Civil Society Institute, Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/012511_Beyond_BAU_report.pdf [From Executive Summary] The existing coal fleet in the United States exacts an expensive toll on the US. The fleet itself is fairly inexpensive to operate, and for years has been a source of cheap electricity for utilities. However, we know now that each year, this coal … Continue reading »
Posted on January 28, 2011 …
Mineral Commodity Summaries
US Geological Survey http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/ [From summary website] Published on an annual basis, this report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for over 90 individual minerals and materials. Data is available 1996 to … Continue reading »
Sustainable Development of the World’s Large Marine Ecosystems
UN Development Programme http://tinyurl.com/5s5ruf2 [From UN Pulse posting] This report features papers that cover a range of key issues, from the impacts of climate change on Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs), to new policy and institutional tools for LME governance, to new policy and institutional tools for LME governance. The UNDP welcomes this volume on the … Continue reading »
2010 Urban Mobility Report
Texas Transportation Institute / by David Schrank, Tim Lomax, and Shawn Turner http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility_report_2010.pdf [Summary] Congestion is still a problem in America’s 439 urban areas. The economic recession and slow recovery of the last three years, however, have slowed the seemingly inexorable decline in mobility. Readers and policy makers might be tempted to view this as … Continue reading »
Biofuels and the Environment: First Triennial Report to Congress (External Review Draft)
US EPA http://oaspub.epa.gov/eims/eimscomm.getfile?p_download_id=500457 [From Report Background] The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA Section 204) directs EPA to conduct a study of the environmental impact associated with current and future biofuel production and use. The mandate asks for consideration of environmental issues including air quality, water quality and soil quality. The mandate also asks for … Continue reading »
Advancing Carbon Capture and Sequestration in China: A Global Learning Laboratory
China Environment Series, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars / by Hengwei Liu and Craig A. Hart http://www.wilsoncenter.org/topics/pubs/CES%2011%20pp.%2099-130.pdf [Abstract] China’s dependency on coal fuels the country’s phenomenal economic growth but at a major cost to the country’s air and water quality, ultimately threatening human health and the country’s continued economic growth. The Chinese government’s efforts … Continue reading »
