Category «Environmental Law»

New research – climate warming at top of world can cause unusually cold weather elsewhere

The Washington Post: “As if melting glaciers, thawing permafrost and starving polar bears weren’t enough, scientists are finding that the effects of climate change in the Arctic are even more complex — and far-reaching — than we thought. New research suggests that warm spells at the top of the world can, surprisingly, cause unusually cold weather …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law

Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions About the 2015 Paris Agreement

CRS report via FAS – Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions About the 2015 Paris Agreement, Jane A. Leggett, Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy; Richard K. Lattanzio, Specialist in Environmental Policy. June 28, 2017. “The Paris Agreement (PA) to address climate change internationally entered into force on November 4, 2016. The United States is one …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Environmental Law, Government Documents

City cyclists monitored for particulate matter pollution and health impact

The New York Times: On Your Bike, Watch Out for the Air “…a five-year study…aims to find out at what point the harm done by pollution to cyclists might outweigh the health benefits accrued from the exercise…strapped-on sensors measure levels of PM 2.5, the fine particulate matter that is about one-thirtieth the diameter of a …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Health Care

Study maps areas of high impact due to climate change in US

Where climate change will hit the U.S. hardest – “Left unmitigated, rising temperatures from climate change will increase inequality and mortality rates in the U.S. by the end of the 21st century, a team of economists and climate scientists warn in a study published today. It’s the first to project the impacts of climate change …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Health Care

Great Barrier Reef valued at $56B by Deloitte economists

Great Barrier Reef Foundation – “A new Deloitte Access Economics report has calculated the total asset value of the Great Barrier Reef to be $56 billion, assessing the World Heritage site’s economic, social and iconic brand value together in one study for the first time. In the report commissioned by the Great Barrier Reef Foundation …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law, Knowledge Management

Plastic emissions from world’s rivers add 5,000 metric tons of plastic waste every day to oceans

River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans, Laurent C. M. Lebreton, Joost van der Zwet, Jan-Willem Damsteeg, Boyan Slat, Anthony Andrady & Julia Reisser. Nature Communications 8, Article number: 15611 (2017). doi:10.1038/ncomms15611. Received: 27 October 2016. Accepted: 11 April 2017. Published online: 07 June 2017. “Plastics in the marine environment have become a major concern …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law, Health Care, Legal Research

Rise in ocean temperatures on northern east coast impacting ecology and economy

Yale Environment 360: Feeling the Heat: How Fish Are Migrating from Warming Waters – “Steadily rising ocean temperatures are forcing fish to abandon their historic territories and move to cooler waters. The result is that fishermen’s livelihoods are being disrupted, as fisheries regulators scramble to incorporate climate change into their planning…Over the last decade, the …

Subjects: Climate Change, Economy, Environmental Law

Gigantic increase in fracking related earthquakes spikes insurance costs

GOOD: “…According to the U.S. Geological Survey, prior to 2009, when oil and gas fracking in Oklahoma and neighboring states really started to boom, Oklahoma experienced roughly two earthquakes a year. Now, the state sees as many as two or three earthquakes each day, leaping from an annual average of 99 between 2009-2013 to 585 in 2014. By 2015, the …

Subjects: Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents

CRS – President Trump’s Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement Raises Legal Question

President Trump’s Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement Raises Legal Questions, CRS Legal Sidebar, June 9, 2017. [via FAS] “On June 1, President Trump announced his long-anticipated decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement—an international agreement intended to reduce the effects of climate change by maintaining global temperatures “well below 2°C above pre-industrial …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research

How to Find Deleted Public Health Assessments for Contaminated Sites

MemoryHole2: “How to Find Deleted Public Health Assessments for Contaminated Sites, June 5, 2017  – Click here to access the missing reports from prior to October 2004 UPDATE [June 8, 2017]: There’s a second source for these documents. Most of them exist in PDF format in the Commerce Department’s National Technical Information Service website. (These …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Government, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research

History of Gardens in America on Exhibit at the Smithsonian

New York Times – “The United States has a rich yet relatively unknown tradition of beautiful gardens, said Cindy Brown, the education and collections manager at the Smithsonian Gardens in “Go to the Washington, D.C. Travel Guide.” href=”http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/north-america/united-states/washington-dc/overview.html?inline=nyt-geo”>Washington. “Gardens in this country date back to the 17th century and continue to be an attraction today,” …

Subjects: Environmental Law