Each week, we review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted at the “indispensable” RFF Library Blog, curated by RFF Librarian Chris Clotworthy. Check out this week’s highlights below:
Since 1997, an increasing fraction of electric power in the U.S. has been generated from natural gas. Here, we use data from continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS), which measure emissions at the stack of most U.S. electric power generation units, to investigate how this switch affected the emissions of CO2, NOx and SO2. Per unit of energy produced, natural gas power plants... — via Earth's Future
Fueling Up: The Economic Implications of America’s Oil and Gas Boom
...The authors say the industries that will be helped by new demand for equipment and other materials thanks to oil and gas growth account for 6 percent of U.S. manufacturing employment, while industries that will experience significant savings as a result of lower oil and gas prices make up another 5 percent of domestic manufacturing employment... — via Peterson Institute for International Economics
Why Every Serious Environmentalist Should Favor Fracking: [Richard Muller Article]
A recently released report warns environmental activists that their opposition to hydraulic fracturing is “a tragic mistake,” and asserts that shale gas provides a solution to two global environmental concerns: air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The report calls shale gas “a wonderful gift that has arrived just in time,” and advocates for its use in reducing both greenhouse gas emissions... — via Centre for Policy Studies
Ocean Acidity is Increasing for Reasons Beyond CO2 Emissions: PLoS Study
Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from anthropogenic sources is acidifying marine environments resulting in potentially dramatic consequences for the physical, chemical and biological functioning of these ecosystems. If current trends continue, mean ocean pH is expected to decrease by ~0.2 units over the next ~50 years. Yet, there is also substantial temporal variability in pH and other carbon system parameters in the ocean resulting in regions that already experience change... — via PLoS ONE
The Environmental Protection Agency published its rule limiting carbon emissions from new power plants on Wednesday to the dismay of coal advocates and the GOP...Included in the new performance standards, the EPA pushes for new coal-fired power plants to be built with carbon capture technology, which Republicans argue is impossible since the technology isn’t ready. McCarthy says the technology is ready and is already being used. — via U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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