China’s Current Spent Fuel Management and Future Management Scenarios

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Yun Zhou http://tinyurl.com/365b8ho China’s recent nuclear energy ambitions have put it in the forefront of research and development in the nuclear industry. This paper will first discuss the status of China’s current spent fuel management methods and storage capability. Second, this paper will estimate and calculate the [...]

National Visitor Use Monitoring Results : USDA Forest Service National Summary Report

US Park Service http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum/nvum_national_summary_fy2009.pdf [Press release] Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the release of a report showing the economic importance of America’s National Forests and Grasslands to rural communities across the country. The updated National Visitor Use Monitoring Report reveals that recreation activities on national forests and grasslands have helped to sustain an estimated [...]

White House Forum on Energy Security

US Dept. of Energy http://blog.energy.gov/blog/2010/07/27/live-white-house-forum-energy-security At 2 PM EDT this afternoon high ranking officials from the Departments of Energy and Defense will come together with national security officials, business leaders, academics and other stakeholders for a discussion on the national security imperative of building a clean energy economy. You can watch Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and Deputy [...]

Linkages Among Climate Change, Crop Yields and Mexico–US Cross-border Migration

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (July 27, 2010) 107 (30) / by Shuaizhang Feng, Alan B. Krueger and Michael Oppenheimer (open access article) http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2010/07/16/1002632107 [Abstract] Climate change is expected to cause mass human migration, including immigration across international borders. This study quantitatively examines the linkages among variations in climate, agricultural yields, and people’s [...]

FEMA’s Disaster Assistance Improvement Plan

Dept. of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_10-98_Jun10.pdf FEMA faces challenges in implementing a “one-stop” disaster assistance application system because of the inability of partner agencies’ systems to interface with DisasterAssistance.gov, and partner agencies’ reluctance to provide funding to support the program. FEMA was in the process of drafting internal control standard operating procedures [...]

The Importance of Research and Development (R&D) for U.S. Competitiveness and a Clean Energy Future

Brookings Institution / testimony of Michael Greenstone before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress http://tinyurl.com/33yxhqw Michael Greenstone testified before the Joint Economic Committee on the need for expanded energy R&D investments to help combat our reliance on fossil fuels and promote our country’s future competitiveness in the global economy.

Interim Guidance on Considering Environmental Justice During the Development of an Action

US EPA http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/resources/policy/ej-rulemaking.html [Announcement] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing an interim guidance document to help agency staff incorporate environmental justice into the agency’s rulemaking process.  The rulemaking guidance is an important and positive step toward meeting EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priority to work for environmental justice and protect the health and [...]

A Field-Based Aquatic Life Benchmark for Conductivity in Central Appalachian Streams (External Review Draft)

National Center for Environmental Assessment, US EPA http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=220171 This report uses field data to derive an aquatic life benchmark for conductivity. This benchmark value may be applied to waters in the Appalachian Region that are dominated by salts of SO42- and HCO3- at circum neutral to mildly alkaline pH. This benchmark is intended to protect [...]

Five River’s Case Studies (Final Reports) Released to Support CADDIS Use

National Center for Environmental Assessment. US EPA http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid=90004 [From CADDIS site] Thousands of water bodies in the United States are listed by states as biologically impaired. For many of these, the cause of the impairment is reported as “unknown”. Before the TMDL process can be used to formulate an appropriate management action, the cause of [...]

Optimal Border Policies for Invasive Species under Asymmetric Information

National Center for Environmental Economics. US EPA / by Linda Fernandez and Glenn Sheriff http://yosemite.epa.gov/EE/epa/eed.nsf/WPNumber/2010-03?OpenDocument [Abstract] This paper analyzes border protection policies for managing risk of unintended imports of invasive species. Previous work typically assumes invasive species risk to be exogenous and commonly known. Here, we examine cases in which endogenous actions (exporter abatement) affect [...]