Each week, I review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted over at the RFF Library Blog.
Toxic Secrets: Companies Exploit Weak US Chemical Rules to Hide Fracking Risks
[From Politico’s Morning Energy email] There seems to be a lot of data missing from EPA’s review of 105 fracking and drilling chemicals the agency reviewed under the Toxic Substances Control Act, according to a report out today from the environmental group the Partnership for Policy Integrity. The group used the Freedom of Information Act to review dockets for all 105 fracking chemicals submitted for review between 2009 and 2014. It found that submissions for six chemicals were missing, and health studies were missing from all but two of the remaining 99 cases. In 12 of the 105 cases, companies claimed health studies had been submitted, but the report authors couldn’t locate studies in 10 of those 12. - via Partnership for Policy Integrity
Protecting the Most Vulnerable: A Financial Analysis of Cap-and-Trade’s Impact on Households in Disadvantaged Communities Across California
[NRDC Experts Blog by Alex Jackson]… “Protecting the Most Vulnerable: A Financial Analysis of Cap-and-Trade’s Impact on Households in Disadvantaged Communities Across California,” released today by the UCLA Luskin Center, [analyzes] the impact of California’s greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program on low-income households’ energy bills. The cap-and-trade program is designed to put a price on carbon throughout the economy to incentivize lower emissions choices, not just by the state’s biggest polluters, but also in the prices consumers see to encourage cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation. But like in the transportation context, focusing on just commodity costs misses the bigger picture. - via UCLA Luskin Center
Water Resources Dashboard Aggregates U.S. Water Data
[From NOAA Climate Program Office Press Release] …Driven by feedback from water resource managers, federal agencies and others, NOAA and partners have developed the Water Resources Dashboard: a one-stop website for relevant water data on drought, flooding, precipitation, climate and other measures… - via US NOAA
Promising Practices for EJ [Environmental Justice] Methodologies in NEPA Reviews
The Environmental Justice (EJ) Interagency Working Group (IWG) Promising Practices report is a compilation of approaches that the NEPA Committee gleaned from an almost 4-year review of agency practices. The report consists of nine sections: Meaningful Engagement, Scoping Process, Defining the Affected Environment, Developing and Selecting Alternatives, Identifying Minority Populations, Identifying Low-Income Populations, Impacts, Disproportionately High and Adverse Impacts, and Mitigation and Monitoring. Within each section, the report provides guiding principles and specific steps to consider during the NEPA process. - via US DOE
Consumer Impacts of California’s Low Carbon Transportation Policies
[NRDC Experts Blog by Alex Jackson] …[A new report from the Consumers Union] looks at the cumulative impact of California’s climate policies on household transportation costs. The key finding? Even after accounting for industry compliance costs, California households are projected to save up to $1,500 annually by 2030 thanks to lower annual fuel bills, and low-income households will experience the largest savings (as a share of income). The key reason? As the researchers, ICF International, put it – “focusing exclusively on vehicle and fuel pricing…can be misleading. Ultimately, consumer expenditures on travel are a function of vehicle and fuel pricing, as well as parameters such as vehicle efficiency and vehicle miles traveled.” - via Consumers Union
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