As noted previously, when addressing a 1,200-page bill , it takes some time to find all the interesting pieces. A prior post noted some of those pieces; this post addresses several more. Water Resources Without 2 years of enactment, EPA is required... Read More
Prior posts have noted the history of the FutureGen project and its cancellation by the Bush Administration; prior posts have also noted a USGS study that suggests that there is considerably less coal available economically than has been assumed. FutureGen... Read More
There are various means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the impact of climate change, including: · the ‘cap and trade’ policy · the use of carbon taxes, and · the so called ‘command and control’... Read More
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has announced that the UK budget will include funds for 2, and possibly 4, demonstration coal-fired power plants that will be used to prove, or disprove, the technology to capture and store CO2 emissions underground. The... Read More
The old problem. The ozone hole. The solution? Replace CFC's with other, more ozone-benign chemicals. The result? Considerable success in terms of preserving the ozone layer. The new problem? The replacements chemicals are GHG's with thousands... Read More
Recent research has indicated that the oceans surrounding Antarctica are not absorbing nearly as much planet-warming CO2 from the atmosphere as they did in previous decades. This assessment has been subject to criticism. [See https://www.sciencemag.org... Read More
What will be the goal of a cap-and-trade program? How much of a decrease in CO2 emissions will be the ultimate objective? For discussion purposes, many commentators seem to take the hypothesized goal from the Dingell-Boucher "discussion draft"... Read More
The built environment accounts for over a third of total indirect CO2 emissions in the US and the UK, based on studies carried out in both countries. In a new report, “Energy Efficiency in Real Estate Portfolios” Ceres, the leading coalition... Read More
As noted in prior posts, scientific concern has been expressed for several years over the potential for an increase in atmospheric CO2 levels to acidify the oceans. Ironically, a natural laboratory exists on what an extreme acidification might look like... Read More
As noted in prior posts, to regulate CO2 under the CAA, EPA needs to find that CO2 is a danger to public health and welfare. According to media reports, EPA has sent a draft report to OMB in which EPA concludes that CO2 in a danger to public health and... Read More
Prior posts have noted the nature of the life-cycle evaluation that EPA is undertaking to ascertain if ethanol meets the renewable fuels standards. Prior posts have also noted that taking into account "indirect" effects, such as loss of rain... Read More
Economics can have a significant role in ecological preservation. For example, countries that sell the right to take a certain number of fish to fisherman have found that the fishermen have a strong financial incentive to preserve the stock. Combined... Read More
In an interesting assessment, the author notes: "Debate over climate change is nothing new. Scientists have been arguing about whether greenhouse gases released by human activity might change the climate since the late nineteenth century, when Swedish... Read More
Prior posts have followed the development of various local cap-and-trade programs, and questioned the nature of the House version of the program. Hearings in the Senate have brought to the fore a key issue: Are free allowances, such as the vast majority... Read More
RICHMOND, Va. - (Mealey's) An underlying complaint alleges that damages were the "natural and probable consequence" of an insured's intentional actions, the Virginia Supreme Court said April 20, upholding its finding that a commercial... Read More