National Conference of State Legislatures http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?TabId=19117 On June 1, 2011, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Center for Excellence in Project Finance released the report Transportation Governance and Finance: A 50-State Review of State Legislatures and Departments of Transportation. This authoritative analysis of … Continue reading »
Posted on June 4, 2011 …
The Great Eastern Japan Earthquake: Assessing Disaster Response and Lessons for the U.S.
Heritage Foundation http://bit.ly/jY3scK [From Executive Summary] The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011, and the following release of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, represent one of the greatest disasters to strike the nation of Japan in recent memory. An initial assessment of the Japanese response in four critical … Continue reading »
Alternative Fuel Provisions in HR 909: The Roadmap for America’s Energy Future
Rand Corp. / Testimony of James R. Bartis presented before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Energy and Power on June 3, 2011 http://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/CT363.html Discusses oil shale: “…My major concern is that the oil shale management rules published in 2008 completely ignore the need for strategic planning. Instead, the rules set up a … Continue reading »
Himalayan Solutions: Co-operation and Security in River Basins
Strategic Foresight Group http://www.strategicforesight.com/HimalayanSolutions.pdf [From Introduction] The objective of this report is to explore how river basins in the Himalayan region, and particularly shared water resources, can foster cooperation and security between Bangladesh, China, India and Nepal. The conventional view is that depleting water resources, growing problem of pollution, uncertain risks posed by climate change … Continue reading »
UK National Ecosystem Assessment: Understanding Nature’s Value to Society
UK National Ecosystem Assessment via Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs http://uknea.unep-wcmc.org/ (NEA website) http://archive.defra.gov.uk/environment/natural/documents/UKNEA_SynthesisReport.pdf (Synthesis of Key Findings) [From Press Release] The true value of nature can be shown for the very first time thanks to groundbreaking research by hundreds of UK scientists. The research forms the basis of a major new independent … Continue reading »
Climate Action in Megacities: C40 Cities Baseline and Opportunities
C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group | ARUP via GreenBiz.com http://bit.ly/lEc5K5 [From the Report] …The 58 cities now represented within the C40 account for 8 percent of the global population, 12 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and 21 percent of global GDP. Our cities control significant economic, environmental and social assets – and have enormous … Continue reading »
State and Trends of the Carbon Market 2011
World Bank via GreenBiz.com http://www.greenbiz.com/business/research/report/2011/06/02/state-and-trends-carbon-market-2011 This report covers many of the issues facing the carbon market today. The overview provides high- lights from the report and information on the size of the carbon market. After five consecutive years of robust growth, the total value of the global carbon market stalled at $142 billion. Suffering from … Continue reading »
Harris Poll: 51% of Americans Have Cut Back on Goods and Services Due to High Gas Prices
Harris Interactive http://bit.ly/k2GliO Half of Americans who own a vehicle (51%) say they have cut back on products and/or services in order to pay the increased price of gasoline. As might be expected, those with lower household income are more impacted. Almost two-thirds (65%) of those with a household income of less than $35,000 a … Continue reading »
Nuclear Waste: Disposal Challenges and Lessons Learned from Yucca Mountain
Government Accountability Office http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-731T [From Summary] …Uncertainties exist about the direction of the nation’s policy for nuclear waste disposal…Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA) DOE investigated Yucca Mountain as a site for a repository. In 2002, DOE recommended the site to the President and in 2008 submitted a license application to NRC. … Continue reading »
