US Marine Corps http://tinyurl.com/5v9tec8 [From "Commandant's Message"] As a Corps, we have become more lethal, yet we have also become increasingly dependent on fossil fuel. Our growing demand for liquid logistics comes at a price. By tethering our operations to vulnerable supply lines, it degrades our expeditionary capabilities and ultimately puts Marines at risk. To … Continue reading »
Posted on March 22, 2011 …
US Senate: White Paper on a Clean Energy Standard
US Senate, Comm. on Energy and Commerce Paper, questions and response form:http://tinyurl.com/6hryeya PDF of paper: http://energy.senate.gov/public/_files/CESWhitePaper.pdf The purpose of this document is to lay out some of the key questions and potential design elements of a CES, in order to solicit input from a broad range of interested parties, to facilitate discussion, and to ascertain … Continue reading »
The Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010
UN, Food and Agricultural Organization http://www.fao.org/forestry/fra/fra2010/en/ [Yale Environment 360] Forests in Europe, North America, the Caucasus, and Central Asia have expanded steadily over the last two decades, increasing by more than 25 million hectares — an area slightly larger than the United Kingdom — since 1990, a UN report says. In Europe alone, forested areas … Continue reading »
Historical Tsunami Database
US NOAA http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazard/tsu_db.shtml The Historical Tsunami Database consists of two related files containing information on tsunami events from 2000 B.C. to the present in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans; and the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas. The Tsunami Source Event Search provides information on the source of the tsunami. These data include source location, date, … Continue reading »
Significant Earthquake Database
US NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/form?t=101650&s=1&d=1 The Significant Earthquake Database contains information on destructive earthquakes from 2150 B.C. to the present that meet at least one of the following criteria: Moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), 10 or more deaths, Magnitude 7.5 or greater, Modified Mercalli Intensity X or greater, or the earthquake … Continue reading »
Opendatasearch.org: a Meta Search Tool for Locating and Accessing Open Government Data Archives
Open Knowledge Foundation / by Friedrich Lindenberg http://tinyurl.com/6cvglvn …opendatasearch.org is an aggregator for datasets, providing a simple and unified search interface to all of the catalogues contained. At the moment, this includes all known instances of the CKAN software, the Sunlight Foundation’s National Data Catalog (and with it a large number of US-based data sources), … Continue reading »
EPA: Japanese Nuclear Emergency– Radiation Monitoring
US EPA http://www.epa.gov/japan2011/ As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said, we do not expect to see radiation at harmful levels reaching the U.S. from damaged Japanese nuclear power plants. As part of the federal government’s continuing effort to make our activities and science transparent and available to the public, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will … Continue reading »
Carbon Capture and Storage at Scale: Lessons from the Growth of Analogous Energy Technologies
Stanford Univ., Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies / by Varun Rai, David G. Victor and Mark C. Thurber (dated February 2009) http://fsi.stanford.edu/publications/ccs_analogs/ Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a promising technology that might allow for significant reductions in CO2 emissions. But at present CCS is very expensive and its performance is highly uncertain at … Continue reading »
System Trials to Demonstrate Mileage-Based Road Use Charges
Rand Organization / by Paul Sorensen with Martin Wachs, and Liisa Ecola (Rand Reprint) http://www.rand.org/pubs/reprints/RP1423.html The goal in this study is to explore options for scoping and organizing system trials for transitioning from fuel taxes to vehicle miles of travel (VMT fees).
Where are the Best Opportunities for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Food System (Including the Food Chain)?
Food Policy (March 17, 2011) article in press / by Tara Garnett http://tinyurl.com/4c2vuuv This paper reviews estimates of food related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the global, regional and national levels, highlighting both GHG-intensive stages in the food chain, and GHG-intensive food types. It examines approaches that have been proposed for mitigating emissions at each … Continue reading »
