Climate Change Issues: Options for Addressing Challenges to Carbon Offset Quality. GAO-11-345, February 15.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-345
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11345high.pdf
Recovery Act: Status of Department of Energy’s Obligations and Spending, by Franklin Rusco, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Energy and Commerce. GAO-11-483T, March 17.
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-11-483T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d11483thigh.pdf
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final rule that extends the deadline for reporting 2010 data under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Program to September 30, 2011. The original deadline was March 31, 2011. EPA previously announced its intent to extend the deadline on March 1, 2011.
Under the GHG Reporting Program entities required to submit data must register with the electronic GHG reporting tool (e-GGRT) no later than 60 days before the reporting deadline. With this reporting deadline extension, the new deadline for registering with e-GGRT is August 1, 2011.
Following conversations with industry and others and in the interest of providing high quality data to the public this year, EPA is extending this year’s reporting deadline to September 30, 2011. This extension will allow EPA to further test the system that facilities will use to submit data and give industry the opportunity to test the tool, provide feedback, and have sufficient time to become familiar with the tool prior to reporting.
In addition to the nine rulemakings necessary to comply with congressional direction for the program, over the past two years EPA has established a public help center that operates through our website and efficient mechanisms for stakeholders to get answers from EPA experts to detailed technical questions. EPA has also conducted training sessions with each affected sector and held hundreds of meetings with stakeholders across the country.
EPA’s GHG Reporting Program, launched in October 2009, requires the reporting of GHG data from large emission sources across a range of industry sectors, as well as suppliers of products that would emit GHGs if released or combusted. The data will help guide policy decisions and the development of future programs which the Agency might implement to reduce these emissions. It will also help industries and businesses find ways to be more efficient and save money.
Read the full story from Penn State University.
An environmentally friendlier method of separating oil from tar sands has been developed by a team of researchers at Penn State. This method, which utilizes ionic liquids to separate the heavy viscous oil from sand, is also capable of cleaning oil spills from beaches and separating oil from drill cuttings, the solid particles that must be removed from drilling fluids in oil and gas wells.
Wed, Mar 30, 2011 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CDT
Register at https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/366263678
Natalie Hummel and Kathy Davey of EPA will present an overview of the P2 Greenhouse Gas and Cost Savings Tools along with examples of how specific P2 activities/practices apply to these calculators. The presentation will help in understanding and reporting environmental and economic performance results.
The tools are designed for those that are interested in quantifying P2 activities/strategies into real performance results. Grantees, program managers, nonprofits, and small businesses are welcome to attend.
Natalie Hummel holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and has been with the EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) for over six years. Natalie joined the Agency as a Presidential Fellowship and completed rotational assignments at the Chesapeake Bay Program and the National Park Service working on urban stormwater and coastal estuary environmental issues. She has extensive experience in budgeting, performance measurement, policy, and planning. Currently, Natalie is assisting the Pollution Prevention Program with E3 efforts in PA and WVA.
Kathy Davey is a senior environmental protection specialist with a law degree in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Upon joining EPA, Ms. Davey spent several years in negotiated rulemakings in facilitative support roles. One of Ms. Davey’s first assignments in the Pollution Prevention Division was reporting on how the provisions of the Pollution Prevention Act were being used in rulemakings in EPA air, water, and waste programs. Ms. Davey developed the idea for an EPA-wide body to cultivate holistic solutions in the Agency, which became the Office Directors’ Pollution Prevention and Multimedia Forum. Ms. Davey now specializes in developing measurement and decision support tools for sustainability outcomes and forging links across technical, regulatory, and sustainability efforts within the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. Ms. Davey received her law degree from the George Washington University.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) will present a webcast on Utility Energy Service Contracts and Energy Project Incentive Funds on Thursday, April 7, 2011.
Presenters Julia Kelly of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Phil Coleman of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and David McAndrew of FEMP will discuss how Federal agencies can partner with local utilities to fund energy improvement projects. The seminar will provide an overview of:
- The purpose and benefits of Utility Energy Service Contracts
- Authorizing legislation and primary contracting methods
- Steps for successful project implementation
- Available resources for assistance
- Rules and best practices for Energy Project Incentive Funds
FEMP encourages participants to e-mail or call-in their questions before and during the program to receive tailored advice from the experts during the live “Q&A” segment. Questions mailed before the program can be sent to FTS@energyworkshops.org.
The 90-minute training is free of charge, but you must register in advance with FEMP to obtain an Internet URL for the presentation. The broadcast, titled “Utility Energy Service Contracts and Energy Project Incentive Funds,” will take place Thursday, April 7, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
Register to attend the online seminar.
FEMP First Thursday Seminars are no-cost training opportunities to help Federal energy, environmental, and fleet professionals plan and execute projects to help meet Federal goals and requirements. For more information, visit the FEMP First Thursday Seminars website.
Read the full story in Governing.
Even a decade later, I still recall a conversation I had as the mayor of Indianapolis with a regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official about the challenges of dealing with combined sewer overflows (CSO). I asked him if the measure of our success would be how clean the river was or how much money we had spent reducing the overflows. He admitted it would be the latter.
Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.
As a dedicated energy crop, some might describe field pennycress as that old, clichéd saying, “too good to be true,” but companies such as Arvens Technology and Alion Science and Technology assert they have proof to show that such a nontraditional crop, planted during harvest time and harvested during the planting season, can provide real benefits.
Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on March 14 that USDA is seeking applications to increase the production and use of renewable energy sources. Funding is available from three USDA Rural Development renewable energy programs authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the Farm Bill).
Read the full story in Biodiesel Magazine.
U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., introduced the Securing America’s Future with Energy and Sustainable Technologies Act March 10. According to information released by Klobuchar’s office, the bill, known as the SAFEST Act, aims to develop and deploy safe, reliable domestically grown and produced energy by establishing strong, renewable energy and energy-efficiency standards, incentives for developing biofuels and biofuel infrastructure, and targets for the availability of advanced vehicle technologies.
Posted in Biofuels, Policy
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Read the full post at Treehugger.
When I asked whether organic eggs taste the same as regular eggs, commenter Grouch kindly noted how important it is to be constantly “examining and testing one’s assumptions and beliefs”. Others, however, seem to disagree. My recent posts on meat eating—most notably my piece on why vegans are welcome to call me a murderer—drew some people to argue that I was just using TreeHugger to “air my dirty laundry” and ease my repressed guilt. Nevertheless, I side with Grouch on this one. Unless we all constantly test our beliefs and assumptions, the green movement runs the risk of becoming the niche, fringe phenomenon that many detractors claim it to be already.
Although the title is provocative, the author makes some good points. There are many paths to sustainability. We all need to worry less about being right and more about making the best decisions we can in the moment, then rethinking and testing our assumptions and beliefs. To quote the late, great Frank Zappa, “A mind is like a parachute. It doesn’t work if it is not open.”
