Congressional Research Service / by Kelsi Bracmort http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41603.pdf [From Summary] Congress has been increasingly interested in biopower—electricity generated from biomass. Biopower, a baseload power source, has the potential to strengthen rural economies, enhance energy security, and improve the environment, proponents say. Biopower could be produced from a large range of biomass feedstocks nationwide (e.g., urban, … Continue reading »
Posted on March 30, 2011 …
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Refined Product Reserves: Authorization and Drawdown Policy
Congressional Research Service / by Anthony Andrews and Robert Pirog http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41687.pdf [From Summary] Congress authorized the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA, P.L. 94-163) to help prevent a repetition of the economic dislocation caused by the 1973-1974 Arab oil embargo…. Historically, the use of the SPR has been tied … Continue reading »
Uranium Mining in Texas: Why is it Done That Way?
Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University / by Ronald L. Sass http://tinyurl.com/4jl6tve [From Introduction] The mining of uranium is carried out in widely separated parts of the world, including, surprisingly, the Gulf coastal plains of Texas…. The most common method employed along the Texas Gulf Coast is called in-situ leaching (ISL)…. ISL methods are … Continue reading »
Avoiding Water Wars: Water Scarcity and Central Asia’s Growing Importance for Stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate http://tinyurl.com/46c5sar [From Executive Summary] Water scarcity is often overlooked, underfunded, and undervalued within foreign policy. Yet a government’s ability to provide and manage access to water is critical for ensuring political, economic, and social stability. In Central and South Asia, particularly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the impacts of water … Continue reading »
Oil and Gas Lease Utilization – Onshore and Offshore: Report to the President
US.. Department of the Interior http://tinyurl.com/4ekscdy [Executive Summary] On March 11, 2011, President Obama asked the Department of the Interior (Department) to determine the acreage of public lands (onshore and offshore) that have been leased to oil and gas companies and remain undeveloped, noting that companies should be encouraged to produce energy from leases that … Continue reading »
