Each week, I review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted over at the RFF Library Blog.
U.S. Climate Atlas
We’ve updated the U.S. Climate Atlas and created a new interface to provide you easier access to it.
Unlike the previous version, which was only available on CD-ROM, the new Atlas is available through an interactive website that you can freely access anywhere there’s an internet connection. With the website, you can view, compare, or animate monthly maps of precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures from 1895 through 2015. - via NOAA
Clean Power Plan: Legal Background and Pending Litigation in West Virginia v. EPA
[From a Greenwire article by Robin Bravender] Congress’ in-house research shop has drafted a summary of the complicated legal battle over the Obama administration’s climate regulations… - via CRS
Fugitive Emissions from the Bakken Shale Illustrate Role of Shale Production in Global Ethane Shift
[From Press Release] A single U.S. shale oil field is responsible for much of the past decade’s increase in global atmospheric levels of ethane, a gas that can damage air quality and impact climate, according to new study led by the University of Michigan. - via Geophysical Research Letters
Even Small Amounts of Pollution Can Lead to Long Term Health Effects for Developing Fetuses
[From Press Release] Even small amounts of air pollution appear to raise the risk of a condition in pregnant women linked to premature births and lifelong neurological and respiratory disorders in their children, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. - via Johns Hopkins
Environmental Policy Design, Innovation And Efficiency Gains In Electricity Generation
This paper explores the relationship between environmental regulation, innovation, and competitiveness, drawing upon a unique dataset on environmental regulations directed at combustion plants, a global dataset of power plants, and a global dataset of ‘environmental’ patents. The analysis is conducted in two stages. First, a nonparametric frontier analysis is implemented to estimate efficiency scores, including a measure of technological innovation based on patent stocks. Second, econometric methods are applied to analyse the role of policy stringency and policy design on efficiency. Our estimation sample covers thermal power plant sectors in 20 countries from 1990 to 2009. - via OECD
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