PAGER—Rapid Assessment of an Earthquake’s Impact

USGS http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/pager/ [From Background] PAGER (Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response) is an automated system that produces content concerning the impact of significant earthquakes around the world, informing emergency responders, government and aid agencies, and the media of the scope of the potential disaster. PAGER rapidly assesses earthquake impacts by comparing the population exposed [...]

GHG Targets as Insurance Against Catastrophic Climate Damages

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ.  / by Martin L. Weitzman http://tinyurl.com/3xv8oo7 [Abstract] A critical issue in climate change economics is the specifcation of the so-called “damages function” and its interaction with the unknown uncertainty of catastrophic outcomes. This paper asks how much we might be misled by our economic assessment of climate change when [...]

U.S. Natural Gas Imports & Exports: 2009

US DOE, Energy Information Administration http://tinyurl.com/2v76mdg [Overview and Highlights] In 2009, net U.S. imports of natural gas were the lowest since 1994, representing just 12 percent of total consumption. The primary underlying cause for the lower level of net imports was continued strong levels of natural gas production in the lower 48 States. Dry natural [...]

The Demand for Ethanol as a Gasoline Substitute

NBER Working Paper 16371 / by Soren T. Anderson (free on-site for RFFers; $5.00 fee for non-subscribers) http://papers.nber.org/papers/w16371 [Abstract] This paper estimates household preferences for ethanol as a gasoline substitute. I develop a theoretical model linking the shape of the ethanol demand curve to the distribution of price ratios at which individual households switch fuels. [...]

Trends in Sustainable Development: Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 2010

UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development http://tinyurl.com/3a8nahq [Foreword] Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face unique and special challenges. The special case of SIDS within the context of sustainable development was first formally recognized by the international community at the United Nations  Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio [...]

Emerging US Climate Policy and Its Impact on US Trade and Foreign Policy

Baker Institute, Rice Univ.  / by Joe Barnes and James Coan http://tinyurl.com/36w8eao [About the Study] Emerging energy and climate policies in the United States are accelerating the pace of technological changes and promoting calls for alternative energy and stricter energy efficiency measures.  These trends raise questions about the future demand for fossil fuels, such that [...]

The Status of Rural Energy Access in India: A Synthesis

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Balachandra Patil http://tinyurl.com/2w9xmze [Abstract] India is facing a formidable challenge as it works to ensure the availability of a reliable source of modern energy carriers to the majority of its rural population. In 2005, in a rural population of about 809 million, approximately 364 million were without [...]

Expert Elicitation of Cost, Performance, and RD&D Budgets for Coal Power with CCS

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Gabriel Chan, Laura Diaz Anadon, Melissa Chan, Audrey Lee http://tinyurl.com/3x7zh9b [Abstract] There is uncertainty about the ex-ante returns to research, development, and demonstration programs in the United States on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. To quantify this uncertainty, we conducted a written expert elicitation of thirteen [...]

America’s Gulf Coast: A Long Term Recovery Plan after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Restorethegulf.gov / by Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy http://tinyurl.com/357uj7q [From Introduction] The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was one of the worst man-made environmental disasters our country has ever experienced. The oil spill has dramatically affected the lives, jobs, and futures of millions of Gulf Coast residents. The Gulf of Mexico is a natural resource [...]

Carbon Disclosure Project 2010: Global 500 Report

Price Waterhouse Coopers on behalf of the Carbon Disclosure Project https://www.cdproject.net/CDPResults/CDP-2010-G500.pdf [Executive Summary Introduction] In the 10 years since the launch of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the quality and quantity of reporting on climate change have increased dramatically. CDP is now looking beyond disclosure to identify the companies that are taking active steps toward [...]