Literary Warrant [13]

• Business Roundtable, More Diverse, More Domestic, More Efficient: A Vision for America's Energy Future (2007)
  
  "Today's energy challenges are not insurmountable, but there are no silver bullets. Long-term progress requires balanced and integrated approaches that take advantage of all promising energy improvement pathways. Despite its superficial appeal, energy independence (the elimination of energy imports) is an unrealistic goal for the foreseeable future. But there is much we can do to enhance our energy security. Policies that promote new technologies, conservation, efficiency, greater diversity of supply, lower energy intensity, and greater access to domestic and global energy resources will over time reduce the nation’s vulnerability to upheavals in global energy markets."—Executive Summary.


• Climate Savers Computing Initiative
  
  "Started by Google and Intel in 2007, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative is a nonprofit group of eco-conscious consumers, businesses and conservation organizations. The Initiative was started in the spirit of WWF's Climate Savers program which has mobilized over a dozen companies since 1999 to cut carbon dioxide emissions, demonstrating that reducing emissions is good business. Our goal is to promote development, deployment and adoption of smart technologies that can both improve the efficiency of a computer's power delivery and reduce the energy consumed when the computer is in an inactive state....
  
  "By 2010, we seek to reduce global CO2 emissions from the operation of computers by 54 million tons per year, equivalent to the annual output of 11 million cars or 10–20 coal-fired power plants. With your help, this effort will lead to a 50% reduction in power consumption by computers by 2010, and committed participants could collectively save $5.5 billion in energy costs."—What Exactly is the Climate Savers Computing Initiative?


• Energy Information Administration (EIA), Annual Energy Review 2006 (Report No. DOE/EIA-0384(2006)) (June 27, 2007)
  
  "The Annual Energy Review (AER) is the Energy Information Administration's primary report of historical annual energy statistics. For many series, data begin with the year 1949. Included are data on total energy production, consumption, and trade; overviews of petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, international energy, as well as financial and environmental indicators; and data unit conversion tables."


• Environmental Defense, California Solutions for Global Warming
  
  "California is seizing new opportunities to protect our people and economy from the dangerous effects of global warming. In August 2006, the Legislature passed a package of bills to reduce California’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollution. The following month Governor Schwarzenegger signed the bills into law.
  
  "Assembly Bill 32 makes California the first state in the country to limit statewide global warming pollution.
  
  "Senate Bill 1368 makes California the first state in the nation to ensure that electric utilities' new commitments to power plants meet a minimum performance level for global warming pollution."—California Leadership.
  
  The site promotes a "new energy economy" in response to global warming by providing, inter alia, fact sheets and other informational materials.


• Kenneth P. Green, Steven F. Hayward & Kevin A. Hassett, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), Climate Change: Caps vs. Taxes, (Environmental Policy Outlook, no. 2) (June 1, 2007)
  
  "As the Kyoto Protocol's 2012 expiration date draws near, a general theme dominates the global conversation: leadership and participation by the United States are critical to the success of whatever climate policy regime succeeds the Kyoto Protocol. Two general policy approaches stand out in the current discussion. The first is national and international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading, often referred to as 'cap-and-trade.' Cap-and-trade is the most popular idea at present, with several bills circulating in Congress to begin a cap-and-trade program of some kind. The second idea is a program of carbon-centered tax reform—for example, the imposition of an excise tax based on the carbon emissions of energy sources (such as coal, oil, and gasoline), offset by reductions in other taxes. In this paper we will address the strengths and weaknesses of both ideas and the framework by which legislators should evaluate them."—Abstract.


• Beth E. Lachman, Anny Wong & Susan A. Resetar, RAND National Defense Research Institute, The Thin Green Line: An Assessment of DoD's Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative to Buffer Installation Encroachment (Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense) (2007)
  
  "When first established decades ago, most U.S. military installations were far from major cities and towns. That is no longer true. A growing population and changing land development patterns over the past several decades have led to lands that are vital to military readiness being surrounded by urban, suburban and other types of development. Such development, especially large residential tracts, can limit the installation’s operational capability. Complaints about noise, dust, and smoke from aircraft, weapons, and vehicles force commanders to curtail training of certain types or during certain hours. As development destroys or displaces native species of plants and animals, military posts become their critical refuge, and their presence further restricts military operations. These constraints have been so severe in some cases that installations have had to close.
  
  "Recognizing the gravity of the problem, Congress provided legislative authority to allow military departments to partner with government or private organizations to establish buffer areas around training and testing areas. The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) created the Conservation Partnering Program (now known as the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI)2) to implement this authority. Under this program, OSD funds the Services to implement compatible land use partnering projects that aim to relieve encroachment pressures—from either incompatible development or loss of natural habitat—on training, testing, and support operations at U.S. military bases."—Summary.


• Ken Peattie, Director, ESRC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society (BRASS), Cardiff University & Ben Shaw, Senior Research Fellow, Environment Group, Policy Studies Institute (PSI), Consumption: Reducing, Reusing and Recycling (Economic & Social Research Council, ESRC Seminar Series: Mapping the public policy landscape) (2007)
  
  "Although recycling rates have risen, and the UK is on schedule to meet EU targets, the benefits risk being undermined by the sheer quantity of waste being generated.The economic and environmental impact is considerable. If household waste output continues to rise by three per cent a year, the cost to the economy will be £3.2billion and the amount of harmful methane emissions will double by 2020.
  
  "The policy of the UK Government is to maintain economic growth without causing excessive environmental deterioration or social injustice. The sustainable development strategy was reviewed in 2005 along with a framework for its implementation by the devolved administrations in the context of their own priorities and problems. A new waste strategy for England is currently being finalised and is expected to be published in May. A sustainable consumption and production action plan has also been promised. The hope is that we are moving towards a package of measures—legal, fiscal and voluntary—that will deliver the kind of advanced strategies for products and waste seen in some other countries."—Executive Summary.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency, Power Profiler (June 28, 2007)
  
  "With just a few clicks of the mouse and a ZIP code, consumers can see how their individual energy use is affecting the Earth. EPA's Power Profiler calculates how much air pollution results from individual electricity use, the fuels used to produce that electricity and how to reduce the impact.
  
  "'EPA's Power Profiler makes it easy to research the air emissions that come from using electricity at home,' said Bob Meyers, acting assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. 'All you need is a ZIP code and you're on your way to understanding your environmental impact.'"—Press release.


• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), South Florida Ecosystem: Restoration Is Moving Forward but Is Facing Significant Delays, Implementation Challenges, and Rising Costs (Report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives, GAO-07-520) (May 2007)
  
  "The South Florida ecosystem covers about 18,000 square miles and is home to the Everglades, a national resource. Over the past 100 years, efforts to manage the flow of water through the ecosystem have jeopardized its health. In 2000, a strategy to restore the ecosystem was set; restoration was expected to take at least 40 years and cost $15.4 billion. The restoration comprises hundreds of projects, including 60 key projects known as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), to be undertaken by a partnership of federal, state, local, and tribal governments."—Why GAO Did This Study.
  
  "There are 27 primary mathematical models that guide the restoration effort. These include (1) hydrological, (2) water quality, and (3) ecological models. Although 21 of the 27 models are able to interface with other models and provide a more comprehensive pictureof the impact of restoration efforts on the ecosystem, many agency officials stated that additional interfaces are needed. Because coordinating the development of these interfaces is resource intensive, it has been a low priority for the agencies."—What GAO Found.