John Hennessy III,
P.E.
INTERNATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENCY (IRENA)
The reduction of pollution and climate impact through rapidly increased use of renewable energy by 2030 could save up to USD 4.2 trillion per year worldwide, 15 times the associated costs of doubling the share of renewables. Today’s energy markets, however, do not adequately value climate impact or air pollution. Energy and environmental policies need to correct for these externalities.
AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION
The “State of the Air 2016” found continued improvement in air quality in 2012–2014, showing lower levels of year-round particle pollution and ozone. Still, more than half of all Americans—166 million people—live in counties where they are exposed to unhealthful levels of these pollutants.
CAMBRIDGE ECONOMETRICS
THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR CLEAN TRANSPORTATION
Policies to tackle climate change are likely to lead to lower oil prices, according to the results of this analysis. As governments start implementing the Paris Agreement, they will increasingly need to cut carbon emissions from transport by curbing the combustion of petroleum fuels. Lower oil prices will prevail in this lower-demand scenario, compared to a business-as-usual scenario where oil demand would rise unchecked and in line with economic growth and expanding mobility trends.
CONSUMERS UNION
California is a global leader in developing and implementing clean transportation policies. The State’s regulatory approach is multifold, using various policy instruments to improve the efficiency of vehicles, reduce the carbon intensity of fuels, and increase options for mobility. These policies are a mix of market-based approaches, direct regulation approaches, and planning opportunities. These policies will have impacts on the pricing of consumer goods such as automobiles and fuels– both of which represent a significant share of consumer expenditures.
ENVIRONMENT AMERICA
Our transition to a clean energy system has already begun. But, with the need to reduce the pollution that causes global warming growing more urgent every day, we need to step up the pace. To maximize the benefits of moving to 100 percent renewable energy, leaders at all levels must act to accelerate our progress. America’s energy policy should facilitate mass deployment of clean energy solutions, support research and development of new clean energy technologies, and keep much of our coal, oil and gas reserves in the ground.
The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at 1:30pm ET in order to discuss the impacts of climate change on engineering services and civil infrastructure…The potentially severe impacts on civil infrastructure from climate change require updating infrastructure policy to integrate climate resilience planning into current decision-making. For the engineering profession, this means new service opportunities.
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Wind Program is committed to helping the nation secure cost-competitive sources of renewable energy through the development and deployment of innovative wind power technologies. By investing in improvements to wind plant design, technology development, and operation as well as developing tools to identify the highest quality wind resources, the Wind Program serves as a leader in making wind energy technologies more competitive with traditional sources of energy and a larger part of our nation’s renewable energy portfolio.
URBAN GREEN COUNCIL Introduction Frankfurt and other German cities are renowned for their commitment to quality construction and engineering. London is filled with historic and diverse buildings. Singapore is famous for its direct regulation of behavior. Sydney and the rest of Australia attempted to put a price on carbon. San Francisco is a legislative testing […]
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MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE
The objective of this research is to assess whether natural disasters and experience with damaged infrastructure affect views on whether public funding should be dedicated to protecting the vulnerability of communities. Survey data were collected via a random-digit dialing phone survey approximately four months after Superstorm Sandy with the explicit research purpose of gathering information on attitudes and opinions following a major disaster. This provides a unique opportunity to assess, under extreme events, whether the public supports increasing various tax revenues or floating a bond issue dedicated to reducing vulnerability.
“We need an energy miracle,” says Bill Gates in this interview with Atlantic editor in chief James Bennet. “That may make it seem too daunting to people, but miracles in science are happening all the time.” So, what are the solutions to climate change? Gates has pledged to invest $2 billion in new alternative energy technologies. In this discussion with Bennet, he extolls the necessity of investment in vast and varied technologies to change such a massive infrastructure quickly. Read more about Gates’s commitment to moving the world beyond fossil fuels in the November 2015 issue of The Atlantic.
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