skip to main content

→ Top Stories:
Fracking
Safe Chemicals
Defending the Clean Air Act

Ben Chou, Water Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.

Ben Chou
My interest in protecting the environment all began with an environmental studies course during high school. I should have trusted my instincts, but instead, I began college as a business major after succumbing to parental pressure to pick a field that would pay well after graduation. After spending my freshman year studying economics and financial accounting, I quickly reversed course (much to my parents’ dismay) and majored in geography and followed that with a graduate degree in climate and society. I feel incredibly fortunate to be at NRDC where I get to pursue work that combines my education and personal interest in climate change—and get paid for it to boot.

Recent Posts

How Are California's Existing Water Management Issues Impacted by Climate Change?

Posted May 15, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , ,

This post is part of a blog series for Getting Climate Smart, a joint effort by NRDC and American Rivers to guide state action on climate and water preparedness.  Like many states in the western U.S., California struggles with a...continued

April Showers No Longer Bring the Usual

Posted May 10, 2013 by Ben Chou in Saving Wildlife and WIld Places, Solving Global Warming

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This guest post is by Fay Augustyn, conservation associate at American Rivers, as part of a blog series for Getting Climate Smart, a joint effort by NRDC and American Rivers to guide state action on climate and water preparedness.  Please...continued

Growing Algal Blooms Pose Public Health Risks

Posted May 7, 2013 by Ben Chou in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post is part of a blog series for Getting Climate Smart, a joint effort by NRDC and American Rivers to guide state action on climate and water preparedness.  Please join us for a one-hour webinar on May 14 at...continued

Cities and States Are Staying Afloat by Preparing for Rising Seas

Posted May 2, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This post is part of a blog series for Getting Climate Smart, a joint effort by NRDC and American Rivers to guide state action on climate and water preparedness.  Please join us for a one-hour webinar on May 14 at...continued

Floods, Droughts and Agriculture

Posted April 29, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , ,

This guest post is by Fay Augustyn, conservation associate at American Rivers, as part of a blog series for Getting Climate Smart, a joint effort by NRDC and American Rivers to guide state action on climate and water preparedness.  Please...continued

As Flooding Risks Rise, Communities Can Take Steps to Prepare

Posted April 24, 2013 by Ben Chou in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , ,

This post is part of a blog series for Getting Climate Smart, a joint effort by NRDC and American Rivers to guide state action on climate and water preparedness.  Across much of the Midwest, rising waters and flash flooding are...continued

How Can States Get Climate Smart? A New Guide Lays Out the Steps for Action

Posted April 22, 2013 by Ben Chou in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , ,

The “new normal” taking shape across the country paints an increasingly dismal picture—extreme weather and climate change continue to wreak havoc in our communities, hammering home the same wake-up call, year after year.  Communities in the Midwest are currently struggling...continued

Texas Fails on Climate Change (Again)

Posted April 15, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming

Tags:
, , , , , , , ,

Despite the growing body of evidence, Texas officials continue to ignore the threat that climate change poses.  In fact, they're downright hostile to it.  In comments submitted to the EPA last week, officials at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality...continued

Hiding the Impacts of Climate Change in South Carolina

Posted March 19, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , ,

As a near native of the Palmetto State, I often find myself reminiscing about the many years I lived there.  From my childhood in Mauldin (near Greenville), to high school in Hartsville (near Florence), undergrad in Columbia (Go Gamecocks!), and...continued

Using Nature's Defenses to Protect New York from Coastal Climate Risks

Posted January 11, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , , ,

Comments (1)

In the annual State of the State address this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a slew of initiatives aimed at better preparing the state for more extreme weather and storm events like Hurricane Sandy. In New York State...continued

Maryland is Taking Action to Prepare for Rising Seas

Posted January 4, 2013 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , ,

Comments (1)

As Hurricane Sandy vividly demonstrated in late October, coastal communities across the U.S. are increasingly vulnerable to flooding and storm surge as sea levels rise. Storm surge from more extreme storms on top of higher sea levels increases coastal flooding by...continued

Prepare for Climate Change Now or Pay the Consequences Later

Posted December 10, 2012 by Ben Chou in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , , , ,

Comments (2)

This is one in an ongoing series of NRDC staff blogs dealing with environmental health, natural resource and quality-of-life impacts of Hurricane Sandy. NRDC is planning wide-ranging advocacy activities in the storm's wake, which will also be covered by my colleagues here...continued

After Sandy, should NYC build a storm surge barrier?

Posted November 12, 2012 by Ben Chou in Curbing Pollution, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , ,

Comments (4)

The impacts of Sandy—part tropical cyclone and part nor’easter—on the eastern U.S. is a sobering reminder of our vulnerability to extreme weather.  From the storm surge damage along the New Jersey coastline and low-lying parts of New York City to...continued

Celebrating 40 Years of Clean Water

Posted October 17, 2012 by Ben Chou in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , ,

One of my favorite places to go on weekends is a local dog park in my neighborhood.  The park has ample room for my dog, Lucy, to run off leash and there are always lots of other dogs ready to...continued

Determining Delaware's Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise

Posted October 11, 2012 by Ben Chou in Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
, , , , , , , ,

Given its relatively close proximity to the D.C. metro area, Delaware and its beaches are a popular summertime destination for many people in the region. In 2010, over 7 million people visited the state, and 19 percent of these visitors...continued

About

Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.

Feeds: Ben Chou’s blog

Feeds: Stay Plugged In