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Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

Safeguarding California: Reducing Climate Risk

Wednesday, December 18th, 2013
Harris Fire, San Diego County, October 2007. Photo Credit: CAL FIRE - Wes Schultz

CALIFORNIA NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY
The Safeguarding California Plan provides policy guidance for state decision makers, and is part of continuing efforts to reduce impacts and prepare for climate risks. This plan, which updates the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy, highlights climate risks in nine sectors in California, discusses progress to date, and makes realistic sector-specific recommendations.

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Guest on The Infra Blog: Annise D. Parker, Mayor of Houston

Tuesday, December 17th, 2013
Annise D. Parker, Mayor of Houston

Mayor Parker is Houston’s 61st mayor and one of only two women to hold the City’s highest elected office. As the City’s chief executive officer, she is responsible for all aspects of the general management of the City and for enforcement of all laws and ordinances…In addition to her duties as mayor, Parker is a member of President Obama’s Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, serves as a member of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s Advisory Council and on the boards of the Texas Environmental Research Consortium and Houston Galveston Area Council.

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Natural Gas and Renewables in Texas

Thursday, December 12th, 2013
Table I-1: Overview of Modeled ERCOT Scenarios

THE TEXAS CLEAN ENERGY COALITION
In the electrically-independent power system of Texas known as ERCOT, the evolution of the power sector is especially related to the development path for renewable energy and natural gas-fired power. With over 12,000 MW of installed capacity, Texas is the largest state producer of wind-powered electricity in the U.S. Wind resources in Texas are more than double the next two largest wind capacity states combined. At the same time, Texas is the leading U.S. producer of natural gas, and the state generates nearly half its electricity from natural gas plants, substantially more than it generates from coal or nuclear power. Texas also has abundant, high-quality wind resources and solar energy potential.

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Renewable Energy in the 50 States: Northeastern Region

Thursday, December 5th, 2013
ELECTRICITY GENERATION BY SOURCE, 2012

AMERICAN COUNCIL ON RENEWABLE ENERGY
With high electricity prices, a reliance on imported energy, and ongoing retirements of fossil fuel power plants, the Northeast has a strong incentive to develop local, renewable sources of energy. Aided by a well-established, supportive portfolio of policies in nearly every Northeastern state, the region ranks second in the nation for both solar power capacity and biomass power capacity. However, renewable energy capacity overall is lower than in the other regions profiled by ACORE’s Renewable Energy in the 50 States report, with fewer large-scale renewable energy facilities like wind farms.

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Exaggerating the Employment Impacts of Shale Drilling: How and Why

Friday, November 29th, 2013
The Utica underlies the Marcellus in many areas, coming closer to the surface in eastern Ohio,

MULTI-STATE SHALE RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE
Over the last five years, firms with an economic interest in the expansion of drilling in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations — and their allies, supporters, and trade associations — have used a variety of tools and techniques to exaggerate the employment impacts of shale drilling. These strategies have ranged from the use of inappropriate measures, such as data on new hires, to represent job growth to the misleading attribution of all jobs in “ancillary” industries to the shale industry.

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Opportunities and Potential Complications for Renewable Energy

Thursday, November 28th, 2013
Figure 2. MLP market cap by sector

NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
A prime example of an MLP in today’s public marketplace is an energy pipeline operator that
moves crude oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products through its network of pipelines.
The MLP is paid fees based on pipe capacity and volumes transported, not on the price of the
underlying commodity in the pipe. P

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Wasting Water Endangers Texas’ Rivers, Fish and Wildlife

Monday, November 18th, 2013
To the Last Drop: Wasting Water Endangers Texas

ENVIRONMENT TEXAS
Investing in water efficiency and conservation measures will help protect Texas’ rivers and is a better choice for meeting the state’s water needs than building new reservoirs and adding pipelines to transfer water to distant consumers.

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Los Angeles County: Clean Energy Investment Potential

Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Arroyo Verdugo: MAP Statistics

ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND
Changes in energy conservation and generation began decades ago in California, but transformation will involve a sustained effort with benefits for action realized now. For one, there are state and local funding vehicles to support investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy projects such as rooftop solar installations.

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Time to Change the Game: Fossil Fuel Subsidies and Climate

Tuesday, November 12th, 2013
Figure 1: Fossil fuel subsidies and emissions in the E11

OVERSEAS DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE
By Shelagh Whitley
Fossil fuel subsidies undermine international efforts to avert dangerous climate change and represent a drain on national budgets. They also fail in one of their core objectives: to benefit the poorest. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies would create a win-win scenario. It would eliminate the perverse incentives that drive up carbon emissions, create price signals for investment in a low-carbon transition and reduce pressure on public finances.

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Veterans Advancing Clean Energy and Climate Security

Monday, November 11th, 2013

The Champions of Change series highlights ordinary Americans who are doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world. On November 5, 2013, the White House honored 12 veterans and leaders who are using the skills they learned in the armed services to advance the clean energy economy.
-U.S. Department of Energy on YouTube

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