Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Breaking the tragedy of the horizon - climate change and financial stability

<> Breaking the tragedy of the horizon – climate change and financial stability – A speech at Lloyd's of London by Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England (BoE): "There is a growing international consensus that climate change is unequivocal. . . Since the 1980s the number of registered weather-related loss events has tripled; and Inflation-adjusted insurance losses from these events have increased from an annual average of around $10bn in the 1980s to around $50bn over the past decade. . . So why isn't more being done to address it?

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

New Report Shows Domestic Offshore Wind Industry Potential, 21 Projects Planned in U.S. Waters

<> New Report Shows Domestic Offshore Wind Industry Potential, 21 Projects Planned in U.S. Waters - The Energy Department released a new report showing strong progress for the U.S. offshore wind market—including the start of construction of the nation's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, one of 21 projects totaling 15,650 megawatts (MW) in the planning and development pipeline -- 13 projects totaling nearly 6,000 MW—enough to power 1.8 million homes—are in the more advanced stages of development, while 12 projects with more than 3,300 MW planned have announced a commercial operation date by 2020.

Monday, September 28, 2015

U.S.-China Joint Presidential Statement on Climate Change

<> U.S.-China Joint Presidential Statement on Climate Change - The two Presidents reaffirm their shared conviction that climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity and that their two countries have a critical role to play in addressing it -- The two Presidents also reaffirm their determination to move ahead decisively to implement domestic climate policies, to strengthen bilateral coordination and cooperation, and to promote sustainable development and the transition to green, low-carbon, and climate-resilient economies.

Friday, September 25, 2015

China to Announce Cap-and-Trade Program to Limit Emissions

<> China to Announce Cap-and-Trade Program to Limit Emissions - In what close observers are calling "a really big deal," President Xi Jinping of China will make a landmark commitment today to start a national program in 2017 that will limit and put a price on greenhouse gas emissions -- the move to create a so-called cap-and-trade system would be a substantial step by the world's largest polluter to reduce emissions from major industries, including steel, cement, paper and electric power.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Advancing Shared Values for A Better World

<> Advancing Shared Values for A Better World - White House Fact Sheet: the President hosted His Holiness Pope Francis at the White House and thanked him for the ways in which he is inspiring people around the world to embrace justice, mercy, and compassion, particularly toward those who have been marginalized. . . [including Protecting our common home; Promoting Climate Resiliency Around the World; Advancing Climate Justice and Preparedness at Home. . .

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

New U-M Report on High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan

<> New U-M Report on High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing in Michigan - Just Released: The Final Integrated Assessment Report and Executive Summary are now available -- a unique partnership involving several University of Michigan units, industry representatives, environmental organizations, and state regulators formed in 2012 in order to examine the multiple aspects of this gas extraction technique with an emphasis on impacts and issues related to the State of Michigan.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Threefold surge in companies disclosing carbon price shows climate change concerns going mainstream

<> Threefold surge in companies disclosing carbon price shows climate change concerns going mainstream - Corporations behind everyday brands of toothpaste, soup, light-bulbs, gasoline, cars and computers are assigning a price to their carbon emissions to offset the costs and risks of their greenhouse gas production, according to new disclosures provided to CDP, the global non-profit which gathers environmental data on behalf of investors -- major multinationals including Allergan, Campbell's Soup, Colgate-Palmolive, Stanley Black & Decker, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Nestle, Microsoft, and Nissan are among the 437 companies included in CDP's new report.

Friday, September 18, 2015

47 Senators, Introduce Resolution to Nullify Expanded WOTUS Definition

<> 47 Senators, Introduce Resolution to Nullify Expanded WOTUS Definition - U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), along with 46 Senate co-sponsors, introduced a joint resolution disapproving the rule submitted by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) that expands the scope of federal authority over land and waterways in the United States under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, commonly known as WOTUS.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Senate EPW Oversight Hearing on the Cause, Response, and Impacts of EPA's Gold King Mine Disaster

<> Senate EPW Oversight Hearing on the Cause, Response, and Impacts of EPA's Gold King Mine Disaster - Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Majority & Minority statements, Member remarks, testimony of Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator and webcast

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

EPA Updates Gold King Mine Response Website with Sampling Results, Documents

<> EPA Updates Gold King Mine Response Website with Sampling Results, Documents - EPA has posted new surface water and sediment sampling results, along with additional documents related to the Gold King Mine incident.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

U.S. - China Climate Leaders Summit

<> Fact Sheet: U.S. – China Climate Leaders Summit - The U.S. – China Climate Leaders Summit fulfills a key element of the U.S.-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change by Presidents Obama and Xi last November, and helps to ensure that the ambitious actions to address climate change that both leaders committed to will be implemented at the state and local level, where they matter most.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Friday, September 11, 2015

62 Billion Winter Recreation Industry Presses For COP21 Climate Deal

<> $62 Billion Winter Recreation Industry Presses For COP21 Climate Deal - Over 92 global brands, 53 resorts, 50 professional athletes, 13 snow sports trade groups and associations have signed a letter to President Obama, to send him to Paris with our collective support -- we'll deliver this letter to The White House in October.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

D.C. Circuit Court Says "No" to Emergency Stay for the Clean Power Plan

<> D.C. Circuit Court Says "No" to Emergency Stay for the Clean Power Plan - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit  denied two petitions seeking an emergency stay of the Clean Power Plan, the historic clean air standards that will reduce climate-disrupting air pollution from power plants

Wednesday, September 09, 2015

Reducing freshwater use in hydraulic fracturing and thermoelectric power plant cooling

<> GAO Report: Water in the energy sector: Reducing freshwater use in hydraulic fracturing and thermoelectric power plant cooling -  In this report, GAO assessed advanced and emerging technologies that can reduce water use in hydraulic fracturing and thermoelectric power plant cooling -- also the impact of regional differences in thermoelectric power generation on water use in water-stressed versus unstressed areas of the United States was examined

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Government Shutdown Looms

<> Government Shutdown Looms – With just 10 legislative work days to resolve issues,

in his weekly address the  President stressed that to continue the country's progress, Congress needs to avoid a government shutdown that would hurt middle-class Americans and pass a responsible budget before the end of September.

Friday, September 04, 2015

OIG Report On Environmental Justice Guidance In Agency Rulemaking

WIMS will not be publishing on Monday, September 7, 2015, in observance of the Federal Labor Day holiday.

 

 

<> OIG Report On Environmental Justice Guidance In Agency Rulemaking - OIG: "Continued delays in issuing or finalizing Environmental Justice (EJ) guidance limits the EPA's ability to broadly and consistently consider EJ during the rulemaking process, potentially impacting susceptible populations at high risk of suffering effects of environmental hazards."

Thursday, September 03, 2015

President Obama Announces New Investments to Combat Climate Change and Assist Remote Alaskan Communities

<> President Obama Announces New Investments to Combat Climate Change and Assist Remote Alaskan Communities - President announces a Federal coordinator for building climate resilience in Alaska, launches a remote Alaskan Communities Energy Efficiency Competition, and announced a city-led public-private partnership to achieve 99.7 percent clean energy on Kodiak Island.

  • Smith Statement on President's Climate Change Remarks in Alaska - Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) said, "The president and his EPA have become travelling salesmen, touring the world to push their extreme climate change agenda. But the science doesn't support the president's exaggerated claims linking climate change to severe weather events."
  • Rubio vows to undo Obama climate policies - Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) pledged Wednesday to reverse President Obama's major energy and climate policies if he's elected to the White House in 2016.

Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Remarks by the President After Roundtable with Alaska Native Leaders

<> Remarks by the President After Roundtable with Alaska Native Leaders - ". . .one of the biggest things I heard during this discussion was the need for us to work more intensively and more collaboratively with communities, particularly in rural areas, that are burdened by crippling energy costs, that are obviously continually concerned about hunting and fishing rights and their ability to sustain their way of life in the face of profound climate change that's taking place -- taking place, in fact, faster -- twice as fast here in Alaska as it is in the Lower 48."

Tuesday, September 01, 2015

President Obama In Alaska Addresses Climate Change

<> President Obama to Announce New Steps to Enhance Administration Collaboration with Alaska Natives, the State of Alaska, and Local Communities - Climate change threatens the way of life of Alaska Natives across the state, from the North Slope to Bristol Bay -- the Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world, and is experiencing the consequences.