning away from a fossil fuel-based economy, but recent proposals for adoption will be difficult if not impossible to reach unless price barriers are lowered for consumers. We're joined by Professor John Graham, who outlines some of the challenges EVs present and what it will take for consumers to fully embrace EVs and their possibilities.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

The scenes of the fire that destroyed a plastic recycling warehouse in Richmond, Indiana have been stunning, but the impact of the disaster will be felt long after the rubble cools. We're joined by Assistant Professor Marta Venier to discuss the short- and long-term effects of the fire, the health hazards associated with the chemicals that were released, and what can be done to avoid such disasters in the future.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.

Joining us for the debut episode of O'Neill Speaks is dean of the Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Sian Mooney. Mooney details her path to becoming dean of the O'Neill School, how the nuclear explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant changed her life, her career as a Nordic skiier, how she envisions the future of the O'Neill School, and much, much more.O’Neill Speaks is the official podcast of the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. All opinions and comments on O’Neill Speaks belong to the host and guest of the O’Neill School and don’t necessarily reflect those of the school itself. Music for O’Neill Speaks is by Manos Mars.