Royal Society for the Protection of Birds http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/science/stateofnature/index.aspx Scientists working side-by-side from 25 wildlife organisations have compiled a stock take of our native species – the first of its kind in the UK. The report reveals that 60% of the species studied have declined over recent decades. More than one in ten of all the … Continue reading »
New Dynamics of the U.S. Natural Gas Market
Bipartisan Policy Center http://bit.ly/10f94iw [Oil and Gas Journal article by Nick Snow] US natural gas prices are unlikely to rise markedly under a variety of scenarios, including those with increased demand across multiple sectors, a study by the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Energy Project staff concluded. BPC said the report analyzed the combined effect of increased … Continue reading »
2012 Risk Assessment for Potentially Polluting Wrecks in U.S. Waters
US NOAA http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2013/20130520_shipwrecks.html [From Press Release] NOAA presented to the U.S. Coast Guard today a new report that finds that 36 sunken vessels scattered across the U.S. seafloor could pose an oil pollution threat to the nation’s coastal marine resources. Of those, 17 were recommended for further assessment and potential removal of both fuel oil and … Continue reading »
Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008)
US Geological Survey / by Leonard F. Konikow http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/ [Green Car Congress] A new US Geological Survey study finds that US aquifers are being drawn down at an accelerating rate. Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900-2008) comprehensively evaluates long-term cumulative depletion volumes in 40 separate aquifers (distinct underground water storage areas) in the United States, … Continue reading »
Ecosystem Service and Farm Management Interactions
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (May 21, 2013 vol. 110 no. 21 8387-8392; doi: 10.1073/pnas.1210590110) / byVirginie Boreux, Cheppudira G. Kushalappa, Philippe Vaast, and Jaboury Ghazoula http://www.pnas.org/content/110/21/8387.short Crop productivity is improved by ecosystem services, including pollination, but this should be set in the context of trade-offs among multiple management practices. We investigated the impact … Continue reading »
Full-text of USGS-Duke Paper Finding No Fracking-related Groundwater Damage to the Arkansas River
“Geochemical and isotopic variations in shallow groundwater in areas of the Fayetteville shale development, north-central Arkansas,” / by Warner, N.R., Kresse, T.M., Hays, P.D., Down, A. , Karr, J.D., Jackson, R.B., Vengosh (Applied Geochemistry, Published online May 14, 2013; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2013.04.013) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0883292713001133 [Duke University Nicholas School Green Grok blog] …This week that same Duke team, in collaboration with scientists from the … Continue reading »
U.S. Energy: the New Reality
Chatham House / by John Mitchell http://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/papers/view/191405 The trend of rising US dependence on imports of foreign oil and natural gas has been abruptly reversed, as a result of falling domestic demand for oil and increasing domestic supplies. This trend is likely to continue until at least 2020. There are significant transitional challenges. The main … Continue reading »
Cities and Green Growth: The Case of the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area
OECD http://bit.ly/188Grsu This working paper assesses opportunities and policies for green growth in the Chicago Tri-State Metropolitan Area. It first examines the Chicago metro-region’s economic and environmental performance and potential constraints to regional growth, and identifies emerging regional specialisations in green products and services. This is followed by a review of sector-specific policies that can … Continue reading »
Effectiveness of Policies and Strategies to Increase the Capacity Utilisation of Intermittent Renewable Power Plants
OECD / by David Benatia, Nick Johnstone and Ivan Haščič http://bit.ly/113YCJq Intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, will become increasingly important in the electricity supply mix if ambitious renewable energy targets are to be met. This paper presents evidence on the effectiveness of different strategies and measures to increase the capacity utilisation … Continue reading »
Reforms for a Cleaner, Healthier Environment in China
OECD / by Sam Hill http://bit.ly/10D8aPP China’s exceptional economic expansion has led to rising energy demand and pollution as well as other environmental pressures. Strong efforts by the government have moderated emissions of some types of air and water pollution from high levels but others, including greenhouse gas emissions, continue to rise. Poor air and … Continue reading »
