Tuesday, May 17, 2011

2011 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report -- EPA

This report by the EPA shows overall emissions during 2009 decreased by 6.1 percent from the previous year. This downward trend was attributed to a decrease in fuel and electricity consumption across all U.S. economic sectors. Total emissions of the six main greenhouse gases in 2009 were equivalent to 6,633 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride. The report indicates that overall emissions have grown by more than 7.3 percent from 1990 to 2009. Emissions in 2009 represent the lowest total U.S. annual GHG emissions since 1995. These numbers reflect the most up to date data at the time of publication.

A Review of the New England Fisheries ManagementProcess -- NOAA

This report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, dated April 2011, concludes that fisheries management in New England is beset with problems and challenges that are characteristic of fisheries management in general but may be even more acute in this area now due to concurrently changing factors of law, management programs, and economics. There is a great deal of frustration among all stakeholder groups over the difficulty (some might say inability) to make progress and having to constantly work in an environment of contention and mistrust. Improving this working environment will require significant investments of time, resources and ingenuity to put into place ideas and solutions for both short- and long-term improvements

8th Annual Meeting Environmental Consortium of Hudson Valley Colleges & Universities

The 8th annual meeting of the Environmental Consortium of the Hudson Valley will take place November 11-12, 2011 at the College of St. Rose, Albany, New York.

Faculty, staff, administrators, students, non-profit representatives, community government and others will be invited.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Science and the Reasonable Development of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Resources in Pennsylvania and New York

This article by Lynn Kerr McKay, Ralph H. Johnson, and Laurie Alberts Salita appeared in Energy Law Journal (35 Energy Law Journal 125) and concludes "The success of efforts to explore and develop Marcellus Shale natural gas resources progress depends on continued critical and scientific evaluation of information concerning all aspects of this enterprise. Claims regarding water well contamination and NORM arising from Marcellus Shale operations will likely continue. Reasoned and technically-informed assessment of available data is vital to determining the appropriate level of regulation, industry best practices, and allocation of resources to address environmental impacts and potential health effects."

Commercial Nuclear Waste: Effects of a Termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program and Lessons Learned -- GAO

This report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO-11-229), dated April 2011, finds that "terminating the Yucca Mountain repository program could bring benefits, such as allowing DOE to search for a more acceptable alternative, which
could help avoid the costly delays experienced by Yucca Mountain. However,
there is no guarantee that a more acceptable or less costly alternative will be
identified; termination could instead restart a costly and time-consuming
process to find and develop an alternative permanent solution. It would also
likely prolong the need for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel at reactor
sites, which would have financial and other impacts. For example, the federal
government bears part of the storage costs as a result of industry lawsuits
over DOE’s failure to take custody of commercial spent nuclear fuel in 1998,
as required. These costs exceed $15.4 billion and could grow by an additional
$500 million a year after 2020."

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A Review of the New England Fishery Management Process -- NOAA

Released on April 26, 2011, this report "is the first phase of a regional assessment and management review focused on the relationships among the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Regional Office, and NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the external factors influencing the process. The results of the review, which were presented by Preston Pate at the New England Fishery Management Council Meeting, included recommendations to improve New England’s fishery management processes."

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

New Library Acquisitions -- Week of May 2, 2011

Agriculture
The environmental food crisis : the environment's role in averting future food crises : a UNEP rapid response assessment / Christian Nelleman (editor in chief) ... [et al.]

Animal Law
The bond : our kinship with animals, our call to defend them / Wayne Pacelle

Benedict XVI, Pope
Ten commandments for the environment : Pope Benedict XVI speaks out for creation and justice / Woodeene Koenig-Bricker

Climate Change
The great disruption : why the climate crisis will bring on the end of shopping and the birth of a new world / Paul Gilding

Energy Policy
Life without oil : why we must shift to a new energy future / Steve Hallett and John Wright

Environmentalism
The green wave : environmentalism and its consequences / Bonner R. Cohen

Rooted in the earth : reclaiming the African American environmental heritage / Dianne D. Glave

Heritage Sites
Sacred natural sites : conserving nature and culture / edited by Bas Verschuuren...[et al.]

Oceans
Moby-duck : the true story of 28,800 bath toys lost at sea, and of the beachcombers, oceanographers, environmentalists, and fools-- including the author-- who went in search of them / Donovan Hohn

Real Estate
Environmental aspects of real estate and commercial transactions : from brownfields to green buildings / James B. Witkin, editor

Science
Is a little pollution good for you? : incorporating societal values in environmental research / Kevin C. Elliott

Urban Environment
Triumph of the city : how our greatest invention makes us richer, smarter, greener, healthier, and happier / Edward L. Glaeser

Sustainability for the Global Biofuels Industry - Minimizing Risks and Maximizing Opportunities -- DOE Webinar

The U.S. Department of Energy's Biomass Program is hosting a webinar on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT, entitled "Sustainability for the Global Biofuels Industry: Minimizing Risks and Maximizing Opportunities." This Web conference is the next installment in the Biomass Program's webinar series, which will cover many of the Program's activities and feature discussions on "Hot Topics" relevant to the development of renewable fuels, power, and products from biomass resources.

This webinar will feature an overview of sustainability issues related to the development of a global biofuels market. A panel of speakers from Conservation International will be discussing results of the DOE-supported Sustainable Biofuel Crops Project, including identified risks and opportunities for global biofuels production, results of field studies to develop responsible biofuel crop management strategies, and implications for land-use planning, policy and developing markets.

DOE's Biomass Program welcomes interested stakeholders from industry, academia, research institutions, government, non-profits, other organizations, and the general public. Presenters include:

DOE Biomass Program


•Alison Goss Eng, Sustainability Lead
•Ranyee Chiang, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow

Conservation International


•Christine Dragisic, Director, Agriculture, Biofuel, & Forestry
•Lucio Bede, Atlantic Forest Program Manager, Conservation International Brazil
•Jenny Hewson, Technical Advisor for Land Use Monitoring and REDD Analyses
•Tim Killeen, Senior Research Scientist
•Manuel Oliva, Director, U.S. Climate Policy
•Conrad Savy, Senior Science Advisor, Business & Government Engagement

Deep Borehole Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Waste -- NWTRB

This paper from the Nuclear Waste Techical Review Board describes deep borehole disposal as "a type of geologic disposal in which spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and solid high level radioactive waste (HLW) are isolated from the environment by emplacement in boreholes at depths from two to five kilometers (Km) beneath the land surface.

Key aspects of deep borehole disposal addressed in this fact sheet are safety, capacity, technical feasibility and technical challenges. Safety results from the geologic isolation of the radioactive materials and depends strongly on the characteristics of the geologic environment."