WIMS Environmental HotSheet 4/30/14

National / International News

 

<> DOT Secretary Foxx Sends Transportation Bill to Congress - The GROW AMERICA Actreflects President Obama's vision for a four-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that would create millions of jobs and lay the foundation for long-term competitiveness. . .

• Grow America Fact Sheets

<> Supreme Court Ruling on Air Pollution Is a Big Win for Public Health - Dan Utech, Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change & Mike Boots, Acting Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality comment on the Supreme Court's ruling upholding EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).

• American Lung Association v. EME Homer City Generation 

<> Changes in Arctic Systems Give Rise to Emerging Research Questions - The climate, ecosystems, and communities of the Arctic are changing rapidly in complex ways that have implications throughout the region and, increasingly, around the globe. A new report from the National Research Council.  . .

<> Why TNC and JPMorgan Chase are investing $1 billion in nature - The Nature Conservancy and JPMorgan Chase have a bold goal: Raise $1 billion over the next three years toward projects that protect agriculture, fisheries, water and land.

• Acces the NatureVest website which will be launched in full version on May 15

<> Industry Campaign and Congressional Hearing Mislead on Bee Decline - A new report, released this week by author Michele Simon and Friends of the Earth documents the tactics used by Bayer and other pesticide companies to delay regulatory action on neonicotinoid pesticides –a key contributor to bee declines.

<> Invest In the Future - Not in Fossil Fuels - Over the last year, NRDC has partnered with BlackRock and FTSE Group, the global index provider, to launch the first stock market index to exclude fossil fuel companies – a new tool that will help ensure that climate-conscious investors can match their financial interests with their values.

• Access an FTSE Fact Sheet
• FTSE Group Develops Ground-breaking Global ex Fossil Fuels Index Series [posted soon]

<> More U.S. Corporations Must Scale Up Sustainability Efforts, Report Says - A report released today by Ceres and Sustainalytics found that while there are encouraging pockets of sustainability leadership in the U.S. . .

<> Whatever Floats Your Boat – #DitchTheRule - "Navigable waters." The American Farm Bureau Federation blog post. "The new proposed ruling for the expanded Clean Water Act from the EPA would become the most far-reaching regulations we've yet seen from this regulatory agency."

<> UN Climate Chief: Raise Support Now for Accelerating Global Climate Action - Communities across the developing world have a wealth of local knowledge and ingenuity to adapt more successfully to climate change but they urgently need greater international support to unlock their ambitions, according to Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

<> Energy Department Announces $10 Million to Advance Zero-Emission Cargo Transport Vehicles - April 29, 2014. The U.S. Department of Energy announced up to $10 million to demonstrate and deploy innovative alternate. . .

<> America's Energy Revolution Requires A New Architecture Of Abundance – Op-Ed by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) Technological advances have dramatically transformed our lives over the last decade. Thanks to new advancements and American ingenuity. . .

<> ARPA-E Announces $60 Million for Disruptive Technologies to Cut Emissions, Boost Energy Efficiency - April 29, 2014. Two New Programs Aim to Detect and Measure Methane Emissions and Develop Energy Efficient Heating and Cooling. . .

<> Nuclear Utility, Energy Future Holdings, Reaches Bankruptcy Restructuring Agreement - Energy Future Holdings (EFH) announced that it has entered into an agreement with certain of its key financial stakeholders to reduce its approximately $40 billion of debt, lower its annual cash interest costs, access significant additional capital and create a sustainable capital structure for the future.

• The NRC Keeps Watch Over Comanche Peak During Chapter 11 Proceedings 

<> SBIR/STTR Phase II Release 1 Award Winners Announced, Includes Two Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Projects - April 23, 2014SBIR/STTR Phase II Release 1 Award Winners Announced, Includes Two Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Projects The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the FY 2014 Small Business Innovation

<> WMO Update Indicates Possible onset of El Nino Around Middle of Year - Sub-surface water temperatures in the tropical Pacific have warmed to levels similar to the onset of an El Nino event, and climate models surveyed by WMO experts predict a steady warming of the tropical Pacific during the months. . .

<> API Taps Democrat as Number Two; Finkel to Head Government Relations Team - April 30, 2014 – The American Petroleum Institute announced today veteran Democratic policy strategist Louis Finkel will lead the oil and natural gas industry association's government relations efforts. . .

 

U.S. Appeals Court Environmental Decisions

 

<> Ark Initiative v. Thomas Tidwell - 4/29/14. In the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, Case No. 13-5103. Responding to a petition by the State of Colorado, the U.S. Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture promulgated a final rule revising its inventory of protected "roadless" land in Colorado. The Panel rules, "Although we reject the challenge by the Service and the Company to Ark's standing, we agree that Ark's challenges lack merit and we therefore affirm."

Federal Register Highlights 

The following is an alert of Environmental Federal Register announcements that may be of interest for: Wednesday, April 30, 2014.  (Click here to access today's complete Federal Register index with links to complete announcements).

 

1. Nothing We're Tracking Today (click for the complete Energy & EPA announcements)