Policy
Lamar University and the Center for Public Policy Study is located in Beaumont, Texas within the South East Texas Regional Planning Commission made up of Hardin County, Jefferson County, and Orange County. This geographically positions the region in an area where Disaster Policy and Energy Policy hold a high level of salience or importance for the community and the region. For this reason, the Center for Public Policy Study has evolved its mission to focus on disaster and energy policy while operating in line with the strategic plan for Lamar University and the Texas State University System. The goal is to provide the region with vital research to help solve the problems they face with the interaction between nature and human activity where hurricanes and petrochemical operations collide.
The politics of disaster can produce amazing results just as the politics of disaster can result in negative externalities. The Center for Public Policy Study focuses on disaster policy because it is important to understand the day to day policy decisions, in economic and social services policy, that can result in disastrous impacts for the most vulnerable of our communities. We focus on disaster policy to help local government, health care, nonprofit, and industry organizations better understand the community needs that are imperative to protect from and mitigate the impact of disaster.
The Southeast Texas region along the Gulf Coast is a hub of energy for the nation and the world. Southeast Texas is home to the Texas Energy Museum and Texas leads the nation in affordable energy for oil, natural gas, and wind power. Understanding the impacts of energy production, consumption, and conservation are vital to understanding the ability of communities and states to create and maintain a sustainable environment.