Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources

US EPA, Office of Research and Development http://1.usa.gov/sNyzcx [From the Greensboro (NC) New and Record Capitol Beat blog]  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a 174-plus page report on the the study it is PLANNING to undertake on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the practice of shooting water and chemicals into the ground to extract natural gas. [...]

The Impact of Developing the Keystone XL Pipeline Project on Business Activity in the US

Subtitle: An Analysis Including State-by-State Construction Effects and an Assessment of the Potential Benefits of a More Stable Source of Domestic Supply The Perryman Group (dated “June 2010″) http://www.transcanada.com/docs/Key_Projects/TransCanada_US_Report_06-10-10.pdf [From Michael Levi's blog] …you get an annual impact of $30 billion, pretty much the same number that Perryman uses to ultimately generate 250,000 jobs. There [...]

Assessing the Health Risks of Natural CO2 Seeps in Italy

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (October 4, 2011; v108 n40 p16545-16548) / by Jennifer J. Roberts, Rachel A. Wood and R. Stuart Haszeldine http://www.pnas.org/content/108/40/16545.short [Abstract] Industrialized societies which continue to use fossil fuel energy sources are considering adoption of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to meet carbon emission reduction targets. Deep geological [...]

The Causality Analysis of Climate Change and Large-scale Human Crisis

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (October 18, 2011; v108 n42 p17296-17301) / by David D. Zhanga, Harry F. Leea, Cong Wang, Baosheng Lie, Qing Peia, Jane Zhang and Yulun Anc (open access) http://www.pnas.org/content/108/42/17296.short [Abstract]  Recent studies have shown strong temporal correlations between past climate changes and societal crises. However, the specific causal mechanisms [...]

Sustainable Cooperation in Global Climate Policy: Specific Formulas and Emission Targets to Build on Copenhagen and Cancun

Belfer Center, Kennedy School, Harvard Univ. / by Valentina Bosetti and Jeffrey Frankel http://bit.ly/nhoMC4 [Abstract] We offer a framework to assign quantitative allocations of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), across countries, one budget period at a time. Under the two-part plan: (i) China, India, and other developing countries accept targets at Business as Usual (BAU) [...]