Twice a month, we’re compiling the most relevant news stories from diverse sources online, connecting the latest environmental and energy economics research to global current events, real-time public discourse, and policy decisions. Keep reading, and feel free to send us your feedback.
Here are some questions we’re asking and addressing with our research chops this week:
Where has the budget reconciliation process landed for various energy and environmental policies?
The federal budget reconciliation bill—an expedited legislative process which can bypass the Senate filibuster in pushing through certain tax, spending, or debt legislation—was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, one day after it was passed by Congress. The 887-page law includes major rollbacks of climate legislation. As part of the If/Then policy analysis series, Resources for the Future (RFF) Government Affairs Manager Liam Burke interviewed RFF researchers about the implications of the bill’s passage for key environmental and energy policies and what changes these policies underwent throughout the reconciliation process. “Using the reconciliation process to pass legislation has become an effective way for political parties to advance their policy agenda in an era of razor-thin political majorities,” says Burke.
What are some important research and policy consequences of the Trump administration downsizing staff at federal agencies?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is permanently discontinuing the collection of weather data for military operations, part of broader cuts to NOAA programs and staffing. The agency’s recent budget proposal calls for the elimination of many of its weather and climate research laboratories, along with cuts that would reduce NOAA’s full-time staff by 17 percent. These changes are expected to reduce the agency’s ability to forecast extreme weather, an important consideration in light of the recent flooding devastation in Texas. NOAA is just one of many federal agencies that have seen major staffing reductions since the start of the Trump administration. In a recent If/Then blog post, former RFF Senior Staff Writer and Reporter Matt Fleck argues that reductions in federal agency staff and their professional networks, and the subsequent loss of the skills, expertise, and information-sharing among these employees, will inhibit effective policymaking. “With the capacity of federal agencies in flux and networks between federal workers and civil society thinned or gone, researchers likely will struggle to replace the federal data sets, funding, and input necessary to answer certain research questions,” says Fleck.
What unique challenges do residents face in communities where the local economy depends on outdoor recreation—and what are possible policy solutions?
United States Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum recently issued an order that aims to improve relations between national parks and gateway communities, towns which border national parks and public lands. Residents of gateway communities often make up a majority of national park employees, and the economies of many such communities primarily are driven by outdoor recreation and tourism. These recreation-dependent economies are subject to unique challenges as a result, such as overtourism and shortages in affordable housing. The order from Burgum aims to establish a formal structure by which these communities can participate in the type of decisionmaking that directly affects the livelihood of residents. In a recent episode of Resources Radio, researcher Megan Lawson discusses further policy measures that can address the challenges that recreation-dependent economies experience. “Being a gateway community can definitely put a place into a tough spot when they become a hot destination, and we call this phenomenon the ‘amenity trap,’” says Lawson. “It’s when the very things that make a community a really great place to visit and to live also threaten it with being loved to death.”
Expert Perspectives
Improving Weather Warning Systems Is Critical to Mitigating Climate Risk
Last week, flash flooding devastated the Texas Hill Country region of central and southern Texas—a region known as “Flash Flood Alley”—after a severe storm and heavy rainfall raised the levels of the Guadalupe River. Authorities have confirmed that at least 120 people lost their lives and 173 people remain missing, as rescue and recovery operations continue.
“One heartbreaking aspect of the recent Texas flood is that some of the loss of life might have been prevented with better warning systems,” says RFF Fellow Yanjun (Penny) Liao. “News reports indicate that Kerr County had previously considered installing an outdoor warning system along the Guadalupe River but ultimately decided against it due to cost concerns. Sadly, this is not an isolated case. Across the country, many vulnerable communities face similar dilemmas—they are forced to weigh the cost of preparedness against other pressing needs.
“In a recent study on the Community Rating System—a key program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency that incentivizes local investments in flood preparedness and mitigation—we find that many communities, particularly low-income or rural ones, tend to underinvest in proactive measures due to financial and institutional constraints. Too often, meaningful investments come only after devastating floods, when it is already too late. Catastrophic events tend to bring unprecedented conditions, inflicting a large share of a community’s cumulative historical damage and loss of life in a single blow, as RFF Senior Fellow Margaret Walls and I discussed in a previous blog post. To prevent similar tragedies in the future, it is critical for communities to reassess their exposure to flood risk under not only the likely conditions, but also in the case of extreme and unprecedented scenarios.”
Resources Roundup
Upcoming Event: Obstacles to Energy Infrastructure in the Age of Energy Dominance, Load Growth, and Decarbonization
Energy use in the United States is rising and placing pressure on existing infrastructure. An ability to meet surging demand growth will be shaped by rapid shifts in the federal government’s approach to US energy, including the newly reduced viability of clean energy incentives. RFF is hosting a series of webinars to discuss how the future of energy looks in the United States, the vital effort to build more energy infrastructure more efficiently, policy efforts to facilitate energy expansion, and obstacles to meeting the country’s energy needs. Join RFF next week Thursday, July 17, for the first webinar in the series, which will feature a panel of experts discussing these issues. Register for the Obstacles webinar here.
Artificial Intelligence Will Transform US Electricity Demand, Markets, and Costs
Power consumption by data centers—the facilities that provide the infrastructure and resources to power artificial intelligence (AI) and other services like cloud computing—is projected to drive significant increases in US electricity demand. In addition to driving demand, AI may reshape interactions between consumers and the grid itself. Ben Hertz-Shargel, a researcher at Wood Mackenzie, joined the Resources Radio podcast to discuss how utility companies are attempting to accommodate high electricity demand from data centers while sparing individual energy consumers from undue price increases. In a relevant new In Focus video, Resources Radio cohost and RFF Senior Director for Research and Policy Engagement Kristin Hayes discusses the climate implications of the expanding energy demand that results from AI.
Controversial Climate Realism Could Reinvent US Climate Policy
US climate policy should be grounded in realism, argues Varun Sivaram, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. In an article he published recently, Sivaram lays out the case for climate realism—an approach to US climate policy that he says both realistically prepares for the consequences of climate change and advances American foreign policy objectives. Sivaram joined Resources Radio to explain and support his arguments for climate realism. “I do believe that the United States can succeed by treating climate as a true top-tier national security threat … If we treat climate in a similar way and adopt this realist foreign-policy lens, then we have a fighting chance at advancing our interests,” says Sivaram.
Book Talk Recap and Upcoming Resources Radio Episode: The People’s Struggle for Energy
Access to affordable energy is essential. It powers homes, protects health and well-being, and promotes economic development. Still, millions of Americans struggle to access and pay for their energy needs. Last week, Diana Hernández, the author of a new book called Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy and Columbia University associate professor and co-director, shared her insights at an in-depth conversation co-hosted by RFF and Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy. Hernández discussed the book and the sources and implications of energy insecurity. “The energy transition is still happening. We have wild weather right now. How do we ensure that our most vulnerable are taken care of?” she said. Stay tuned for more on this topic: Hernández will join the Resources Radio podcast in a couple weeks to further unpack the energy-related themes of her book.
Navigating New Opportunities and Risks in Outer Space
Outer space is becoming more crowded than ever before. A growing array of governments and nongovernmental actors continue to crowd Earth’s orbit, launching new projects in space that include weather satellites, space stations, and exploration efforts. With these new opportunities come new risks. In their recent journal article, RFF University Fellow Jonathan Wiener and a coauthor explore the risks that are emerging with this increased space activity and the need for new approaches and institutions to conduct risk regulation at the interplanetary scale.
#ChartOfTheWeek and 🌡️ Climate in the Culture 🌇
Source: National Weather Service
Should Heat Waves Have Names?
As heat waves blanketed the eastern United States and much of western Europe in June and July, debates reopened about whether heat waves should have names, just as hurricanes come with a system of assigned names like Sandy or Katrina.
Heat waves are the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States, surpassing hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Although all these severe weather events are destructive and pose a threat to human health, some argue that heat waves do not garner similar levels of public attention as other weather patterns, causing a societal underestimation of the danger. Given that a heat wave does not generally leave behind significant obvious property damage, for example, photographing or even envisioning a heat wave is difficult in the absence of immediate physical impacts on a community’s infrastructure.
Some evidence suggests that anthropomorphizing heat waves could increase their social importance and promote heat-safety behaviors, while other experts find that a name alone is not enough to increase awareness or influence behavior. Further, defining the conventions and standards for naming heat waves may be more difficult than other weather patterns, given their higher frequency and varying severity.
However, as heat waves become more common with climate change, finding, testing, and implementing strategies to improve public safety—through naming, ranking systems, or other means—will remain relevant.
