Tuesday, January 07, 2014

WIMS Environmental HotSheet 1/7/14

<> Updates & Information Request For Executive Order 13650: Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security - The Chemical Facility Safety and Security Working Group, is seeking feedback on rules and regulatlions.

·     ACC Comments on Release of Federal Agency Report to Improve Safety and Security at Chemical Facilities - The Working Group formed as a result of Executive Order (EO) 13650 on Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security has released a report of their initial options to accomplish goals set in the EO.

 

<> National Law for the Implementation of the Basel Convention - The objective of this webinar is to present tools, including the model legislation and other legal instruments or tools as adopted by Parties to implement the Basel Convention, and to see how these could be linked or integrated with the provisions of overarching national legal frameworks that regulate hazardous chemicals and wastes, looking at the benefits of an integrated approach to. . .

 

<> State Department Releases 2014 Climate Action Report - Monday, January 6, 2013 On January 1, the State Department submitted the 2014 U.S. Climate Action Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The report details actions that the U.S. is taking domestically and internationally to address climate change.

·     Secretary Kerry Aggressively Pursues Major Climate Pact, Could Close Door on Keystone XL Pipeline - The tubes have been buzzing over a new New York Times report on Secretary of State John Kerry's aggressive pursuit of a new global climate agreement, which  has some clear implications for approval of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline. 

 

<> EPA Funds LSU Study to Protect Bees from Pesticides - DALLAS – (Jan. 6, 2014) Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will present a grant for more than $167,000 to Dr. Kristen Healy of the Louisiana State University AgCenter at a ceremony on Wednesday, January 8. The grant will fund a study to assess the impact of mosquito-control methods on honey bees. The study will look at development and application of. . . 

 

<> House Energy Committee to release report on natural gas exports - The House Energy and Commerce Committee plans to release a report this month focusing on natural gas exports.It's the latest move in the accelerated debate on the nation's booming new fossil-fuel abundance. The report will discuss the...

 

<> Upton Releases Report Chronicling Energy and Commerce Accomplishments in 2013 -WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) today released a report on the work of the committee in 2013. The end-of-session update continues the tradition of reports issued throughout the 112th Congress

 

<> Energy Department Announces $3 Million to Support Clean Energy Businesses and Entrepreneurs January 6, 2014Energy Department Announces $3 Million to Support Clean Energy Businesses and Entrepreneurs The Energy Department today announced $3 million to support clean energy business incubators that provide critical services to entrepreneurs and small businesses and accelerate the commercialization of clean energy technologies.

 

<> Report: Logging Would Impede Rim Fire's Benefits for Wildlife, Water, Forest - Center for Biological Diversity New Report: Logging Would Impede Rim Fire's Benefits for Wildlife, Water, Forest - Center for Biological Diversity (press release)

 

<> Sen. Alexander: Ending Wind Subsidy a Good Way to Celebrate New Year, Reduce Federal Debt and Save Tennesseans $52 Million – He said: "The massive taxpayer subsidy to windmill developers expired Jan. 1. A good way to celebrate the New Year would be to not renew it and to reduce the federal debt by $60 billion, an amount about equal to the spending in the recent budget agreement." 

Udall Presses Congress to Pass Critical Job-Creating Tax Extenders Package, Extend Wind Production Tax Credit

 

<> 2014: Export of American Oil Is Contentious Industry Goal After 4-Decade Federal Ban -Lure of greater profits from global markets on collision course with national security goal of keeping supplies at home and protecting domestic gas prices. By Elizabeth Douglass Emboldened by the recent boom in U.S. crude production, oil company executives and others closed the year by launching a highly public push for the right to freely export U.S. crude oil.

 

<> UN Applauds China Efforts to Combat Illegal Ivory Trade - Six Tonnes of Ivory Destroyed at Landmark Event in China

·     International Community Hails China's Destruction of Ivory - Mon, 01/06/2014:  Today in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, the Chinese Government destroyed over 6 tons of confiscated elephant ivory and ivory products in a symbolic act to help stop the illegal wildlife trade. read more

 

<> USDA Seeks Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Herbicide-Resistant Corn and Soybeans The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) as part of its review to determine whether to deregulate genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean pla…