Literary Warrant [18]

Here are some recent publications of interest. In future posts, I'll catch up with some of the aging ones.

• American Rivers, 1,333 Unsafe Dams Threaten Nation's Communities: Unsafe High Hazard Dams Litter the US (September 6, 2007)
  

  "Congress will soon consider the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (H.R 3224) which would direct $200 million to states for improving the safety of publicly-owned dams, through either repairing or removing problem dams. To date, only 11 members have signed on to co-sponsor the bill introduced by Congressman John Salazar (D-CO).
  

  "'Dams across the country are living on borrowed time, and many of our communities are at risk,' said American Rivers’ President Rebecca Wodder. 'Closing our eyes to the problem doesn’t make it disappear; Congress needs to take action now.'"—Press release.
  

• Stephen L. Caldwell, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Radiation Exposure Compensation Act: Program Status (September 7, 2007)
  
  "From 1945 through 1962, the United States conducted a series of aboveground atomic weapons tests as it built up its Cold War nuclear arsenal. Around this same time period, the United States also conducted underground uranium-mining operations and related activities, which were critical to the production of the atomic weapons. Many people were exposed to radiation resulting from the nuclear weapons development and testing program, and such exposure is presumed to have produced an increased incidence of certain serious diseases, including various types of cancer. To make partial restitution to these individuals, or their eligible surviving beneficiaries, for their hardships associated with the radiation exposure, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was enacted on October 15, 1990.1 RECA provided that the Attorney General be responsible for processing and adjudicating claims under the act. The Department of Justice (DOJ) established the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program (RECP), which is administered by its Civil Division’s Torts Branch. RECP began processing claims in April 1992."


• Green Party of England and Wales, Greenprint for a Renewable Energy Policy That Works (September 2007)
  "The Green Party has a comprehensive set of policies that will guarantee we achieve reductions in carbon dioxide, year-on-year, that will enable us to reduce UK emissions by 90% by 2030. As part of this programme, the best way to support and develop the renewables industry is to adopt a simple framework of guaranteed prices for exported renewable energy. Feed-in tariffs have been a runaway success in Germany and other countries, stimulating both large- and small-scale projects and kick-starting a profitable industry that supports many thousands of jobs."


• Insurance Information Institute, Facts and Statistics: Catastrophes (2007)
  
  Figures for the ten most costly world insurance losses, the ten most costly catastrophes in the United States, the top fifteen most costly hurricanes in the United States, and related phenomena.


• Jessica Milano, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food Off America’s Tables (Policy Report) (September 2007)
  
  "Currently, Americans are protected against tainted goods by a system of redundant, inefficient programs that let too many dangerous products through the cracks. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulate different categories of food with disparate resources and authority. While 80 percent of the nation's overall food supply falls under the authority of the FDA—including recently recalled foods such as spinach and peanut butter—80 percent of America's food safety budget is allocated to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA. The confusion is exacerbated by the fact that the FSIS—which regulates domestic and imported meat, poultry, and certain egg products—requires that each exporting country have a food and safety system roughly comparable to that of the United States, while the FDA—which regulates all other foods—evaluates each individual company that applies to import food."—Press release (September 7, 2007)


• David Owen, The Dark Side: Making War on Light Pollution, New Yorker (August 20, 2007)
  
  "The stars have not become dimmer; rather, the Earth has become vastly brighter, so that celestial objects are harder to see. Air pollution has made the atmosphere less transparent and more reflective, and high levels of terrestrial illumination have washed out the stars overhead—a phenomenon called 'sky glow.' Anyone who has flown across the country on a clear night has seen the landscape ablaze with artificial lights, especially in urban areas. Today, a person standing on the observation deck of the Empire State Building on a cloudless night would be unable to discern much more than the moon, the brighter planets, and a handful of very bright stars—less than one per cent of what Galileo would have been able to see without a telescope."


• United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Climate Change and Tourism.
  
  "The World Tourism Organization has created an information gathering web resource called Climate and Tourism Information Exchange Service, which displays data, studies, policy papers, videos and other materials as part of its effort to combat climate change. Registration (free) is required. The organization has spearheaded the study of linkages between climate and tourism, having convened the first-ever International Conference on Climate Change and Tourism in Tunisia in 2003. The second Conference will be held in Davos, Switzerland, in October."—UN Pulse (September 7, 2007)


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Inspector General, Federal Facilities in Chesapeake Bay Watershed Generally Comply with Major Clean Water Act Permits (Evaluation Report no. 2007-P-00032) (September 5, 2007)
  
  "Overall, EPA and the States are doing well managing how major Federal facilities comply with their NPDES [National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System] permits. In EPA’s last reporting period (2004), major Federal facilities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed had a lower rate of Significant Noncompliance than other Federal and non-Federal major-permit facilities nationwide."—What We Found.


• United States Geological Survey (USGS), Future Retreat of Arctic Sea Ice Will Lower Polar Bear Populations and Limit Their Distribution (September 7, 2007)
  

  "Future reduction of sea ice in the Arctic could result in a loss of 2/3 of the world's polar bear population within 50 years according to a series of studies released today by the U.S. Geological Survey....
  

  "The newly-released USGS information, presented to the Service in the form of nine administrative reports to be open for public comment, will now be considered within the context of the Fish and Wildlife Service's one-year review. The Service will analyze it and other information provided by scientists, government agencies and the public in order to arrive at an informed and scientifically justifiable decision. That decision is due in January."—Press release.
  

• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Influenza Pandemic: Further Efforts Are Needed to Ensure Clearer Federal Leadership Roles and an Effective National Strategy (Report to Congressional Requesters, GAO-07-781) (August 2007)
  

  "An influenza pandemic is a real and significant potential threat facing the United States and the world. Pandemics occur when a novel virus emerges that can easily be transmitted among humans who have little immunity. In 2005, the Homeland Security Council (HSC) issued a National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza and, in 2006, an Implementation Plan.
  

  "Congress and others are concerned about the federal government’s preparedness to lead a response to an influenza pandemic. This report assesses how clearly federal leadership roles and responsibilities are defined and the extent to which the Strategy and Plan address six characteristics of an effective national strategy. To do this, GAO analyzed key emergency and pandemic-specific plans, interviewed agency officials, and compared the Strategy and Plan with the six characteristics GAO identified."—Why GAO Did This Study.
  

• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Maritime Transportation: Major Oil Spills Occur Infrequently, but Risks to the Federal Oil Spill Fund Remain (Report to Congressional Committees, GAO-07-1085) (September 2007)
  
  "On the basis of cost information collected from a variety of sources, GAO estimates that 51 spills with costs above $1 million have occurred since 1990 and that responsible parties and the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (Fund) have spent between about $860 million and $1.1 billion for oil spill removal costs and compensation for damages (e.g., lost profits and natural resource damages). Responsible parties paid between about 72 percent and 78 percent of these costs; the Fund has paid the remainder. Since removal costs and damage claims may stretch out over many years, the costs of the spills could rise. The 51 spills, which constitute about 2 percent of all vessel spills since 1990, varied greatly from year to year in number and cost."—What GAO Found.


• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Water Resources: Four Federal Agencies Provide Funding for Rural Water Supply and Wastewater Projects (Report to the Honorable Gordon Smith, U.S. Senate, GAO-07-1094) (September 2007)
  
  "Rural areas generally lack adequate funds for constructing and upgrading water supply and wastewater treatment facilities. As a result, they typically rely on federal grants and loans, primarily from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), Economic Development Administration (EDA), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), to fund these projects. Concern has been raised about potential overlap between the projects these agencies fund. For fiscal years 2004 through 2006 GAO determined the (1) amount of funding these agencies obligated for rural water projects and (2) extent to which each agency’s eligibility criteria and the projects they fund differed."—Why GAO Did This Study.


• United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), NRC Issues Mid-Cycle Letters for Nation’s Nuclear Plants (September 6, 2007)
  

  "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued mid-cycle assessment letters to the nation’s 104 operating commercial nuclear power plants. The agency’s most recent assessments show all the plants continue to operate safely....
  

  "If a nuclear power plant’s performance declines, the NRC assigns additional resources to ensure the plant operator is taking the steps necessary to correct the situation. Only one plant, Palo Verde in Arizona, requires the NRC’s highest level of attention, which will include additional inspectors this fall to confirm the plant’s performance issues are being addressed. Ten plants require significant NRC attention, and another 19 plants get some additional attention. These numbers are generally comparable to last year’s mid-cycle assessments."—Press release.
  

• World Resources Institute & World Business Council for Sustainable Development, The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Guidelines for Quantifying GHG Reductions from Grid-Connected Electricity Projects (2007)
  

  "As concern about climate change has grown, one of the key challenges facing energy-project developers, as well as legislators and other key decision-makers, has been to accurately quantify the reduced GHG emissions that result from these projects.
  

  "'These are the best guidelines available to calculate meaningful numbers for quantifying emissions reductions,' said Lars Kvale at the Center for Resource Solutions, a national nonprofit working to establish consumer-protection standards for greenhouse gas offsets. 'This will really help energy-project developers and offset-program designers who do not have the resources to run detailed grid-emissions models.'"—News release.

Literary Warrant [17]

• beSpacific, $114 Billion Funds Gulf Coast Recovery (August 28, 2007)
  
  "24 billion went to rebuild the Gulf Coast states and provide survivors with a place to live, repair damaged infrastructure, and build houses and schools in 2007. Of the $114 billion allocated for Gulf Coast recovery, 84 percent has either been disbursed or is awaiting claims. FEMA awarded $8.3 billion in public assistance funding for education, criminal justice, public works, health and hospitals, and historic and cultural resources; education and public works receive $1.3 billion apiece. As of July 2007, over 95,000 households have received aid."—DHS.


• Joel K. Bourne, Jr., New Orleans: A Perilous Future, National Geographic (August 2007)
  
  "With seas rising, storms getting stronger, and ground subsiding, another disaster like Katrina seems inevitable. Yet some residents would rather run that risk than leave the place they call home.
  
  "Hurricane Katrina, the costliest natural disaster in United States history, was also a warning shot. Right after the tragedy, many people expressed a defiant resolve to rebuild the city. But among engineers and experts, that resolve is giving way to a growing awareness that another such disaster is inevitable, and nothing short of a massive and endless national commitment can prevent it."


• Center for American Progress, New Orleans by the Numbers: A City Struggles to Rebuild (August 29, 2007)
  
  "Two years after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the city faces challenges as it tries to rebuild: not just those posed by mountains of rubble and the prospect of future hurricanes, but also a rebuilding effort hampered by inaction, mismanagement, and corruption." Related materials include an interactive map for identifying parish-by-parish evidence of progress.


• Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), Accommodating People With Disabilities In Disasters: A Reference Guide To Federal Law (Release no. HQ-07-169) (August 21, 2007)
  
  "The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released a new reference guide that outlines existing legal requirements and standards relating to access for people with disabilities. A Reference Guide for Accommodating Individuals with Disabilities in the Provision of Disaster Mass Care, Housing and Human Services is the first of a series of disability-related guidelines to be produced by FEMA for disaster preparedness and response planners and service providers at all levels."—Press release.


• Michael Grunwald et al., Hurricane Katrina—Two Years Later (Time magazine special report)
  
  "The most important thing to remember about the drowning of New Orleans is that it wasn't a natural disaster. It was a man-made disaster, created by lousy engineering, misplaced priorities and pork-barrel politics. Katrina was not the Category 5 killer the Big Easy had always feared; it was a Category 3 storm that missed New Orleans, where it was at worst a weak 2. The city's defenses should have withstood its surges, and if they had we never would have seen the squalor in the Superdome, the desperation on the rooftops, the shocking tableau of the Mardi Gras city underwater for weeks."


• Insurance Information Institute, Hurricane Katrina and Insurance: Two Years Later $40.6 Billion in Insurance Claim Dollars Aid Recovery (August 27, 2007)
  
  "The magnitude of Hurricane Katrina triggered a reexamination of how the United States deals with the financial consequences of natural disasters among insurers, reinsurers and public policymakers, which continues today, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).
  
  "Despite the attention focused on lawsuits filed following this catastrophic storm, the number of claims in litigation accounted for a very small percentage of the total number of claims filed and most of those are no longer in contention. The I.I.I. estimates that fewer than 2 percent of homeowners claims in Louisiana and Mississippi were disputed either through mediation or litigation.
  
  "Insurance companies have paid an estimated $40.6 billion to policyholders on 1.7 million claims for damage to homes, businesses and vehicles in six states. By contrast, Hurricane Andrew, the previous record holder, resulted in $15.5 billion in losses in 1992 ($22.2 billion in 2006 dollars) and 790,000 claims."—Press release.


• Charles Kenny, The World Bank, Sustainable Development Network, Finance, Economics and Urban Division, Infrastructure Governance and Corruption: Where Next? (Policy Research Working Paper 4331) (August 2007)
  
  "Governance is central to development outcomes in infrastructure, not least because corruption (a symptom of failed governance) can have significantly negative impact on returns to infrastructure investment. This conclusion holds whether infrastructure is in private or public hands. This paper looks at what has been learned about the role of governance in infrastructure, provides some recent examples of reform efforts and project approaches, and suggests an agenda for greater engagement—primarily at the sector level—to improve governance and reduce the development impact of corruption. The discussion covers market structure, regulation, state-owned enterprise reform, planning and budgeting, and project design."—Abstract.


• Eli Lehrer, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Watery Marauders: How the Federal Government Retarded the Development of Private Flood Insurance (Issue Analysis no. 8) (August 2007)
  
  "This paper describes how America's National Flood Insurance Program came into existence and seeks to answer the question of why private flood insurance never developed in the United States on a significant scale. It consists of three sections. The first section attempts to provide a brief theoretical framework for thinking about flood insurance. It describes what flood insurance does and presents a theory as to how it ought to work. The second section provides the early history of the flood insurance program. It outlines how the federal government first took on the responsibility of protecting the nation from flooding and how Congress failed in its first effort to offer federal flood insurance. The third section explains how America got the system of flood insurance that it has today. It explains how the Tennessee Valley Authority, U.S. Geological Survey, and a variety of local governments gathered enough risk data to make federal flood insurance palatable to Congress, how Congress implemented a program, and then stripped it of its risk-based character.
  
  "The paper reaches a simple conclusion: Flood insurance, in its current form, did not emerge as a result of market failure. While some factors, including the role of state regulation, remain undetermined, the current situation represents an example of what economists call 'government failure.'"—Executive Summary.


• National Agricultural Law Center, Congressional Research Service Reports
  
  "The Congressional Research Service is the public policy research arm of the United States Congress and solely serves Congress as a source of nonpartisan, objective analysis and research on all legislative issues. Through the Congress, the National Agricultural Law Center is periodically receiving CRS reports related to agriculture and food issues. New and updated reports will be posted here as they are obtained." Topics include: Renewable Energy, Resources—Conservation, Resources—Wildlife, and Rural Development.


• National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Hurricane Katrina Report Card (August 2007)
  
  "Two years after Hurricane Katrina much has become clear. We know that the devastation in New Orleans was less a natural than a man-made disaster. Katrina's surge into New Orleans and surrounding areas was the direct result of poorly constructed levees, an ill-conceived navigation channel, and the destruction of millions of acres of coastal wetlands. Furthermore, the storm's intensity itself was fueled by unusually warm waters in the tropical Atlantic due, in part, to global warming pollution.
  
  "How have Congress and the Administration responded to these lessons of Katrina and addressed the chief causes of its tragic aftermath? A report card is due on the federal government's response to global warming, reforming the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and restoring the wetlands along the Gulf Coast that act as a natural buffer to storms."


• Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), Survey: Nuclear Power Plant Neighbors Accept Potential for New Reactor Nearby by Margin of Nearly 3 to 1.
  
  "Eighty-two percent of Americans living in close proximity to nuclear power plants favor nuclear energy, and 71 percent are willing to see a new reactor built near them, according to a new public opinion survey of more than 1,100 adults across the United States. Source: Bisconti Research, Inc. with Quest Research Group."


• United Nations, Gateway to the UN System's Work on Climate Change (August 22, 2007)
  
  "The United Nations launched Gateway to the UN System's work on climate change that provides easier access to climate change information, such as fact sheets, news, calendar of events, and links to the pages describing the work on climate change issues by various UN System organizations and specialized agencies."


• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Outlook for Ice & Snow (2007)
  
  "Ice, snow and climate change are closely linked. The Global Outlook for Ice and Snow investigates those connections, the current situation of ice and snow and the global significance of changes, now and in the years to come. The book was prepared for World Environment Day 2007 to provide an up-to-date assessment on this year's theme: Melting Ice—A Hot Topic? The Global Outlook for Ice and Snow is the second thematic assessment report in UNEP's Global Environment Outlook series."—Achim Steiner, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UNEP, Foreword.


• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Vienna Climate Change Talks 2007: AWG 4 and the Dialogue 4 (August 27-31, 2007)
  
  "Around 1,000 representatives from governments, business and industry, environmental organizations and research institutions are gathered this week for the Vienna Climate Change Talks 2007. The talks, held under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aim at setting the stage for the United Nations Bali Conference, next December. More information is available on the Web site, including side event details, submitted papers and webcast links."


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Inspector General, Improved Management Practices Needed to Increase Use of Exchange Network (Audit Report No. 2007-P-00030) (August 20, 2007)
  
  "Although EPA established a partnership with the Exchange Network's governance bodies to assist them with accomplishing Network initiatives, more improvements are needed to ensure Network partners fully utilize the Network. These partners include EPA, States, tribes, territories, and other parties with whom EPA and States exchange information. EPA should improve its methods for selecting and prioritizing which data flows to implement. EPA also needs to take further steps to complete measurements of Network initiatives to ensure investments are delivering expected results. In addition, EPA needs to improve its internal system development practices to ensure EPA offices perform cost benefit analyses for new or upgraded environmental systems. Further, EPA should strengthen its policies to define when offices should utilize the Network for receiving environmental information."—What We Found.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Inspector General, Making Better Use of Superfund Special Account Funds for Thermo Chem (Early Warning Report No. 2007-S-00002) (August 20, 2007)
  
  "We found that Region 5 missed an opportunity to make timely and better use of the funds in the Thermo Chem special account. In 2004, Region 5 staff recommended the reclassification of approximately $2.8 million from the Thermo Chem special account. However, these funds were not reclassified because the site managers were unaware that action was needed or required. In addition, while EPA's guidance states that 'Regions' are responsible for identifying special accounts having balances that are more than anticipated future site needs, it does not specify the title of the regional official responsible for doing so or responsible for processing the reclassification."—What We Found.


• World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Energy Efficiency in Buildings: Business Realities and Opportunities (Facts & Trends) (Summary Report) (August 21, 2007)
  
  "Survey finds green costs overestimated by 300% and a need to foster zero net energy construction. Key players in real estate and construction misjudge the costs and benefits of 'green' buildings, creating a major barrier to more energy efficiency in the building sector...."—Press release.

Literary Warrant [15]

• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), CREW'S Hurricane Katrina International Offers of Assistance Matrix (July 27, 2007)
  

  "CREW's matrix is based on 25,000 Department of State (DOS) documents it received as a result of a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act in December 2005 for records relating to the federal government's handling and acceptance of international offers of aid after Hurricane Katrina.
  

  "The matrix includes all international offers, whether they were rejected or accepted and the reasons why, if available. The documents reveal a number of disturbing responses to offers from 145 countries and 12 international organizations from around the world."—Press release.
  

• Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), FEMA Was Not Forthright with Congressional Investigators (July 19, 2007)
  
  "Apparently, the problem of unsafe formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers was more widespread than initially acknowledged. And FEMA's reaction to the problem was deliberately stunted to bolster the agency’s litigation position. New information recently provided to the Committee shows those statements mischaracterized the scope and purpose of FEMA's actual response to the formaldehyde reports. Recently discovered documents make it appear FEMA's primary concerns were legal liability and public relations, not human health and safety. Decisions about assistance to Gulf Coast residents seem to have been driven by the desire to limit litigation, even if that meant limiting genuine testing and risk mitigation efforts as well."—Press release.


• Environmental Law Institute (ELI), The Clean Water Act Jurisdictional Handbook, 2007 ed.
  

  "In June 2006 the Supreme Court, in a decision that split 4-1-4, produced a result in Rapanos v. United States that makes federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction over the wetlands, streams, and other waters of the United States confusing and uncertain for citizens, landowners, and regulators alike. Members of Congress have introduced new legislation to restore jurisdiction over many of the waters cast into doubt by the decision; and the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers (the federal regulatory agencies) issued a joint guidance document in June 2007 attempting to guide their respective staffs. Numerous federal courts have attempted to apply the uncertain teachings of Rapanos as well.
  

  "With the support of the Turner Foundation, and the assistance of numerous experts in wetlands science and law, the Environmental Law Institute has prepared a handbook that analyzes the case law, compiles the relevant scientific studies, and provides a set of jurisdictional checklists. The Handbook will assist anyone faced with a jurisdictional question involving a wetland or stream to understand what factors will allow them to find Clean Water Act jurisdiction."
  

• Food & Water Watch, New Web Map Shows Regional Concentration of Factory Farms (July 24, 2007)
  

  "America's rural communities from coast to coast are living with the human health and environmental costs of factory farms that cram together hundreds of thousands of animals in filthy conditions, said Food & Water Watch today. The organization released a first-ever national map charting factory farms to illustrate how these facilities are concentrated in some regions of the country....

  "The Food & Water Watch factory farm map illustrates that confined animal feeding operations, the dominant form of livestock production in the United States, also known as CAFOs or factory farms, are found throughout the country. But some regions host a comparatively large share of intensive animal production—Iowa and North Carolina for hogs, California and Idaho for dairy cows, Texas and Kansas for cattle feedlots, Georgia and Alabama for broiler chickens, and Iowa and Ohio for egg production."—Press release.
  

• Green Electronics Council, The Environmental Benefits of the Purchase or Sale of EPEAT Registered Products in 2006 (June 17, 2007)
  
  "Numerous environmental benefits of buying high-performance, environmentally friendly computer equipment are highlighted in the first annual report issued by the Green Electronics Council this week. The report, called The Environmental Benefits of the Purchase or Sale of EPEAT Registered Products in 2006, states that the purchase of more than 36 million EPA approved computer desktops, laptops and monitors has led to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions."—Press release (June 18, 2007)


• Harvard School of Public Health, Project on the Public and Biological Security, Hurricane Readiness in High-Risk Areas (June 18-July 10, 2007)
  

  "According to a new survey of people in high-risk hurricane areas conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security, one-third (31%) of residents said if government officials said they had to evacuate due to a major hurricane this season, they would not leave. This is an increase from 2006 when 23% said they would not evacuate.
  

  "The top reasons people give for not evacuating involve issues of safety and security. Three-quarters (75%) say their home is well-built and they would be safe there. Over half (56%) feel that roads would be too crowded, and slightly more than one in three (36%) feels that evacuating would be dangerous. One-third (33%) worry that their possessions would be stolen or damaged while one in four (27%) say they would not evacuate because they do not want to leave their pets."—Press release (July 24, 2007)
  

• Kevin Jon Heller, Opinio Juris (blog), The World's 15 Greenest Cities (July 30, 2007)
  
  Having just returned from the city ranked number 2, I can vouch for the ease of access to public transportation, a feature that complements well what I regard as Portland's preeminence, namely, its stature as the World's Hoppiest City. After three days of beer festival, one ought to leave the driving to Max and the TriMet.—DCR.


• Muel Kaptein et al., RSM Erasmus University, 2007 Report on European CSR Survey (July 2007)
  
  "While the world is clamouring for measures to combat climate change, the corporate community is actually taking a growing number of initiatives to tackle the problem. Likewise, climate change, which took 8th place on the 'social agenda' of major European companies in 2002, has now jumped to 4th place. In fact, the corporate community expects the issue of climate change to top its agenda within the next five years. This has become clear from a survey held among the 200 largest European companies this spring. The research focussed on the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)."—Press release (July 16, 2007)


• Pamela Kaval, Department of Economics, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand, The Link between Perceived and Actual Wildfire Danger: An Economic and Spatial Analysis Study in Colorado (USA) (Working Paper in Economics 07/13) (July 2007)
  
  "Over the last 20 years, costs for wildfire initial attack in the U.S. have increased significantly. The increased cost relates to wildfire suppression practices as well as the growing number of wildland urban interface (WUI) homes. Requiring WUI residents to pay an annual tax for their wildfire risk would lower costs to the general taxpayer. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) for wildfire prevention, in relation to both perceived and actual wildfire danger, was the focus of this study. Colorado WUI residents had a high awareness of wildfire risk and were willing to pay over $400 annually to reduce this risk. Respondents beliefs about wildfire frequency were comparable to the original natural wildfire regimes of their areas pre-European settlement."—Abstract.


• Eileen R. Larence, Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Critical Infrastructure: Sector Plans Complete and Sector Councils Evolving (Testimony before the Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration, Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, U.S. Senate, GAO-07-1075T) (July 12, 2007)
  
  "As Hurricane Katrina so forcefully demonstrated, the nation's critical infrastructures—both physical and cyber—have been vulnerable to a wide variety of threats. Because about 85 percent of the nation's critical infrastructure is privately owned, it is vital that public and private stakeholders work together to protect these assets. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is responsible for coordinating a national protection strategy and has promoted the formation of government and private councils for the 17 infrastructure sectors as a collaborating tool. The councils, among other things, are to identify their most critical assets, assess the risks they face, and identify protective measures in sector-specific plans that comply with DHS's National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP)."—Why GAO Did This Study.


• Angela Logomasini, Environmentalism's Legal Legacy (Issue Analysis, no. 7) (July 2007)
  
  "This paper highlights legislative expansion of environmental law. It uses several datasets to document the growth of the environmental legal legacy. First, an analysis of congressional vote scoring by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) reveals that environmental pressure groups do relatively well even in a subset of close votes scored—winning a majority of the time in eight out of 17 congresses and winning 43 percent of these votes overall. It does indicate that environmental groups faced some real challenges in recent years, but it does not reveal how that affected public policy. The LCV scoring also shows that environmental groups are involved in policy making at a very detailed level."—Executive Summary.


• National Climatic Data Center (NOAA), Climate of 2007—June in Historical Perspective (July 17, 2007)
  
  "Warmer- and drier-than-average conditions dominated much of the United States during the first half of 2007, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The lack of precipitation led to widespread drought which contributed to an early start to the wildfire season, mounting crop losses, and local drought emergencies. However, drought in the southern and central Plains gave way to heavy and persistent rains which led to devastating flooding from Texas to Kansas in June. Meanwhile, the global average temperature was the second warmest on record for the January-June six-month period."—Major Highlights.


• National Petroleum Council, Facing the Hard Truths about Energy: A Comprehensive View to 2030 of Global Oil and Natural Gas (Draft Report) (July 18, 2007)
  

  "'Accumulating risks to the supply of reliable, affordable energy' require an integrated national strategy, according to a major new report by the National Petroleum Council (NPC)....

  "Unique in its scope, the 18-month study of global energy to 2030 involved more than 350 experts from diverse backgrounds and organizations—the majority of them from outside the oil and gas industry....
  

  "Reviewing a broad range of more than 100 outlooks based on public and aggregated proprietary data, the Council study found that total global demand for energy is projected to grow from today’s huge base by 50-60 percent to 2030—the result of rising incomes around the world and population growth."—Press release.
  

• Peter R. Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office, Would a Cap-and-Trade Program Harm the Economy? (Letter to Honorable Jeff Bingaman, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate) (July 9, 2007)
  
  "An effort to limit CO2 emissions in any given year would have two principal effects: It would produce long-term economic benefits (by avoiding damages in the future) but would impose economic costs in each year in which the limit was in effect (by restricting the use of fossil fuels, which emit CO2 into the atmosphere when they are burned). Although CBO's issue brief [Trade-Offs in Allocating Allowances for CO2 Emissions] acknowledged that reducing CO2 emissions would create both costs and benefits, it was not intended to quantify those benefits. Rather, the brief explicitly took the goal of reducing emissions as a given and focused on the near-term efficiency and distributional trade-offs associated with doing so under different methods of allocating emission allowances. More specifically, each allocation scenario considered in the brief would reduce CO2 emissions by the same amount and thus would produce the same long-term benefits, while imposing different near-term costs. Given the narrow objectives of the brief, the fact that it did not explicitly quantify the benefits of a cap-and-trade program should not be interpreted in any way as implying that CBO has concluded that the costs of such a program would outweigh the benefits."


• Thea Sebastian, Research Associate & Rick Piltz, Director, Climate Science Watch, NextGen Air Transportation System Progress Reports Ignore Climate Change (July 2007)
  
  "The Bush administration and FAA are currently focusing on a multi-agency effort to enable a major expansion of American air transportation. This effort—the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen)—operates under the assumption that the U.S. aviation traffic will triple in the next 20 years. NextGen progress reports make no mention of climate change, global warming, or the carbon dioxide emissions of aircraft."—Press release (July 18, 2007)


• John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Environmental Contamination: Department of Defense Activities Related to Trichloroethylene, Perchlorate, and Other Emerging Contaminants (Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Readiness, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, GAO-07-1042T) (July 12, 2007)
  
  "DOD defines emerging contaminants as chemicals or materials with (1) perceived or real threat to health or the environment and (2) lack of published standards or a standard that is evolving or being reevaluated. Two emerging contaminants—trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchlorate—are of particular concern to DOD because they have significant potential to impact people or DOD's mission."—Why GAO Did This Study.


• John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Environmental Justice: Measurable Benchmarks Needed to Gauge EPA Progress in Correcting Past Problems (Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Superfund and Environmental Health, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate, GAO-07-1140T) (July 25, 2007)
  
  "EPA generally devoted little attention to environmental justice when drafting three significant clean air rules between fiscal years 2000 and 2004. GAO's 2005 report concluded, for example, that while EPA guidance on rulemaking states that workgroups should consider environmental justice early in the process, a lack of guidance and training for workgroup members on how to identify potential environmental justice impacts limited their ability to analyze such issues. Similarly, while EPA considered environmental justice to varying degrees in the final stages of the rulemaking process, in general the agency rarely provided a clear rationale for its decisions on environmental justice-related matters. For example, in responding to comments during the final phase of one of the rules, EPA asserted that the rule would not have any disproportionate impacts on low-income or minority communities, but did not publish any data or the agency’s assumptions in support of that conclusion."—What GAO Found.
  


• Alexandra D. Syphard, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, University of Wisconsin, et al., Human Influence on California Fire Regimes, Ecological Applications, v.17, no.5, pp.1388-1402 (July 2007)
  

  "A new study quantifies how distribution of housing developments and the kinds of fire fuels at the wildland-urban interface can help predict fires in California, a state that experiences monumental fire hazards."—Press release (July 18, 2007).
  

  The full-text of the study is available to subscribers to Ecological Applications.
  

• Union of Concerned Scientists, Creating Jobs, Saving Energy, and Protecting the Environment: An Analysis of the Potential Benefits of Investing in Efficient Cars and Trucks, A 2007 Update.
  
  "Increasing the average fuel economy of America's new autos to 35 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2018 would save consumers $61 billion at the gas pump and increase U.S. employment by 241,000 jobs in the year 2020, including 23,900 in the auto industry, according to a new analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). This study comes as the House of Representatives prepares to consider energy legislation in the coming weeks. This energy package could include debate over a bill introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Todd Platts (R-Penn.) that calls for increasing fuel economy standards by four percent per year, with guaranteed progress to 35 mpg by 2018."—Press release (July 11, 2007)


• United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), Report on the Fifteenth Session (12 May 2006 and 30 April-11 May 2007) (Economic and Social Council Official Records, 2007, Supplement No. 9, E/CN.17/2007/15)
  
  "[D]iscussions were based on a wide range of issues related to the interlinked themes of energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change"—UN Pulse (July 17, 2007)


• United States Department of Homeland Security, FY 2007 Homeland Security Grant Program (2007)
  
  "HSGP grants enhance the ability of states, territories, and urban areas to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks and other disasters. Including this funding, by the end of FY 2007, DHS will have invested $23 billion in local planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercises for state and local governments since September 11, 2001."—Press release (July 18, 2007). See the beSpacific link for related documents, including a National Congress for Health System Readiness report on state disaster response plans.


• United States Department of State, U.S. Climate Action Report—2006: Fourth National Communication of the United States of America under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (2007)
  

  "The United States is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to address global climate change that is science-based, fosters breakthroughs in clean energy technologies, and encourages coordinated global action in support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  

  "The U.S. strategy integrates measures to address climate change into a broader agenda that promotes energy security, pollution reduction, and sustainable economic development. This integrated approach recognizes that actions to address climate change, including actions to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, will be more sustainable and successful if they produce multiple economic and environmental benefits.
  

  "The United States is committed to continued leadership on climate change. Promoting biofuels, advanced fossil fuel technologies, renewable sources of energy, and advanced nuclear technologies is a key component of U.S. climate-related efforts. Since 2001, the Nation has dedicated nearly $29 billion to advance climate-related science, technology, international assistance, and incentive programs."—Executive Summary.
  

• United States Environmental Protection Agency, US-Mexico Border 2012 Program
  

  "U.S.-Mexico Environmental Program (Border 2012) is a collaboration between the United States and Mexico to improve the environment and protect the health of the nearly 12 million people living along the border. The bi-national program focuses on cleaning the air, providing safe drinking water, reducing the risk of exposure to hazardous waste, and ensuring emergency preparedness along the U.S.-Mexico border.
  

  "Border 2012 is a results-oriented program that takes a 'bottom-up' approach to addressing the environmental and public health needs of the border region. Issues and projects are identified and implemented at the local level. The program encourages stakeholder involvement through a variety of opportunities."
  

• United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Emergency Management Assistance Compact: Enhancing EMAC's Collaborative and Administrative Capacity Should Improve National Disaster Response (Report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, GAO-07-854) (June 2007)
  
  "EMAC, along with its accompanying policies, procedures, and practices, enables its members to overcome differences to achieve a common mission—streamlining and expediting the delivery of resources among members during disasters. While these policies, procedures, and practices have worked well for smaller-scale deployments, they have not kept pace with the changing use of EMAC, sometimes resulting in confusion and deployment delays. The EMAC network has taken steps to address several of these challenges, but additional improvements can be made in a number of areas including clarifying roles and responsibilities of EMAC members and improving existing systems that track resources deployed under EMAC. In addition, a lack of sufficiently detailed federal standards and policies has led to some reimbursement delays and additional administrative burdens."—What GAO Found.

Literary Warrant [10]

• Georgii A. Alexandrov, Carbon Stock Growth in a Forest Stand: The Power of Age Carbon Balance and Management, v.2, no.4 (March 26, 2007)
  
  "Understanding the relationship between the age of a forest stand and its biomass is essential for managing the forest component of the global carbon cycle. Since biomass increases with stand age, postponing harvesting to the age of biological maturity may result in the formation of a large carbon sink. This article quantifies the carbon sequestration capacity of forests by suggesting a default rule to link carbon stock and stand age.
  ...
  
  "The results of this study imply that forest age could be used as an easily understood and scientifically sound measure of the progress in complying with national targets on the protection and enhancement of forest carbon sinks."—Abstract.


• C40 Large Cities Climate Summit (May 14-17, 2007)
  
  "[L]eaders of municipal governments and international businesses from over thirty world cities convened in New York City for the second C40 Large Cities Climate Summit. Cities are responsible for three-quarters of the world's energy consumption, and as such, the world's largest cities have a critical role to play in the reduction of carbon emissions and the reversal of dangerous climate change."


• Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), Campaign Exposes Naked Truth About New Energy Efficient Washing Machines (Press release) (May 16, 2007)
  
  "The federal government's new energy efficiency standards for washing machines have destroyed the ability of many top-loaders to get clothes clean, according to the latest issue of Consumer Reports. Today the Competitive Enterprise Institute is launching a new campaign, calling on Americans to protest this fiasco by sending their underwear to the Undersecretary of Energy."


• Docuticker, Recent/Updated CRS Reports (May 14, 2007)
  
  Links to numerous reports addressing:
  
  
  • Energy and the Environment
  
  
  • Science and Technology
  
  
  • Food and Agriculture
  
  
  • Health and Healthcare


• Aasgeir Helland et al., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Reviewing the Environmental and Human Health Knowledge Base of Carbon Nanotubes Environmental Health Perspectives (doi:10.1289/ehp.9652) (May 10, 2007)
  
  "The widespread projected usage of CNT makes it important to understand their potential harmful effects. This environmental health review observed a remarkable spread of results in some toxicology studies. The comparability should be improved by further standardization and introduction of reference materials. However, in the meantime the findings of this review suggest several key points: There are different types of CNT and therefore they cannot be considered a uniform group of substances. In environmental compartments CNT can be bioavailable to organisms and their properties suggest a possible accumulation along the food chain and high persistence. In organisms the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity of CNT depend on the inherent physical and chemical characteristics, such as CNT functionalisation, coating, length and agglomeration state, which are influenced by the external environmental conditions during the CNT production, usage and disposal stages. Characterized exposure scenarios could therefore be useful when conducting toxicological studies. However, CNT will produce a toxic response once reaching the lungs in sufficient quantity, reactions produced in a time and dose dependent manner. The identification of possible risks to human health and environment is a prerequisite for a successful introduction of CNT in tomorrow's applications."—Abstract.


• Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law & Federal Communications Bar Association, The Crisis in Public Safety Communications, Federal Communications Law Journal (March 2007)
  
  "On December 8, 2006, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University sponsored a symposium entitled 'The Crisis in Public Safety Communications.' Public safety communications has recently become a priority for the Federal Communications Commission, and in response we decided to add the pieces produced for the symposium to this Issue. We are honored to have four distinguished Authors contribute to our Journal on such an important topic."—Editor's Note.


• Frances Irwin & Janet Ranganathan, World Resources Institute, Restoring Nature's Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Services (2007)
  
  "The authors contend that governance—who makes decisions, how they are made, and with what information—is at the heart of sustaining healthy ecosystems. With this as their fundamental tenet, the authors present an action agenda for reversing degradation of ecosystems and sustaining their capacity to provide vital services for generations to come. The action agenda identifies how decisions about development projects and investments can be made in ways that lead to healthy ecosystem services. These decisions, made by local and national governments, corporations, and international financial institutions, involve billions of dollars, affect huge swaths of land and water, and affect millions of people."


• Michael Le Page, Climate Change: A Guide for the Perplexed, New Scientist Environment (May 16, 2007)
  
  "[F]or those who are not sure what to believe, here is our round-up of the 26 most common climate myths and misconceptions."


• Miranda M. Loh et al., National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Ranking Cancer Risks of Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants in the United States Environmental Health Perspectives (doi:10.1289/ehp.9884) (May 15, 2007)
  
  "In conclusion, this analysis has attempted to estimate cancer risk from exposure to hazardous air pollutants to a general population, as well as high risk scenarios for certain compounds. The risk to the general population is two orders of magnitude larger than the EPA acceptable risk level. Including risks from highly exposed and susceptible subpopulations would increase this risk. Because regulatory decisions are based on risk evaluations, it is important to know where exposures are coming from and to include as much of the current toxicological information as possible. Our analyses provide insight not only about the high-risk compounds, but also about the predominant sources of exposure for those compounds, which will allow for more effective means of exposure reduction. Future research should focus on refining toxicity evidence for the high-risk compounds in our analysis and on filling some identified microenvironmental exposure gaps, to further reduce uncertainties in decisions regarding prioritization among HAPs (hazardous air pollutants) control measures."


• Karl Mallon, Director, Transition Institute, Australia; Greg Bourne Chief Executive, WWF-Australia; & Richard Mott, Vice President, WWF-US, Climate Solutions: The WWF Vision for 2050 (2007)
  
  "This WWF [World Wildlife Foundation] report seeks to answer the question: 'Is it technically possible to meet the growing global demand for energy by using clean and sustainable energy sources and technologies that will protect the global climate?' In other words, can a concerted shift to the sustainable energy resources and technologies that are available today meet the more than doubling of global energy demand projected by 2050, while avoiding dangerous climatic change of more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels?
  
  "The report's conclusion is that the technologies and sustainable energy resources known or available today are sufficient to meet this challenge, and there is still sufficient time to build up and deploy them, but only if the necessary decisions are made in the next five years. Yet it is clear that the economic policies and governmental interventions needed to propel this transition are not now in place, or even in prospect in most cases. This is a matter to which the world needs to give urgent attention."—Executive Summary.


• Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, Application of Biotechnology for Functional Foods (2007)
  
  "This report looks at the potential to develop functional foods through the application of modern biotechnology. The first section describes some recent scientific advances that could lead to functional foods on grocery store shelves, and the second section analyzes the legal authorities that could govern the use of biotechnology-derived functional foods.
  ...
  
  "The analysis of relevant statutory authorities suggests that there is ample legal authority to cover the kinds of functional foods currently being explored in laboratories, but that different authorities may come into play for different kinds of foods and that the application of different authorities can have significant consequences for product developers, food manufacturers and consumers. Different authorities impose different safety and labeling standards, have different requirements for regulatory review and clearance or approval, and could result in different levels of transparency to the public. The use of modern biotechnology to produce functional foods will not likely fundamentally challenge existing regulatory structures, but may challenge the boundaries of some regulatory classifications."—Preface


• Physicians for Civil Defense, Global Warming Primer, Civil Defense Perspectives, v.23, no.3 (March 2007)
  
  "Climate catastrophe from rising CO2 emissions is an implausible hypothesis that has been decisively disproved. In contrast to the trivial greenhouse effect of CO2, its powerful fertilizing effect has been ignored or denied. The proposed 'remedy' for the natural warming trend is to 'decarbonize' energy, either by keeping carbon-based fuels in the ground or pumping CO2 emissions back into the ground at enormous expense. This policy would starve the economy of energy, its lifeblood—and the biosphere of the basic building block of all life. A carbon-limited world is one that limits life itself, as well as freedom and prosperity. The temporary beneficiaries are unprincipled people who seek money and power. The price is poverty, misery, oppression, and death."—Conclusions.


• Elizabeth Ridlington, Policy Analyst, Frontier Group & Rob Sargent, Energy Program Director, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, The Clean Cars Program: How States Are Driving Cuts in Global Warming Pollution (May 2007)
  
  "Rising global temperatures, unpredictable weather and alarming scientific predictions have led to increasing public concern about the impacts of global warming on the environment, health and society. But while the Bush administration continues to resist efforts to reduce global warming pollution, many states are taking effective actions to address the threat—including the adoption of the 'Clean Cars Program,' which sets limits on global warming pollution from cars, light trucks and SUVs."—Executive Summary.


• Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, The International Day for Biological Diversity: Biodiversity and Climate Change (May 22, 2007)
  
  "Given the importance of climate change-biodiversity links, it is important to:
  
  
  • conserve biodiversity that is especially sensitive to climate change,
  
  
  • preserve habitats so as to facilitate the long-term adaptation of biodiversity,
  
  
  • mprove our understanding of climate change – biodiversity linkages, and
  
  
  • fully integrate biodiversity considerations into mitigation and adaptation plans."
  —Responding Actions.
  The web site includes links to literature and other resources on climate change and biodiversity.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), A Literature Review of Wipe Sampling Methods for Chemical Warfare Agents and Toxic Industrial Chemicals (EPA/600/R-07/004) (January 2007)
  
  "Wipe sampling is an important technique for the estimation of contaminant deposition in buildings, homes, or outdoor surfaces as a source of possible human exposure. Numerous methods of wipe sampling exist, and each method has its own specification for the type of wipe, wetting solvent, and determinative step to be used, depending upon the contaminant of concern. The objective of this report is to concisely summarize the findings of a literature review that was conducted to identify the state-of-the-art wipe sampling techniques for a target list of compounds. This report describes the methods used to perform the literature review; a brief review of wipe sampling techniques in general; an analysis of physical and chemical properties of each target analyte; an analysis of wipe sampling techniques for the target analyte list; and a summary of the wipe sampling techniques for the target analyte list, including existing data gaps.
  
  "In general, no overwhelming consensus can be drawn from the current literature on how to collect a wipe sample for the chemical warfare agents, organophosphate pesticides, and other toxic industrial chemicals of interest to this study. Different methods, media, and wetting solvents have been recommended and used by various groups and different studies. For many of the compounds of interest, no specific wipe sampling methodology has been established for their collection. Before a wipe sampling method (or methods) can be established for the compounds discussed in this report, two steps must be taken: (1) conduct investigative research to fill in the gaps in wipe sampling knowledge, and (2) conduct method validation to optimize the methods."—Abstract.


• The World Bank, The Little Green Data Book 2007 (2007)
  
  "Public discussion of climate change intensified during 2006 and early 2007. The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change published the fourth in its series of reports on the current scientific understanding of the impacts of climate change on natural, managed, and human systems; the capacity of these systems to adapt; and their vulnerability. The reports deem human causation of climate change to be very likely. Late 2006 saw the publication of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, which emphasizes the major economic costs of climate change under different emission scenarios and suggests that early action to curb emissions will reduce costs substantially. As a response to this renewed attention to climate change, the Focus section of The Little Green Data Book 2007 takes a closer look at carbon dioxide emissions."—Foreword.


• World Resources Institute, Climate Change and Energy Security Impacts and Tradeoffs in 2025
  
  "U.S. policymakers are now considering a range of options to address the issues of future U.S. energy security and climate change. Energy policies are often proposed to address some combination of these. Yet not all policy options have equal impacts across both, and many options have negative impacts with respect to one or the other.
  
  "This chart shows how selected energy options compare, with respect to energy security and climate change impact. Bubble size corresponds to energy provided or avoided in 2025 with respect to a 'business as usual' mix in 2025. Options in the upper-right quadrant have positive impacts with respect to climate change and energy security, while those in the lower-left have negative impacts to both. Those in the other quadrants involve tradeoffs. As depicted by the size of the bubbles, policy options vary significantly in their potential to meet future energy demand."

Literary Warrant [9]

• beSpacific, President Declares Major Disaster For Kansas (May 7, 2007)
  
  Links to press releases and other resources related to the tornado and flooding disaster.


• Gretchen Beyer, Senior Vice President, TechNet, Green Technologies: An Innovation Agenda for America (Recommendations of the TechNet Green Technologies Task Force) (2007)
  
  "TechNet, the bipartisan political network of chief executives that promotes the growth of the innovation economy, today unveiled comprehensive policy recommendations to spur the development and adoption of new technologies to improve energy efficiency, encourage use of renewable energy and protect the environment."—Press release (March 14, 2007)


• Climate Change?
  
  Figuratively speaking, that is, as in Lawsuit Climate 2007: Ranking the States. "The 2007 State Liability Systems Ranking Study was conducted for the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform among a national sample of in-house general counsel or other senior corporate litigators to explore how reasonable and balanced the tort liability system is perceived to be by U.S. business. The 2007 ranking builds on previous years' work where each year all 50 states are ranked by those familiar with the litigation environment in that state. Prior to these rankings, information regarding the attitudes of the business world towards the legal systems in each of the states had been largely anecdotal. The State Liability Systems Ranking Study aims to quantify how corporate attorneys view the state systems."—Executive Summary.


• Mike Daulton, Director of Conservation Policy, National Audubon Society, Impacts of Wind Turbines on Birds and Bats (Testimony...Before the Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans) (May 1, 2007)
  
  "As the threats of global warming loom ever larger, alternative energy sources like wind power are essential. Many new wind power projects will need to be constructed across the country as part of any serious nationwide effort to address global warming. This shift toward renewable energy is well underway. According to the American Wind Energy Association, over the past year the U.S. wind energy industry installed more than 2,400 megawatts of new power generation, making wind one of the largest sources of new power generation in the country at a time of growing electricity demand. The state of Texas recently announced its intention to become the country's wind power capital. Audubon supports the expansion of properly-sited wind power as a solution to global warming, and supports federal legislation, such as the Production Tax Credit and a Renewable Electricity Standard, which would further encourage this expansion and help to reduce pollution from fossil fuels.
  
  "At the same time, it is critical that this expansion be managed responsibly, because it is clear that wind facilities are capable of killing a large number of birds and other wildlife. Some early wind projects like Altamont in California are notorious for killing many raptors, including Golden Eagles. The lessons learned from Altamont still loom over the industry: if wind turbines are located in the wrong places, they can be hazardous and they can fragment critical habitat. In cases where the birds affected are already in trouble, such as sage grouse in windy parts of the Plains States, the turbines could push them closer to extinction."


• Mark Gaffigan, Acting Director Natural Resources and Environment, Government Accountability Office (GAO), Maritime Security: Opportunities Exist to Further Clarify the Consequences of a Liquefied Natural Gas Tanker Spill (Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, House of Representatives) (May 7, 2007)
  
  "The six studies GAO reviewed examining the potential effect of a fire resulting from an LNG spill produced varying results; some studies also examined other potential hazards of a large LNG spill and reached consistent conclusions on explosions. Specifically, the studies' conclusions about the distance at which 30 seconds of exposure to the heat (heat hazard) could burn people ranged from less than 1/3 of a mile to about 1-1/4 miles. Sandia National Laboratories (Sandia) conducted one of the studies and concluded, based on its analysis of multiple attack scenarios, that a good estimate of the heat hazard distance would be about 1 mile. Federal agencies use this conclusion to assess proposals for new LNG import terminals."—What GAO Found.


• Duncan Hollis, Opinio Juris (blog), Passing Gas through Passamaquoddy Bay (May 9, 2007)
  
  "Two different liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies are seeking approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build storage terminals along Maine's coastline abutting Passamaquoddy Bay. One proposal would have the LNG facility lie within the Passamaquoddy tribe’s Pleasant Point reservation (The Quoddy LNG project) while another would have it in Robbinston, Maine (the Downeast LNG project). There's already some tension between the two competing projects that may effect how the issue plays out down the line, but for now FERC is proceeding with its 18 month approval process on both applications. The Quoddy LNG projects appears our in front, having signed a contract a few weeks ago to buy a 300 acre parcel from the Passamaquoddy tribe for the terminal site.
  
  "The real controversy though lies outside the U.S. regulatory process in questions over how the LNG will reach any newly built terminals. To get to the Maine shoreline in Passamaquoddy Bay, tankers would need to traverse Head Harbor Passage and that passage by all accounts falls within Canadian waters. Canada along with several grass roots organizations do not want giant LNG tankers transiting these waters, which are narrow and difficult to navigate, raising the spectre of significant environmental and property damage should an accident (or even a terrorist attack) occur."


• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change—Summary for Policymakers (Working Group III contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report) (May 7, 2007)
  
  "The Working Group III contribution to the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) focuses on new literature on the scientific, technological, environmental, economic and social aspects of mitigation of climate change, published since the IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR) and the Special Reports on COB2B Capture and Storage (SRCCS) and on Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate System (SROC).
  
  "The following summary is organised into six sections after this introduction:
  
  • Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission trends
  
  
  • Mitigation in the short and medium term, across different economic sectors (until 2030)
  
  
  • Mitigation in the long-term (beyond 2030)
  
  
  • Policies, measures and instruments to mitigate climate change
  
  
  • Sustainable development and climate change mitigation
  
  
  • Gaps in knowledge."—Introduction.


• National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, A Governor's Guide to Homeland Security (2007)
  
  "A Governor's Guide to Homeland Security contains practical advice for governors on how to organize their states to prepare for and respond to hazards of all kinds effectively. It shares information and guidance on how to approach issues such as mutual aid, information sharing, obtaining assistance from the military and protecting critical infrastructure. Last published in 2002, the guide includes a significant amount of new and updated information."—Press release (March 15, 2007)


• Cymie R. Payne, ASIL Insight: U.S. Supreme Court, Greenhouse Gas Regulation and Foreign Policy Considerations, v.12, no.1 (May 3, 2007)
  
  "In time for Earth Day, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in the well-publicized case, Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, directing the agency to reconsider its refusal to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Justice Stevens opens with the facts of climate change that are the background to the case: respected scientists believe a well-documented rise in global temperatures is related to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the harms associated with climate change are serious and well recognized, and the transportation sector is a very large emitter of carbon dioxide. The Court reviews the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the history of U.S. diplomacy, the development of the international climate regime starting with scientific cooperation through the IPCC to the 1992 Earth Summit where the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was signed, and ultimately the Kyoto Protocol."


• Kenneth S. Rukstales & Jeffrey J. Love, United States Geological Survey (USGS), The International Geomagnetic Reference Field, 2005
  
  Strictly speaking, these maps are more "dynamic" than "juris," but they are "five world charts showing the declination, inclination, horizontal intensity, vertical component, and total intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field at mean sea level at the beginning of 2005." Further details, including an informative FAQs, may be found at the National Geomagnetism Program.


• Edward B. Rust, Jr., & Kerry Killinger, Financial Services Roundtable Blue Ribbon Commission on Mega-Catastrophes, A Call to Action (2007)
  
  "Federal, state and local governments, the private sector, and American citizens themselves, must be substantially better prepared to face the devastating impact of future mega-catastrophes. Governments at all levels, together with the private sector, must do a better job of attending to the human and economic needs of victims immediately after mega-catastrophes. These are two of the findings released in a new report A Call To Action by the Financial Services Roundtable Blue Ribbon Commission on Mega-Catastrophes. The report identifies other disaster preparedness needs and offers 25 recommendations to better prepare the nation for future catastrophes."—Press release (May 4, 2007)


• UN-Energy, Sustainable Bioenergy: A Framework for Decision Makers (April 2007)
  
  "The report pointed out the many benefits of bioenergy systems in relation to poverty alleviation, access to energy services, rural development and rural infrastructure. It reviewed the likely impact of bioenergy in terms of food security, climate change, biodiversity and natural resources, employment and trade. It also identified the vital points decision makers need to consider and stressed that, 'Unless new policies are enacted to protect threatened lands, secure socially acceptable land use, and steer bioenergy development in a sustainable direction overall, the environmental and social damage could in some cases outweigh the benefits.'"—FAO Newsroom press release (May 8, 2007)


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Trends: Air Quality and Emissions—Progress Continues in 2006
  
  "An early look at air quality and emissions data for 2006 shows continued improvement in the nation's air quality over the long term, EPA reports. Emissions of six key pollutants have dropped by more than half since 1970 and the national average concentration for each criteria pollutant is below the level of its air quality standard."—Air Pollution Down, Air Quality Up (Press release) (April 30, 2007)


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & United States Department of the Interior, Offices of Inspector General, Tribal Successes: Protecting the Environment and Natural Resources (May 2007)
  
  "Numerous Tribes use innovative practices to protect natural resources and the environment. This report showcases only a small sample of Tribal communities that demonstrate success in achieving natural resource and environmental goals. The overall intent of this report is to highlight examples of successful Tribal practices that will inspire and be useful to others in successfully implementing their own natural resource and environmental programs."—Preface.


• Urban Land Institute (ULI) & Ernst & Young, Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective (2007)
  
  "The United States' relatively low investment in virtually all aspects of mobility-related infrastructure—airports, public transit, railway systems, roads and bridges—is an 'emerging crisis' that will compromise the ability of the nation’s cities to compete globally, according to a new report co-published by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young.
  
  "Infrastructure 2007: A Global Perspective offers a comprehensive look at the status of current and planned infrastructure investment and development in a variety of categories in countries worldwide, with a particular focus on the United States, China, Japan, India, and Europe. The first of its kind, the report discusses the evolving infrastructure market, including private and combination public-private systems for funding, construction, operations and management."—Press release (May 9, 2007)

Literary Warrant [8]

• American Lung Association, State of the Air: 2007 (May 1, 2007)
  
  "For the first time since the American Lung Association began issuing its annual air quality report card, data reveal a split picture along either side of the Mississippi River, as particle pollution (soot)—the most dangerous pollutant—increased in the East but decreased in the West, while ozone (smog) decreased nationwide from peaks reported in 2002. The number of counties scoring an A grade for ozone levels increased from 82 in 2000 to 145 this year, but particle pollution levels show an ominous trend, with F grades nearly doubling in just one year, according to American Lung Association State of the Air: 2007."—Press release.


• John Blodgett, Deputy Assistant Director & Larry Parker, Specialist in Energy Policy, Resources, Science, and Industry Division, Congressional Research Service (CRS), Greenhouse Gas Emission Drivers: Population, Economic Development and Growth, and Energy Use (CRS Report for Congress, Order Code RL33970) (April 24, 2007)
  
  "Stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions would mean the rate of change equals zero. Globally, with a population growth rate of 1.4% per year and an income growth rate of 1.7% per year, intensity would have to decline at a rate of -3.1% per year to hold emissions at the level of the year that rate of decline went into effect. Within the United States, at the 1990s population growth rate of 1.2% per year and income growth rate of 1.8% per year, intensity would have had to decline at a rate of -3.0% per year to hold emissions level; however, U.S. intensity declined at a rate of -1.6%, leaving emissions to grow at 1.4% per year. President Bush's Climate Change Initiative seeks to increase the rate of intensity decline through 2012 by about -0.4% per year—well short of stabilizing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions."—Summary.


• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), CREW Documents Tell Story of Aid Not Used to Help Katrina Victims (April 29, 2007)
  
  "In light of today's Washington Post article, 'Most Katrina Aid From Overseas Went Unclaimed,' Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is posting the a series of documents obtained by CREW from the Dept. of State as a result of FOIA requests."—Press release.


• Defenders of Wildlife, Navigating the Arctic Meltdown: Arctic Cod (Wildlife and Global Warming) (2007)
  
  "Global warming could cause a drop in the number of Arctic cod, which are the most important prey species in northern seas and a key component of the Arctic food web, according to the latest chapter of Defenders of Wildlife's global warming series Navigating the Arctic Meltdown."—Press release (April 30, 2007)


• Peter DeShazo, Sarah Ladislaw & Tanya Primiani, Natural Gas, Energy Policy, and Regional Integration: Brazil and the Southern Cone (Center for Strategic and International Studies [CSIS] Policy Papers on the Americas, v.XVIII, study 1) (April 2007)
  
  "The wave of economic liberalization that swept through Latin America during the
  1990s had a profound effect on the energy sectors of most countries in the region.
  The broad trend toward privatization and deregulation provided an impetus for
  domestic and foreign investment in energy, with natural gas taking the lead role in
  several countries, most notably Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru."—Introduction. This publication summarizes presentations at a March 2007 CSIS Americas Program conference.


• Environmental Working Group, Rigged Game: How Oil & Gas Drilling on Public Lands Threatens Habitat—and Hunting (2007)
  
  "In just five Rocky Mountain states, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming, the federal government has currently leased almost 27 million acres of habitat for four key game species for oil and gas drilling. Drilling on these lands has doubled this decade with an average of 2,053 wells drilled per year between 2001 and 2006 compared to only 1,036 wells drilled per year between 1993 and 2000."—


• Charles D. Ferguson, Council on Foreign Relations, Nuclear Energy: Balancing Benefits and Risks (CSR no. 28) (April 2007)
  
  "Nuclear Energy: Balancing Benefits and Risks is a sobering and authoritative look at nuclear power. Dr. Ferguson argues that nuclear energy, despite its attributes, is unlikely to play a major role in the coming decades in strengthening energy security or in countering the harmful effects of climate change. In particular, the rapid rate of nuclear reactor expansion required to make even a modest reduction in global warming would drive up construction costs and create shortages in building materials, trained personnel, and safety controls. There are also lingering questions over nuclear waste, as well as continued political opposition to siting new plants. Nonetheless, the report points out steps the United States could take—such as imposing a fee on greenhouse gas emissions—to level the economic playing field for all energy sectors, which over the long run would encourage the construction of new nuclear reactors (if only to replace existing ones that will need to be retired) and help reduce global warming."—Richard N. Haass, Foreword.


• Government Accountability Project (GAP), Orders to Play Down 'Climate Change' Came From Wolfowitz' Office (April 27, 2007)
  
  "The Government Accountability Project (GAP) has acquired an internal World Bank document that summarizes a February 2006 meeting of World Bank officials regarding climate change and clean energy. The document indicates that orders to tone down references to 'climate change' in an environmental strategy paper originated in the office of Bank president Paul Wolfowitz."—Press release.


• Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education, prepared for the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, The Governors Speak—2007: A Report on the State-of-the-State Addresses of the Nation's and U.S. Territories' Governors (April 2007)
  
  Among the governors' highest priorities: "Energy and the Environment. Almost all governors (92 percent; 47 of 51) highlighted policies on the environment, energy, and natural resources. This year, 88 percent of governors (45 of 51) discussed efforts to develop traditional or alternative sources of energy or promote conservation, an increase from 69 percent in 2006 and 45 percent in 2005."—Introduction and Executive Summary.


• Randal O'Toole, Cato Institute, The Perfect Firestorm: Bringing Forest Service Wildfire Costs under Control (Policy Analysis no. 591) (April 30, 2007)
  
  "In the policy analysis The Perfect Firestorm: Bringing Forest Service Wildfire Costs under Control, O'Toole indicts bad science and bureaucratic growth for sticking Americans with a burgeoning tax bill to fund the Forest Service. The Forest Service's long history of manipulating research and public opinion to justify increased fire budgets began in 1908, when Congress took the extraordinary step of giving the agency a blank check for fire suppression. While Congress repealed that law in 1978, it continues to give the agency almost anything it requests for fire, and the Forest Service fire managers continue to operate as if there were no spending limits.
  
  "The result has been a massive shift in the priorities for national forest management, as some national forests are getting 60 percent or more of their funds from fire programs. Yet research shows that the Forest Service's one-size-fits-all solution to fire hazards can ecologically damage many forests even as it wastes taxpayers' money."—Press release.


• Joaquin Sapien, The Center for Public Integrity, Superfund Today: Massive Undertaking to Clean Up Hazardous Waste Sites Has Lost Both Momentum and Funding (Wasting Away) (April 26, 2007)
  
  "Toxic waste still plagues American communities 27 years after the U.S. government created a program to identify and clean up the country's worst sites, according to a two-part investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. Wasting Away: Superfund's Toxic Legacy reveals the beleaguered state of the Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund effort, uncovers the companies and government agencies linked to the most sites and tracks progress of the cleanup."—Press release.


• John B. Stephenson, Director, Natural Resources and Environment, United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), Climate Change: Financial Risks to Federal and Private Insurers in Coming Decades are Potentially Significant (Testimony Before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, U.S. House of Representatives) (GAO-07-820T) (May 3, 2007)
  
  "In this testimony, GAO (1) describes how climate change may affect future weather-related losses, (2) provides information on past insured weather-related losses, and (3) determines what major private insurers and federal insurers are doing to prepare for potential increases in such losses. This testimony is based on a report entitled Climate Change: Financial Risks to Federal and Private Insurers in Coming Decades are Potentially Significant (GAO-07-285) released on April 19, 2007."—Why GAO Did This Study.


• United States Army War College and Triangle Institute for Security Studies, Strategic Studies Institute, Global Climate Change: National Security Implications (Colloquium Brief) (2007)
  
  "The national security implications of climate change are proportional both to the speed of change and the extent. Public awareness should follow a coordinated strategic communication plan that focuses on maintaining credibility."—Key Insights.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) EPA Recognizes Largest-Ever Corporate Green Power Purchase (April 30, 2007)
  
  "EPA has recognized PepsiCo's commitment to purchase 100 percent green power. At more than 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh), this is the largest purchase to date under the agency's Green Power Partner program, and is enough to power 90,000 average American homes each year."—Press release.


• United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Inspector General, EPA Can Improve Its Managing of Superfund Interagency Agreements with U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Audit Report no. 2007-P-00021) (April 30, 2007)
  
  "EPA needs to better justify and support its decisions to enter into Superfund IAGs with the Corps. Decision memorandums used to justify awarding Superfund IAGs to the Corps did not contain comparisons of alternatives considered. Further, EPA did not develop independent cost estimates. This occurred because EPA generally believes the Corps has more construction and contracting expertise to manage Superfund projects than its own personnel. As a result, EPA has limited assurance that the Superfund IAGs it awards to the Corps are based on sound decisions. EPA regions have initiated some corrective actions, but further steps are needed."—What We Found.


• The World Bank, Carbon Expo 2007: World Bank, UNFCCC, Private Sector Call for an Expanded Carbon Market (May 2, 2007)
  
  "The seventh annual World Bank carbon market intelligence study, released today at CARBON EXPO, shows that the global carbon market tripled in 2006—to US$30 billion from US$10 billion in 2005. The market was dominated by the sale and resale of European Union Allowances (EUAs) at a value of nearly US$25 billion. The projects-based market in developing countries and in countries with economies in transition grew sharply to US$5 billion in 2006, more than doubling over the previous year...'These numbers are relevant because they demonstrate that the carbon market has become a valuable catalyst for leveraging substantial financial flows for clean energy in developing countries,' said Warren Evans, World Bank Director of Environment."—Press release.