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Daily Archives: September 15, 2014

Report – large US and global companies ready for a price on carbon

“A new report released today by CDP, an environmental organization that gathers information on behalf of investors, provides powerful evidence that:

  • There is a global corporate consensus that carbon will be priced;
  • Businesses are preparing for a robust, internationally-linked carbon market; and
  • These companies would welcome regulatory certainty, nationally and internationally, with respect to climate change policy and carbon pricing.

Based on data gathered by CDP from corporations in response to its annual request for information on the business implications of climate change, the report finds that large public companies are already advanced in their use of carbon pricing and are ahead of their governments in planning for climate change risks, costs and opportunities. Highlights:

  • Despite no national regulatory price on carbon 29 major public companies in the US, including Dow Chemical Company, Goldman Sachs and ExxonMobil are beginning to or are continuing to incorporate an internal carbon price into their business decisions. The prices disclosed, ranging from $6-$80 a tonne, are also used as a tool to drive investments in GHG emissions reductions;
  • Major companies, such as Alstom and Bayer and Canadian Tire Corporation are keeping close watch on emerging Chinese emissions trading systems that will soon be pricing carbon on a mandatory basis;
  • 638 companies disclose that regulations related to carbon pricing (cap and trade & carbon taxes) present an opportunity for their businesses;
  • Many major US companies are participating in the EU ETS and are thus already operationalizing a carbon price on a mandatory basis.
  • 212 companies disclose they are directly engaging with policymakers on carbon pricing legislation (cap and trade & carbon taxes) and state that their corporate position is in support of these measures; and
  • Many companies use carbon pricing to guide their internal and external capital deployment to maximize return on investment.”

Digital Preservation Policy Framework: A Case Study

Digital Preservation Policy Framework: A Case Study by Daniel W. Noonan. Educause Review Online, July 28, 2014. “Digital preservation can be defined as the combination of policies, strategies and actions to ensure access to and accurate rendering of authenticated reformatted and born digital content over time regardless of the challenges of media failure and technological change. Graham suggests… Continue Reading

Diplomatic and Embassy Security Funding Before and After the Benghazi Attacks

CRS – Diplomatic and Embassy Security Funding Before and After the Benghazi Attacks, Susan B. Epstein, Specialist in Foreign Policy. September 10, 2014  “As Congress investigates the issues surrounding the September 11, 2012 attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, some Members have questioned whether security funding was adequate or was a factor that may have contributed to inadequate… Continue Reading

NOAA, UNC-Wilmington study finds warming Atlantic ocean temps could increase expansion of invasive native species

News release: “Warming water temperatures due to climate change could expand the range of many native species of tropical fish, including the invasive and poisonous lionfish, according to a study of 40 species along rocky and artificial reefs off North Carolina by researchers from NOAA and the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. The findings, reported for… Continue Reading

A day in the life of a data mined kid – report

Adrienne Hill: “Education, like pretty much everything else in our lives these days, is driven by data. Our childrens’ data. A whole lot of it. Nearly everything they do at school can be — and often is — recorded and tracked, and parents don’t always know what information is being collected, where it’s going, or how it’s… Continue Reading

Fugitive gases in eight clusters of domestic water wells overlying the Marcellus and Barnett Shales

Noble gases identify the mechanisms of fugitive gas contamination in drinking-water wells overlying the Marcellus and Barnett Shales. Published online before print September 15, 2014, doi:10.1073/pnas.1322107111 PNAS September 15, 2014: “Significance: Hydrocarbon production from unconventional sources is growing rapidly, accompanied by concerns about drinking-water contamination and other environmental risks. Using noble gas and hydrocarbon tracers, we distinguish natural sources of methane… Continue Reading

Global growth continuing at a moderate pace, OECD says

“A moderate expansion is underway in most major advanced and emerging economies, but growth remains weak in the euro area, which runs the risk of prolonged stagnation if further steps are not taken to boost demand, according to the OECD’s latest Interim Economic Assessment. While the global recovery continues at a moderate rate, the outlook is uneven across… Continue Reading

Presentations about the Budget Outlook – CBO

Doug Elmendorf, CBO Director, at the Macroeconomic Advisers’ 24th Annual Washington Policy Seminar: “I was very pleased to speak last week at Macroeconomic Advisers’ Washington Policy Seminar and at Cornell University. (See my slides for the first talk and my slides for the second talk.) In both presentations I described CBO’s updated outlook for the federal budget under current law… Continue Reading

New GAO Reports – Critical Infrastructure Protection, EPA Regs and Electricity

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION: DHS Action Needed to Enhance Integration and Coordination of Vulnerability Assessment Efforts, GAO-14-507: Published: Sep 15, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 15, 2014: “DHS is not positioned to manage an integrated and coordinated government-wide approach for assessments as called for in the NIPP because it does not have sufficient information about the assessment tools and… Continue Reading