WRI Stories Feed: U.S. Climate Action

Weird Winter Weather and the Climate Connection

Kelly Levin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:56:39 -0500

Punxsutawney Phil may have forecast six more weeks of winter, but for much of the country winter has not yet arrived. Once again, weird weather is dominating the headlines. Temperatures have recently hit highs of 63F in New York City and 72F in…

What Does the State of the Union Mean for the Energy Agenda?

Jennifer Morgan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:08:54 -0500

This post originally appeared in the National Journal Energy &; Environment Expert Blog. The question was, Obama’s State of the…

What Shale Gas in China Means for the United States

Sarah Forbes — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:13:36 -0500

Today I testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission during a hearing on China’s Global Quest for Resources and Implications…

Senators, EPA Administrators, Business and Health Experts Share Perspectives on Clean Air Act at WRI Roundtable

Michael Oko — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:41:16 -0500

This post was written with Sara-Katherine Coxon, Objective Coordinator at the World Resources Institute.

“Smog was a daily occurrence, something you could taste and see.”

This…

WRI to Host Discussion on State of the Clean Air Act

Kevin Kennedy — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:03:46 -0500

On January 23, WRI will host a high-profile roundtable discussion on “The State of the Clean Air Act: Past, Present and Future.” The event will be moderated by Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.),…

A Look Back at U.S. Climate Policy in 2011

Kevin Kennedy — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:13:14 -0500

As the year winds down, it’s a good time to take stock of climate policy in the United States. Here’s a quick round up of what happened – or didn’t happen – in 2011.

The year began with big questions about what the Obama…

Shale Gas: Time to Look Before We Leap Any Further

Janet Ranganathan — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:20:51 -0500

Shale gas is a game-changer for global energy supply. It is already transforming the U.S. energy outlook, and is expected to deliver over 40% of domestic gas production by 2025 (Figure 1). Other…

EPA Mercury and Air Toxics Rules for Power Plants: 20+ Years in the Making

Nicholas Bianco — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:27:22 -0500

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency prepares to release new Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), some people may be wondering about the history and timeline for these standards. One Senator recently…

EPA Mercury Rules: Keeping the Lights on While Removing Toxics from Our Air

Nate Aden — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:58:25 -0500

Next week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to finalize new rules to reduce mercury and other toxic air emissions that will affect dozens of antiquated power plants currently operating without pollution controls.

These…

Report Finds Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) Creates Jobs and Stimulates Economic Growth

Nicholas Bianco — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:55:29 -0500

A new report finds that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has had a positive economic impact on the region. According to the report by the…