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Congressional Research Service Reports
A U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations
Date: January 7, 2010
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Description: The Copenhagen conference in December 2009 achieved only mandates to continue negotiating toward the next Conference of the Parties (COP) to be held in Mexico City in December 2010. As a background to these proceedings, this document provides a U.S.-centric chronology of the international policy deliberations to address climate change from 1979-2009. Negotiations underway since 2007 have run on two tracks, the Kyoto Protocol the Convention under the Bali Action Plan. Many in the U.S. Congress are concerned with the goals and obligations that a treaty or other form of agreement might embody. For U.S. legislators, additional issues include the compatibility of any international agreement with U.S. domestic policies and laws; the adequacy of appropriations, fiscal measures, and programs to achieve any commitments under the agreement; and the desirable form of the agreement and related requirements, with a view toward potential Senate ratification of the agreement and federal legislation to assure that U.S. commitments are met.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc83887/
Calculation of Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Renewable Fuel Standard
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.
Description: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA, P.L. 110-140), significantly expanded the renewable fuel standard (RFS) established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005, P.L. 109-58). The RFS requires the use of 9.0 billion gallons of renewable fuel in 2008, increasing to 36 billion gallons in 2022.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87141/
Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Folger, Peter
Description: Carbon capture and sequestration (or storage) - known as CCS - has attracted interest as a measure for mitigating global climate change because large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from fossil fuel use in the United States are potentially available to be captured and stored underground or prevented from reaching the atmosphere. Congressional interest has grown in CCS as part of legislative strategies to address climate change. The large and rapid influx of funding for industrial-scale CCS projects may accelerate development and deployment of CO2 capture technologies.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26253/
Climate Change: The Role of the U.S. Agriculture Sector and Congressional Action
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Description: The debate in Congress over whether and how to address possible future climate change is intensifying. Often, the role of the U.S. agriculture sector is invoked in this debate. Agriculture is a source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which many scientists agree are contributing to observed climate change. Congress is considering a range of climate change policy options, including GHG emission reduction programs that would either mandate or authorize a cap-and-trade program to reduce GHG emissions. This report discusses this issue in detail, i.e., how the agricultural industry affects GHG emissions and efforts currently underway to combat these negative effects, but it does not address the potential effects of global climate change on U.S. agricultural production.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26255/
Estimates of Carbon Mitigation Potential from Agricultural and Forestry Activities
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Johnson, Renée
Description: Numerous theoretical and empirical studies estimate the greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of farm and forestry activities, and suggest that the potential for carbon uptake in agricultural soils and forest lands is much greater than current rates. Following a discussion of the estimated current emissions and carbon sequestration by the agricultural and forestry sectors, this report presents a brief overview of the available estimates from USDA and EPA carbon mitigation studies, and then discusses some of the limitations of the available data and modeling results. This report is organized into four parts, including a brief overview of the agriculture and forestry sectors within the broader climate change debate, as well as various data and information on potential for carbon storage and mitigation from farming and forestry activities.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26136/
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America: An Overview and Selected Issues
Date: May 27, 2009
Creator: Villarreal, M. Angeles
Description: The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) is a trilateral initiative that was launched in March 2005 for the purpose of increasing and enhancing security and prosperity in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This initiative promoted communication and cooperation across several key policy areas of mutual interest, such as improving certain sectors of the economy, developing higher health and safety standards, and addressing environmental concerns. This report describes this initiative in brief detail, including summaries of several SPP-related meetings between the three countries' leaders.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26336/
Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress
Date: April 23, 2009
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L.
Description: This report reviews the history and trends of oil spills in the United States; identifies the legal authorities governing oil spill prevention, response, and cleanup; and examines the threats of future oil spills in U.S. coastal waters.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc26249/
Agriculture Biotechnology: Background and Recent Issues
Date: February 13, 2009
Creator: Cowan, Tadlock
Description: This report discusses issues regarding the impacts of GE crops on the environment and food safety, and whether GE foods should be specially labeled. Underlying these issues is the question of whether U.S. regulation and oversight of biotechnology—with responsibilities spread primarily among the U.S.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87293/
Biotechnology in Animal Agriculture: Status and Current Issues
Date: February 11, 2009
Creator: Becker, Geoffrey S.
Description: This report describes several scientifically emerging animal biotechnologies that are raising a variety of questions concerning risks to humans, animals, and the environment, as well as ethical concerns. The report examines applications of the technologies and discusses major issues that may arise.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87304/
Nanotechnology and Environmental, Health, and Safety: Issues for Consideration
Date: February 9, 2009
Creator: Sargent, John F., Jr.
Description: This report identifies the potential environmental, health, and safety opportunities and challenges of nanotechnology; explains the importance of addressing nanotechnology EHS concerns; identifies and discusses nanotechnology EHS issues; and summarizes options for Congressional action, including the nanotechnology EHS-related provisions of selected legislation. The report also includes two appendices.
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Permallink:digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc87352/