Each week, we review the papers, studies, reports, and briefings posted at the “indispensable” RFF Library Blog, curated by RFF Librarian Chris Clotworthy.
Footprint of Deepwater Horizon Blowout Impact to Deep-water Coral Communities
[Significance] The Deepwater Horizon blowout released more oil and gas into the deep sea than any previous spill. Soon after the well was capped, a deep-sea community 13 km southwest of the wellhead was discovered with corals that had been damaged by the spill. Here we show this was not an isolated incident; at least two other coral communities were also impacted by the spill. One was almost twice as far from the wellhead and in 50% deeper water, considerably expanding the known area of impact. In addition, two of four other newly discovered coral communities in the region were fouled with commercial fishing line, indicating a large cumulative effect of anthropogenic activities on the corals of the deep Gulf of Mexico... – via Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
A 2015 Global Warming Pact Probably Won’t be Enough to Stop Global Warming: MIT Study
[National Journal] Don’t expect too much from the global climate-change accord that’s expected to emerge from high-stakes international talks in Paris next year. A new MIT study concludes that even if negotiators reach a deal at the United Nations conference, it probably won’t be enough to limit global temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. That’s the level many scientists say would help stave off some of the most dangerous and disruptive effects of climate change... – via MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Replacing the Environmental Protection Agency
[American Thinker] It made sense for there to be a single national agency given authority to enforce the nation’s new environmental protection laws in the first decade of the 1970s. But by the end of that decade, the lion’s share of benefits from that noble experiment were already achieved and the states could have been, and should have been, allowed to play their intended role in implementing the new programs... – via Heartland Institute
The Integrated Grid: Realizing the Full Value of Central and Distributed Energy Resources
[Nuclear Energy Institute] Experts are warning that the evolving makeup of the U.S. electricity system—with increased reliance on variable energy resources and distributed generation—could mean lower grid reliability unless the changes are made in a deliberate, integrated manner that properly values the attributes of each type of generation. This is the impetus for development of an “integrated grid,” now the focus of a major project conducted by the Electric Power Research Institute. The existing electricity system “was not designed to accommodate a high penetration of [distributed energy resources] while sustaining high levels of electric quality and reliability,” an EPRI report on the integrated grid states. The variability and intermittency of these resources are “quite different from central power stations,” the report adds. To gain the most benefit from distributed resources, EPRI proposes integrating them into the planning and operation of the electric grid... – via Electric Power Research Institute
[State Impact Texas] An environmental group says it’s found over a hundred oil or gas wells being drilled in Texas using techniques that the group says are illegal… Earlier this year, prompted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Texas state regulators said to inject diesel fuel would require a special permit. A national group, the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), was concerned the new rules wouldn’t be followed. They began reviewing databases drillers use to report what they inject... – via Environmental Integrity Project
