Xinhua News Agency http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-03/05/c_13762230.htm [Barbara Finemore's blog at NRDC Switchboard] China’s annual parliamentary session opened Saturday morning, with 3,000 National People’s Congress members and 2,000 members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) gathered in the Great Hall of the People to hear Premier Wen Jiabao deliver the annual report reviewing the work of … Continue reading »
Posted on March 11, 2011 …
Avoiding Water Wars: Water Scarcity and Central Asia’s Growing Importance for Stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan
US Senate http://foreign.senate.gov/download/?id=738A9FCF-FA1B-4ECD-9814-A1F6C5BE04D2. This Senate print (S. PRT. 2011; 112–10), dated February 22, 2011, finds that In Central and South Asia, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the impacts of water scarcity are fueling dangerous tensions that will have repercussions for regional stability and U.S. foreign policy objectives. The national security implications of this looming water … Continue reading »
Superfund: Information on the Nature and Costs of Cleanup Activities at Three Landfills in the Gulf Coast Region
US Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11287r.pdf This Government Accountability Office report (GAO-11-287R Superfund Landfill Cleanup Costs), dated February 18, 2011, finds that one in four Americans lives within 3 miles of a contaminated site, many of which pose serious risks to human health and the environment. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 … Continue reading »
DOE’s EnergyPlus
US DOE, National Renewable Energy Laboratory http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/ EnergyPlus is a whole building energy simulation program that engineers, architects, and researchers use to model energy and water use in buildings. Modeling the performance of a building with EnergyPlus enables building professionals to optimize the building design to use less energy and water. Each version of EnergyPlus … Continue reading »
OCRM in Your State: Investing in America’s Coastal Communities
National Oceanic and Atmosphertic Admin. http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/inyourstate/# NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) provides national leadership, strategic direction, funding, and guidance to 34 U.S. state and territory ocean and coastal management programs. To tell the story of how NOAA coastal management funds are utilized by these programs, we created this geography-based tool in … Continue reading »
Forest Service: Continued Work Needed to Address Persistent Management Challenges
US Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-423T?source=ra In 2009, GAO highlighted management challenges that the Forest Service faced in three key areas–wildland fire management, data on program activities and costs, and financial and performance accountability. The Forest Service has made some improvements, but challenges persist in each of these three areas. In addition, recent GAO reports have … Continue reading »
A Green Venture Fund to Finance Clean Technology for Developing Countries
Center for Global Development / by Darius Nassiry and David Wheeler www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1424899/ Climate negotiators in Cancún reached agreement that long-term climate finance will include a commitment by developed countries to mobilize US$ 100 billion per year to help developing countries combat climate change. However, that level of investment will require substantial capital from private investors, … Continue reading »
