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Category Archives: Energy

OECD – Taxing Energy Use 2018

Taxing Energy Use 2018 – Companion to the Taxing Energy Use Database You do not have access to this content. 14 Feb 2018. Pages: 47. ISBN: 9789264289635 (PDF) ;9789264289437(print). http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264289635-en “Emissions from energy use cause environmental and health damages and they also contribute to climate change. By charging for these damages, taxes on energy use… Continue Reading

Study – Permafrost Stores a Globally Significant Amount of Mercury

“Researchers estimate the amount of natural mercury stored in perennially frozen soils (permafrost) in the Northern Hemisphere. Permafrost regions contain twice as much mercury as the rest of all soils, the atmosphere, and ocean combined.” [full text link to the study] Washington Post: “We already knew that thawing Arctic permafrost would release powerful greenhouse gases. On… Continue Reading

Study – All fossil-fuel vehicles will vanish in 8 years in twin ‘death spiral’ for big oil and big autos

“All fossil-fuel vehicles will vanish in 8 years in twin ‘death spiral’ for big oil and big autos, says study that’s shocking the industries. This speedy revolution, a Stanford economist says, will be driven by technology, not climate policies — and while his timing may be off a few years, there is little doubt about… Continue Reading

The Global Risks Report 2018

The World Economic Forum: “Each year the Global Risks Report works with experts and decision-makers across the world to identify and analyze the most pressing risks that we face. As the pace of change accelerates, and as risk interconnections deepen, this year’s report highlights the growing strain we are placing on many of the global… Continue Reading

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview – CRS report via FAS – Laura B. Comay, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy; Michael Ratner, Specialist in Energy Policy; R. Eliot Crafton; Analyst in Natural Resources Policy. January 9, 2018. “In the ongoing energy debate in Congress, one recurring issue has been whether to allow oil and gas… Continue Reading

How Climate Change Web Content is Being Censored Under the Trump Administration

“On January 10, 2018 the Environmental Data & Governance Initiative (EDGI) [released] Changing the Digital Climate: How Climate Change Web Content is Being Censored Under the Trump Administration, the third installment of EDGI’s series of reports evaluating the environmental impacts of the first year of the Trump administration. Changing the Digital Climate draws on the… Continue Reading

U.S. Waterways Are Getting Saltier, With Possible Effects on Drinking Water

Science: U.S. rivers are getting saltier, potentially compromising drinking water: “The bomb cyclone that hit the northeastern United States last week left roadways and vehicles caked in a white film of road salt and grime. Those salts might be washing into the region’s fresh waterways, a new study reveals. A 50-year-long analysis of hundreds of… Continue Reading

FERC rejects proposal to subsidize coal burning and nuclear power plants

gtm research: “Federal regulators have rejected Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s plan to rewrite energy market regulations that would favor the coal industry in the name of grid reliability, delivering a stark rebuke to what has largely been seen as an effort to reward the coal industry at the expense of ratepayers and the environment. On… Continue Reading

2017 Was a Big Year for Scrubbing Science from Government Websites

MotherJones: 2017 Was a Big Year for Scrubbing Science from Government Websites. Here’s the List. Are the changes routine, rebranding, or censorship? “Moments after President Donald Trump took the oath of office last January, nearly all references to climate change disappeared from the White House official website. A page detailing former President Barack Obama’s plans to… Continue Reading

How the Trump era is changing the federal bureaucracy

The Washington Post: “Nearly a year into his takeover of Washington, President Trump has made a significant down payment on his campaign pledge to shrink the federal bureaucracy, a shift long sought by conservatives that could eventually bring the workforce down to levels not seen in decades. By the end of September, all Cabinet departments… Continue Reading

16 major environmental protections cut in 2017

Elizabeth Shogren – High Country News: “President Donald Trump has spent the past year steadily undoing Obama-era environmental protections, especially rules designed to fight climate change. By law, agencies must go through a lengthy process to rescind or rewrite many rules, but executive orders and other policies are easier to erase. Some of the rollbacks… Continue Reading

The Database on Nuclear Power Reactors

International Atomic Energy Commission: “The Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), developed and maintained by the IAEA for over four decades, is a comprehensive database focusing on nuclear power plants worldwide. PRIS contains information on power reactors in operation, under construction, or those being decommissioned. All information and data items are collected by the IAEA via… Continue Reading