Chemical Regulation : Options for Enhancing the Effectiveness of the Toxic Substances Control Act

Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09428t.pdf?source=ra [From summary]  Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in 1976, authorizing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to obtain information on the risks of industrial chemicals and to control those that EPA determines pose an unreasonable risk. However, EPA does not have sufficient chemical assessment information to determine whether it [...]

Climate Change : Observations on the Potential Role of Carbon Offsets in Climate Change Legislation

Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09456t.pdf?source=ra [Summary]  Carbon offsets—reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from an activity in one place to compensate for emissions elsewhere—can reduce the cost of regulatory programs to limit emissions because the cost of creating an offset may be less than the cost of requiring entities to make the reductions themselves. To be credible, [...]

Environmental Protection Agency : Major Management Challenges

Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09434.pdf?source=ra [From summary]  GAO was asked to identify challenges at EPA that hinder its ability to implement its programs effectively, based on prior GAO work. These challenges include (1) improving agencywide management, (2) transforming EPA’s processes for assessing and controlling toxic chemicals, (3) improving implementation of the Clean Air Act, (4) reducing [...]

Clean Coal : DOE’s Decision to Restructure FutureGen Should Be Based on a Comprehensive Analysis of Costs, Benefits, and Risks

Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09248.pdf?source=ra [From summary]  Coal-fired power plants generate about one-half of the nation’s electricity and about one-third of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which contribute to climate change. In 2003, the Department of Energy (DOE) initiated FutureGen—a commercial-scale, coal-fired power plant to incorporate integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), an advanced generating technology, with [...]

Climate Change : Observations on Federal Efforts to Adapt to a Changing Climate

Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09534t.pdf?source=ra [From summary]  Today’s testimony summarizes GAO’s prior and ongoing work examining (1) actions that federal, state, local, and international authorities are taking to adapt to a changing climate, (2) the challenges that federal, state, and local officials face in their efforts to adapt, and (3) actions that the Congress and federal [...]

Federal Land Management : Additional Documentation of Agency Experiences with Good Neighbor Authority Could Enhance Its Future Use

Government Accountanility Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09277.pdf?source=ra [Summary]  In 2000, Congress authorized the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to allow the Colorado State Forest Service to conduct certain activities, such as reducing hazardous vegetation, on U.S. Forest Service land when performing similar activities on adjacent state or private land. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land [...]

Urban Partnership Agreements : Congestion Relief Initiative Holds Promise; Some Improvements Needed in Selection Process

Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09154.pdf?source=ra [From summary]  As part of a broad congestion relief initiative, the Department of Transportation awarded about $848 million from 10 grant programs to five cities (Miami, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle) in 2007 as part of the Urban Partnership Agreements (UPA) initiative. The UPA initiative is intended to demonstrate [...]

Carbon Tax and Greenhouse Gas Control : Options and Considerations for Congress

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R40242 [From summary]  Market-based mechanisms that limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be divided into two types: quantity control (e.g., cap-and-trade) and price control (e.g., carbon tax or fee). To some extent, a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade program would produce similar effects: Both are estimated to increase the price of fossil [...]

Federal Lands Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service (FS) : Issues for the 11th Congress

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R40237 [Summary]  The 111th Congress, the Administration, and the courts are considering many issues related to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands and the Forest Service (FS) national forests. Key issues include the following. Energy Resources. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has led to new regulations on leasing programs [...]

Estimates of Carbon Mitigation Potential from Agricultural and Forestry Activities

Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R40236 [From summary]  High petroleum and gasoline prices, concerns over global climate change, and the desire to promote domestic rural economies have greatly increased interest in biofuels as an alternative to petroleum in the U.S. transportation sector. Biofuels, most notably corn ethanol, have grown significantly in the past few years as a [...]