Culture & Ethics
Is Geoengineering Inevitable?
As I write, talk, teach and think about climate change seemingly non-stop these days, I frequently come back to the pessimistic conclusion that we cannot solve the climate problem through mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions. I have this pessimistic thought while believing wholeheartedly that we must enact aggressive policies to cut emissions dramatically. My pessimism stems …
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CONTINUE READINGChocolate Coated Coal?
The Associated Press reports that Lindt USA (that’s right, the chocolate company) and Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) served up a new form of fuel on Tuesday when they mixed 18 tons of crushed cocoa bean shells with 600 tons of coal to power an electric power plant. The shells are a byproduct of chocolate production, …
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CONTINUE READINGStill waiting on Lubchenco and Holdren
On February 12, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing (see here for the webcast) on the nominations of Jane Lubchenco as NOAA Administrator and John Holdren as head of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Although Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) questioned Holdren sharply over some papers Holdren …
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CONTINUE READINGGreening the House
Congress is giving up on immediate carbon neutrality, but it’s not clear if this is real step forward giving the complexities involved with offsets. According to the Washington Post: The promise that the House would effectively reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero was a centerpiece of the Green the Capitol program in which the …
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CONTINUE READINGMore (and better) climate adaptation research needed
The National Research Council has just issued a new study on the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. The key conclusion: the current program does not effectively support societal response to climate change, in part because it is too focused on natural science to the exclusion of work on the human dimensions of climate change. The …
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CONTINUE READINGThe importance of outside advisors and career staff
Dan posted recently about the decision remanding EPA’s latest revision of the particulate NAAQS, American Farm Bureau v. EPA. One thing that struck me reading the decision is the powerful role played not only by outside advisory groups but also by career agency staff. Even if they are overridden by the political decisionmakers, the views …
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CONTINUE READINGOf Smelt, Salmon & Whales
The inter-connectivity of our ecosystem has been underscored by new and alarming scientific findings. Recently, the National Marine Fisheries Service has reported that the dramatic, well-documented declines in Pacific salmon fisheries may lead to the extinction of Pacific killer (Orca) whales. This killer whale population, a unique species, is already endangered under federal law, and …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA Working Conference on Nanotechnology Policy
The2009WorkingConferenceonNanotechRegulatoryPolicywillbeheldattheUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngelescampusonApril17. TheConferencewillbringtogetheraninterdisciplinarygroupofscholarsandresearchers,policymakers,non-governmentalorganizations,andbusinessesforaction-orientedworkshoppanelsonthescienceandpolicyofnanotechnology. ThegoaloftheConferenceistocriticallyevaluateseveralspecificpolicyproposalsforrespondingtothepotentialpublichealthandenvironmentalimpactsofnanotechnology. TheConferencewillexaminethreecategoriesofpolicyresponsesthroughseveralpanels: ∙ Relianceonexistingregulatoryprograms ∙ Developmentofinnovative“nano-specific”regulatoryprograms ∙ Relianceupon“private”regulation(e.g.,industryinitiatives,insurancemechanisms,etc.) ThepolicyproposalswillbesetoutinaseriesofsuccinctpaperscommissionedbytheConferencesponsorsanddistributedtoallparticipantsinadvanceoftheConference. ThesepaperswillbepublishedintheUCLAJournalofEnvironmentalLawandPolicy. Registration is availableonline. Visit the website at http://www.cnsi.ucla.edu/NanoRegulatoryPolicy/
CONTINUE READINGNew York City prepares for climate change’s impacts
New York City’s climate change task force report was released today. This report, which discusses how climate change will affect the city’s infrastructure and residents, has attracted some media attention. Notably, the New York Times has an article on the report. This is important, given how little attention the impacts of climate change on cities’ infrastructure have received to …
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CONTINUE READINGAnd the Beat Goes On . . .
Two recent reports drive home the fact that phasing-out harmful chemicals is typically only the beginning of effective chemical policy rather than the end. Methyl bromide, widely used in the last decade as a fumigant in California and elsewhere, is a toxic volatile organic compound and is ozone-depleting to boot. Although efforts are underway to …
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