Washington, D.C. – The following statement is attributable to Chris McEntee, Executive Director and CEO of the American Geophysical Union: “When signed in December 2015, the Paris Agreement marked a historic moment. Representatives of 195 nations came together to commit to lowering greenhouse gas emissions to help slow the far-reaching effects of climate change to the nation…

Crops like almonds cannot be left fallow during dry years without jeopardizing the trees, which during droughts require extensive irrigation in the California Central Valley. A new study by researchers from UCLA and the University of Houston reveals significant groundwater loss in California’s Central Valley during the recent drought and sparks questions of sustainability for…

Earth’s Future, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. “The country has vowed to curtail its use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, but it has also put itself on a path to building hundreds of coal-burning power plants to feed its growing industrial economy.” According to Davis and his colleagues, India has pledged to…

2017 Annual Report on Risk Evaluations Background. On June 22, 2016 the President signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemicals Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Section 26(n)(2) of the law requires, that EPA at the beginning of each calendar year, publish an annual plan. This plan must…

State water agencies across the country are starting to integrate climate change considerations into the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs they administer. Short descriptions have been developed of innovative practices that state water agencies are currently implementing to reduce their vulnerability to climate-related impacts and to build resilience to climate change.…

As a result of major transformations in the global energy system that take place over the next decades, renewables and natural gas are the big winners in the race to meet energy demand growth until 2040, according to the latest edition of the World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency’s flagship publication. A detailed analysis…

On June 1, 2016, NOAA released a draft Ocean Noise Strategy Roadmap, the first of its kind. The strategy seeks to ensure that NOAA is more comprehensively addressing noise impacts to aquatic species and their habitat over the next decade. The document summarizes the status of the science to support the Ocean Noise Strategy’s goals,…

On May 10, 2016, the Obama Administration announced public and private sector efforts to increase community resilience through building codes and standards. “Building codes set the baseline for the safe design and construction of our homes, schools, and workplaces, providing the minimum requirements to adequately safeguard the health, safety and welfare of building occupants. The…

RNRF Washington Round Table on smart grids. The Brattle Group hosted RNRF’s Washington Round Table on Public Policy at its Washington, D.C. office on April 20, 2016. Heidi Bishop, a senior policy and marketing analyst with the group, discussed the status of smart grid development, renewable energy trends, and the integration of renewables into smart…

Overview Volume 30 No. 2 of the Renewable Resources Journal features “An Assessment of Aquifer Water Quality,” an article that identifies the various contaminants in groundwater that have human-health and ecological consequences. This article is adapted from a 2015 report by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Circular 1360, Water Quality in Principal Aquifers of the…