John Hennessy III,
P.E.
Texas has some of the best solar energy resources in the country. ERCOT, Texas’s power grid operator, predicts that at least 13 GW of solar will be installed in Texas by 2030…What does Texas’s solar power boom mean for West Texas towns like Fort Stockton, where a significant number of the state’s large-scale solar projects are being constructed?
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BOSTON ACTION RESEARCH
CIVIL SOCIETY INSTITUTE
The problem comes down to this: Private water utilities are competing with publicly owned and operated water utilities for public dollars because public financing is cheaper than private financing. Moreover, the evidence clearly shows that private water companies are no more efficient and, at times, less efficient than public companies in delivering water services. The end result is that the promised advantages of privatization (access to new financing and better service) have not materialized. The bottom line is that there is no advantage to having a private water company over a public water company in terms of service delivery. And public water companies have a big advantage in terms of cost. Private companies have a fiduciary responsibility to stockholders to pay dividends, which ultimately results in higher water bills for customers; public water companies pay no dividends.
In this edition, we visit the Sinking Creek Watershed in Laurel County. The watershed, which feeds into the Rockcastle River is a ‘Kentucky Outstanding Resource Water,’ because of the animals that inhabit it — including endangered mussels…To keep the waters as pure as possible, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) encourages residents and businesses in the watershed to apply road salt wisely during the winter months.
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NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY (NREL)
State renewable portfolio standards (RPS) currently exist in 29 states and Washington, D.C. Most of these policies, enacted largely during the late 1990s and 2000s, will reach their terminal targets within the next decade. As states consider extending, eliminating, or otherwise revising existing RPS programs, or developing new ones, increasing attention is being paid to the costs, benefits, and other impacts of these policies.
AMERICAN ROAD & TRANSPORTATION BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
As the use of alternative-fuel and electric cars and trucks continues to grow as a share of the U.S. fleet, state governments are relying on a mixture of user fees and taxes to ensure these drivers are contributing their fair share to highway and bridge construction and maintenance programs…The number of alternative-fuel cars and light trucks is expected to grow from 21.5 million vehicles in 2016—accounting for 9 percent of the U.S. vehicle stock—to 29.3 million vehicles in 2021, or about 12 percent of the entire fleet, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Alternative-fuel vehicles include electric cars and trucks, hybrids, and vehicles that run on propane, fuel cells and natural gas.
We were so excited to be chosen as the host state for ICOET 2017, so we decided to make a video. We hope it motivates you to come to Salt Lake City and enjoy the rest of what Utah and Wyoming have to offer!
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This video is about the health and environmental benefits of active transportation, defined as “any self-propelled, human-powered mode of transportation, such as walking or bicycling” (CDC, 2011).
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RE:FOCUS PARTNERS
Investing in resilience is complicated. Like healthcare, there are multiple strategies that can and should be combined to improve overall health. For example, there are things you can do regularly to ward off risks (preventative care), other options to address acute conditions (treatment or medical intervention), and finally actions you can take to ensure that illness doesn’t bankrupt you or those who depend on you (health and life insurance)…Strategies to protect communities from disasters follow a similar pattern. Projects to increase resilience—infrastructure upgrades or new protections—are designed to reduce the physical risks of damages. Once prevention is no longer an option, disaster response and recovery measures, including disaster aid and reconstruction funds, are designed to help the system recover and rebound back to health more quickly.
MIDDLEBURY INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES AT MONTEREY
CENTER FOR THE BLUE ECONOMY
In 2013, the American Petroleum Institute and the National Ocean Industries Association, oil and gas industry groups, commissioned Quest Offshore Resources, Inc., to prepare a report (the Quest report) on the economic impacts of offshore drilling in the Atlantic. This report has been widely cited to make the case for opening the Southeast to oil and gas development based on significant local, state, and regional benefits from drilling…This summary identifies issues with the Quest report that lead to significant overestimates of the economic impacts of offshore drilling in the Atlantic and provides an overview of the existing ocean economy of the South Atlantic region in order to provide the context of the industries that could be vulnerable to disruptions from oil and gas activity.
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL
As California bids farewell to a fourth, searing year of drought, we don’t know what Mother Nature has in store for us next year. We may face torrential downpours associated with the strong El Niño in the Pacific Ocean. We may face another crippling year of drought. Or we could experience something in between. But we do know that California has experienced multi-year droughts in the past and will again. As a state, we must prepare for these inevitable droughts if we are to continue to support our growing population, thriving economy, and healthy environment.
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