National Academies Press (download with free registration) http://tinyurl.com/29jugg2 The events of September 11, 2001 changed perceptions, rearranged national priorities, and produced significant new government entities, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created in 2003. While the principal mission of DHS is to lead efforts to secure the nation against those forces that wish … Continue reading »
Posted on September 20, 2010 …
Warming of Global Abyssal and Deep Southern Ocean Waters between the 1990s and 2000s
Journal of Climate (2010, doi: 10.1175/2010JCLI3682.1) / by Sarah G. Purkey and Gregory C. Johnson http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2010JCLI3682.1 [Press release] Scientists analyzing measurements taken in the deep ocean around the globe over the past two decades find a warming trend that contributes to sea level rise, especially around Antarctica.
Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Research and Development on Urban Systems
National Academies Press (download with free registration) www.nap.edu/catalog/12969.html More than half of the world’s people now live in cities. In the U.S., the figure is 80 percent. It is worthwhile to consider how this trend of increased urbanization, if inevitable, could be made more sustainable. One fundamental shortcoming of urban research and programs is that … Continue reading »
Describing Socioeconomic Futures for Climate Change Research and Assessment: Report of a Workshop
National Academies Press (download in sections with free registration) www.nap.edu/catalog/13007.html The implications of climate change for the environment and society depend on the rate and magnitude of climate change, but also on changes in technology, economics, lifestyles, and policy that will affect the capacity both for limiting and adapting to climate change. Describing Socioeconomic Futures … Continue reading »
Carbon Trading: Current Situation and Oversight Considerations for Policymakers
US Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-851R?source=ra This letter is our response to a congressional request concerning carbon trading in the United Sates and various design and implementation issues to be considered in discussions about a possible national carbon trading program…We briefed congressional committee staff on the results of our work on July 23, 2010. Specifically, we … Continue reading »
Political and Public Acceptability of Congestion Pricing: Ideology and Self Interest
University of California, Berkeley Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy, Institute of Business and Economic Research / by by Bjorn Harsman and John Quigley http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/77b5243v# Studies of the “stated preferences” of households generally report public and political opposition by urban commuters to congestion pricing. It is thought that this opposition inhibits or precludes tolls … Continue reading »
EPA’s Clean Air Act Turns 40 / Agency Achieved Significant Health and Environmental Benefits
US EPA http://tinyurl.com/36ygr63 Significant health benefits, especially for children According to an EPA analysis, the first 20 years of Clean Air Act programs, from 1970 to 1990, prevented: · 205,000 premature deaths · 672,000 cases of chronic bronchitis · 21,000 cases of heart disease · 843,000 asthma attacks · 10.4 million lost I.Q. points in … Continue reading »
