Environmental Policy Collection - 206 Matching Results
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- Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972
- The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), also referred to as the Ocean Dumping Act, generally prohibits transportation of material from the United States for the purpose of ocean dumping; transportation of material from anywhere for the purpose of ocean dumping by U.S. agencies or U.S.-flagged vessels; dumping of material transported from outside the United States into the U.S. territorial sea. A permit is required to deviate from these prohibitions. Under MPRSA, the standard fro permit issuance is whether the dumping will "unreasonably degrade or endanger" human health, welfare, or the marine environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is charged with developing ocean dumping criteria to be used in evaluating permit applications.
- Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Policies
- This map shows state laws and regulations that affect medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The policies include tax incentives, fines, guidelines, and grants.
- Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
- This memorandum charges the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force with developing a national policy that ensures protection of oceans as well as a framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning.
- Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group Final Report
- Final report of the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group providing information gathered in relation to their charge, which included analysis of existing and proposed actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, review of historic and forecast emissions as a baseline for progress, and an overview of costs and benefits of recommended options.
- Modernizing NEPA Implementation
- This report presents recommendations to change the NEPA implementation process, based on the review of an appointed task force.
- Montana Climate Change Action Plan: Final Report of the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Committee
- Report of the Governor’s Climate Change Advisory Committee, managed by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and facilitated by the Center for Climate Strategies. It provides 54 policy recommendations help reduce the state’s emissions of green house gases to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Most will have additional benefits, including reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels, reduction in air pollution, increased opportunity for Montana agriculture to provide renewable fuels, healthier forests, and the opportunity for the state to be a leader in developing new technologies.
- Montana Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Reference Case Projections 1990-2020
- The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) prepared this report under contract to the Montana Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ). The report contains an inventory and forecast of the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 to 2020.
- National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program Report to Congress: An Integrated Assessment
- This report presents scientific analysis of the costs, benefits, and effectiveness of federal programming to reduce acid rain.
- The National Environmental Policy Act: A Study of Its Effectiveness After Twenty-five Years
- This report provides a detailed perspective on how the National Environmental Policy Act has affected federal agency decision making. The report summarizes how the Act has been implemented, how federal agency performance aligns with the intent of NEPA's framers, reactions from the public, NEPA stakeholders, and federal decision makers, and future challenges with ensuring the Act's continued effectiveness.
- National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
- The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was one of the first laws ever written that establishes the broad national framework for protecting our environment. NEPA's basic policy is to assure that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment prior to undertaking any major federal action that significantly affects the environment. NEPA requirements are invoked when airports, buildings, military complexes, highways, parkland purchases, and other federal activities are proposed. Environmental Assessments (EAs) and Environmental Impact Statements (EISs), which are assessments of the likelihood of impacts from alternative courses of action, are required from all Federal agencies and are the most visible NEPA requirements.
- National Plant Genome Initiative
- This report is an update on progress of federal plant genome research. The focus in this report is on plants that are economically important to agribusiness.
- Net Metering Programs
- This map shows states with net metering schemes to measure a site's electricity generation versus a site's electricity production, with customers only paying for the net electricity consumed.
- The NSF Scientific Collections Survey: A Brief Overview of Findings
- This white paper describes the state of digital collections resulting from NSF funded research in biodiversity, ecology, environmental health, environmental education, and environmental resource management.
- Nuclear Waste Policy Act
- The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) supports the use of deep geologic repositories for the safe storage and/or disposal of radioactive waste. The Act establishes procedures to evaluate and select sites for geologic repositories and for the interaction of state and federal governments. It also provides a timetable of key milestones the federal agencies must meet in carrying out the program. The NWPA assigns the Department of Energy (DOE) the responsibility to site, build, and operate a deep geologic repository for the disposal of high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel. It directs EPA to develop standards for protection of the general environment from offsite releases of radioactive material in repositories. The Act directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to license DOE to operate a repository only if it meets EPA's standards and all other relevant requirements.
- Oil Pollution Act of 1990
- The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 streamlined and strengthened EPA's ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. A trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so. The OPA requires oil storage facilities and vessels to submit to the Federal government plans detailing how they will respond to large discharges. EPA has published regulations for above ground storage facilities; the Coast Guard has done so for oil tankers. The OPA also requires the development of Area Contingency Plans to prepare and plan for oil spill response on a regional scale.
- Our Changing Planet: A U.S. Strategy for Global Change Research. A Report by the Committee on Earth Science to Accompany the President's Fiscal Year 1990 Budget.
- This report by the Committee on Earth Sciences presents an initial strategy for a comprehensive, long-term U.S. Global Change Research Program. The report is to Accompany the U.S. President's Fiscal Year 1990 Budget.
- Our Changing Planet: The FY 2002 U.S. Global Change Research Program
- This document, which is produced annually, describes the activities and plans of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which was established in 1989 and authorized by Congress in the Global Change Research Act of 1990. Strong bipartisan support for this inter-agency program has resulted in more than a decade's worth of scientific accomplishment. "Because there is considerable uncertainty in current understanding of how the climate system varies naturally and reacts to emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, current estimates of the magnitude of future warming should be regarded as tentative and subject to future adjustments (either upward or downward). Reducing the wide range of uncertainty inherent in current model predictions of global climate change will require major advances in understanding and modeling of both (1) the factors that determine atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, and (2) the so-called 'feedbacks' that determine the sensitivity of the climate system to a prescribed increase in greenhouse gases. There is also a pressing need for a global system designed for monitoring climate. Climate projections will always be far from perfect. Confidence limits and probabilistic information, with their basis, should always be considered as an integral part of the information that climate scientists provide to policy- and decision-makers. Without them, the IPCC SPM [Summary for Policymakers] could give the impression that the science of global warming is 'settled,' even though many uncertainties still remain. The emission scenarios used by the IPCC provide a good example. Human dimensions will almost certainly alter emissions over the next century. Because we cannot predict either the course of human populations, technology, or societal transitions with any clarity, the actual greenhouse gas emissions could either be greater or less than the IPCC scenarios. Without an understanding of the sources and degree of uncertainty, decision makers could fail …
- Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Climate Change Science Program, 2007
- This Fiscal Year 2007 edition of Our Changing Planet describes a wide range of new and emerging observational capabilities which, combined with the Climate Change Science Program’s analytical work, lead to advances in understanding the underlying processes responsible for climate variability and change. The report highlights progress in exploring the uses and limitations of evolving knowledge to manage risks and opportunities related to climate variability, and documents activities to promote cooperation between the U.S. scientific community and its worldwide counterparts.
- Our Planet, Volume 14, Number 1, 2003
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to water consumption.
- Our Planet, Volume 14, Number 3, 2004
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to energy.
- Our Planet, Volume 16, Number 1, 2005
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to environmental problems and solutions specific to urban environments.
- Our Planet, February 2007
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue presents both positive and negative views of globalization, and explores a new model of sustainable globalization.
- Our Planet, September 2007
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to the the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Protocol.
- Our Planet, May 2008
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to a discussion of ways to reduce carbon emissions in order to reduce the threats of climate change.
- Our Planet, December 2008
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted the use of renewable energy in climate strategy and economic growth.
- Our Planet, February 2009
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to so called "Green Economy" measures such as large public transportation plans, tree planting programs, and government policies that provide incentives for improving energy efficiency.
- Our Planet, December 2009
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, know as the Copenhagen Summit, which sought an international agreement on climate change mitigation.
- Our Planet, February 2010
- Magazine of the United Nations Environment Programme discussing worldwide environmental policies and other concerns. This issue is devoted to programs in several countries that are investing in a "green economy" in order to ensure the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources.
- Plug-in Electric Vehicles
- This map shows states that have laws and regulations that incentivize the use of plug-in electric passenger vehicles. Policies include mandates for states to acquire plug-in electric vehicles for state fleets, access to High Occupancy Vehicle lanes or designated parking for plug-in electric vehicles, and financial incentives to private owners of such vehicles.
- Policies to Change the World: Energy Sufficiency - Eight Policies towards the Sustainable Use of Energy
- This booklet discusses how energy sufficiency is the best solution for reducing energy consumption and waste. It presents policies for reducing global energy consumption such as energy auditing, phasing out incandescent light bulbs, combined heat/cooling energy and power, carbon-negative cooking, smart metering, area road pricing, and other measures.
- Policy Issues In Implementing Effective Application Of Weather Services To The Management Of The Nation's Highway System: Position Papers
- This document contains positions papers of a policy forum for weather and highways developed by the Atmospheric Policy Program American Meteorological Society in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with additional support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this document (Panel 3), panelists discuss policy issues affecting the use of weather information in managing the U.S. Highway System.
- Policy Statements on Data Management for Global Change Research
- This document is the final version of the "Data Management for Global Change Research Policy Statements." The overall purpose of these policy statements is to facilitate full open access to quality data for global change research. They were prepared in consonance with the goal of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and represent the U.S. Government's position on the access to global change research data.
- Polls on the Environment and Global Warming
- This report is a meta-analysis of twenty years of public opinion polls about Americans views on environmental quality, environmental policy, and environmental science.
- Pollution Prevention Act of 1990
- The Pollution Prevention Act focused industry, government, and public attention on reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use. Opportunities for source reduction are often not realized because of existing regulations, and the industrial resources required for compliance, focus on treatment and disposal. Source reduction is fundamentally different and more desirable than waste management or pollution control. Pollution prevention also includes other practices that increase efficiency in the use of energy, water, or other natural resources, and protect our resource base through conservation. Practices include recycling, source reduction, and sustainable agriculture.
- Preliminary Survey of Air Quality and Related Health Studies Conducted in the Vicinity of Ground Zero
- This document represents the first survey by the research community of the impact of the collapse of the World Trade Center in New York on air quality and public health in lower Manhattan.
- Present And Near-Term Potential In Applying Weather Information To Improve The Highway System: Position Papers
- This document contains positions papers of a policy forum for weather and highways developed by the Atmospheric Policy Program American Meteorological Society in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with additional support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this document (Panel 1), panelists describe proposals to improve the U.S. Highway System with weather information.
- Progress report of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force
- This report describes work by the Interagency Climate Change Task Force. The group's goals include forming recommendations for a national strategy for climate change adaptation, improving the resilience and adaptive capacity of the federal government towards climate change, and improving public understanding of specific climate change vulnerabilities.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE)
- This map shows states using property-assessed clean energy (PACE) programs to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
- Proposed National Objectives, Principles and Standards for Water and Related Resources Implementation Studies
- This document reflects planning efforts by the Executive Office of the President to design federal policy for the use of water resources.
- Protocol amending the 1916 Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds : message from the President of the United States transmitting a protocol between the United States and Canada amending the 1916 Convention for the Protection of Migratory birds in Canada and the United States, with related exchange of notes, signed at Washington on December 14, 1995
- This treaty is an amendment between the United States and Canada to the statute making it unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill or sell certain birds. The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs and nests.
- Protocol with Mexico amending Convention for Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals : message from the President of the United States transmitting a protocol between the government of the United States of America and the government of the United Mexican States amending the Convention for Protection of Migratory Birds and Game Mammals, signed at Mexico City on May 5, 1997
- This treaty between the United States and Mexico deals with hunting ducks and collecting duck eggs by indigenous people in North America. This treaty amends the Convention for the Protection of Migratory Birds in Canada and the United States.
- Providing for Backyard Wildlife: A Do-It-Yourself Guide for Feeders, Houses and Plants
- Brochure containing information "to assist people wanting to create habitat and features that will attract wildlife to their backyards" (About the Author). The table of contents lists sections for: platform bird feeder, platform butterfly feeder, simple squirrel and dove feeder, suet feeder, solitary bees, pollinator box, general use nesting box, nesting platform, butterfly attracting plants, and hummingbird plants for Texas.
- Public Benefit Funds
- This map shows states with funds dedicated to supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
- Public (Federal, State, Local) And Industrial Development Of Strategies And Plans To Effectively Respond To Weather Information: Position Papers
- This document contains positions papers of a policy forum for weather and highways developed by the Atmospheric Policy Program American Meteorological Society in coordination with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) with additional support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). In this document (Panel 2), panelists discuss strategies to respond to weather and climate information. There are many opportunities to improve the highway system through an inclusive approach, taking into account the strengths of the research community, the private sector and the state and federal practitioners. As a first step, the weather community must better understand the mission and expectations of the highway manager and the highway manager must be able to understand the limitations and near term improvements of the weather community.
- Public Health Service Act
- The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was established to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. This law focuses on all waters actually or potentially designed for drinking use, whether from above ground or underground sources. The Act authorizes EPA to establish minimum standards to protect tap water and requires all owners or operators of public water systems to comply with these primary (health-related) standards. The 1996 amendments to SDWA require that EPA consider a detailed risk and cost assessment, and best available peer-reviewed science, when developing these standards. State governments, which can be approved to implement these rules for EPA, also encourage attainment of secondary standards (nuisance-related). Under the Act, EPA also establishes minimum standards for state programs to protect underground sources of drinking water from endangerment by underground injection of fluids.
- Public Law of Maine: First Regular Session of the 121st
- An Act To Provide Leadership in Addressing the Threat of Climate Change.
- Quebec and Climate Change: A Chllenge for the Future
- In June 2006, Québec established its first climate change action plan that set ambitious goals and established the means to achieve them. Entitled QUÉBEC AND CLIMATE CHANGE: A Challenge for the Future, the 2006–2012 Climate Change Action Plan was a major step on the road to a society where sustainable development is at the core of priorities and collective choices. The government is now moving forward by improving the action plan with new measures and additional funding. The revised action plan allows Québec to maintain its position as a North American leader in the fight against climate change.
- Recovery Through Retrofit
- This report describes recommendations for federal action to address barriers to retrofitting home residences for energy efficiency.
- Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
- This fact sheet draws information from the Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States report that describes how climate change affects coastal areas in the United States.
- Regional Highlights from Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States
- This fact sheet describes climate change scenarios in the Great Plains region of the United States.