Clinic in Climate Justice, Law, and Public Health

In the course, interdisciplinary student teams carry out applied projects at the intersection of climate justice, law and public policy, and public health. Each team works with a partner organization (e.g., state agency, community organization, other nongovernmental organization) to study, design, and implement a project, typically through community-based participatory research practices. The course affords the opportunity to have a real-world impact by applying concepts and competencies learned in the classroom. This course should be of interest to graduate and professional students across the University and is open to Yale College juniors and seniors. In addition, this course is one of the options available to students to fulfill the practice requirement for the M.P.H. degree at YSPH and the capstone requirement for the M.E.M. degree at YSE. Students who plan to enroll must complete an application, which will be used to match each student with a clinic project. Check the course’s Canvas site or contact the Yale instructor at daniel.carrion@yale.edu for more information.

Prerequisite: EHS 547 or permission of the instructor.

Faculty: Daniel Carrión, PhD

Past projects include:

• “Climate Justice for Persons Vulnerable to Heat Stress in Northern Manhattan.” Partner organization: WE ACT for Environmental Justice
• “Energy Justice and Health in a Changing Climate.” Partner organization: Operation Fuel, Inc.
• “Health & Environmental Justice in Alabama: Pollution Impacts in Two Low-Income African American Communities.” Partner organizations: Ashurst Bar/Smith Community Organization, Tuskegee University, Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health & Justice, and University of Maryland-College Park, and EJ Clinic at Vermont Law School
• “Managing Non-Communicable Diseases after Natural Disasters in the Caribbean.” Partner organization: Eastern Caribbean Health Outcomes Research Organization
• “Using Local Laws to Protect Communities from Cumulative Impacts.” Partner organizations: Public Interest Law Firm

The clinic is supported through a grant from the SNF Fund for the Integration of Theory and Practice.

Clinic publications:

• A Call for NYC Cooling Center Improvements
• Barriers to collective action: Experiences with energy efficiency among New Haven, CT tenants
• Barreras para la acción colectiva: Experiencias con la eficiencia energética entre los inquilinos de New Haven, CT
• Beauty Inside Out: Examining Beauty Product Use Among Diverse Women and Femme-Identifying Individuals in Northern Manhattan and South Bronx Through an Environmental Justice Framework
• Climate Action Plan 2022
• Community-centered Climate Resilience in Connecticut: Summary for Communities and Policymakers
  
• Energy Justice and Health in a Changing Climate
  
• Environmental and health impacts of electric service vessels in the recreational boating industry
  
• Improving Water Quality in the Short Beach Neighborhood of Branford, Connecticut, 2019—A Citizen Science Project
• Mobility Impairment, Elevators, and Climate Change in New York Public Housing: A Case Study of Harlem Developments
• Scoping and Recommendations for the Development of a Connecticut Environmental Justice Mapping Tool
• Vermont Rural Transportation: Access, Climate Change, and Equitable Solutions