Reforming the U.S. Hardrock Mining Law of 1872 : The Price of Inaction

The Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining http://www.pewminingreform.org/pdf/cost_of_inaction.pdf The Treasury would miss as much as $1.6 billion — in lost royalties and reclamation fees and in tax cuts — over a decade if Congress fails to update the 1872 hardrock mining law, according to a report released today by an advocacy group. The government does not … Continue reading »

Patchwork Proven : Why A Single National Fuel Economy Standard Is Better For America Than A Patchwork of State Regulations

National Automobile Dealers Association http://www.nada.org/advocacy+outreach/legislativeaffairs/patchwork A comprehensive analysis released today by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) on a California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) rule that would allow individual states to regulate fuel economy standards finds numerous unintended consequences that will cause economic harm and provide little or no environmental benefit over the proposed federal … Continue reading »

Central Valley Project Improvement Act : Program Activity Review Report

US Bureau of Reclamation / US Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvpia/docs_reports/docs/cpar_rpt_dft_fnl_12-22-08.pdf [EDF blog posting by Ann Hayden] Payments by federal water and power users into the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) Restoration Fund for such projects as doubling salmon populations must continue for many years to come. This is the key conclusion of a … Continue reading »

Aviation and Climate Change

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R40090 [Summary]  Aircraft are a significant source of greenhouse gases—compounds that trap the sun’s heat, with effects on the Earth’s climate. In the United States, aircraft of all kinds are estimated to emit between 2.4% and 3.4% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, depending on whether one counts international air … Continue reading »

Wave, Tidal, and In-Stream Energy Projects: Which Federal Agency Has the Lead?

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/RS22721 Developments in wave, tidal, and in-stream energy generation technologies — alsoreferred to as hydrokinetic or marine energy — are beginning to gain momentum. At the same time, their regulatory status is still evolving, as shown by recent changes in law aimed at clarifying the federal role in ocean wave and renewable … Continue reading »

Water Infrastructure Project Earmarks in EPA Appropriations: Trends and Policy Implications

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL32201 [From summary] Congressional action to designate funds within appropriations legislation for specified projects or locations has been increasing in recent years as a way to help communities meet needs to build and upgrade water infrastructure systems, whose estimated future funding needs exceed $485 billion. Such legislative action has often been popularly … Continue reading »

Offshore Energy SEA Environmental Report

Strategic Environmental Assessment, UK Dept. of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) Reports and appendices: http://www.offshore-sea.org.uk/site/scripts/book_info.php?consultationID=16&bookID=11 [Guardian article by Juliette Jowett] Offshore wind power could generate enough electricity to supply every home in the UK by the end of the next decade, the government announced yesterday. The Department for Energy and Climate Change study concluded that … Continue reading »

Great Lakes Water Withdrawals: Legal and Policy Issues

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.cdt.org/document/RL32956 [From summary] Because less than 1% of Great Lakes water, on average, is renewed annually, many are concerned with potential threats to lake levels and quality, including environmental and climatic changes, growing consumptive uses of water, and most notably, a growing demand to move Great Lakes water to water-thirsty regions across … Continue reading »