Ben Orlove
Professor of International and Public Affairs
Personal Details
Focus areas: Climate change adaptation, environmental anthropology, human response to glacier retreat in mountain regions, water management and governance, natural hazards and disaster risk reduction, urban sustainability
On Leave for the 2023-2024 Academic Year
Benjamin Orlove, an anthropologist, has conducted field work in the Peruvian Andes since the 1970s and also carried out research in East Africa, the Italian Alps, and Aboriginal Australia. His early work focused on agriculture, fisheries and rangelands. More recently he has studied climate change and glacier retreat, with an emphasis on water, natural hazards and the loss of iconic landscapes. In addition to his numerous academic articles and books, his publications include a memoir and a book of travel writing.
Orlove taught for many years at the University of California, Davis. At Columbia University, he also teaches in the Master’s Program in Climate and Society, for which he serves as Associate Director. He is a Senior Research Scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, and is one of the four co-directors of the Center for Research in Environmental Decisions.
Education
- PhD, University of California, Berkeley
- MA, University of California, Berkeley
- BA, Harvard University
Affiliations
- International Research Institute for Climate and Society
- Co-director, Center for Research in Environmental Decisions
Research And Publications
In The Media
“We never thought climate change would affect national boundaries. So many laws are designed for an old world, and we’re in a new kind of world now,” Ben Orlove comments.
Ben Orlove expands on how people in mountain regions across the world have been adapting to the changes in climate.
Ben Orlove talks about impact of distant fires on NYC: "these summer days where smoke comes in, making it unpleasant for everyone, and dangerous for many."
A new study from Ben Orlove and PhD candidate Andrew Wilson finds that a moderate level of urgency is most likely to inspire better climate decisions.
Climate change and hydroelectricity power projects compounded the devastating destruction of the February 7 flood in Uttarakhand. Ben Orlove commented in a recent Earth Institute webcast.