Congressional Research Service Reports - 436 Matching Results
Search Results
- Mercury in the Environment: Sources and Health Risks
- No Description Available.
- Mercury in the Environment: Sources and Health Risks
- No Description Available.
- Deep Seabed Mining: U.S. Interests and the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea
- On July 29, 1994, the United States signed the Agreement Relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. This agreement substantially reforms the seabed mining provisions of the 1982 Convention, which the United States found objectionable. In signing the Agreement, President Clinton accepted provisional application of it which enables the United States to participate in the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and its organs and bodies. On November 16, 1994, the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention entered into force without accession by the United States.The treaty document was referred to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations late in the 103d Congress and awaits committee action in the 104th Congress.
- Agreements to Promote Fishery Conservation and Management in International Waters
- Declining fish populations threaten an important food source. Natural catastrophes, pollution, habitat destruction, and overfishing contribute to the depletion of fish stocks. Overexploitation of fishery resources often occurs when management allows expanding and increasingly efficient fishing fleets to continue harvesting dwindling supplies. Although prevalent, overexploitation is not universal and its extent varies among areas, species, and fisheries. This report discusses the issue of overfishing and its possible consequences, as well as domestic and international efforts to combat overfishing.
- Marine Dead Zones: Understanding the Problem
- Very low levels of dissolved oxygen (hypoxia) in bottom-water "dead zones" are natural phenomena, but can be intensified by certain human activities. The largest hypoxic area affecting the United States is in the northern Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River, but there are others as well.
- Clearcutting in the National Forests
- Congressional interest in clearcutting has increased in the past few years. Several bills have been introduced in the current and preceding Congresses to ban the use of clearcutting and/or all even-aged management systems in the national forests. The issue, however, transcends the use of clearcutting and focuses on how to assure the choice of a silvicultural system and the implementation of the management practices that will achieve the stated goals for public land and resource management.
- Deforestation: An Overview of Global Programs and Agreements
- In recent years, global environmental concerns have figured prominently on the American political agenda. In particular, tropical deforestation and its implications for global climate change and biological diversity loss have prompted public outcry. Concerns have since grown to include other forest types as well. The Congress has considered a variety of legislation to stem the tide of increasing deforestation and the United States has supported a number of bilateral and multilateral initiatives to assist other countries in managing their forest resources.
- Ecosystems, Biomes, and Watersheds: Definitions and Use
- This paper describes the meaning and applications of ecosystem and of the related terms watershed and biome. It discusses the pros and cons of all three as organizing principles for land management, and the major issues that are likely to arise in the debate over ecosystem management.
- Restricting Softwood Log Exports: Policy and Legal Implications
- The Pacific Northwest is a major exporter of unprocessed softwood logs to foreign countries, such as Japan, that are often sold at premium prices. Consequently, some local mills have had difficulty obtaining unprocessed logs, which has contributed to the loss of timber industry jobs in the Pacific Northwest. Thus, many believe that exporting logs is the economic and moral equivalent of exporting U.S. jobs.
- Mining Law Reform: The Impact of a Royalty
- No Description Available.
- Alternative Sources of Wood for Japan
- Japan is one of the world's largest wood importers, with two-thirds of its imports as logs (unprocessed timber). Southeast Asia has been the largest log supplier, but supplies (and exports to Japan) have been declining. The United States has become a more important supplier, but concerns about declining domestic timber supplies have led to proposals to prohibit or to tax log exports. Opponents suggest that Japan would simply turn to other sources to replace U.S. logs. One question in this debate is where the alternative sources of logs or wood products might be.
- Mahoganies: International Protection?
- This report is on The issue for 18 mahogany species is whether any qualifies for regulation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). (1) Pessimists on this issue say "yes," while optimists see the abundance of species in parts of their range and therefore say "no." Both camps question the accuracy of data supplied by the other side. Both agree that the presence of mahogany trees may provide local governments with an incentive to retain rain forests, especially since mahogany cultivation has not been particularly successful.
- Forest Service Timber Sale Practices and Procedures: Analysis of Alternative Systems
- The Forest Service currently sells timber by (a) planning and preparing the sale, (b) offering the sale, usually at an oral auction, and (c) administering the timber harvest. Many of the concerns about the timber program have focused on harvest administration, because purchasers have incentives to minimize their costs and to remove only those logs whose value for products exceeds the price paid to the Forest Service. Some critics suggest that this, together with an alleged "timber bias" and other inappropriate incentives, has contributed to environmental damages (e.g., deteriorating forest health), poor fiscal performance (e.g., below-cost timber sales), and a lack of accountability (e.g., timber theft). Possible legislative changes to the timber sale system are being considered by various interest groups and Members of Congress.
- Below-Cost Timber Sales: An Overview
- The Forest Service sells some timber at prices that are less than the agency costs to administer the timber program. This report discusses these "below-cost" timber sales that have been debated by Congress for more than a decade, but no policy to address the issue has been adopted legislatively or administratively.
- The Federal Helium Program: The Reaction Over an Inert Gas
- The CRS report describes the battle with natural gas companies on helium gas, being wasted, and released into the environment. Incentives were put in place for natural gas companies sell this helium to the government and for it to be stored in a government facility. Consequently, this also brought up controversy for why funding is being used to store a surplus of helium. Congress would debate on whether government involvement was the best option and a consensus was reached to fund the National Academy of Science to find the best way to dispose of the helium. Their results of their studies and the H.R. 4168 bill that was passed are also described.
- An Overview of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE)
- Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) central contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). The MTPE program provides scientific information so policymakers and scientists can formulate strategies to mitigate human impacts on Earth's environment, such as ozone depletion, deforestation, and possible global warming.
- Salvage Timber Sales and Forest Health
- Interest in salvaging timber has increased markedly since extensive forest fires in 1994. The focus is to use the dead and dying timber before it goes to waste and to increase the supply of Federal timber available to the wood products industry. Supporters also note that salvage sales are one tool that can be used to improve forest health. Critics counter that some dead and dying trees are necessary for healthy ecosystems, and that salvage sales are costly to the U.S. Treasury and to the environment. This report describes the concerns over forest health, and then examines the benefits, costs, and financial consequences of salvage timber sales.
- Ecosystem Management Tools and Techniques: Proceedings of a CRS Workshop
- The House Subcommittee on Technology, Environment, and Aviation of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (103rd Congress) requested that Congressional Research Service (CRS) hold a workshop on the tools and techniques of ecosystem management. The purposes of this workshop were to demonstrate tools and techniques used in scientific research on ecosystems and to address technological aspects of developing and administering a national policy for ecosystem management.
- Forest Fires and Forest Health
- Interest in fuel management, to reduce fire control costs and damages, has been renewed with the numerous, destructive wildfires spread across the West during the summers of 1988 and 1994.
- Biological Diversity: Issues Related to the Convention on Biodiversity
- This report discusses treaty on biodiversity, issues, history and current status.
- The Rural Abandoned Mine Program - A Fact Sheet
- The Rural Abandoned Mine Program (RAMP) was designed to restore agricultural land that has been disturbed by strip mining. The program is carried out by the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service at a current cost of about $10 million per year--a modest share of total Federal abandoned surface mining reclamation efforts that currently exceed $110 million per year, and that has been higher in the past. Critics contend that the RAMP program is inefficient and duplicates other Federal and State reclamation activities. Proponents contend that the effort has been underfunded and thus unable to fulfill its goals and to realize potential efficiencies. With the efforts of the 104th Congress to cut Federal expenditures and programs, the RAMP program appears highly vulnerable to being cut or eliminated.
- Wetlands and Agriculture: Policy Issues in the 1995 Farm Bill
- Wetlands protection efforts have been a major concern for agricultural interests since Congress enacted so-called swampbuster provisions in the 1985 Food Security Act. Under these provisions, all producers who alter wetlands risk losing certain farm program benefits. Determining which sites are wetlands and enforcement of penalties remain contentious issues. Controversy has been heightened by confusion over how this program is related to the principal Federal regulatory program to protect wetlands, section 404 of the Clean Water Act, and how wetland determinations affect land values and private property rights. Because the 103rd Congress did not reauthorize the Clean Water Act, some of the wetland issues raised in that debate might be raised in the farm bill. Another wetland protection program, the Wetland Reserve (WRP), was enacted in the 1990 farm bill. This program, which pays farmers to place wetlands under long-term or permanent easements, has been far less controversial. This paper reviews the swampbuster and WRP, as well as controversies surrounding delineation of wetlands and relationships between private property rights and wetland protection efforts.
- An Introduction to Major Natural Resource Issues in the 104th Congress
- This report introduces natural resource issues that the 104th Congress is likely to consider during the second session or is already considering through authorizations, appropriations, and/or oversight. Many were considered, but not resolved, by earlier Congresses
- Biosphere Reserves: Fact Sheet
- Since 1972, the United States has participated in the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB), coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This report presents a background on the criteria for Biosphere Reserves, designation process and the policy implications of designation/recognition.
- The Salvage Timber Sale Rider: Overview and Policy Issues
- The salvage timber rider is actually the Emergency Salvage Timber Sale Program, enacted as �2001 of P.L. 104-19, the 1995 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations and Rescissions Act on July 27, 1995.
- Wetland Mitigation Banking: Status and Prospects
- Wetland protection is controversial because the federal government regulates activities on private lands and because the natural values at some of these regulated sites are being debated. This controversy pits property owners and development interests against environmentalists and others who seek to protect the remaining wetlands. Mitigation banking, which allows a person to degrade a wetland at one site if a wetland at another site is improved, has been identified as a potential answer to this shrill and seemingly intractable debate.
- The Chip Mill Industry in the South
- Chip mills turn trees into chips for paper, particle-boards, and exports. While the federal government does not collect data on a chip mill industry, chip production in the South has apparently been expanding. The timber supply appears sufficient to allow some increased harvests, but could be depleted by continued industrial expansion. The federal government does not directly regulate timber cutting but could become engaged if requirements of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were triggered. The government also has export promotion programs and export tax incentives. Recently, concerns have been expressed to Congress about the possible effects of clear-cutting for chip exports on water quality and wildlife habitat. This report will not be updated.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Protecting Natural Resources and Managing Growth: Issues in the 107th Congress
- No Description Available.
- Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- In the second session, Congress continues to confront an array of issues related to the public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the national forests managed by the U.S. Forest Service (FS). The Administration continues to address public lands and national forests through budgetary, regulatory, and other actions. Several key issues of ongoing congressional and administrative interest are covered in this report.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.
- Public (BLM) Lands and National Forests
- No Description Available.