United States

Growing Economy, Falling Emissions

Economic growth has been stronger in nine Northeast states that have a current cap-and-trade program. Carbon emissions in those states have fallen much more quickly than in the rest of the country.

The New York Times
Sources: ENE; Energy Information Administration

nytimes.com - by Hannah Fairfield - June 6, 2014

Some critics of the Environmental Protection Agency’s new requirements for power plants argue that forcing emissions reduction will curtail economic growth. But the recent experience of states that already cap carbon emissions reveals that emissions and economic growth are no longer tightly tied together. . .

. . . The nine states already in the program — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont — have substantially reduced their carbon emissions in recent years. At the same time, those states have had stronger economic growth than the rest of the country.

ncfpd.umn.edu - April 4, 2014

Webinar - Community Resilience and Impacts of Interdependent Infrastructure Disruptions as Experienced from Hurricane Sandy (One hour long)

Presented By: 
Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.
Chairman, Global Resilience Inititatives
Executive Director, Health Initiatives Foundation, Inc. 

Facilitated By:
John T. Hoffman, Col., USA, Ret.
Senior Research Fellow, National Center for Food Protection and Defense

Under the dynamic conditions of rapid climate change and broader global changes, resilience and sustainability are not being achieved through traditional emergency management and humanitarian approaches alone. While community-based resilience networks are now beginning to emerge in a race to stabilize New York City's coastal communities significantly impacted by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, many impacted neighborhoods are still trending toward greater vulnerability plaguing recovery and preparedness for the next wave of potentially larger storms.

A new car-share system could change the urban landscape William Lark, Jr., MIT Media Lab

newsweek.com - by Jillian Rose Lim - April 16, 2014

Traffic congestion, limited space and air pollution are a few of the many plagues of urban life. But what if a network of svelte electric cars were waiting at hubs in your city, charging up their batteries until their next drivers come along?

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

President Barack Obama signs flood insurance bill into law.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

nola.com - by Bruce Alpert - March 21, 2014

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama Friday signed into law hard-fought legislation that will limit flood insurance premium increases to no more than 18 percent a year.

White House officials called Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., shortly after 1 p.m. CT to say the bill is now law.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(CLICK HERE - H.R. 3370)