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THE TUFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXVII, NUMBER 54
Where You Read It First Est. 1980 TUFTSDAILY.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014
Harvard professor discusses environmental regulations by Justin Rheingold Daily Editorial Board
Rohini Pande, the Mohammed Kamal Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, spoke yesterday to Tufts students and faculty about the process of developing environmental regulations when states lack the capacity and knowledge to create them independently. Pande, who has worked extensively on the development of environmental regulatory programs in India, delivered her talk as part of the Birger Lecture Series. Professor of Economics Enrico Spolaore introduced Pande and described her as "an expert on political economy and development." "Her research is about the design of institutions and government regulations, and how they affect the policy outcomes and the welfare of citizens, so she has done a lot of work on democracy and gender representation in democratic institutions," Spolaore said. "More recently, her work has focused on environmental regulation." Pande began by speaking about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) 2014 report — released only a few days ago — and how it states that there is increased scientific evidence of climate change. According to Pande, climate change will have particularly large impacts on India, which has been slow to develop new technologies and remains a major polluter. She said much of the problem lies with the state's inability to enact changes. "The IPCC reports ... very strongly tried to argue that the current dilemma facing India ... has to do with a willingness to implement basic principles of how to tax and what to tax," she said. Pande added that there is a major gap between developed countries and those that are still developing, like India, due to a technological and ideological divide. "This is also being debated a lot at the international negotiating table, [where] a number of emerging economies and countries say, 'Why should we pay the cost for the fact that the rich countries have reached this point where they can relatively cheaply move away from fossil fuels?'" she said. "If we're going to think about decreasing emissions of greenhouse gases, we're going to think about policies that are both going to be accepted by the developing countries, but that are also going to be able to be implemented." Currently, India is unable to either create or enforce environmental regula-
tions, and this is a major obstacle, Pande explained. She suggested that new creative strategies will need to be developed. "Successful policy responses in emerging economies requires addressing implementation challenges," she added. "It's going to be hard to achieve [change] under the traditional command and control setup." Pande spoke extensively about implementing emissions standards at power plants and discussed the difficulties in ensuring their enforcement. She explained that many of the auditors — the people who are responsible for testing individual power plants — are often entrenched in the industry. Many of them consult for other energy companies, which can compromise their testing. This lack of enforcement contributes to major health concerns in India, she added. "Current levels of pollution lead to a reduced life expectancy by three years," Pande said. "India right now is the country with the highest rate of respiratory related deaths, so clearly it's a big issue." Pande explained that she has worked extensively with the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, an organization responsible for ensuring that Indian industrial plants comply with pollution standards, to reform their audit and verification system. She said that the Indian courts have been fairly active with regard to environmental issues, and the Gujarat Board was taken to court because people didn't think they were using the pollution data that they were supposed to be collecting. Her research resulted in a new, experimental audit system, one in which the auditors were centrally controlled and did not receive their salaries from individual industrial plants. Pande also found that the implementation of continuous emissions monitoring schemes (CEMS) — mechanisms that would measure emissions every few seconds — would help remove the human element of emissions standards enforcement. She argued that CEMS would provide regulators with better information, and would allow them to develop more accurate policies and rules. Overall, Pande argued for the development of international agreements that take into account each party's individual wishes. "If you're going to have effective international action on climate change, I think you're not going to just come up with the standards — I think you're going to have to address, at the local level, what those implementation standards are," she said.
JUSTIN RHEINGOLD / THE TUFTS DAILY
Rohini Pande, the Mohammed Kamal Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, delivers a presentation on the economics of environmental regulation development.
Inside this issue
CAROLINE GEILING / THE TUFTS DAILY
Tufts Dining Services has announced several changes to meal plans which will take effect next fall.
Dining Services to eliminate 'trick turning' next year by Justin Rheingold Daily Editorial Board
Tufts Dining Services, in an April 9 press release, announced several changes to the Premium Meal Plan for Fall 2014, including the elimination of the popular "trick turning." According to Director of Dining and Business Services Patti Klos, the changes will be focused on the Premium Meal Plan, commonly referred to as the "Unlimited Plan," which all freshmen are required to purchase. Right now, students on this plan are able to access Carmichael or DewickMacPhie Dining Halls during a specific meal period and can then go to Hodgdon Good-to-Go to "trick turn." Klos explained that this will no longer be possible. "You may either visit Carmichael and Dewick as many times as you'd like in a given meal period ... or you [can] visit Hodgdon," she said. "You can only do one or the other during that period ... We want to make sure we're not referring to it as an 'Unlimited Plan,' because it is limited." Klos explained that Dining Services had never planned for "trick turning" to become a permanent feature, but that its software could not prevent it. "We are changing our software programs this summer, primarily because our system is on antiquated hardware," Klos said. "The intent has always been that there would be a limit to whether or not you could visit Hodgdon and Dewick or Carmichael in the same meal period. When we upgrade our software, we'll be able to make that work properly." Isabelle Kahhalé, the co-chair of the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Services Committee explained that Klos consulted her and her co-chair, sophomore Janna Karatas, about the change several months ago. "Patti [came] to me a couple of months ago and said, 'These are some of the changes we're thinking of for the meal plan — what do you think of them?'" Kahhalé, a freshman, said. "I did voice what I thought was the opinion of the whole school, that getting rid of 'trick turning' would not be a good idea, but she just said that it was part of the upgrade of the new technology they were putting in." Kahhalé added that Dining Services was nevertheless mindful of student concerns and is making additional changes to meal plans in accordance with how students typically use their meal plans. "The thing about Patti was I think she really wants the best for us and the whole
community, so she was saying we're making other changes to the meal plan," Kahhalé said. "For example, now instead of having 10 guest meals, there are less and you get $80 JumboCash, which is a lot more useful." According to Klos, this additional JumboCash will only impact students on the Premium Plan. She said, however, she hopes it will provide students with additional flexibility in choosing where to eat. "Our hope is that students will find opportunities to use that JumboCash in other on-campus locations," she said. "We know they're in the library — this will give them the chance to buy a coffee or snack while they're in there. If you're an engineer, and you're over in Brown and Brew, and you want to get a yogurt or something, you'd have access to that unused guest meal through your JumboCash." Klos added that the setup of the Kosher Deli will not be impacted by these changes. She said that students will still be able to first purchase food there, and then take it into Dewick or Carmichael to eat. While Kahhalé said students were initially upset about the loss of "trick turning," she believes class turnover will eventually make it something few people remember. "I wish there was something we can do [to preserve ‘trick turning’] , but there [are] things Senate can do and things they can't do, and that might be one of the things we can't do," she said. Brian Williamson, a junior member of the men's track and field team who is on the Premium Meal Plan, said that the inability to "trick turn" could, in the long run, be a healthy decision for Dining Services. "I actually think it will help me control how much I eat, and increase my awareness of how much and when I eat," Williamson told the Daily in an email. "I think having a constant stream of food, especially later into the night, can help lead to poorer nutrition habits in the long run." Kahhalé said Dining Services has been cooperative in ensuring student needs were met, particularly with the addition of late-night dining earlier this semester. "We did talk about potentially finding ways to extend the late-night dining ... maybe have it offered every day of the week," she said. "I'm still going to be working with [Klos] in the future to potentially expand it to Dewick for Friday and Saturday nights because it can accommodate a greater number of people, and, hopefully, wouldn't be as hectic."
Today’s sections
iSIS garners mixed reviews from both students and faculty one year after its debut.
Fourth season of ‘Game of Thrones’ exceeds expectations after ‘The Red Wedding.’
see FEATURES, page 3
see ARTS, page 5
News 1 Features 3 Arts & Living 5 Editorial | Op-Ed 8
Op-Ed 9 Comics 10 Classifieds 11 Sports Back