Congressional Research Service Reports - 141 Matching Results

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Is Biopower Carbon Neutral?

Description: This report discusses some factors taken into account when considering whether biopower is carbon neutral. It does not discuss carbon accounting for other bioenergy pathways.
Date: February 19, 2015
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
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Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Is Biopower Carbon Neutral?

Description: This report assesses the variables involved in determining whether or not biopower (i.e., electricity generated from biomass) is a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels as a way to help meet meet U.S. energy demands and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It includes information about the biomass carbon cycle, GHG accounting for biopower production, recent developments affecting the assessment, and overview of whether or not it can be considered carbon neutral, and legislative imp… more
Date: January 25, 2011
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Is Biopower Carbon Neutral?

Description: This report assesses the variables involved in determining whether or not biopower (i.e., electricity generated from biomass) is a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels as a way to help meet meet U.S. energy demands and reduce U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It includes information about the biomass carbon cycle, GHG accounting for biopower production, recent developments affecting the assessment, and overview of whether or not it can be considered carbon neutral, and legislative imp… more
Date: July 6, 2011
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Reid Vapor Pressure Requirements for Ethanol

Description: This report discusses legislation (H.R. 1311, S. 517) regarding providing a waiver for ethanol-fuel blends containing greater than 10% ethanol (E15) from the Clean Air Act's (CAA) strict requirements on volatility of gasoline. This requirement currently prevents E15 gas from being sold during the summer. Major points of the legislation, various types of waivers and current rules under the CAA for gasoline and possible options for Congress are discussed.
Date: May 18, 2017
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy

Description: This report is intended as a primer on the policy issues, science, and governance of geoengineering technologies. The report will first set the policy parameters under which geoengineering technologies may be considered. It will then describe selected technologies in detail and discuss their status. The third section provides a discussion of possible approaches to governmental involvement in, and oversight of, geoengineering, including a summary of domestic and international instruments and ins… more
Date: November 26, 2013
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi & Lattanzio, Richard K.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biochar: Examination of an Emerging Concept to Mitigate Climate Change

Description: Biochar is a charcoal produced under high temperatures using crop residues, animal manure, or any type of organic waste material. Depending on the feedstock, biochar may look similar to potting soil or to a charred substance. The combined production and use of biochar is considered a carbon-negative process, meaning that it removes carbon from the atmosphere. This report briefly describes biochar, its potential advantages and disadvantages, legislative support, and research and development acti… more
Date: May 24, 2010
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi S.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy

Description: This report is intended as a primer on the policy issues, science, and governance of geoengineering technologies. The report will first set the policy parameters under which geoengineering technologies may be considered. It will then describe selected technologies in detail and discuss their status. The third section provides a discussion of possible approaches to governmental involvement in, and oversight of, geoengineering, including a summary of domestic and international instruments and ins… more
Date: January 10, 2011
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi; Lattanzio, Richard K. & Barbour, Emily C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy

Description: This report is intended as a primer on the policy issues, science, and governance of geoengineering technologies. The report will first set the policy parameters under which geoengineering technologies may be considered. It will then describe selected technologies in detail and discuss their status. The third section provides a discussion of possible approaches to governmental involvement in, and oversight of, geoengineering, including a summary of domestic and international instruments and ins… more
Date: August 16, 2010
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi; Lattanzio, Richard K. & Barbour, Emily C.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Methane Capture: Options for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction

Description: This report discusses alternatives for addressing methane capture, sources of methane, opportunities and challenges for methane capture, and current federal programs that support methane recovery.
Date: January 7, 2011
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi; Ramseur, Jonathan L.; McCarthy, James E.; Folger, Peter & Marples, Donald J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Ocean Acidification

Description: This report discusses the increasing concern, within the scientific community, that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could detrimentally alter marine ecosystems. The report discusses how ocean acidification happens, its possible outcomes, as well as natural and human responses that could possibly limit or reduce the rate of the process.
Date: May 27, 2010
Creator: Buck, Eugene H. & Folger, Peter
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automakers Seek to Align Fuel Economy and Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Description: This report briefly discusses proposed regulatory changes to revise federal fuel economy and environmental standards and reduce potentially large penalties. The technical proposals would be the first major structural change in these standards since 2012, and they come at a time when federal agencies are undertaking a regulatory review that may result in far greater changes.
Date: August 8, 2016
Creator: Canis, Bill
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Volkswagen, Defeat Devices, and the Clean Air Act: Frequently Asked Questions

Description: This report provides answers to a series of frequently asked questions focusing on a description of modern diesel technologies, their market and emissions profiles, and some potential reasons that could underlie the use of defeat devices. It summarizes the specific allegations filed against VW under the Clean Air Act, the current status of federal and state investigations, and the potential civil and criminal penalties. Further, the report introduces several outstanding issues currently under d… more
Date: February 10, 2016
Creator: Canis, Bill; Lattanzio, Richard K.; Vann, Adam & Yacobucci, Brent D.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

Description: From an environmental quality standpoint, much of the interest in animal agriculture has focused on impacts on water resources, because animal waste, if not properly managed, can harm water quality through surface runoff, direct discharges, spills, and leaching into soil and groundwater. A more recent issue is the contribution of emissions from animal feeding operations (AFO), enterprises where animals are raised in confinement, to air pollution. AFOs can affect air quality through emissions of… more
Date: July 20, 2012
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality Issues and Animal Agriculture: EPA’s Air Compliance Agreement

Description: This report discusses a plan announced by EPA in January 2005, called the Air Compliance Agreement, that would produce air quality monitoring data on animal agriculture emissions from a small number of farms, while at the same time protecting all participants (including farms where no monitoring takes place) through a “safe harbor” from liability under certain provisions of federal environmental laws.
Date: August 18, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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EPA's Vessel General Permit: Background and Issues

Description: This report is an overview of the revised Vessel General Permit (VGP) from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and two key issues: inclusion of numeric performance standards to limit ballast water discharges from vessels, and controversies about the role of states in regulating vessel discharges.
Date: January 8, 2014
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2006 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas

Description: This report focuses primarily on the NAAQS implementation process for designating geographical nonattainment areas with respect to the tightening of the PM2.5 standards under the 2006 particulates NAAQS, including comparisons with the final designations under the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. Also included is a brief overview of states' subsequent obligations for developing and submitting implementation plans (SIPs) for attaining or maintaining compliance with the NAAQS.
Date: October 25, 2012
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2013 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas

Description: This report focuses on the EPA's (Environmental Protection Agency) revision of rules for designated areas for compliance with the NAAQS (National Ambient Air Quality Standard) for PM2.5 (fine particulate mattter).The states and EPA must then identify areas that exceed the standard and require those areas to take steps to pollutants to meet the standard. This is then the subject of congressional oversight.
Date: March 24, 2015
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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2013 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5): Designating Nonattainment Areas

Description: This report focuses primarily on the NAAQS implementation process for designating geographical nonattainment areas with respect to the tightening of the PM2.5 annual standard under the 2013 particulates NAAQS.
Date: December 23, 2015
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality: EPA’s 2012 Proposed Changes to the Particulate Matter (PM) Standard

Description: This report summarizes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) June 2012 proposed changes to the particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and includes comparisons with previous (1997) and current (2006) promulgated and proposed standards. Key actions leading up to the June 2012 proposal, and potential issues and concerns associated with the proposal to strengthen the PM2.5 annual standard, are also highlighted.
Date: August 21, 2012
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality: EPA's 2012 Proposed Changes to the Particulate Matter (PM) Standard

Description: This report summarizes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) June 2012 proposed changes to the particulate matter (PM) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and includes comparisons with previous (1997) and current (2006) promulgated and proposed standards. Key actions leading up to the June 2012 proposal, and potential issues and concerns associated with the proposal to strengthen the PM2.5 annual standard, are also highlighted.
Date: September 5, 2012
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Air Quality: EPA's 2013 Changes to the Particulate Matter (PM) Standard

Description: This report summarizes the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) January 15, 2013, final and June 2012 proposed changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and includes comparisons with previous (1997 and 2006) promulgated and proposed standards. Key actions leading up to the agency's determination, and potential issues and concerns associated with changing the Particulate Matter annual standard, are also highlighted.
Date: January 7, 2015
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Air Quality: EPA's 2013 Changes to the Particulate Matter (PM) Standard

Description: This report summarizes Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) January 15, 2013, final and June 2012 proposed changes to the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and includes comparisons with previous (1997 and 2006) promulgated and proposed standards. Key actions leading up to the agency's determination, and potential issues and concerns associated with changing the Particulate Matter annual standard, are also highlighted.
Date: January 23, 2013
Creator: Esworthy, Robert
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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