Tuesday, February 25, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 2/25/14

<> Transcript of oral argument in Supreme Court Greenhouse Gas Case

<> ARPA-E Projects Attract More Than $625 Million in Private Funding - February 25, 2014ARPA-E Projects Attract More Than $625 Million in Private Funding At the 5th ARPA-E Summit, Private-sector Funding, Start-up Companies, and Public Partnerships Highlighted

<> USDA Announces New Grants to Help Communities Meet Water Challenges in Coming Years - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) will make $6 million in grants available this year, and up to $30 million total over the next five years as part of a new initiative to provide solutions to agricultural water challenges. The grants will be used to develop management practices. . .

<> Energy Department Announces $10 Million to Speed Enhanced Geothermal Systems into the Market - Energy Department Announces $10 Million to Speed Enhanced Geothermal Systems into the Market In support President Obama's all-of-the-above energy strategy, the Energy Department today announced $10 million to improve subsurface characterization for enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) by developing state-of-the-art methods that quantify critical underground. . . 

<> Coalition Launches Global Initiative to Empower Local Communities to Restore Their Coastal Fisheries and "Fish Forever"

<> Center for Food Safety Files Groundbreaking Legal Action to Protect National Wildlife Refuges - CFS and Allies Seek Nationwide Refuge Ban of Genetically Engineered Crops and Neonicotinoid Pesticides Latest Step in CFS Campaign to Protect Wildlife Refuges Washington D.C. (February 25, 2014) -- Center for Food Safety (CFS) today filed a formal legal challenge demanding that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) protect our wildlife and their habitat by prohibiting the use. . .

<> US urges fishing ban in melting Arctic - Washington is urging countries that share the Arctic to ban commercial fishing in the offshore Arctic Ocean, something that will soon be possible for the first time in human history as the ice melts.

<> Secretary Kerry To Deliver Remarks at The Economist's World Ocean Summit 2014 - Secretary Kerry To Deliver Remarks at The Economist's World Ocean Summit 2014 via video teleconference at 12:15 p.m. on February 25, 2014. The World Ocean Summit 2014 is being held in Half Moon Bay, California

<> How to Save Water on Fracking - Among the environmental worries posed by hydraulic fracturing, including the release of methane into the air and contamination of groundwater, one has recently escalated: the concern that the enormous quantities of water used in fracking will leave parts of the country parched. In 2012, fracking consumed some 50 billion gallons of water -- water that many communities can ill afford to. . .

<> Large Scale Solar Energy Generation May Be Over As Soon As It Has Begun - The Ivanpah installation, in the Mojave Desert south of Las Vegas that went online on February 13, the world's largest solar thermal power plant, is a a zone of death for tortoises and raptors. . .

<> Launch of the first online Global Freshwater Biodiversity Atlas - A new online Atlas of freshwater biodiversity presenting spatial information and species distribution patterns will be launched today at the landmark Water Lives symposium, bringing together European Union policy makers and. . .

<> A 3-step sustainability action plan for business leaders - Sustainability imperative is particularly important for B2B supply chains.

<> U.S. Electricity Use is Declining and Energy Efficiency May be a Significant Factor - U.S. electricity sales peaked in 2007 and have been declining modestly since then. Sales in 2012 were 1.9% lower than 2007 sales, and sales in the first ten months of 2013 are below the same period in 2012. While the economic recession is an obvious explanation for the decline in sales in 2008 and 2009, it is much less clear why sales have continued to. . . 

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