Proposed Order on Floodplain Development
The White House is considering a new executive order to limit floodplain development. The proposal covers roughly the same federal licensing, project, and funding decisions as NEPA. The heart of the proposal is section 4, which unlike NEPA imposes a substantive requirement (preventing or mitigating floodplain development.) The proposed language is after the jump. This is a very constructive step -- we can't keep putting people and infrastructure in harm's way, ...
CONTINUE READINGPublic Enemies: EPA’s Most Wanted List
EPA has a list of fugitives, all of them wanted in connection with environmental crimes. Defendants charged with environmental crimes or violations of the U.S. Federal Criminal Code sometimes flee the court’s jurisdiction and/or the USA rather than face prosecution or to serve a sentence. When these circumstances occur, the defendants become fugitives from justice. The following wanted posters identify fugitives sought by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation D...
CONTINUE READINGWhy Al Franken Matters
Norm Coleman was pretty good on environmental issues. But Franken has the capacity to become a real leader on environment and energy issues. In his campaign, he called for a major push on clean energy: When I was a kid, I watched John F. Kennedy tell us that we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. I thought he was nuts. But he put our greatest minds and the full backing of the government behind the project, and we did it. Today, I think we need a ...
CONTINUE READINGEnvironmental Economics at EPA
EPA's Science Advisory Board is considering feedback to EPA's 2008 draft guidelines on economic analysis. The preliminary SAB draft makes a number of interesting points: EPA needs to recongize that it's discretion is limited: "only the legislative branch has the power to tax, subsidize, or assign liability, and both the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act very clearly specify what kinds of regulations EPA may promulgate." The guidelines are badly out of date, part...
CONTINUE READINGNo drilling for dollars this year
Earlier this week, Cara noted that the tentative state budget agreement struck between California Gov. Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders included permission for new oil drilling in the state's waters off Santa Barbara, despite the fact that the State Lands Commission, the body responsible for issuing oil leases, had rejected the proposal in January. Cara also noted that the drilling plan was not yet a done deal. That turns out to be the story. California has not ...
CONTINUE READINGCap-and-Trade: What are the Odds?
Intrade is now giving 50:50 odds on the passage of a cap-and-trade scheme by the end of 2010. (20% for 2009). I'm not necessarily a huge believer in the wisdom of crowds, but they've done pretty well with election forecasting. Note that there are some ambiguities about the "contract" being traded: "A cap and trade system for emissions trading to be established before midnight ET on 31 Dec 2010 in the United States." Does it apply only to the passage of federal cli...
CONTINUE READINGMoves at EPA
From EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson: I would like to share news of three key appointments to the senior staff at EPA: Lisa Heinzerling, who has been named Associate Administrator for the Office of Policy, Economics and Innovation (OPEI); David McIntosh, who has been appointed as Associate Administrator for the Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations (OCIR); and Seth Oster, who recently assumed the position of Associate Administrator for the Office of Publ...
CONTINUE READINGWater for Power Plants: A Major Concern All of Its Own
As the demand for freshwater grows and supplies dwindle, should water use become a major factor in choosing new sources of electric power? That is a question addressed recently in a hearing sponsored by a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology. The United States Geological Survey says that 48 percent of freshwater withdrawals nationwide are for electric power production. Water is needed to make steam in most thermal power plants, and fo...
CONTINUE READINGHow is Cap’n Trade’s brand faring? The Jon Stewart barometer
There's been some good discussion of the pros and cons of the Waxman-Markey ACES bill at Ethan's recent post criticizing cap-and-trade. One commenter worries that , whether or not the bill would ultimately succeed in reducing greenhouse emissions, the public perception of ACES is that it's a corporate giveaway, which harms all efforts for environmental regulation. Red Desert writes, "Voters they see a bill like W-M handing out billions to industries–like finance...
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