Deployment of Solar Energy on Public Lands
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management Bob Abbey testified on “The deployment of solar technology on the public lands” before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The text of Secretary Salazar’s prepared testimony is below:
Chairmen Boxer and Sanders, Ranking Members Inhofe and [...]
Too Dependent On Electricity
Inspired by my friend and colleague’s blog post, Snowed Under in our Green House, I decided to focus this blog on the main event of the larger Washington metropolitan area this week—the massive snowstorms and blizzards. Due to the inclement weather, the area was virtually paralyzed for days. Many schools systems, businesses, and government agencies [...]
Federal Government To Cut GHG Emissions
President Obama announced on January 29 that the federal government—the largest energy consumer in the U.S. economy—will achieve a 28% reduction in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2020. Reducing and reporting GHG emissions, as called for in Executive Order 13514 on Federal Sustainability, will ensure that the government leads by example in building the [...]
What Is Cap-and-trade?
About Emissions Trading / Cap And Trade
U.S. Energy Information Administration: What Is a Cap-and-Trade Program?
A cap-and-trade program is an environmental policy tool designed to reduce emissions of a pollutant by placing a limit (or cap) on the total amount of emissions that can be released by sources covered by the program during a fixed [...]
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Climate Change News
- U.S. Departments of Commerce and the Interior to Cooperate on Climate-Related ActivitiesU.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar formalized an agreement between the two departments to coordinate and cooperate on climate related activities involving science, services, mitigation, adaptation, education and communication. […]
- NOAA: Past Decade Warmest on Record According to Scientists in 48 CountriesThe 2009 State of the Climate report released Wednesday draws on data for 10 key climate indicators that all point to the same finding: the scientific evidence that our world is warming is unmistakable. […]
Earth FAQ
- Why aren't we drilling in the Bakken Formation?Oil has been produced from the Bakken Formation since the 1950’s. Please see our slideshow presentation for context at http://energy.usgs.gov/flash/Bakken_slideshow.swf. The USGS does not maintain statistics on oil production, however, this information can be obtained from publicly available sources like the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources […]
- How do I access the online USGS Publications Warehouse?The USGS Publications Warehouse (http://pubs.usgs.gov/) has released a new interface and a variety of new content and features. The new version of this tool now includes citations for USGS-authored content including journal articles, books, book chapters, proceedings, and other research written by USGS staff but published commercially. […]
- What is National Land Imaging?NLI is a concept that places a single agency in charge of future civil operational land remote sensing satellite acquisition, operation, and data management. These three functions have been separated historically and assigned to several different agencies. Currently, DOI performs two of them – operations and data management. With NLI comes a broad responsi […]
U.S. Geological Survey
- Climate Change Implicated in Decline of Horseshoe CrabsLEETOWN, W. Va. — A distinct decline in horseshoe crab numbers has occurred that parallels climate change associated with the end of the last Ice Age, according to a study that used genomics to assess historical trends in population sizes. The new research also indicates that horseshoe crabs numbers may continue to decline in the future because of predi […]
- An island's rebirth: Life emerges after a catastrophic volcanic eruptionAnchorage, Alaska — A secluded island in the Aleutian chain is revealing secrets of how land and marine ecosystems react to and recover from a catastrophic volcanic eruption that appeared at first glance to destroy all life on the island. Yet little by little – a wingless beetle here, a tuft of grass there, Kasatochi, an island in the Alaska Maritime Nat […]
- Glaciers Retreating in AsiaMany of Asia’s glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change. This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise. The U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with 39 international scientists, published a report on […]