DOCSLIB.ORG

The State of the Environment: Evaluating Progress and Priorities

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The State of the Environment: Evaluating Progress and Priorities THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT: EVALUATING PROGRESS AND PRIORITIES HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013 Serial No. 113–3 Printed for the use of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://science.house.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 78–821PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY HON. LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas, Chair DANA ROHRABACHER, California EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas RALPH M. HALL, Texas ZOE LOFGREN, California F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., DANIEL LIPINSKI, Illinois Wisconsin DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland FRANK D. LUCAS, Oklahoma FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas ERIC SWALWELL, California PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia DAN MAFFEI, New York STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi ALAN GRAYSON, Florida MO BROOKS, Alabama JOSEPH KENNEDY III, Massachusetts ANDY HARRIS, Maryland SCOTT PETERS, California RANDY HULTGREN, Illinois DEREK KILMER, Washington LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana AMI BERA, California STEVE STOCKMAN, Texas ELIZABETH ESTY, Connecticut BILL POSEY, Florida MARC VEASEY, Texas CYNTHIA LUMMIS, Wyoming JULIA BROWNLEY, California DAVID SCHWEIKERT, Arizona MARK TAKANO, California THOMAS MASSIE, Kentucky VACANCY KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota JIM BRIDENSTINE, Oklahoma RANDY WEBER, Texas CHRIS STEWART, Utah SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT HON. ANDY HARRIS, Maryland Chair CHRIS STEWART, Utah, SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., JULIA BROWNLEY, California Wisconsin DONNA F. EDWARDS, Maryland DANA ROHRABACHER, California MARC VEASEY, Texas RANDY NEUGEBAUER, Texas MARK TAKANO, California PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia ALAN GRAYSON, Florida RANDY WEBER, Texas EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas LAMAR S. SMITH, Texas (II) C O N T E N T S Thursday, February 14, 2013 Page Witness List ............................................................................................................. 2 Hearing Charter ...................................................................................................... 3 Opening Statements Statement by Representative Andy Harris, Chairman, Subcommittee on Envi- ronment, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives .................................................................................................... 5 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 6 Statement by Representative Suzanne Bonamici, Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Environment, Committee on Science, Space, and Tech- nology, U.S. House of Representatives ............................................................... 7 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 9 Witnesses: The Honorable Kathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Fellow-in-Residence & Director, Armstrong Center for Energy & the Environment, Texas Public Policy Foundation Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 12 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 15 Mr. Richard Trzupek, Principal Consultant, Trinity Consulting Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 30 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 32 Dr. Bernard Goldstein, Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of Pitts- burgh Graduate School of Public Health Oral Statement ................................................................................................. 83 Written Statement ............................................................................................ 86 Discussion ................................................................................................................. 101 Appendix I: Answers to Post-Hearing Questions The Honorable Kathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Fellow-in-Residence & Director, Armstrong Center for Energy & the Environment, Texas Public Policy Foundation ................................................................................................. 122 Mr. Richard Trzupek, Principal Consultant, Trinity Consulting ........................ 139 Dr. Bernard Goldstein, Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of Pitts- burgh Graduate School of Public Health ........................................................... 161 Appendix II: Additional Material for the Record TEPA’s Pretense of Science: Regulating Phantom Risks submitted by The Honorable Kathleen Hartnett White .................................................................. 168 Memo, Re: Questionable Claims in Testimony from February 14, 2013 Envi- ronment Subcommittee hearing, submitted by Representative Suzanne Bonamici ............................................................................................................... 186 (III) THE STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT: EVALUATING PROGRESS AND PRIORITIES THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY, Washington, D.C. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:05 a.m., in Room 2318 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Andy Harris [Chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding. (1) 2 LAMAR S. SMITH, Texes EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON, Texas CHAIRMAN RANKING MEMBER Q:ongress of the tlnittd ~tates iRDnsc of 1R.cprcscntatiDC,s COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY 2321 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6301 (202) 225-6371 www.science.house.gov Subcommittee on Environment The State ofthe Environment: Evaluating Progress and Priorities Thwsday, February 14, 2012 10:00 a.m. -11:30 a.m. 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Witnesses The Honorable Kathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Fellow-in-Residence & Director, Armstrong Center for Energy &. the Environment, Texas Public Policy Foundation Mr. Richard Trzupek, Principal Consultant, Trinity Consulting Dr. Bernard Goldstein, Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health 3 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY Subcommittee on Environment HEARING CHARTER The State of the Environment: Evaluating Progress and Priorities Thursday, February 14,2013 10:00 'LID. - 11:30 a.m. 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Pnrpose On Thursday. February 14, 2013, the Subcommittee on Environment will hold a hearing to assess broad environmental trends and indicators, including an examination of factors such as air and water quality, chemical exposure, environmental and human health, and climate change. Witnesses are asked to provide their perspective on progress and challenges on these environmental trends as they relate to research and development, reb'Ulation, technological innovation, energy use and Americans' changing standard of living. Witnesses The Honorable Kathleen Hartnett White, Distinguished Fellow-in-Residence & Director, Annstrong Center for Energy & the Environment, Texas Public Policy Foundation Mr. Richard Trzupek, Principal Consultant, Trinity Consulting Dr. Bernard Goldstein, Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Overview Since many environmental statutes were enacted in the 1970s and 1980s, there have been significant improvements in virtually all major environmental indicators in the United States. For example, the aggregate emissions for the six criteria air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act have dropped 63 percent since 1980. Over the same period, America's Gross Domestic Product increased 128 percent, energy consumption increased 26 percent, population grew by 37 percent, and vehicle miles traveled increased 94 percent. l See Chart 1 for a Comparison of Growth Areas and Emissions, 1980-2011. These trends are also reflected in other metrics, including enhanced water quality, reduction of toxic chemical exposure, decreased carbon intensity, energy intensity, forest size, land use, and biodiversity. For many of the traditional pollutants regulated under statutes such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, virtually all of the less-expensive environmental improvements have been achieved. One of the questions to be discussed at this hearing will be the estimated costs for additional, proposed EPA reductions and how much incremental benefit might be attained. A systematic process for evaluating the state of the environment, environmental priorities at EPA, or conducting comprehensive retrospective analyses on environmental progress has yet to be 1 hHp://\lml.cpa.goy/airtrcndsiagtrcnds.hlml 4 developed. The last "Report on the EnvironmenC2 by the EPA's National Center for Environmental Assessment was completed in 2008. The EPA has not conducted a comprehensive assessment of the highest-priority environmental issues, especially where limited research and regulatory resources should be directed, since the early 1990s. Further hampering the assessment of general environmental health is the lack of data available to make such evaluations.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Heartland Climate Economists List SAMPLE
    U.S. Climate Economists Mailing List May 30, 2017 Name Contact Information Email Address Qualifications Anderson, Terry Property and Environment A founder of the Free Market Environmentalism, coauthor (with Leal) of the basic reference on the Research Center subject, head of PERC until just recently. See Anderson, T.L. and McChesney, F.S. 2003. Property Rights: Cooperation, Conflict, and Law . Princeton, MA: Princeton University Press. Suite A B.S. University of Montana, Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington. Bozeman, MT Phone Ausubel, Jesse The Rockefeller University Director of the Program for the Human Environment and Senior Research Associate at The Rockefeller r.edu University in New York City. From 1977-1988 Mr. Ausubel worked for the National Academies complex in Washington DC as a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, staff officer of the National Research New York, NY Council Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, and from 1983-1988 Director of Programs for the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). Mr. Ausubel was a main organizer of the first UN World http://www.rockefeller.edu/ Climate Conference (Geneva, 1979), which substantially elevated the global warming issue on scientific research/faculty/researchaffi and political agendas. During 1979-1981 he led the Climate Task of the Resources and Environment liates/JesseAusubel/#conten Program of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, near Vienna, Austria, an East-West t think-tank created by the U.S. and Soviet academies of sciences. Mr. Ausubel helped formulate the US and world climate research programs. Ausubel is one of the top two or three authorities on how the environment is getting cleaner and safer overtime.
    [Show full text]
  • Information Provided by DHS Regarding Russian Scanning Was Incorrect Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 12:49:59 PM
    From: (b) (6) To: (b) (6) Subject: FW: Information Provided by DHS Regarding Russian Scanning was Incorrect Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 12:49:59 PM From: Secretary of State, Press Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2017 2:58:05 PM To: Secretary of State, Press Subject: Information Provided by DHS Regarding Russian Scanning was Incorrect AP17:073 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 27, 2017 CONTACT: Jesse Melgar or Sam Mahood (916) 653-6575 Information Provided by DHS Regarding Russian Scanning was Incorrect SACRAMENTO – California Secretary of State Alex Padilla issued the following statement. “Last Friday, my office was notified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that Russian cyber actors 'scanned' California’s Internet-facing systems in 2016, including Secretary of State websites. Following our request for further information, it became clear that DHS’ conclusions were wrong.” “DHS confirmed that Russian scanning activity had actually occurred on the California Department of Technology statewide network, not any Secretary of State website. Based on this additional information, California voters can further rest assured that the California Secretary of State elections infrastructure and websites were not hacked or breached by Russian cyber actors.” “Our notification from DHS last Friday was not only a year late, it also turned out to be bad information. To make matters worse, the Associated Press similarly reported that DHS has reversed itself and 'now says Russia didn’t target Wisconsin’s voter registration system,' which is contrary to previous briefings.” epic.org EPIC-17-03-31-DHS-FOIA-20180416-Production-1 000001 NPPD 000650 “The work of our intelligence agencies is critical in defending against cyber threats.
    [Show full text]
  • Lest We Forget the Horrors: a Catalog of Trump's Worst Cruelties, Collusions, Corruptions, and Crimes
    COPYRIGHT MCSWEENEY’S 2020/2021 MCSWEENEYS.NET LEST WE FORGET THE HORRORS: A CATALOG OF TRUMP’S WORST CRUELTIES, COLLUSIONS, CORRUPTIONS, AND CRIMES THE COMPLETE LISTIN G: ATROCITIES 1 - 1056 BY BEN PARKER , STEPHANIE STEINBRECHER , KELSEY RONAN, JOHN M C MURTRIE, SOPHIA D U ROSE, RACHEL VILLA , AND AMY SUMERTON - - - Early in President Trump’s term, McSweeney’s editors began to catalog the head-spinning number of misdeeds coming from his administration. We called this list a collection of Trump’s cruelties, collusions, and crimes, and it felt urgent then to track them, to ensure these horrors — happening almost daily — would not be forgotten. This election year, amid a harrowing global health, civil rights, humanitarian, and economic crisis, we know it’s never been more critical to note these horrors, to remember them, and to do all in our power to reverse them. - - - Various writers have compiled this list during the course of the Trump administration. Their work has been guided by invaluable journalistic resources, including WTFJHT, NPR, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other sources, to whom we are grateful. - - - ATROCITY KEY – Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, & Bullying – White Supremacy, Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, & Xenophobia – Public Statements / Tweets – Collusion with Russia & Obstruction of Justice – Trump Staff & Administration – Trump Family Business Dealings – Policy – Environment - - - BEFORE JANUARY 20 17 1. – February 10, 2011 – In 2011, Donald Trump stoked false claims that Barack Obama had lied about his education. During a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump said, “Our current president came out of nowhere. Came out of nowhere. In fact, I’ll go a step further: The people that went to school with him, they never saw him, they don’t know who he is.
    [Show full text]
  • EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Is Undermining Chemical Safety— and EDF Is Fighting Back
    Solutions Vol. 49, No. 2/ Spring 2018 A toxic agenda EPA chief Scott Pruitt is undermining chemical safety— and EDF is fighting back Page 8 6 SWorld stage: 128 SThe sad 1215 SNew tools 1418 SHow to China steps up return of ‘drill, for diagnosing tackle food on climate baby, drill’ ailing rivers waste DEPARTMENT STANDING HEAD Timeworn and vulnerable For millennia, ancient bristlecone pines have survived as the dominant tree species in the windswept high country of Eastern California. Now this tree is being overtaken by limber pines, normally seen downslope, as the tree line inches up due to climate change. Even the world’s oldest trees are under stress as the planet warms. EDF is working for policies to rein in climate change and to mimimize its effects on the world around us. 2 Solutions / edf.org / Spring 2018 PHOTO: GETTY LOOKING FORWARD The Fourth Wave of environmentalism Across the nation, Americans are fed up with being needlessly exposed to toxic pollutants. Consider the case of Wendy Hartley, whose Environmental Defense Fund’s mission 21-year-old son died from exposure to meth- is to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends. Guided ylene chloride in a paint stripper. Working by science and economics, we find with Hartley—and others like her—EDF is practical and lasting solutions to the fighting the Trump administration’s attempted most serious environmental problems. rollback of chemical safety regulations (see p. 8). Our work is made possible by the support of our members. Donate online at edf.org/newsletter or by Despite the administration’s wholesale assault on environmental val- mail: EDF, attn.: Member Services, ues, I believe progress is still possible.
    [Show full text]
  • We Understand That the U.S. Department of Labor Announced a Proposed Rule That Would “Update and Clarify” the Department of Labor’S Investment Duties Regulation
    July 26, 2020 Office of Regulations and Interpretations Employee Benefits Security Administration, Room N-5655, U.S. Department of Labor 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20210 Attention: Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments Proposed Regulation. Document Citation: 85 FR 39113 Page: 39113-39128 (16 pages) CFR: 29 CFR 2550 RIN: 1210-AB95 Document Number: 2020-13705 Dear Sir/Madam: We understand that the U.S. Department of Labor announced a proposed rule that would “update and clarify” the Department of Labor’s investment duties regulation. According to the news release issued announcing this proposed rule, “Private employer-sponsored retirement plans are not vehicles for furthering social goals or policy objectives that are not in the financial interest of the plan,” said Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. “Rather, ERISA plans should be managed with unwavering focus on a single, very important social goal: providing for the retirement security of American workers.” We are writing to provide comments on this proposed rule. Background The core idea behind the work of William Michael Cunningham at Creative Investment Research is the recognition that mainstream market-based solutions do not maximize social return. This leads to an underappreciation for the value of human life. We develop market-based innovations to counter this. The elevation of “Chicago-school” economic theories has led to a focus on celebrity and money worship. These magnify and worsen the misallocation of economic resources identified above. Our development of social return investment technologies and the subsequent rise of social entrepreneurs are the methods we have used in this effort. We have radically augmented the development of new investment theories that are the key, we believe, to a higher level of human development.
    [Show full text]
  • A Climate Chronology Sharon S
    Landscape of Change by Jill Pelto A Climate Chronology Sharon S. Tisher, J.D. School of Economics and Honors College University of Maine http://umaine.edu/soe/faculty-and-staff/tisher Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved Sharon S. Tisher Foreword to A Climate Chronology Dr. Sean Birkel, Research Assistant Professor & Maine State Climatologist Climate Change Institute School of Earth and Climate Sciences University of Maine March 12, 2021 The Industrial Revolution brought unprecedented innovation, manufacturing efficiency, and human progress, ultimately shaping the energy-intensive technological world that we live in today. But for all its merits, this transformation of human economies also set the stage for looming multi-generational environmental challenges associated with pollution, energy production from fossil fuels, and the development of nuclear weapons – all on a previously unimaginable global scale. More than a century of painstaking scientific research has shown that Earth’s atmosphere and oceans are warming as a result of human activity, primarily through the combustion of fossil fuels (e.g., oil, coal, and natural gas) with the attendant atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and other * greenhouse gases. Emissions of co-pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), toxic metals, and volatile organic compounds, also degrade air quality and cause adverse human health impacts. Warming from greenhouse-gas emissions is amplified through feedbacks associated with water vapor, snow and sea-ice
    [Show full text]
  • EPA's Pretense of Science
    Texas Public Policy Foundation EPA’s Pretense of Science: Regulating Phantom Risks by Kathleen Hartnett White May 2012 Table of Contents Preface ................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ..................................................................................... 4 SIDEBAR: What Is Particulate Matter? ............................... 4 Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act .......................... 5 SIDEBAR: Cost-Benefit Analysis ............................................ 6 Assumption I: PM 2.5 Causes Premature Mortality, a/k/a Early Death ........................................................................... 7 Assumption II: Going to Zero: No Pollutant Threshold Below Which Air is Healthy ............................ 8 May 2012 Assumption III: Statistical Constructs Equals Texas Public Policy Foundation “Lives Saved” ..................................................................................10 by Kathleen Hartnett White Assumption IV: Co-Benefits of PM 2.5 Reduction Distinguished Senior Fellow-in-Residence Can Justify Any Rule Under the CAA ..............................11 Director, Armstrong Center for Energy & the Environment Conclusion ......................................................................................15 Endnotes ..........................................................................................17 About the Author .......................................................................18 May 2012 The EPA’s Pretense
    [Show full text]
  • The Trump Presidency, Climate Change, and the Prospect of a Disorderly Energy Transition
    The Trump presidency, climate change, and the prospect of a disorderly energy transition Article (Accepted Version) Selby, Jan (2019) The Trump presidency, climate change, and the prospect of a disorderly energy transition. Review of International Studies, 45 (3). pp. 471-490. ISSN 0260-2105 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/77258/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk The Trump Presidency, Climate Change, and the Prospect of a Disorderly Energy Transition Jan Selby Biography Jan Selby is Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex Address Department of International Relations, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QN, UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Science and Policy a Climate Chronology Sharon S
    Climate Chronology: NASA satellite photo, Hurricane Sandy Science and Policy A Climate Chronology Sharon S. Tisher, J.D. School of Economics and Honors College University of Maine http://umaine.edu/soe/faculty-and-staff/tisher/ Copyright © 2020 All Rights Reserved Sharon S. Tisher A Climate Chronology: International Policy, U.S. Policy, and Science The most challenging of all endeavors in human history will likely be that of understanding the impact of our industrial and technological enterprises on the planet’s climate and ecosystems, and responding effectively to the threats posed by that impact. I began writing this chronology while developing a climate policy course at the University of Maine. It has grown substantially during the ensuing nine years, and continues to grow. By juxtaposing developments in climate science, U.S. policy, and international policy over the previous two centuries, I hope to give the reader new insights into where we have been, where we are now, and where we may be headed in this formidable endeavor. I welcome comments, and suggested additions to this evolving work. It will be updated every January. I owe thanks to George Criner, for asking me to develop the climate policy course; to my University of Maine students, game to explore these turbulent waters and mindful of their import for their lives; to my daughter Annya Tisher, who joined me at the Boston Women’s March with the sign, “Climate Change Matters.” 19th Century overview Humans begin to replace wood and other biomass fuels with a readily available fossil fuel: coal; coal fuels the Industrial Revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • THE MODERATE by Ramesh Ponnuru Paine to Kim Philby, Jon Huntsman and the Evolution of a Species
    2011_06_20postal_cover61404-postal.qxd 5/31/2011 7:26 PM Page 1 June 20, 2011 49145 $4.99 JOHN J. MILLER on Cain w RAMESH PONNURU on Huntsman SPECIAL ENERGY ISSUE TheThe UglyUgly EuropeanEuropean VICTOR DAVIS HANSON ON $4.99 25 D O M I N I Q U E S T R A U S S - K A H N 0 74820 08155 6 www.nationalreview.com base_milliken-mar 22.qxd 5/31/2011 2:04 PM Page 1 THIS ABUNDANT ENERGY SOURCE COMES FROM THE MIDWEST, NOT THE MIDDLE EAST. Natural gas also comes from down south, up north and out west. Natural gas provides clean energy to 70 million homes and businesses, keeping families warm, cooking their food, providing hot water and powering the economy. And since the United States produces nearly all it needs, we are not dependant on volatile foreign supplies. It’s even delivered via pipeline, which according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, is the safest form of energy transportation—safer than transportation by truck or rail. Want to find out more about the energy source that’s right where we want it? Go to www.aga.org. 11:36 AM toc_QXP-1127940144.qxp 6/1/2011 2:14 PM Page 1 Contents JUNE 20, 2011 | VOLUME LXIII, NO. 11 | www.nationalreview.com COVER STORY Page 30 The Ugly European Dominique Strauss-Kahn has done Ramesh Ponnuru on Jon Huntsman the world a great favor. His sexual p. 16 indiscretion has reminded us how the modern European-socialist BOOKS, ARTS mind works. Victor Davis Hanson & MANNERS COVER: THOMAS REIS 48 THE TURNCOATS Michael Walsh reviews Treason ARTICLES of the Heart: From Thomas 16 THE MODERATE by Ramesh Ponnuru Paine to Kim Philby, Jon Huntsman and the evolution of a species.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the Trump Presidency, Climate Change, and the Prospect of A
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online The Trump Presidency, Climate Change, and the Prospect of a Disorderly Energy Transition Jan Selby Biography Jan Selby is Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex Address Department of International Relations, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QN, UK. Email: [email protected] Keywords Donald Trump Climate change Energy transition Conflict Six word header The Trump Presidency and climate change Acknowledgements An early version of this paper was presented at a roundtable on The Trump Presidency and Global Inequalities, at the British International Studies Association annual conference, Brighton, June 2017. Thanks to fellow panellists; to Ruth Blakeley for convening it; and to Steve Burman, Betsy Hartmann, Justin Rosenberg and the paper’s two reviewers for their helpful advice. 1 Abstract This article reflects on the implications of the Trump Presidency for global anthropogenic climate change and efforts to address it. Existing commentary, predicated on liberal institutionalist reasoning, has argued that neither Trump’s promised rollback of domestic climate-related funding and regulations, nor withdrawal from the Paris framework, will be as impactful as often feared. While broadly concurring, I nonetheless also in this article take a wider view, to argue that the Trump administration is likely to exacerbate several existing patterns and trends. I discuss four in particular: the general inadequacy of global greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and implementation efforts; the inadequacy of contemporary climate financing; the embrace between populist conservatism and opposition to action on climate change; and not least, the current global oil and gas boom which, crucially, is being led by the US.
    [Show full text]
  • The New York Environmental Lawyer a Publication of the Environmental & Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association
    NYSBA SPRING/SUMMER 2018 | VOL. 38 | NO. 1 The New York Environmental Lawyer A publication of the Environmental & Energy Law Section of the New York State Bar Association Image credits: NASA Earth Observatory Inside October 27, 2013, left, and October 19, 2016, n right: The amount of water in Lake Cachuma has New TSCA Regulations, Risks fallen to about 7 percent of capacity, the result of a persistent drought in Southern California. n Climate Change Blog: Massive Storms The decline has exposed much of the bottom of the reservoir, which provides drinking water and Renewable Energy Possibilities to Santa Barbara. Some 20 percent of the state has suffered exceptional drought, the most n Lessons from Big Tobacco for Big Oil extreme drought classification, since early 2014. Images taken by the Operational Land Imager n Outside the EPA Update onboard Landsat 8. Section Officers THE NEW YORK Chair Marla E. Wieder ENVIRONMENTAL LAWYER Assistant Regional Counsel Editor-in-Chief U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II Miriam E. Villani 290 Broadway, 17th Floor Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC New York, NY 1007-1823 333 Earle Ovington Blvd., Suite 601 [email protected] Uniondale, NY 11553 [email protected] Vice-Chair Howard M. Tollin Issue Editors Sterling Environmental Services Justin M. Birzon 135 Crossways Park Drive, Third Floor Associate Counsel Woodbury, NY 11797 New York State Assembly [email protected] Room 513—Capitol Albany, NY 12248 Treasurer [email protected] Nicholas M. Ward-Willis Keane & Beane, PC Prof. Keith Hirokawa 445 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 1500 Albany Law School White Plains, NY 10601 80 New Scotland Ave.
    [Show full text]