Growing Economy, Falling Emissions

Economic growth has been stronger in nine Northeast states that have a current cap-and-trade program. Carbon emissions in those states have fallen much more quickly than in the rest of the country.

The New York Times
Sources: ENE; Energy Information Administration

nytimes.com - by Hannah Fairfield - June 6, 2014

Some critics of the Environmental Protection Agency’s new requirements for power plants argue that forcing emissions reduction will curtail economic growth. But the recent experience of states that already cap carbon emissions reveals that emissions and economic growth are no longer tightly tied together. . .

. . . The nine states already in the program — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont — have substantially reduced their carbon emissions in recent years. At the same time, those states have had stronger economic growth than the rest of the country.

Cutting Emissions
At least 10 states cut emissions from power plants by 30 percent or more between 2005 and 2012.

By The New York Times
Source: Georgetown Climate Center

nytimes.com - by JUSTIN GILLIS and MICHAEL WINES - June 6, 2014

The cries of protest have been fierce, warning that President Obama’s plan to cut greenhouse gases from power plants will bring soaring electricity bills and even plunge the nation into blackouts. . .

. . . Yet cuts on the scale Mr. Obama is calling for — a 30 percent reduction in emissions from the nation’s electricity industry by 2030 — have already been accomplished in parts of the country.

At least 10 states cut their emissions by that amount or more between 2005 and 2012, and several other states were well on their way, almost two decades before Mr. Obama’s clock for the nation runs out.

Homeless encampments known as "tent cities" are popping up across the country.

money.cnn.com - by Blake Ellis - May 16, 2014

Formed as an alternative to shelters and street-living, these makeshift communities are often set up off of highways, under bridges and in the woods. Some have "mayors" who determine the rules of the camp and who can and can't join, others are a free-for-all. Some are overflowing with trash, old food, human waste and drug paraphernalia, others are relatively clean and drug-free.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Goldie Rosenberg

water.epa.gov

Federal Agency Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds

Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2014 and FY 2015 National Wetland Program Development Grants

Announcement Type: Request for Proposals

Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OW-OWOW-14-02

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.462

Dates: Hard copy proposals must be received by EPA (See Sections IV and VII of this RFP) by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) April 17, 2014. Proposals submitted electronically via Grants.gov must be received by11:59 P.M. EDT April 17, 2014. Late proposals will not be considered for funding. Questions must be submitted in writing via e-mail and must be received by the Agency Contact identified in Section VII before April 11, 2014.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS (22 page .PDF file)

http://water.epa.gov/grants_funding/wetlands/grantguidelines/

President Barack Obama signs flood insurance bill into law.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

nola.com - by Bruce Alpert - March 21, 2014

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama Friday signed into law hard-fought legislation that will limit flood insurance premium increases to no more than 18 percent a year.

White House officials called Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., shortly after 1 p.m. CT to say the bill is now law.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

(CLICK HERE - H.R. 3370)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie takes questions at a town hall meeting last week in Toms River, N.J. “I never promised you, nor would I, that this was going to be mistake-free,” he said of delivering aid after Superstorm Sandy. (Mel Evans / Associated Press / March 4, 2014)

With many homeowners still waiting for help, officials including Gov. Chris Christie – already battered by the George Washington Bridge scandal – have been accused of incompetence or even favoritism in delivering federal recovery money.

latimes.com - by Joseph Tanfani - March 12, 2014

POMONA, N.J. — His state wrecked and reeling from Superstorm Sandy, Chris Christie made himself the face of New Jersey's comeback effort with a take-charge tour de force that became a cornerstone of an expected run for president.

greenbiz.com - by John Finnigan - March 10, 2014

Two seemingly unrelated announcements drew much attention in the electric utility industry recently. First, the Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for the U.S. electric utility industry, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) jointly recommended (PDF) changing how utilities should be regulated. Second, Duke Energy announced it will sell 13 Midwest merchant power plants.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

After high water from Hurricane Katrina inundated their nursing home, residents waited for assistance in New Orleans in 2005. Federal officials are trying to avoid these types of situations with new requirements for health care providers ahead of emergencies. Credit Mario Tama/Getty Images

nytimes.com - by Sheri Fink - March 11, 2014

Federal officials are proposing sweeping new requirements for American health care facilities — from large hospitals to small group homes for the mentally disabled — intended to ensure their readiness to care for patients during disasters.

A Christie administration plan would allow tons of contaminated soil to be dumped on private land along the Rahway River. Credit Richard Perry/The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Michael Powell - February 24, 2014

. . . Decades ago, American Cyanamid ruined this wetlands expanse, once home to rich oyster beds, with cyanide-contaminated sludge, the chemical detritus of the past century.

Years ago, it was partially cleaned and covered with a few feet of topsoil. . .

. . . The Christie administration has another idea for this land. It appears poised to let a company, Soil Safe, truck in millions of tons of petroleum-contaminated soils and dump it on this site, which lies directly west of Staten Island and the Arthur Kill.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Manuel Sanchez takes in the view of his flooded home and property on September 14, 2013 in La Salle, Colorado. Photographer: Marc Piscotty/Getty Images

businessweek.com- by James Rowley - March 4, 2014

The U.S. House passed legislation trimming premiums for government-sponsored flood insurance

The measure would limit premium increases to 18 percent per policy or 15 percent of an average of premiums in a particular flood zone.

The House bill, H.R. 3370, must be reconciled with legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Senate that House Republican leaders said would roll back too many of the 2012 law’s changes. The Senate bill is S. 1926.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Credit: dakine kane/flickr

greentechmedia.com - by Bobby Magill - October 31, 2013

New York City’s Rockaway Peninsula took the brunt of Hurricane Sandy when the storm blew ashore a year ago, leaving the Rockaways in Queens devastated from flooding and 34,000 without electricity for weeks.

In the ensuing twelve months, the city has suggested many ways to make itself more able to withstand such storms. As part of New York City’s climate change response plan, “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” issued earlier this year, one of the city’s suggestions to help the Rockaways survive the next hurricane is for the peninsula to become the site of a microgrid pilot project that will help keep the lights on at hospitals, schools and other critical infrastructure during and after a storm.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

submitted by Seth Golbey - January 21, 2014
Voluntary Agencies Group Supervisor
FEMA-4085-DR-NY

(TO DOWNLOAD FLYER - CLICK ON ATTACHMENT BELOW)

insurancejournal.com - by Andrew G. Simpson - January 7, 2014

The U.S. Senate is expected to take a key vote soon on a bill that would delay some of the flood insurance rate hikes triggered by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. . .

. . . The procedural vote on S.1846 was originally planned for Wednesday, but the Senate is still dealing with an extension of federal unemployment benefits, delaying consideration of the flood bill. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), a major advocate for the bill, told USA Today that  “next week is more realistic” for any vote on the flood bill.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

elitedaily.com - by Christian La Du - October 28, 2013

One year ago, the east coast was ravaged by SuperStorm Sandy, a freak occurrence combining a hurricane, Nor’easter, high tide, and a full moon, which wrought particular destruction on the tri-state area.

Although the enduring legacy of Sandy is not measured in tallies of destruction, numbers like 8.6 million homes and businesses without power, gas and water, 650,000 destroyed houses, 200,000 damaged businesses, and 286 deaths afflicted over 13 states. Approximately 50 million people felt the effects of the storm over 800 mile stretch, and an estimated $65 billion in economic damages were incurred.

The real, lasting effect of Hurricane Sandy, however, is in the radical life shifts that people forcibly underwent.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)