Monday, February 03, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 2/3/14

<> Keystone XL Pipeline Project: Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) - US Dept. of State Final Supplemental EIS; Fact Sheet; and US DOS: Keystone Project Site.

·   Remarks on the Release of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Keystone Pipeline - Remarks on the Release of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Keystone Pipeline; Kerri-Ann Jones Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Via Teleconference January 31, 2014

·   TransCanada Corporation welcomed the U.S. Department of State's latest environmental analysis of the Keystone XL Pipeline

·   Keystone pipeline: Obama?s unpleasant options 

·   White House: Obama awaits more Keystone reviews; timing unclear -

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama still wants to hear from other federal agencies before deciding whether to accept the State Department's finding that the Keystone XL pipeline would have no major impact on climate change, his top aide said on Sunday.

<> Friends of the Earth Responds to Keystone XL Environmental Impact Statement - Today the State Department will release its Environmental Impact Statement for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Below is a statement from Friends of the Earth President Erich Pica: "The State Department’s environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline is a farce. Since the beginning of the assessment, the oil industry has had a direct pipeline into the agency. Perhaps

·   President Has All Information Needed to Reject Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline- The following is a statement by Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, international program director of the Natural Resources Defense Council, on the State Department’s final environmental impact statement for the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline

·   Obama Administration Pushes Disastrous Keystone XL Closer to Approval

<> Committee Leaders Respond to Final Keystone XL Environmental Impact Statement - WASHINGTON, DC – House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders responded to the U.S. State Department’s release of the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Keystone XL pipeline application, which includes the proposed reroute through Nebraska. “Finally, after months of unexplained delays, the State Department has issued its fifth and final environmental. . .

·          Boehner: President Obama Out of Excuses on Keystone Jobs - House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement today after the State Department issued its latest report on the Keystone XL Pipeline: “President Obama is out of excuses.  The fact that he has let a final decision on the Keystone pipeline project – and the more than 100,000 jobs that come with it – languish for more than five years is 

·   Sen. Murkowski Comments on State Report on Keystone XL - U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) commented on the Obama administration’s release of the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) on the Keystone XL Pipeline 

<> Keystone XL Pipeline Passes Supplemental EIS - AFPM Calls on President Obama to End Delay of Approval - Keystone XL Pipeline Passes Supplemental EIS - AFPM Calls on President Obama to End Delay of Approval 2014-01-31 American Fuel &amp; Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) President Charles T. Drevna issued the following statement on the Keystone XL Pipeline Supplement EIS. . .

·          Obama administration moves closer to approving Keystone XL - American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard welcomed the outcome of the Department of State’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the Keystone XL pipeline.

<> Senator Boxer's Statement on the Latest Development on Keystone XL Pipeline

<> Senate Continues Farm Bill Consideration Monday, February 3, 2014 - The Senate stands adjourned until 2:00pm on Monday, February 3, 2014. Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will resume consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R.2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013. The time until 5:30pm will be equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees. . .

<> The Global Climate in Context — 2013 in Review - In a not-so-extraordinary 2013 calendar year, IPCC’s higher estimate of potential sea-level rise by 2100 — in a worst case, up to one meter — may be the most notable in terms of the planet’s overall climate developments. 

<> Lake Ice In Northern Alaska Shows A “Dramatic” Decline In 20 Years, Study Finds - Mendenhall Lake in Juneau, Alaska. CREDIT: AP Photo/Becky Bohrer Winter ice cover on Alaska’s lakes has declined over the last 20 years, a new study has found. The study, published in The Cryosphere, looked at radar satellite radar imagery from lakes in Alaska’s North Slope and found a decrease in “grounded ice” — or ice frozen completely to the bottom of a lake — of 22 percent. . . 

<> Natural Gas: A Bridge to the Future or Bridge to Nowhere? - In his latest State of the Union address, President Obama once again called natural gas a "bridge" to the clean energy future. But is the resource really all the industry claims? We'll take a nuanced look at dynamics in the natural gas market, and ask whether it's helpful or hurtful to renewable energy. We'll also discuss the energy and climate piece of Obama's State of the Union Speech,

<> Nuclear vs. renewables: Divided they fall - Climate activists have split into two warring camps. That plays right into the hands of fossil fuel interests. . .

<> Canadian Arctic Warming Unprecedented In 120,000 Years - Recent warming has been unprecedented in speed, scale, and cause. Last year, we reported on a study that found the rate of warming since 1900 is 50 times greater than the rate of cooling in the previous 5000 years, which threatens to destroy the stable climate that enabled civilization. . .

<> Solutions for a Sustainable Future - What are the 100 solutions that can make real a sustainable society? Sustainia and partners now launch a global campaign to find the questions. The goal is to identify a guide to the world’s 100 leading sustainability projects and technologies across sectors as food, fashion, energy, smart homes.

<> World Wetlands Day 2014 Focuses on Wetlands and Agriculture - February 2nd each year is World Wetlands Day, the Ramsar Convention chose Wetlands & Agriculture as the World Wetlands Day theme for 2014.

<> SAB Report- Science Advisory Board (SAB) Consideration of EPA Planned Actions in the Spring 2013 Unified (Regulatory) Agenda and their Supporting Science

<> SAB Report - Concern about the Future of the Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowship Program

<> Final report of CRC-9 meeting released - The final report of the ninth meeting of the Chemical Review Committee has been published in the six official UN languages.

<> Lower emissions cap for Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative takes effect in 2014 - (Mon, 03 Feb 2014) Initiative (RGGI) cap and trade program for carbon dioxide (CO2) decided to lower the program's emissions cap by 45% starting in 2014. RGGI is intended to limit CO2 emissions from electric power plants in the Northeast.