Brief #57—Enviroment Policy Summary Climate change poses an immediate risk to international stability, General Waldhauser (Commander, AFRICOM) told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday. He cited research done by the Red Cross, which found that the effects of...
Environment
Whose New Deal? Unpacking the Green Plans of AOC and Senate Democrats
Brief #56 – Environmental Policy Policy Summary Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced her plans for a Green New Deal in February. Senate Democrats responded with their own, highly abridged version of a Green New Deal proposal at the end of the month,...
Amid Record CO2 Emissions, Majority of Americans Demand Climate Legislation
Brief #55—Environment Policy Summary Research carried out by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that by the end of 2018 approximately 85% of Americans believed more funding should be allocated to research renewable energy sources and that 77% of...
Democrats’ Green New Deal Gains Momentum amid Shutdown
Brief #54—Environment Policy Summary New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday that his new executive budget would focus on diminishing the state’s dependence on fossil fuels and promoting a clean energy economy. The governor is the latest in a long line of...
Trump’s Emissions Rollbacks Refuted by New Study
Brief #53—Environment Policy Summary A 16-author study published in the December issue of Science reassessed the 2009 Endangerment Finding for greenhouse gas emissions. The report found increased evidence that greenhouse gas emissions endanger public health and...
Coal and the NCA
Brief #52—Environment Policy Summary Representatives from nearly 200 different countries have gathered in Katowice, Poland to discuss the parameters of the Paris Agreement, known as the COP24. The United States, however, are in a challenging position with regard to...
Analysis: The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act
Brief #50—Environment Policy Summary Last week U.S. lawmakers sponsored the first bipartisan attempt at climate legislation in nearly a decade. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act would impose a progressively increasing tax on carbon emissions, topping out...
Major U.S. Government Climate Assessment Ignored by U.S Government
Political controversy erupted this last black Friday, a day normally reserved for nonpolitical pursuits, such as bargain hunting and post-Thanksgiving family therapy.
California Wildfires Keep Roaring
A devastating fire has been roaring through California, and the death toll has reached at least 77 people, while 1,000 are still missing.
Pipelines
The oil and gas industry is starting to face some blowback at the legal level. A Federal Circuit Judge in Montana recently rejected the Trump administration’s demand to build a Keystone XL pipeline, marking a new wave of environmentally charged legal decision-making.
Zinke Questioned…Again
Brief #46---Environment Policy Summary Scandals are swirling again for DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke, who just days ago compared Civil Rights Leader, Martin Luther King Jr. to Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Now, however, the Department of Justice is considering the...
Michael’s Aftermath
Brief #45---Environment Summary The official death toll from Hurricane Michael is at 26 and counting as of last week, as rescuers continue to find bodies, and reports say many are still missing. The future looks tenuous for the Florida area that was devastated by the...












