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Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

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A Global High Shift Cycling Scenario

Monday, November 16th, 2015
Bike Share Users on São Paulo’s New Bicycle Infrastructure. With these policies, governments will be able to quickly increase the amount of cycling, walking, and public transport use and achieve the benefits of an HSC scenario.

INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION & DEVELOPMENT POLICY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS
Cycling plays a major role in personal mobility around the world, but it could play a much bigger role. Given the convenience, health benefits, and affordability of bicycles, they could provide a far greater proportion of urban passenger transportation, helping reduce energy use and CO2 emissions worldwide. This report presents a new look at the future of cycling for urban transportation (rather than recreation), and the potential contribution it could make to mobility as well as sustainability.

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Posted in Biking, Clean Air, Climate Change, Environment, Global, Infra Views, Policy, Pollution, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Urban Planning

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Market Impacts of the Clean Power Plan

Thursday, November 12th, 2015
Clean Power Plan Emissions Rate Goals: Projection of needed progress from 2020‐2030 (Source: EPA and SNL data)

BLACK & VEATCH Introduction On August 3, 2015, President Obama announced the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final Clean Power Plan (CPP) rule for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing fossil fuel electric generating units (EGUs). The final rule establishes CO2 emission performance rates based upon the EPA’s determination of the best system of emission […]

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Posted in Clean Air, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, National, Policy, Pollution, Sustainability

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New Technologies and Strategies to Cut Down Emissions

Wednesday, November 11th, 2015
Figure 2. Share of Ride-Sharable Trips Relative to Total Trips by Scenario

MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE Executive Summary It is widely recognized that new vehicle and fuel technology is necessary, but not sufficient, to meet deep greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions goals for both the U.S. and the state of California. Demand management strategies (such as land use, transit, and auto pricing) are also needed to reduce passenger vehicle […]

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Posted in Clean Air, Climate Change, Environment, Infra Views, Policy, Technology

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Industrial Efficiency in the Changing Utility Landscape

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015
Annual Electricity Consumption Has Decreased on Average: U.S. percentage demand growth, 1950-2040

THE PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS

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Lights Out? Storm Surge, Blackouts, and How Clean Energy Can Help

Monday, November 2nd, 2015
FIGURE 1. U.S. Electric Grid Disruptions

UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
To maintain our present and future access to reliable electricity—and all the health, safety, and economic benefits such access allows—we must prepare our electric grid for increased coastal flooding. One necessary approach is adapting electricity infrastructure. However, it is also critical to simultaneously pursue solutions that go beyond intervening with specific pieces of equipment. For that, we can look to bolstering the overall electricity resilience of critical facilities and vulnerable populations.

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Posted in Aging Infrastructure, Climate Change, Energy, Environment, Infra Views, Smart Grid, Sustainability

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Climate Change and the U.S. Energy Sector: Regional Vulnerabilities and Resilience Solutions

Thursday, October 29th, 2015
Projected Climate Impacts on U.S. Energy by Region

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Changes in climate create diverse challenges across the U.S. energy system. Some energy infrastructure assets have already suffered damage or disruption in services from a variety of climate-related impacts, such as higher temperatures, rising sea levels, and more severe weather events. In the absence of concerted action to improve resilience, energy system vulnerabilities pose a threat to America’s national security, energy security, economic wellbeing, and quality of life.

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Minnesota DOT: Protecting Bats Along the Mississippi River

Tuesday, October 27th, 2015

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources worked together to create new habitat for over 3,000 bats that will be displaced by the replacement of bridges crossing from Minnesota into French Island, Wisc. over the Mississippi River.

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The Decisions We Make Today Will Shape Tomorrow

Monday, October 26th, 2015
Figure 1: Business-as-usual urban contribution to the remaining carbon budget

C40 CITIES CLIMATE LEADERSHIP GROUP
The world is becoming ever more urban, with 1.5 million people moving into towns and cities every week, all requiring infrastructure like homes, roads, electricity and water supplies. As a result, the approach taken to urban infrastructure construction, renewal and refurbishment will play a substantial role in avoiding or locking in future emissions. For example, hundreds of millions of new homes will either produce large quantities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through poor energy performance, or avoid emissions through sensible and efficient design.

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Posted in Climate Change, Environment, Global, Infra Views, Smart Growth, Sustainability, Urban Planning

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2015 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard

Thursday, October 22nd, 2015
Figure ES1. 2015 State Scorecard rankings

AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY-EFFICIENT ECONOMY
In this ninth edition of our State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranks states on their policy and program efforts and recommends ways that states can improve their energy efficiency performance in various policy areas. The State Scorecard provides an annual benchmark of the progress of state energy efficiency policies and programs. It encourages states to continue strengthening their efficiency commitments in order to promote economic growth, secure environmental benefits, and increase their communities’ resilience in the face of the uncertain cost and supply of the energy resources on which they depend.

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Shared Solar: Current Landscape, Market Potential, and the Impact of Federal Securities Regulation

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015
Figure ES-1. Estimated PV market potential of onsite and shared solar distributed PV capacity

NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY
This report provides a high-level overview of the current U.S. shared solar landscape and the impact that a given shared solar program’s structure has on requiring federal securities oversight, as well as an estimate of market potential for U.S. shared solar deployment. Shared solar models allocate the electricity of a jointly owned or leased system to offset individual consumers’ electricity bills, allowing multiple energy consumers to share the benefits of a single solar array. Despite tremendous growth in the U.S. solar market over the last decade, existing business models and regulatory environments have not been designed to provide access to a significant portion of potential PV system customers.

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