<> On March 7, 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry issued instructions to all diplomats around the world on combating climate change - He stressed that success in this effort will require active leadership and participation from everyone in the State Department and at posts around the world.
<> In Response to Russian Aggression, Key Central European Nations Plead for U.S. Natural Gas Exports - In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the central European nations of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic yesterday sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) urging action to export more American natural gas to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Energy security is not only a day-to-day issue for millions of citizens in our. . .
<> Senators Speaking All Night to Urge Action on Climate Change - Immediately following votes on the evening of Monday, March 10 until approximately 9 am ET Tuesday, March 11, Senators from the Senate Climate Action Task Force will be holding the Senate floor to urge action on climate change.
<> Whitehouse Would Veto Two Anti-Regulatory Bills - The OMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has issued two policy memos recommending a veto of H.R.2641 & H.R.2824
- H.R.2641 - Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2013
- H.R.2824 - Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America
<> Handbook Issued on NEPA and CEQA: Integrating Federal and State Environmental Reviews - March 7, 2014. Handbook Issued on NEPA and CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act): Integrating Federal and State Environmental Reviews The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the California Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) jointly issued a new handbook, NEPA and CEQA: Integrating Federal and State Environmental Reviews.
<> Handbook On Integrating NEPA With Historic Preservation Act - Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) issue the first handbook, to provide advice to Federal agencies, applicants, project sponsors, and consultants on how to take advantage of existing regulatory provisions to align the NEPA process and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106 review process.
<> Demand response part of Army prep for climate change - In this interview with Kathleen Wolf Davis of Intelligent Utility, Richard Kidd, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy and Sustainability for the U.S. Army, describes the need for technologies and applications–demand response, smart grid, and microgrids, for example–to prepare our armed services for the impact of climate change.
<> First round of UN climate change negotiations in 2014 set to kick off in Bonn with Special Focus on Renewables and Energy Efficiency - This year's UN climate change negotiations kick off in Bonn this week, marking the beginning of an intense year of conferences and summits designed to lead to a meaningful, universal agreement in Paris in late 2015.
<> Science Advisory Board Issues Science Advice and EPA Priority Topics - SAB identified several areas where science advice would be helpful in advancing the agency's mission.
<> Survey Finds GE Contamination of Organic Farms - (Beyond Pesticides, March 10, 2014) New data finds that organic farmers are growing increasingly concerned with genetically engineered (GE) crops cross-pollinating and contaminating their fields. This contamination can lead to serious economic losses for organic farmers and has created tension between neighbors. The data comes at a critical time as USDA is advancing the. . .
<> Colorado River Basin Study - Press release: There will not be enough water in the Colorado River in the near future to meet the demands of the more than 33 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming who depend on it for drinking water, crops, ranching, tourism, energy and business. That's according to a new Colorado River Basin Water Supply and. . .
<> UEA research reveals four new man-made gases in the atmosphere - Scientists at the University of East Anglia have identified four new man-made gases in the atmosphere – all of which are contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer.
<> DOE Announces Webinars on the National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center, Engaging Building Occupants to Reduce Energy Use, and More - March 7, 2014DOE Announces Webinars on the National Fuel Cell Technology Evaluation Center, Engaging Building Occupants to Reduce Energy Use, and More EERE offers webinars to the public on a range of subjects, from adopting the latest energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to training for the clean energy workforce. Webinars are free; however, advanced. . .
<> Technical documents supporting the National Climate Assessment - Compiled by 13 government agencies as part of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and expected to be released in April, Island Press has published the full-length version of the reports, which focus on energy and infrastructure more broadly. Huffington Post article links to the reports.
<> The Effect of Renewable Energy Development on Carbon Emission Reduction: An Empirical Analysis for the EU-15 Countries - Institute for the Study of Labor http://ftp.iza.org/dp7989.pdf The increased concerns about climate change have made renewable energy sources an important topic of research. Several scholars have applied different methodologies to examine the relationships between energy consumption and economic growth of individual and groups of countries and to analyze the. . .
