Congressional Research Service Reports - 38 Matching Results

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Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships

Description: This report provides information regarding pollution from ships and port facilities; discusses some of the measures being implemented and considered by local, state, and federal regulatory agencies; discusses the efforts to ratify and to strengthen Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); and describes legislation in Congress to control emissions from ships by amending the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Date: December 23, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships

Description: This report provides information regarding pollution from ships and port facilities; discusses some of the measures being implemented and considered by local, state, and federal regulatory agencies; discusses the efforts to ratify and to strengthen Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); and describes legislation in Congress to control emissions from ships by amending the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Date: February 24, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships

Description: This report provides information regarding pollution from ships and port facilities; discusses some of the measures being implemented and considered by local, state, and federal regulatory agencies; discusses the efforts to ratify and to strengthen Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL); and describes legislation in Congress to control emissions from ships by amending the Clean Air Act (CAA).
Date: February 24, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

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, intended to 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: January 21, 2009
Creator: Copeland, Claudia
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy: The CAFE Standards

Description: This report discusses the current corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard, and the major issues on the CAFE debate. The report also offers an overview of Congressional interest in CAFE (1991-2005), and explains the CAFE and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
Date: January 27, 2009
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D. & Bamberger, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Aviation and Climate Change

Description: This report provides background on aviation emissions and the factors affecting them; it discusses the tools available to control emissions, including existing authority under the Clean Air Act and proposed economy-wide cap-and-trade legislation; and it examines international regulatory developments that may affect U.S. commercial airlines.
Date: August 4, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
open access

Biochar: Examination of an Emerging Concept to Mitigate Climate Change

Description: This report briefly describes biochar, its potential advantages and disadvantages, legislative support, and research and development activities underway in the United States and abroad.
Date: February 3, 2009
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biochar: Examination of an Emerging Concept to Mitigate Climate Change

Description: This report briefly describes biochar, its potential advantages and disadvantages, legislative support, and research and development activities underway in the United States and abroad.
Date: February 3, 2009
Creator: Bracmort, Kelsi S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Calculation of Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions for the Renewable Fuel Standard

Description: The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) significantly expanded the renewable fuel standard (RFS) established in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. EISA requires an increasing amount of the 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022 mandate be met with "advanced biofuels." This report defines the classification "biofuels," discusses the ongoing debate regarding several aspects of biofuels endeavors, and discusses related legislative efforts on climate change policy and low-carbon f… more
Date: June 25, 2009
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D. & Bracmort, Kelsi S.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Capturing CO2 from Coal-Fired Power Plants: Challenges for a Comprehensive Strategy

Description: This report examines the current effort to develop technology that would capture CO2 (carbon dioxide). It outlines the current status of carbon capture technology; examines the role of government in developing that technology, both in terms of creating a market for carbon capture technology and encouraging development of the technology; and concludes with a discussion of implications of capture technology for climate change legislation.
Date: February 13, 2009
Creator: Parker, Larry; Stine, Deborah D. & Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Capturing CO2 from Coal-Fired Power Plants: Challenges for a Comprehensive Strategy

Description: This report examines the current effort to develop technology that would capture CO2. First, the paper outlines the current status of carbon capture technology. Second, the paper examines the role of government in developing that technology, both in terms of creating a market for carbon capture technology and encouraging development of the technology. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of implications of capture technology for climate change legislation.
Date: February 13, 2009
Creator: Parker, Larry; Stine, Deborah D. & Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)

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 … more
Date: June 19, 2009
Creator: Folger, Peter
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Carbon Sequestration in Forests

Description: This report examines basic questions concerning carbon sequestration in forests. The first section provides a brief background on congressional interest in forest carbon sequestration. The second describes the basic carbon cycle in forests, with an overview of how carbon cycling and storage vary among different types of forests. The third section then addresses how forest carbon is considered in the global climate change debate.
Date: August 6, 2009
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Carbon Tax and Greenhouse Gas Control: Options and Considerations for Congress

Description: This report provides an overview of the fundamental choices involved between a cost (tax) and a quantity (cap) control instrument, including a discussion of policy tools that could be employed to bridge the gap between a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade program. It also analyzes the potential advantages and disadvantages of a carbon tax, discusses implementation issues for a carbon tax -- including where to apply the tax, at what level to set the tax, and options for distributing the tax revenues… more
Date: February 23, 2009
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L. & Parker, Larry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Carbon Tax and Greenhouse Gas Control: Options and Considerations for Congress

Description: This report begins with an overview of the fundamental choices involved between a cost (tax) and a quantity (cap) control instrument. This includes a discussion of policy tools that could be employed to bridge the gap between a carbon tax and a cap-and-trade program. Following this overview, the report analyzes the potential advantages and disadvantages of a carbon tax. In many cases, carbon tax attributes are compared with those of a cap-and-trade program. The next section discusses implementa… more
Date: March 10, 2009
Creator: Ramseur, Jonathan L. & Parker, Larry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Cars and Climate: What Can EPA Do to Control Greenhouse Gases from Mobile Sources?

Description: This report discusses legislation being considered by congress to reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that contribute to climate change. It discusses the EPA's authority under Title II and provides information regarding the mobile sources that might be regulated under this authority. Among these sources, motor vehicles (passenger cars and light trucks, including SUVs) are assumed to be the most likely initial targets for regulation, both because a petition addressing these sources began E… more
Date: April 20, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air After the CAIR Decision: Back to Square One?

Description: This report discusses the potential impact on communities attempting to achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the impact on mercury emissions could be substantial, and has prompted some to call for congressional action to address the issue.
Date: February 9, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.; Parker, Larry & Meltz, Robert
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Clean Air Issues in the 111th Congress

Description: This report provides a brief overview on the issue of climate change as well as other Clean Air Act issues of interest to the 111th Congress.
Date: January 16, 2009
Creator: McCarthy, James E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change: Comparison of the Cap-and-Trade Provisions in H.R. 2454 and S. 1733

Description: This report provides a comparison of the cap-and-trade provisions of two bills. The first is H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. In addition to establishing a cap-and-trade system to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, this bill addresses energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other energy topics. Later, Senator Kerry introduced S. 1733, the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, which was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Date: November 5, 2009
Creator: Yacobucci, Brent D.; Ramseur, Jonathan L. & Parker, Larry
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change: Current Issues and Policy Tools

Description: This report introduces the reader to fundamentals of the climate change issue. Part One summarizes current understandings and controversies concerning the science, economics, international cooperation, and other aspects of the climate change policy problem. Part Two is a brief update on the status of domestic and international policies. Part Three outlines the policy toolbox seen as being available to policymakers to address the challenge as they define the emerging legislative agenda.
Date: March 6, 2009
Creator: Leggett, Jane A.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Climate Change: EU and Proposed U.S. Approaches to Carbon Leakage and WTO Implications

Description: This report discusses climate change and issues related to carbon leakage by examining the European Union's (EU's) cap-and-trade program with a review and analysis of various EU efforts to address the concerns of energy-intensive, trade-exposed industries. Additionally, it considers similar provisions enacted or proposed by the U.S. and analyzes potential World Trade Organization (WTO) implications in relation to U.S. trade agreements.
Date: November 4, 2009
Creator: Parker, Larry & Grimmett, Jeanne J.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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