Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “For the last two years, the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock stayed set at three minutes before the hour, the closest it had been to midnight since the early 1980s. In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: “The probability of… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Energy
EPA staff directed to cease use of social media, blogs, press releases, agency site content updates
Via MediaITE: “In a memo sent out to staff at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Trump Administration has prohibited press releases, social media postings, blog posts or new content placed on the agency’s website.” Continue Reading
Climate Change removed from new White House website
HuffPo: “The White House website has removed the page devoted to climate change action and posted newly sworn-in President Donald Trump’s pledge to undo environmental regulations and “revive America’s coal industry.” The 361-word policy outline on the new page, titled “America First Energy Plan,” makes no reference to global warming or climate change, except to… Continue Reading
Beige Book Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions By Federal Reserve District January 2017
Overall Economic Activity – “Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that the economy continued to expand at a modest pace across most regions from late November through the end of the year. Manufacturers in most Districts reported increased sales with several citing a turnaround versus earlier in 2016. Growth in the energy industry… Continue Reading
2016 marks three consecutive years of record warmth for the globe
“With a boost from El Nino, 2016 began with a bang. For eight consecutive months, January to August, the globe experienced record warm heat. With this as a catalyst, the 2016 globally averaged surface temperature ended as the highest since record keeping began in 1880, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). The… Continue Reading
Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter
Impending extinction crisis of the world’s primates: Why primates matter. Science Advances 18 Jan 2017: Vol. 3, no. 1, e1600946 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1600946. “Nonhuman primates, our closest biological relatives, play important roles in the livelihoods, cultures, and religions of many societies and offer unique insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and the threat of emerging diseases.… Continue Reading
EPA released its annual Toxics Release Inventory
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today its annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, which shows releases of toxic chemicals into the air fell 56% from 2005-2015 at industrial facilities submitting data to the TRI program. In Florida, the analysis shows a 56 percent decrease of reported chemical releases from 2005 to 2015…The report shows… Continue Reading
Treepedia maps trees in cities throughout the world
Treepedia – Exploring the Green Canopy in cities around the world – Using the power of MIT digital research applications and Google Street view users may choose a city from the list included to date, and search by specific location(s) to identify the differences in green space within a city and in comparison to other… Continue Reading
EPA Notifies Fiat Chrysler of Clean Air Act Violations
“The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a notice of violation to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and FCA US LLC (collectively FCA) for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act for installing and failing to disclose engine management software in light-duty model year 2014, 2015 and 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Ram 1500… Continue Reading
Valuing Climate Changes: Updating Estimation of the Social Cost of Carbon Dioxide
“The social cost of carbon (SC-CO2) is an economic metric intended to provide a comprehensive estimate of the net damages – that is, the monetized value of the net impacts, both negative and positive – from the global climate change that results from a small (1-metric ton) increase in carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions. Under Executive Orders… Continue Reading
NYT – Falcons, Drones, Data: A Winery Battles Climate Change
Jackson Family Wines is among California winemakers employing both high-tech and old-school techniques to adapt to hotter, drier conditions: “On a misty autumn morning in Sonoma County, Calif., Katie Jackson headed into the vineyards to assess the harvest. It was late in the season, and an army of field workers was rushing to pick the… Continue Reading
Quadrennial Energy Review Task Force report January 2017
“On January 6, 2017, the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) Task Force released the second installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review report titled “Transforming the Nation’s Electricity System.” The second installment (QER 1.2) finds the electricity system is a critical and essential national asset, and it is a strategic imperative to protect and enhance the value of the electricity… Continue Reading
