Switchboard: Natural Resource Defense Council Blog

New FEMA Study: Climate Change Will Greatly Increase Flood Risk, Debt

Peter Lehner – Executive Director: Posted June 19, 2013

Tags:: climatechange, costofinaction, debt, extremeweather, FEMA, flooding, NFIP, preparedness

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in a study finally released last week after five years in the making, predicted that areas at risk of flooding in the United States would increase 45 percent by 2100, largely because of climate change....continued→ | comments

China Environmental News Alert

Greenlaw from NRDC China – NRDC China Program: Posted June 20, 2013

Tags:: foodsafety, pollution, recycling, soilpollution

June 20-27, 2013NRDC has been working in China for over fifteen years on such issues as energy efficiency, green buildings, clean energy technologies, environmental law, and green supply chain issues. This China Environmental News Alert is a compilation of news...continued→ | comments

Sad but true: Iceland has resumed hunting fin whales

Taryn Kiekow – Staff Attorney, Marine Mammal Protection Project: Posted June 19, 2013 in Reviving the World's Oceans, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places

Tags:: commercialwhaling, economicsanctions, Iceland, internationalwhalingcommission, moratorium, sanction, whalemeat, whales, whaling

Despite international condemnation – and diplomatic sanctions imposed by the United States – Iceland resumed its controversial commercial hunt of fin whales after a two-year hiatus. It just killed and butchered its first fin whale this week. (Photo courtesy of...continued→ | comments

Climate disruption: the 10 percent doctrine?

Laurie Johnson – Chief Economist, Climate Center: Posted June 19, 2013 in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: 2degrees, 400ppm, 450ppm, catastrophe, catastrophicrisk, climatechange, insurance, page, paulsolman, pbs, probabilities, weitzman

What do the odds of a catastrophe have to be for insurance to be a wise investment? Apparently extremely low for a father or mother buying life insurance. For example, the probability of dying at age 35 is 0.1 percent....continued→ | comments

Rethinking Chile's energy future starts with making the right choices now

Carolina Herrera – Latin America Advocate: Posted June 19, 2013

Tags:: chile, climatechange, hidroaysen, international, latinamerica, patagonia, renewables

With abundant renewable energy potential throughout the region, Latin America is poised to be a global clean energy leader – but only under the right policy conditions according to a new report from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The report,...continued→ | comments

Building Confidence in Energy Savings Estimates to Unleash Energy Efficiency

Peter Miller – Senior Scientist: Posted June 19, 2013 in Solving Global Warming

Tags:: cpuc, electricity, energy, energyefficiency, forum, regional, technical

Energy efficiency is California’s top priority and cheapest resource for meeting our energy needs, but controversy over how to evaluate the state’s energy-savings efforts is limiting their potential to save money and slash pollution. The lead commissioner overseeing energy efficiency...continued→ | comments

Reinvigorating RGGI: June's Allowance Auction Success Shows Pollution Cuts Are Working To Improve This Innovative Program.

Luis Martinez – Senior Attorney, Energy and Transportation Program: Posted June 19, 2013 in Solving Global Warming

Tags:: auction, capandtrade, carbonpollution, cayugacommunitycollege, connecticutchildrensmedicalcenter, energyefficiency, globalwarming, regionalgreenhousegasinitiative, RGGI, williamshobe

Two weeks ago, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s (RGGI) quarterly pollution allowance auction brought in a near-record $124.4 million. That’s money nine Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states will use, as the bipartisan group of governors who designed the program intended, to...continued→ | comments

How Many Dollars and Power Plants Does It Take to Run our Modems & Routers?

Noah Horowitz – Senior Scientist and Director of the Center for Energy Efficiency: Posted June 19, 2013 in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: electricitybill, energy, energyefficiency, energystar, globalwarming, internet, modems, routers, smallnetworkequipment

If you’re a high-speed Internet service subscriber like 88 million other U.S. households, you’ve likely got a couple of black boxes in your home that blink all day and all night long, too, eating electricity as they stand ready to...continued→ | comments

New investigation: fracking is increasing competition for water and its price in counties with drought

Amy Mall – Senior Policy Analyst: Posted June 19, 2013 in Health and the Environment

Tags:: california, drinkingwater, drought, fracking, gasdrilling, groundwater, hydraulicfracturing, hydrofracking, naturalgas, newmexico, oilandgas, texas

A new investigation by AP has found that the vast majority of counties where fracking is occurring in seven states are also suffering from drought. The AP found that fracking is presenting new strains on water supplies in some drought-stricken areas of the...continued→ | comments (1)

Time to Pump Up Transit

Rob Perks – Transportation Advocacy Director: Posted June 19, 2013 in Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:: APTA, dumpthepump, gas, gasprices, highways, infrastructure, publictransit, publictransportation, rail, road, roads, train, trains, transit, transportation

Dump the pump. Save money. Ride transit. That's the message for Dump the Pump Day tomorrow, an annual event promoted by our friends at the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) -- of which NRDC is a proud partner. On this day people who...continued→ | comments

Take a 'Snapshot' of How Climate Change Affects Your Community

Kim Knowlton – Senior Scientist: Posted June 19, 2013 in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: carbonpollutionstandard, climatehealth, drought, extremeevents, flooding, globalwarming, heat, preparedness, vulnerability, wildfire

Today, NRDC is launching a new webtool that lets you take a ‘Snapshot’ of what climate change means in your area. You can read whether current conditions and trends in your area indicate a higher vulnerability to extreme weather events, such as...continued→ | comments

Best & worst cities for convenient public parks, and why it matters

Kaid Benfield – Director, Sustainable Communities, Washington, DC: Posted June 19, 2013 in Green Enterprise, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably

Tags:: parkscore, smartgrowth, sustainablecommunities, trustforpublicland

In Minneapolis, the Trust for Public Land (TPL)’s highest-rated big city for public parks, 95 percent of residents (including roughly the same portion of low-income residents) live within a ten-minute walk of a city park. But in Charlotte, the...continued→ | comments

Livestock industry bullying on Meatless Mondays campaign doesn't change facts--or consumer trends.

Sasha Lyutse – Policy Analyst: Posted June 18, 2013 in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably

Tags:: antibioticresistance, antibiotics, farmers, livestock, meat, meatlessmondays, organic

The Meatless Mondays campaign encourages consumers to skip meat one day a week in favor of plant-based foods, and highlights how this simple action can help improve their health and reduce the environmental impacts of their diets. Seems small, but...continued→ | comments (1)

Reviving U.S.-India Cooperation on Climate Change During Secretary Kerry's Visit to New Delhi

Anjali Jaiswal – Senior Attorney: Posted June 18, 2013 in Curbing Pollution, Green Enterprise, Greening China, Solving Global Warming

Tags:: Bangkok, climatechange, climateforcers, globalwarming, HFCs, india, international, Kerry, Montreal, US-India

Secretary of State John Kerry heads to New Delhi next week. The visit is a key opportunity for Secretary Kerry to reinvigorate U.S.-India cooperation on climate change and to continue to make progress under the Green Partnership, the landmark clean...continued→

Slaughtering Wolves Is Not Wildlife Management

Zack Strong – Wildlife Conservation Fellow: Posted June 18, 2013

Tags:: elkpopulationobjectives, hunting, indiscriminate, livestockdepredations, montana_fish_wildlife_and_parks, season, trapping, wolf

Last month, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) issued proposed rules for a 2013-14 wolf hunting and trapping season. Although wolves in Montana are still fresh off the endangered species list, and the state's wolf population declined by 4%...continued→ | comments (2)

California, by Planning Early for Nuclear Retirement, Positioned to More Safely End its Nuclear Era

Carl Zichella – Director of Western Energy Transmission: Posted June 18, 2013 in Living Sustainably, Nuclear Weapons, Waste and Energy

Tags:: clean, decommissioning,, economics, energy,, nuclear,, renewables,

With the announcement that the two remaining San Onofre nuclear plants in southern California are being retired permanently, you may wonder what will happen to the remains, some of which retain significant levels of radioactivity, and how the costs will...continued→ | comments

China Adds Another Tool to Curb Pollution, Launching First Cap and Trade Program - Stefanie Tanenhaus (June 18, 2013)
Known carcinogens used in 34% of reported fracking operations in 2011-2012 - Amy Mall (June 18, 2013)
Unacceptable Levels - Pollution just got personal: a new movie - Jennifer Sass (June 18, 2013)
Wildlife Killing Exposé Goes on the Road - Melissa Waage (June 18, 2013)
Nobel Laureates: Reject the Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline and "Be on the Right Side of History" - Danielle Droitsch (June 18, 2013)
We have the right to know what is in the air we breathe - A guest blog from Dominic Pierceall - Diane Bailey (June 17, 2013)
A National Model for Sustainable Food Waste Disposal Is Being Created Where? Right Here in New York City - Eric Goldstein (June 17, 2013)
Sailors and Sea Stewards (guest blog post by Megan Hayes) - Karen Garrison (June 17, 2013)
Next Steps in the Retirement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station - SONGS - Jordan Weaver (June 17, 2013)
Video Highlights Alternatives to HidroAysen: Part 3 of 4 in the Rios Libres Film Series - Amanda Maxwell (June 17, 2013)
Two Top-Level "Post-2015" Reports to the UN Call for "Transformations" to Curb Climate Change and Secure a Sustainable Future - Jacob Scherr (June 17, 2013)
Apache Corp Spills Toxic Waste in Canada...what does this mean for Alaska's belugas? - Taryn Kiekow (June 17, 2013)
New Mexico: about 85 percent of oil and gas sites failed to pass safety inspections - Amy Mall (June 17, 2013)
Whither intelligent vehicles and automated highways? (with Lee Epstein) - Kaid Benfield (June 17, 2013)
Break the Link between Deforestation & Commodities: A New Opportunity for the Obama Administration to Act on Climate Change - Jake Schmidt (June 17, 2013)
Latinos, Robert Redford, and YOU: Who's Next to Call on President Obama to Tackle Climate Change? - Adrianna Quintero (June 14, 2013)
New York Assembly Poised to Ramp-Up Local Solar Industry, Jobs - Pierre Bull (June 14, 2013)
New evidence that cutting forests to burn for electricity is even worse for the climate than we thought - Sasha Lyutse (June 14, 2013)
Eighteen years and counting - keeping Cabo Pulmo safe is still a critical task - Carolina Herrera (June 14, 2013)
Latin America Green News: Smog shrouds Chilean city, trawling in Costa Rica, authorities reject Mexican gold mine - Carolina Herrera (June 14, 2013)

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Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.

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