July 2011 Archives

What energy and environment policies are at stake in the spending and debt debates now dominating Washington?

This week, the House will debate its FY2012 EPA/Interior spending bill. That measure slashes funding for both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior Department, and includes myriad policy riders that gut environmental regulations, ranging from President Obama's contentious climate-change rules to public-lands protection. Meanwhile, Congress and the administration remain mired in the debt-ceiling debate, which is expected to come to a head this week.

What are the implications of the House EPA/Interior spending bill? What are some of the best and worst parts of that legislation? What role will energy and environment issues play in the overall debt-ceiling talks?

13 responses: Paul Sullivan, Lance Brown, Barry Russell, Matthew Garrington, Amy Harder, Rodger Schlickeisen, Gene Karpinski, Carl Pope, Brent Erickson, David Holt, Thomas J. Pyle, Bob Bendick, William O'Keefe

What are the future prospects for coal-powered electricity?

Coal generates nearly half of the United States' electricity, and it has historically been this nation's most dominant base power. But the policy and economic landscape is changing. Tougher environmental standards are prompting utilities to question their investments in efficient technology and some are shifting to natural gas, a cleaner fossil fuel than coal. One of the nation's biggest coal companies, American Electric Power, announced last week that it was shelving plans to develop "clean coal" technology amid an uncertain climate policy and a still-weak economy. That technology, known as carbon capture and sequestration, is considered the industry's best chance to ensure it continues to thrive in a policy landscape that controls carbon pollution. Meanwhile, U.S. coal exports to Asia are skyrocketing as China and India have seemingly insatiable appetites for coal-fired energy.

What are the biggest challenges facing the coal industry? What policies can Congress and President Obama support that could help the industry power the country with a smaller carbon footprint? Should policymakers try harder at weaning the country off of coal completely?

10 responses: Amy Harder, Amy Harder, Lance Brown, Amy Harder, Ned Helme, Michael Brune, Richard Revesz, Conrad Schneider, Hal Quinn, William O'Keefe

Germany announced in May it will stop using nuclear power, in the wake of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi disaster. The French Senate recently voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, a controversial way to extract natural gas.

What lessons can the United States learn from these countries' decisions? National news bears out the different perspectives: New Jersey recently announced a ban on fracking, while New York lifted its unofficial ban on the extraction method. No new nuclear power plants have been built in the U.S. in 30 years, but existing plants are coming under more intense scrutiny in the wake of Japan's crisis.

Should the U.S. follow other nations' lead in prohibiting certain types of energies and technologies because of their environmental and health risks? What can President Obama and Congress do to minimize these risks associated with energy production?

13 responses: Amy Harder, Cal Dooley, Thomas J. Pyle, Amy Harder, Guy Morgan, Victor Gilinsky, Jennifer Morgan, Allen Schaeffer, Marvin Fertel, Henry Derwent, David Holt, Jacqueline Savitz, William O'Keefe

Does global warming increase the risk of extreme weather?

Environmentalists and scientists are re-examining that possible link in light of the wild weather the United States has seen so far in 2011, including heat waves, tornadoes, and wildfires. A similar debate was prompted last year by extreme weather throughout the world, including wildfires in Russia and floods in Pakistan.

When considered collectively, what do these extreme weather events mean for the climate change debate? Should scientists study these connections further - examining, for example, whether tornadoes are linked to climate change? How could this debate affect the arguments put forth by skeptics that global warming is not occurring?

13 responses: Richard Revesz, Rodger Schlickeisen, Eric Haxthausen, Kevin S. Curtis, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., David E. Hunter, Gene Karpinski, Amy Harder, Olga Belogolova, Eileen Claussen, Carl Pope, Amy Harder, William O'Keefe