Congressional Research Service / by Megan Stubbs http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34130_20101208.pdf This is an updated version of an earlier report. [From Summary] The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246, the 2008 farm bill) extends and expands many of the renewable energy programs originally authorized in the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (P.L. … Continue reading »
Posted on January 31, 2011 …
Federal Agency Actions Following the Supreme Court’s Climate Change Decision: A Chronology
Congressional Research Service / by Robert Meltz http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41103.pdf [Summary] On April 2, 2007, the Supreme Court rendered one of its most important environmental decisions of all time. In Massachusetts v. EPA, the Court held that greenhouse gases (GHGs), widely viewed as contributing to climate change, constitute “air pollutants” as that phrase is used in the … Continue reading »
Climate Change: Taking Action: Delivering the Low Carbon Transition Plan and Preparing for a Changing Climate
UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/documents/interim2/taking-action.pdf [From Executive Summary] Avoiding dangerous climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world. The UK is committed to playing its part and this document gives an overview of how government departments are taking a more co-ordinated approach to reducing emissions, through delivery of … Continue reading »
A Whole-Farm Crop Disaster Program: Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE)
Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R40452/ In an effort to end the ad-hoc nature of emergency crop disaster assistance to farmers, Congress authorized a new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The program provides payments to producers for crop revenue losses due to natural disaster or adverse weather … Continue reading »
Litigation Seeking to Establish Climate Change Impacts as a Common Law Nuisance
Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R41496/ [From Summary] Congressional inaction on climate change has led various entities to pursue climate change measures off Capitol Hill. Either in hopes of realizing substantive measures or to pressure Congress to act, such entities have looked to international forums, treaty negotiations, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action under the Clean Air Act, … Continue reading »
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: The Fate of the Oil (December 16, 2010)
Congressional Research Service http://opencrs.com/document/R41531/ [From Executive Summary] On August 4, 2010, the federal government released an estimate of the oil spill budget for the Deepwater Horizon incident. On November 23, 2010, the federal government released a peer-reviewed “Technical Document” that further explained how the estimates were derived, and in some cases, modified the initial estimates. … Continue reading »
