Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 7, 2024

Those high temperatures are part of a global period of extraordinarily warm temperatures—2023 was the hottest year on record, and global temperatures have continued to run about 1°C (nearly 2°F) above the historical average so far this year. Two major wildfires threatened Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico in 2000 and 2011.

Climate Change 343

Climate Change 2011 Sea Level Radiation 343

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 11, 2023

While we don’t yet have a lot of granular details about this latest storm’s grid impacts, it’s worth going through what else the country might be in for this spring, as well as in future springs. About 70 percent of US coal is transported at least part of the way by trains.

Fossil Fuels 223

Fossil Fuels 2011 Climate Change Nuclear Power 223

Circle of Blue

OCTOBER 18, 2021

The landscape of Kulaley Village in northern Kenya lays barren after a drought in 2011. In 2011, two failed rainy seasons thrust the Horn of Africa into the worst famine of the twenty-first century. As crops withered, about half of the region’s livestock, whose milk millions of children relied on for nutrition, perished.

2011 321

2011 Climate Change Cooling Ocean 321

Legal Planet

MARCH 21, 2022

But this seemingly simple calculation turns out to be riddled with uncertainties, particularly when you’re talking about regulating the energy industry. In 2011, EPA had estimated that the compliance cost would work out to $9.6 One came up with a $2 billion figure (about a. billion per year.

2011 220

2011 Regulations Natural Gas Pollution Control 220

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 17, 2023

Louis County and about 17 miles from Jana Elementary in Florissant. I was fortunate to chat with Dr. Kim Visintine, a member of Coldwater Creek: Just the Facts Please , to ask her about the work she and others are doing on the ground. KV: Our goal, as a group, has always been about furthering cleanup of the area, and health education.

2023 339

2023 Radiation 2011 Waste 339

Legal Planet

NOVEMBER 20, 2023

According to the Economist , by 2040 about three-quarters of global sales will be EV even under conservative assumptions. In the decade from 2011 to 2021, the average EV range went from 86 miles to 217 miles. In the twenty years since Tesla arrived, EVs have gone from 0.2% Solid state batteries could do much better.

Fossil Fuels 240

Fossil Fuels 2011 Carbon Emissions Technology 240

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 15, 2022

We at the Union of Concerned Scientists think a lot about wind power. In honor of Global Wind Day , here’s a roundup of what we’re seeing and what we’ve been thinking—five facts about wind energy to keep in mind as you celebrate, or at least make note, on June 15. Wind power is big, and getting bigger. Wind is impressive.

Wind Power 360

Wind Power Fossil Fuels Electricity Climate Change 360

Energy & the Law

DECEMBER 10, 2021

This case is about injection wells for industrial and municipal waste, not for oil and gas waste. January 13, 2011: the RRC rescinds its no-harm letter. + February 17, 2011: TCEQ issues an order approving the application. April 2, 2011: TCEQ reissues the order. I’m an oil and gas guy. Why does this order concern me?

2011 130

2011 2005 2008 2010 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

percent in 2011 to 0.6 percent in 2011 to 0.6 To repay the favor, I’m passionate about providing the same opportunities—mentoring, building networks, providing advice, and above all, listening—to others. percent of the US population. percent of the US population—increased by only 0.2 percent over this same period, from 0.4

2011 174

2011 Government 2021 Law 174

Circle of Blue

DECEMBER 1, 2022

Last year the Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the authority of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to restrict large livestock farms to protect the state’s water, a rebuke to a 2011 state law that limited the DNR’s authority to regulate CAFOs. Milking parlor in Lenawee County.

Clean Water Act 360

Clean Water Act 2011 Regulations Waste 360

Energy & the Law

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

A “fiduciary duty” apples to a person who occupies a position of particular confidence towards another and requires a higher standard of behavior than in just about any other relationship. From 2011 to 2015 he arranged to hire companies owned by his close friend Robertson to perform post-frac drillout operations.

2011 147

2011 2015 147

Legal Planet

OCTOBER 2, 2023

I’d love to hear from readers about these issues. Renewable Energy Act sets fixed feed-in tariffs and gives renewables priority on the grid. New rates are large enough to spark expansion of renewable industry. Fifteen percent of electricity is renewable. Renewables are a third of electricity consumption. Download as PDF

Nuclear Power 228

Nuclear Power Renewable Energy Carbon Emissions 2030 228

Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 14, 2023

Winter is once again here, bringing great festivities and respite via holidays, but also great worries to energy regulators, grid operators, and communities about dangerous winter storms that can spread across large parts of the United States and negatively affect electric grid reliability.

Electricity 301

Electricity Fossil Fuels 2011 2014 301

Real Climate

JULY 24, 2023

The AMOC has repeatedly shown major instabilities in recent Earth history , for example during the Last Ice Age, prompting concerns about its stability under future global warming, see e.g. Broecker 1987 who warned about “unpleasant surprises in the greenhouse”. We published an early model comparison about this in 2005.

Ocean 246

Ocean Cooling 2011 2021 246

Physics World

OCTOBER 26, 2021

Find out more about proton-coupled electron transfer. Harry B Gray and Dr Jay R Winkler at the California Institute of Technology, completing her PhD in 2011. From 2011–2012, Prof. In this webinar, presented by Jillian Dempsey, you will: Learn how molecular catalysts are being used to mediate fuel generation. Join the audience.

2011 132

2011 2012 Carbon Dioxide 2005 132

Acoel

OCTOBER 11, 2021

EPA’s current policy on tribal consultation is set forth in the May 4, 2011 “EPA Policy on Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribes.” Administrator Regan’s pledge to improve the consultation process suggests substantive changes to EPA’s 2011 Consultation Policy may be in the works.

2011 40

2011 Government 2002 2019 40

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 7, 2024

I wouldn’t blame you if you thought nobody was buying EVs or that sales were about to plummet. California, where the market is more mature, saw annual EV sales increase 29% year over year, but fourth quarter year-over-year sales grew only about 8% ( Veloz ). Innovation is hard to predict, auto industry behavior is not.

Electricity 362

Electricity 2025 Climate Change 2023 362

Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 4, 2024

Similar extreme cold weather caused grid emergencies in 2011, 2014, 2018, and again in 2022. The repeated failures in cold weather reflect outmoded thinking about both gas and extreme cold weather. The initial FERC-NERC report about the 2021 outage released in November 2021 did not shy away from naming responsible parties.

Electricity 260

Electricity 2021 Renewable Energy Natural Gas 260

Legal Planet

JUNE 30, 2022

In 2011, in AEP v. 410 (2011). But we said nothing about the ways in which Congress intended EPA to exercise its power under that provision. I will leave to others a discussion of “major question doctrine” and other aspects of the West Virginia case. Connecticut , 564 U. Post, at 20.

Carbon Dioxide 130

Carbon Dioxide 2011 Air Pollution Clean Air Act 130

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 6, 2023

Count of extreme events in Yolo and Sacramento counties from Sept 2011 to July 2019. To what extent do you agree with the following statement: “I am concerned about California’s water supply reliability due to future extreme weather events (e.g., Like most older millennials, climate change has shaped my time on planet Earth.

Climate Change 196

Climate Change 2011 2021 Climate Scientist 196

Environmental and Urban Economics

DECEMBER 29, 2020

Academic economists will recognize that I'm talking about non-homothetic Engel curves. See my 2011 paper with Lucas Davis. When an economy slows down and expectations about medium term growth are bleak, new investment in capital slows down and older capital is relied upon to deliver the required services. This point generalizes.

2011 100

2011 Clean Air Act Regulations Air Pollution 100

Union of Concerned Scientists

AUGUST 22, 2022

And in many counties, high heat conditions occurred over many days: 1,569 counties, or about half of all counties in the contiguous United States, had alerts for at least seven days, though those days were not necessarily consecutive. 22 counties had between 15 and 23 fire weather alerts since then (or about 2-3 weeks’ worth of alerts).

Climate Change 266

Climate Change 2011 Fossil Fuels 2022 266

Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 15, 2022

In 2004, the International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that formaldehyde is a human carcinogen, and the US Department of Health and Human Services listed it is as a known human carcinogen in 2011. We can’t let the formaldehyde debacle happen again.

Toxic Substances Control Act 271

Toxic Substances Control Act 2004 2011 2010 271

Environmental News Bits

JANUARY 30, 2023

15, was living in the remote mountains of Ethiopia in 2011, researching his dissertation on food diversity, when he kept hearing about a crop that confused him. Read the full story from Cornell University. Morgan Ruelle, M.S. ’10, 10, Ph.D. ’15, … Continue reading Ancient farming strategy holds promise for climate resilience

2011 40

2011 40

Circle of Blue

OCTOBER 4, 2022

So was just about everyone’s grandfather in Gillespie, Illinois, a town that was born to power the Great Chicago & North Western railway system. But until about half a century ago, coal was king in southern Illinois. About a third of the nation’s 4,000 hazardous water bodies on the AML list are still unreclaimed.

2008 336

2008 2006 2013 Law 336

Real Climate

OCTOBER 10, 2022

We pointed out in March that Scafetta had totally neglected observational uncertainty in calculating the observed change in temperature (2011-2021 compared to 1980-1990). Instead we get a litany of vague insinuations about supposedly ignored urban heat island effects (citing the same three papers multiple times) with a dash of astrology.

2011 320

2011 Ocean 2022 2021 320

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 20, 2023

In 2011 I invited Reagan-era economist Art Laffer to speak to a hall filled exclusively with New Hampshire Republicans, both leaders and rank and file conservatives. He said, “until more people think climate change is impacting them personally then we won’t see the political will necessary to do something about it.”

Climate Change 233

Climate Change Politics Sea Level 2007 233

Ocean Conservancy

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

According to numerous news reports , before Japan’s 2011 earthquake (one of the most catastrophic in history) a total of 20 oarfish washed ashore. Scientists are learning more each day about the ever-growing plastic pollution crisis and its detrimental impacts on all marine ecosystems, including the deep sea.

Ocean 98

Ocean Conservation 2011 98

Enviromental Defense

APRIL 26, 2024

In 2011, my community experienced what was the second-largest oil spill in the province’s history – 4.5 There was lots of talk about a ‘transition’ at that time, but I didn’t know of anyone implementing it. I am from the Lubicon Cree First Nation in Little Buffalo, Alberta. In response, our Just Transition Guide is the how.

Renewable Energy 122

Renewable Energy Fossil Fuels 2013 Solar Power 122

Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

The purpose of this survey is to assess the state of science in federal agencies, and how the many issues we’re asking about affect the ability of science-based agencies to carry out their missions to protect public health and the environment. Federal scientists have valuable information to share.

2018 221

2018 Politics 2020 2019 221

Union of Concerned Scientists

JUNE 22, 2023

A Vox headline on the orange skies from Canadian wildfires said, “Wildfire smoke reminded people about climate change. It was about most plans for climate security in the New York City area being unrealized. But just because they’re not talking about it doesn’t mean it’s not making them worse off.” How soon will they forget?”

Fossil Fuels 268

Fossil Fuels 2023 Climate Change 2012 268

Legal Planet

AUGUST 4, 2021

The release of this proposal will miss that deadline by about a week, but the joint rulemaking process can still be concluded in time to impact MY2023 vehicles. Those standards, which my UCLA Law colleague-turned Chief Counsel of NHTSA, Ann Carlson, wrote about in 2011 , were designed to have cars hitting an average fuel economy of 54.5

2026 262

2026 2025 2019 Clean Air Act 262

A Greener Life

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

The nuclear energy industry has struggled following the fallout of the 2011 tsunami in Japan as nuclear reactors were shut down not only in Europe but across the world and Germany accelerated its nuclear phaseout.

2030 105

2030 2011 2016 2020 105

Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 26, 2022

The Central Valley produces about 25% of our nation’s food , despite occupying just 1% of nationwide farmland. Lower income communities have fewer choices about being outdoors during the smokiest days , and are also less likely to have air filtration equipment at home.

Climate Change 318

Climate Change Ozone Air Pollution Particle Pollution 318

Environmental and Urban Economics

APRIL 27, 2021

Over the years, I have written several papers about what makes a place such as California so desirable (and thus featuring high demand). Zillow teaches us that it has the most valuable land in America with a Zillow average price of $644,000 in April 2021. The national Zillow price is $276,000. Is this difference caused by supply or demand?

Politics 190

Politics 2010 Carbon Dioxide 2016 190

Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 23, 2024

It’s that time of the year again, when many of us are relieved that the bitter cold weather is finally behind us, yet apprehensive about the dangerously extreme weather events that are likely to come. A complete and prolonged cutoff of external power would lead to a disastrous meltdown similar to that of the Fukushima Daiichi plant in 2011.

Fossil Fuels 176

Fossil Fuels Climate Change Electricity 2019 176

Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 25, 2022

Anyone concerned about racial equality and democracy should be alarmed by this decision. Wisconsin’s Supreme Court did just that, adopting a plan that they assessed had the “ least changes ” from the existing (2011) maps, while adjusting for malapportionment in order to make districts roughly equal in population.

Politics 255

Politics Conservation 2011 Law 255