Carbon Dioxide Milestone Revised by NOAA
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 16, 2013 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced last week that carbon dioxide concentrations at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii surpassed the milestone 400 parts per million for a sustained period. NOAA has since revised the figure—on the basis of computer analysis—saying its May 9 readings actually remained fractions of a point below the historic level, coming in at…
Arctic Experiencing More Than Just Melt
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 9, 2013 Carbon dioxide emissions are soaking into Arctic waters and affecting the chemistry of the ocean, a new report by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program shows. Increasing carbon dioxide emissions and freshwater runoff challenge the ocean’s ability to neutralize acidification—an imbalance caused by absorption of the greenhouse gas from the air. The study said the Arctic’s cold water makes it more vulnerable to…
U.S. Oil Reserves Higher Than Previously Thought
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on May 2, 2013 According to a new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assessment, two formations in the central United States hold three times the amount of natural gas and two times the amount of oil than the federal government previously estimated. Concentrated in the Dakotas and Montana, the Bakken and Three Forks formations are expected to hold 7.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil and…
European Union Rejects Carbon Market Solution
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 18, 2013 The European Union Parliament rejected a proposal to backload the auctioning of credits within its Emissions Trading Scheme this week. The proposed “backloading” plan would have removed a surplus of emissions permits from the world’s largest carbon market—potentially saving it from collapse and making fossil fuels more expensive for utilities and factories to burn. The surplus, partly a result of the…
Moniz, McCarthy Face Questions at Senate Confirmation Hearings
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 11, 2013 Senate confirmation hearings for Ernest Moniz and Gina McCarthy—President Barack Obama’s appointees to oversee the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—began this week. For Moniz, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist, committee grilling started Tuesday. Natural gas exports were a popular topic throughout Moniz’s hearing—signaling his likely support for exports as a way to combat climate change. With…
EPA Proposes Clean Air Measures for Gasoline, Finalizes MATS Rules
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on April 4, 2013 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday announced its proposed Tier 3 rules, which would reduce allowable amounts of sulfur in gasoline and help automobiles’ catalytic converters capture more pollutants. The new measures would reduce sulfur in gasoline by more than 60 percent—from the present average of 30 parts per million to 10 parts per million by 2017—an environmental benefit comparable to taking 33 million…
Studies Link Warming to Increased Weather Extremes
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 28, 2013 A new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) finds global temperatures to be one of the best predictors of hurricane activity. In fact, the PNAS study found that a one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) rise in global temperatures could multiply the frequency of Katrina-like storms by two to seven times. In the Arctic, melting sea ice—which reached its sixth lowest…
Details of Obama’s Plan to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil Emerge
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 21, 2013 The White House has released more details about the Energy Security Trust that President Barack Obama first mentioned in February’s State of the Union address. Obama introduced the plan—which aims to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign oil, improve vehicle fuel efficiency and protect consumers from gas price spikes—during a speech at Chicago’s Argonne National Laboratory. “By investing in our…
Carbon Tax Is a Popular Topic in Washington
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 14, 2013 Since China announced it will hold off plans to introduce a carbon tax, the idea has generated some activity on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a draft bill that would charge the largest industrial polluters a fee for, or carbon tax on, their fossil-fuel emissions. The plan, proposed by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep. Earl…
Obama Announces Leaders of His Energy, Environment Team
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on March 7, 2013 After weeks of speculation, President Barack Obama officially announced his selections to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday. Gina McCarthy was chosen to lead the EPA, replacing Lisa Jackson, while Ernest Moniz will take over as energy secretary, replacing Steven Chu. Together, Obama said, they are charged with “making sure that we’re investing in…
Looming Sequester Has Implications for National Weather Forecasting, Energy
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on February 28, 2013 Unless Congress reaches a deal by Friday, a set of automatic spending cuts—known as the sequester—will take effect. According to the Obama Administration, this trigger, for $85 billion worth of across-the-board federal spending cuts, is expected to have significant implications for climate and energy. Newly released estimates by the White House detail how the cuts are projected to impact programs in each state. Decreases in environmental…
A Wind Tax Credit, Indefinitely?
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on February 21, 2013 In last week’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for doubling research and development funding for renewable energy. A policy document released by the White House following the State of the Union proposes making the wind production tax credit—which was renewed in January for one year as part of the deal to avert the fiscal cliff—permanent. “To once…
In State of the Union Obama Targets Energy, Climate
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on February 14, 2013 Amid discussion of gun control, immigration reform and deficit reduction, President Barack Obama touched on his agenda for energy and climate in his State of the Union address Tuesday. Picking up where he left off in his second inaugural address, Obama took his focus on climate change one step further, calling on Congress to enact legislation to cut carbon pollution and increase clean energy production.…
As U.S. Carbon Dioxide Footprint Falls, Report Looks at Ways to Continue Emission Decline
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on February 7, 2013 As Vice President Joe Biden reaffirmed the Obama administration’s commitment to combat climate change, new data indicates carbon dioxide emissions in the United States in 2012 dropped to their lowest levels since 1994. The report found expansion of renewables, increased efficiency and the increased availability of unconventional natural gas all contributed to the reduction in climate pollution. In fact, by the end…
Bacteria Surviving at High Altitudes Could Play a Role in Global Climate
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 31, 2013 A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that even as high as 30,000 feet in the sky, fungi and bacteria are present in the air. These living microorganisms could very well affect global climate. “The million-dollar question in the field [right now] is how much living things can impact clouds, the hydrological cycle and…
Climate Change Resurfaces in President’s Second Inaugural Address
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 24, 2013 In his remarks at the 57th presidential inauguration, President Barack Obama discussed a topic Americans hadn’t heard much about since his November victory speech—climate change. In the nationally televised speech following his oath of office, Obama elevated the issue of climate change into the top tier of his second-term priorities, alongside gun control and immigration reform. “We will respond to the…
Global Temperature Rises in 2012, Climate Conditions Questioned
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 17, 2013 Just days after the announcement that last year was the warmest in history for the continental United States, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found global temperatures are rising too. In their separate annual analyses of surface temperatures, NASA and NOAA ranked 2012 among the 10 warmest years on record globally (NOAA showed 2012…
Heat Wave: 2012 Labeled Hottest Year on Record
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 10, 2013 It’s official. Last year was the warmest year in history for the contiguous United States with at least 356 record high temperatures tied or broken, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Average temperatures in 2012 were above the 20th century average by more than 3 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures also beat a previous record set in 1998 by a full degree,…
Fiscal Cliff Deal Reached, Clean Energy Not Forgotten
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on January 3, 2013 After months of negotiating, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., reached an agreement to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff.” Featured in the measure is an extension of a renewable electricity production tax credit for wind, geothermal and some biomass projects, which gives credit for each kilowatt-hour of energy they produce. Highly contested prior to the bill’s passing was the credit’s impact on the wind industry. The credit, which offers 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour of…
Climate Change under the Microscope in Report, Leaked IPCC Draft
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on December 20, 2012 As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., debate the so-called fiscal cliff—when U.S. federal tax increases and spending cuts are due to take effect at the end of 2012—new research in the journal Nature Climate Change says we are already at the edge of a climate cliff. It explores the cost and risk associated with surpassing critical emissions thresholds by 2020, and what would need to…
Weaker Kyoto Protocol Extended at International Climate Negotiations
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on December 13, 2012 After weeks of deliberation among representatives of nearly 200 countries, the United Nations climate talks ended with an agreement to extend the life of the Kyoto Protocol. The only global agreement in place to curb greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized nations, it was set to expire at the end of this year. The second phase of the Kyoto Protocol still leaves…
Scientific Papers Share Lessons Learned from the BP Oil Spill
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on December 6, 2012 A collection of papers now out in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) looks at the response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in 2010, examining whether it was successful and how it could be improved. The release of the reports comes just days after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspended BP from obtaining new U.S. contracts due to…
Sandy Surfaces, Kyoto at Stake in U.N. Climate Talks
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on November 29, 2012 Thousands have converged for a two-week meeting in the Qatari capital of Doha for the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP 18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Running through Dec. 7, the U.N. conference brings together environmental minds across the world to work toward a legally binding agreement on climate change. At stake: the Kyoto Protocol.…
Climate Change a Focus for President in Second Term
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on November 15, 2012 In his first press conference since being re-elected, President Barack Obama acknowledged he’ll focus on climate change in his second term. “I am a firm believer that climate change is real, that it is impacted by human behavior, and carbon emissions,” Obama said at a televised news conference on Wednesday. “And as a consequence, I think we’ve got an obligation to…
Climate Change Back on Political Radar after Sandy, Election
Posted by Tim Profeta of Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University on November 8, 2012 In his re-election victory speech, President Barack Obama finally touched on a seldom-mentioned issue of the campaign—climate change: “We want our children to live in an America … that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.” Whether or not Hurricane Sandy can be attributed to climate change, the storm’s devastating flooding brought…
