Can simple government programs effectively promote voluntary initiatives to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions? This paper by Matthew J. Kotchen provides an evaluation of how the Connecticut Clean Energy Communities program affects household decisions to voluntarily purchase “green” electricity, which is electricity generated from renewable sources of energy. The results suggest that, within participating communities, subsidizing municipal...
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The US Federal Regulatory Commission gave the green light on a proposed river tidal demonstration project in the state of Maine recently, declaring that the the facility does not require a license to operate since it will not be connecting with the grid. The order (DI10-1) allows the Maine Maritime Academy to proceed with testing underwater power...
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In 1953, the Netherlands was swamped. The North Sea washed over half a million acres of land and killed over 1,800 people on the south-western coast. The disaster prodded the Dutch government into embarking on one of the greatest engineering projects in history. Over the following decades, engineers constructed a vast network of dams, sluices, locks, dykes and storm-surge barriers...
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UK MPs call for climate date to be more open, scrutinised (Financial Times, BBC, 31 March 2010) The UK Commons Science and Technology Committee, following an investigation into the University of East Anglia (UEA) “climategate” e-mail scandal, cleared professor Phil Jones and the Climate Research Unit of accusations that data was tampered with, but...
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Joint Statement: United States -Japan Cooperation on APEC March 29, 2010 Japan and the United States, as the hosts of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in 2010 and 2011, are cooperating closely to achieve substantive outcomes that will contribute to the growth and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region. Together with the other APEC economies,...
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From 1998 to 2009, appropriations for agencies’ work related to climate change totaled about $99 billion; more than a third of that sum was provided in fiscal year 2009. In addition, climate-related tax preferences reduced tax revenues, by a much smaller amount, from what would have been collected in their absence. For most of...
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A new report on technology transfer, “Advancing technology transfer for climate change mitigation,” examines the international governance of technology transfer, the performance of different instruments in delivering new technologies and proposals aiming at increased technology transfer. The study also examines a number of critical conditions for technology oriented treaties that can effectively promote technology...
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America’s New Energy R&D Strategy Statement by Dr. Robert Marlay U.S. Department of Energy With the recent administration change and economic downturn, the US priorities in energy, environment, science, and the economy have been altered or strengthened. The current baseline goal is to reduce GHG emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Within ten years,...
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