© Robert Glenn Ketchum
- • Global Demand for Vegetable Oils Contributing to Deforestation *New
The global demand for vegetable oils is increasing at an unsustainable rate – more than 5 percent annually over the past decade – contributing to massive deforestation in tropical regions, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). UCS’s report “Recipes for Success: Solutions for Deforestation-Free Vegetable Oils,” which was co-authored with Climate Advisers, offers solutions for businesses, governments and consumers on producing and using vegetable oil without causing deforestation... — March 7, 2012
- • Floridians Seek More Federal Relief *New
In the years before World War II, Florida begins an economic recovery and military buildup, spurring population growth. In 1940, the population reaches almost 2.9 million. For the first time, women outnumber men at 50.3 percent of the population. In 1947, after years of drought, the state is deluged by rainfall averaging 100 inches along the lower east coast, almost twice the norm. Much of the ground is saturated when two hurricanes hit the state late in the year; flooding throughout the region is catastrophic. Floridians ask the federal government for a master plan to balance the need for flood protection and reliable water supply. (pdf 4.52MB)
- • A Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability
The ocean is an integral part of our planet, and is an absolutely essential component of human lives, livelihoods and the environment that sustains us. Use of ocean space and resources has been an essential component of global economic growth and prosperity... – 2012 (pdf 2.24MB)
- • CRED CRUNCH, “Disaster Data: A Balanced Perspective”
In the first semester of 2011, natural disasters had a devastat-ing impact on human society. Preliminary EM-DAT figures showed the occurrence of 108 natural disasters, which killed over 23 thousand people, affected nearly 44 million others and caused more than US$ 253 billion of economic damages... – September 2011 (pdf 915KB)
- • Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous U.S. 2004 to 2009
Wetlands are transitional from true aquatic habitats to dry land (upland) and as a result, their abundance, type, and condition are directly reflected in the health and abundance of many species. In 1986, the United States Congress enacted the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act (Public Law 99-645) recognizing that wetlands are nationally important resources and that these resources have been affected by human activities. – September 2011 (pdf 20MB)
- • Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan *New
This 2010 Report to Congress on the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is the second in a series of periodic reports to fulfill the requirements of the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (WRDA 2000) and the CERP Programmatic Regulations. This Report provides members of Congress and other interested parties with an update on the progress of CERP over the past five-year period... – 2011 (pdf 5.44MB)
- • Land Area Change in Coastal Louisiana from 1932 to 2010
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzed landscape changes in coastal Louisiana by determining land and water classifications for 17 datasets. These datasets include survey data from 1932, aerial data from 1956, and Landsat Multispectral Scanner System (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM) data from the 1970s to 2010. Previous studies have analyzed land change in coastal Louisiana, but many are out of date, provide data for limited time periods, or lack the temporal frequency necessary to provide information about when the loss occurred. The purpose of this study is to provide updated estimates of persistent land change and historical land change trends for coastal Louisiana and for each hydrologic basin, as defined by the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Program (n.d.), for the 1932-2010 period of record. – 2011 (pdf 1.92MB)
- • The Benefits and Costs of the Clean Air Act from 1990 to 2020
Section 812 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments established a requirement that EPA develop periodic reports that estimate the benefits and costs of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The main goal of these reports is to provide Congress and the public with comprehensive, up-to-date, peer-reviewed information on the Clean Air Act’s social benefits and costs, including improvements in human health, welfare, and ecological resources, as well as the impact of CAA provisions on the US economy. This report is the third in the Section 812 series, and is the result of EPA’s Second Prospective analysis of the 1990 Amendments. – March 2011 (pdf 4.02MB)
- • Simulating fuel treatment effects in dry forests of the western United States: testing the principles of a fire-safe forest
We used the Fire and Fuels Extension to the Forest Vegetation Simulator (FFE-FVS) to simulate fuel treatment effects on 45 162 stands in low– to midelevation dry forests (e.g., ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex. P. & C. Laws.) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) of the western United States. We evaluated treatment effects on predicted post-treatment fire behavior (fire type) and fire hazard (torching index). FFE-FVS predicts that thinning and surface fuel treatments reduced crown fire behavior relative to no treatment; a large proportion of stands were predicted to transition from active crown fire pre-treatment to surface fire post-treatment. Intense thinning treatments... – 2011 (pdf 1.86MB)
- • 2009 TRI (Toxics Release Inventory) National Analysis
EPA released the 2009 TRI National Analysis on December 16, 2010. Read the Greenversations blog post “What’s in your neighborhood”. The TRI National Analysis is an annual report that displays EPA’s analysis of the most recent TRI data. It includes a variety of documents and webpages that outline national and local trends in toxic chemical disposal or other releases to the environment, as well as trends in toxic chemicals managed by TRI facilities... – December 16, 2010
- • Untangling the Environmentalist’s Paradox: Why Is Human Well-being Increasing as Ecosystem Services Degrade?
Environmentalists have argued that ecological degradation will lead to declines in the well-being of people dependent on ecosystem services. The
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment paradoxically found that human well-being has increased despite large global declines in most ecosystem
services. – September 2010 (pdf 413KB)
- • BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Budget: What Happened to the Oil?
The National Incident Command (NIC) assembled a number of interagency expert scientific teams to estimate the quantity of BP Deepwater Horizon oil that has been released from the well and the fate of that oil. The expertise of government scientists serving on these teams is complemented by nongovernmental and governmental specialists reviewing the calculations and conclusions.... – August 2010 (pdf 88.4KB)
- • Chromium-6 Is Widespread in US Tap Water
Laboratory tests commissioned by Environmental Working Group (EWG) have detected hexavalent chromium, the carcinogenic “Erin Brockovich chemical,” in tap water from 31 of 35 American cities. The highest levels were in Norman, Okla.; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Riverside, Calif. In all, water samples from 25 cities contained the toxic metal at concentrations above the safe maximum recently proposed by California regulators... – 2010
- • The China Greentech Report™ 2009
China’s market requirements for greentech solutions are tremendous. Chinese government policies are positive drivers for greentech market development and a wide range of businesses are beginning to deploy greentech solutions to address a broad spectrum of environmental issues. While significant challenges remain, stakeholders have clear opportunities to accelerate market development and create a more environmentally sustainable China. – September 2009 (pdf 4.95MB)
- • Groundwater Availability Detailed in California’s Central Valley
A new, three-dimensional water-modeling tool provides a detailed picture of how water flows below ground and how it relates to surface-water in rivers and canals in California’s Central Valley. – July 8, 2009 (pdf 188KB)
- • Trends in Emissions of Ozone-Depleting Substances, Ozone Layer Recovery, and Implications for Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure
Depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer by human-produced ozone-depleting substances has been recognized as a global environmental issue for more than three decades, and the international effort to address the issue via the United Nations Montreal Protocol marked its 20-year anniversary in 2007. Scientific understanding underpinned the Protocol at its inception and ever since. – November 2008 (pdf 4.83MB)
- • The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) Interim Report – Three Key Messages
- Economic size of the loss and its impact on human welfare
- Strong link with poverty
- Discount rates
http://www.teebweb.org/ – May 2008 (Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation 1.8MB)
- • Decision-Making Chronology for the Lake Pontchartrain & Vicinity Hurrican Protection Project
The one-two punch of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September of 2005 proved calamitous to a vast swath of the U.S. Gulf Coast across the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Texas. While still offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Katrina’s 175 mph winds created the highest storm surge yet recorded at landfall in North America... – March 2008 (pdf 2.37MB)
- • United Nations Global Environment Outlook
The fourth Global Environment Outlook: environment for development (GEO-4) assessment is a comprehensive and authoritative UN report on environment, development and human well-being, providing incisive analysis and information for decision making.
Download the full report – 2007(pdf 22.1MB)
- • Environmental Protection, Public Health and Human Rights
Until very recently, environmental protection, public health and human rights were viewed as distinct areas of public policy by governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations alike at both the national and international levels. With increasing globalization of trade and commerce in the past few decades, the environmental and public health impacts of rapid industrialization and urbanization in different regions of the world are now being recognized as having major human rights implications by many policy makers. – April 2003 (pdf 285KB)
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