Labor of the US Military-Industrial Complex
Despite record-high military spending now exceeding $1 trillion annually, the arms industry is producing fewer and lower-quality jobs. Once a source of stable, unionized manufacturing work, …
Our Research
Climate and Community Institute (CCI) creates research that connects issues that dominate our political economy directly with the climate crisis. We lay the groundwork for ambitious and creative climate goals in the near term, and build the vision for a just, decarbonized future.
Beyond Extractivism
We are in the middle of a global mineral arms race—one that risks reproducing the status quo extractivist model that has defined the fossil fuel era. …
A New Era of Manufacturing for Public Good: The Case for the California Grid Manufacturing Initiative
California faces intertwined crises of accelerating climate change and rising cost of living. Major bottlenecks in the supply chain for critical electricity grid components—including transformers, switchgears, …
The Case for City-led Housing Retrofits in New York City
In New York City, policy discussions about housing affordability tend to focus on rent freezes, land-use reform, and public investment in new affordable housing. Yet housing …
Industrialized Construction in New York City: Unlocking Affordably-Built Affordable Housing
Strategic investments in an innovative building approach called industrialized construction could accelerate progress toward New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s goal of constructing 200,000 new affordable, union-built, …
Neighborhood-Scale Building Decarbonization: A Toolkit for Advocates and Implementers
The dominant approach to decarbonizing homes today is for individual building owners to switch to electric appliances and, in some cases, install solar. In reality, this …
Trump’s Illegal Invasion of Venezuela Forebodes an Environmental Disaster
The US’s illegal invasion of Venezuela on January 3, 2026 exacerbates global instability, geoeconomic uncertainty, and accelerates atmospheric and biospheric breakdown. Returning Venezuelan oil production to …
Mining for War: Assessing the Pentagon’s Mineral Stockpile
The Pentagon is rapidly expanding its stockpile of the so-called “critical minerals” it deems essential for military industries. Many of these same materials—known as energy transition …
End Point or Setback? A Retrospective of the Maine Public Power Ballot Initiative
In November 2023, Maine voted against a ballot initiative to establish a consumer-owned utility, Pine Tree Power, that would replace the two existing privately-owned utilities. Although …
Supply Chain Solidarity Principles
The transition to zero carbon transportation has initiated major social and economic shifts: a boom in new mine development to supply transition minerals needed to manufacture …
