RFF scholars in the late 1960s were among the first to recognize the essential connections between discharges to air, land, and water within a region. And the application of tools and methodologies developed at RFF led to an improved understanding of the link between U.S. regulations and possibly damaging forest practices elsewhere in the world. Additionally, RFF policy analysts regularly examine the feasibility, equity, and efficiency of policies and proposals. By applying analytical criteria, RFF staff identify a policy's strengths and weaknesses and recommend principles to guide reform. In addition to addressing highly focused environmental or resource policy problems, RFF researchers also tackle the broadest, most challenging issues of the day.
Climate change is one.
As far back as 1963, RFF researchers were among the first to recognize the potential seriousness of climate change. Since that time, RFF has explored the implications of climate change for agriculture, water, forestry, and other natural resources. This and other climate change research at RFF is being integrated into policy development. The Department of Energy and the EPA have turned to RFF to convene experts and broker disputes about the models best suited for estimating climate control costs, and RFF senior fellow was named to an expert panel reviewing the federal government's analysis of climate modeling. In all of these sensitive areas, RFF's research and analysis make an important contribution, tying discussion to fact and grounding decisions in knowledge.