Coalition Letter: Allow Ethanol Supports to Expire

Coalition VEETC (John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid) http://cei.org/sites/default/files/Coalition%20VEETC%20Opposition%20Letter%2011%202010.pdf [H/T: Competitive Enterprise Institute] A coalition of political groups today urged Congress to scrap energy subsidies by allowing the subsidies to expire at the end of the year: In particular, Congress has the opportunity to end the $6 billion a year subsidy to [...]

Draft Resolution of the Ocean Protection Council on Sea-Level Rise

California Ocean Protection Council http://tinyurl.com/2g4fuks [From an E&E Daily story by Colin Sullivan, subscription required] A 55-inch sea-level rise by the end of the century combined with a devastating 100-year storm could mean more than $100 billion in property damage and place nearly half a million people at risk along the California coast, according to [...]

On the Road to Prosperity? The Economic Geography of China’s National Expressway Network

World Bank / by Mark Roberts, Uwe Deichmann, Bernard Fingleton and Tuo Shi http://tinyurl.com/29hse58 Over the past two decades, China has embarked on an ambitious program of expressway network expansion. By facilitating market integration, this program aims both to promote efficiency at the national level and to contribute to the catch-up of lagging inland regions [...]

Climate Proofing Infrastructure in Bangladesh: The Incremental Cost of Limiting Future Inland Monsoon Flood Damage

World Bank / by by Susmita Dasgupta, Mainul Huq, Zahirul Huq Khan, Md. Sohel Masud, Manjur Murshed Zahid Ahmed, Nandan Mukherjee, and Kiran Pandey http://tinyurl.com/2espkrv Two-thirds of Bangladesh is less than 5 meters above sea level, making it one of the most flood prone countries in the world. Severe flooding during a monsoon causes significant [...]

Climate Change, Agriculture and Poverty

World Bank / by Thomas W. Hertel and Stephanie D. Rosch http://tinyurl.com/32afs9g Although much has been written about climate change and poverty as distinct and complex problems, the link between them has received little attention. Understanding this link is vital for the formulation of effective policy responses to climate change. This paper focuses on agriculture [...]

Energy Poverty in Rural and Urban India: Are the Energy Poor Also Income Poor?

World Bank / by Shahidur R. Khandker, Douglas F. Barnes, and Hussain A. Samad http://tinyurl.com/24g2qo9 Energy poverty is a frequently used term among energy specialists, but unfortunately the concept is rather loosely defined. Several existing approaches measure energy poverty by defining an energy poverty line as the minimum quantity of physical energy needed to perform [...]

Can Africa Replicate Asia’s Green Revolution in Rice?

World Bank / by Donald F. Larson, Keijiro Otsuka, Kei Kajisa, Jonna Estudillo and Aliou Diagne http://tinyurl.com/34dlcyt Asia’s green revolution in rice was transformational and improved the lives of millions of poor households. Rice has become an increasingly important part of African diets and imports of rice have grown. Agronomists point out that large areas [...]

Oil Budget Calculator: Deepwater Horizon Spill — Technical Documentation

The Federal Interagency Solutions Group, Oil Budget Calculator Science and Engineering Team http://tinyurl.com/255wezn [Docuticker] The Federal Interagency Solutions Group, established at the request of the U.S. Coast Guard and authorized under a directive from the National Incident Commander (NIC), is releasing today a peer-reviewed report that details the scientific calculations of the Deepwater Horizon BP [...]

Federal Oil and Gas Leases: Opportunities Exist to Capture Vented and Flared Natural Gas, Which Would Increase Royalty Payments and Reduce Greenhouse Gases

GAO http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1134.pdf [Summary] The Department of the Interior (Interior) leases public lands for oil and natural gas development, which generated about $9 billion in royalties in 2009. Some gas produced on these leases cannot be easily captured and is released (vented) directly to the atmosphere or is burned (flared). This vented and flared gas represents [...]

Energy-Water Nexus: A Better and Coordinated Understanding of Water Resources Could Help Mitigate the Impacts of Potential Oil Shale Development

GAO http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1135.pdf [Summary] Oil shale deposits in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are estimated to contain up to 3 trillion barrels of oil–or an amount equal to the world’s proven oil reserves. About 72 percent of this oil shale is located beneath federal lands, making the federal government a key player in its potential development. Extracting [...]