Climate Change, Teaching Materials

Pew Annual Report on Clean Energy Investment – 2013

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Who’s Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2013 Edition

Overview
For the past five years, Pew has tracked investment and finance trends in the world’s leading economies. Over that period, the clean energy industry has been buffeted by a global recession, broad changes in energy markets, and uncertainty surrounding international policies on clean energy and climate change. Despite these challenges, the clean energy sector is now an annual $250 billion component of the world economy.1
Although global clean energy investment in renewable sources, biofuels, smart energy, and energy storage fell 11 percent in 2013, to $254 billion, a number of developments indicate a promising future for clean energy. First, the prices of leading technologies such as wind and solar have dropped steadily for decades; they are increasingly competitive with century-old and more financially volatile conventional power sources. Second, clean energy manufacturers are moving forward and have effectively weathered withering competitive pressures, consolidations, and policy changes. Investor confidence about the long-term future of renewable energy was reinforced in clean energy stock indexes in 2013, which rose sharply over the year. Third, markets in fast-growing, developing countries are prospering; these economies see distributed generation as an opportunity to avoid investments in costly transmission systems, comparable to the deployment of cellphones instead of costly landline infrastructure. Even in the contracting markets of Europe and the Americas, which have affected the overall industry, policymakers are recalibrating rather than abandoning clean energy policies

– See more at: http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/reports/whos-winning-the-clean-energy-race-2013-85899542979#sthash.3cjWPKdy.dpuf

Storm surge, Tsunami

Gulf Coast Tsunamis – NOAA

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Gulf Coast Tsunamis: What you need to know.

If you thought sinking land and rising seas were the only things we had to worry about in south Louisiana, think again.

Tsunamis have now joined the list.

Researchers with the National Weather Service say a 15-foot wall of water could roll across Grand Isle if a landslide occurred in the Mississippi Canyon, a trench in the Gulf of Mexico floor about 30 miles off the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Read more…

Caernarvon, River Diversions

Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion

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Caernavron Diversion Location

Feasibility Report on Freshwater Diversion·to Barataria and Breton Sound Basins, June 1984.

Feasibility Report on Freshwater Diversion·to Barataria and Breton Sound Basins, August 1984.

Feasibility Report on Freshwater Diversion·to Barataria and Breton Sound Basins, September 1984.

C19840314-Sediment study

C19840314-Biological monitoring

C19840314-Christmas tree permit

C19840314-Contaminant Study

C19840314-Notes and correspondence

C19840314-Recommendations

Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Modification of Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Feasibility Study December 2009.

A Post-Katrina Assessment of the “Freshwater Diversion to Lake Pontchartrain Basin and Mississippi Sound”

Analysis of Fisheries-Independent Data for Evaluation of Species Distribution Responses to the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion

Assessing the Effectiveness of Louisiana’s Freshwater Diversion Projects Using Remote Sensing

The Effect of the Caernarvon Diversion on Hurricane Driven Land Loss

The Impact Of The Caernarvon Diversion On Above- And Belowground Marsh Biomass In The Breton Sound Estuary After Hurricane Katrina (from the pro-diversion camp)

Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA), Modification of Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Feasibility Study December 2009.

Geomorphology and Baldcypress Restoration of the Caernarvon Delta near the Caernarvon Diversion, Southeast Louisiana 2011 Report

2011 Operations, Maintenance, and Monitoring Report for Caernarvon Diversion Outfall Management (BS-03a)

State of the Science Regarding River Diversions

 

Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Annual Reports

Hurricane Science

Recent Hurricane Research – Climate, Dynamics, and Societal Impacts

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Recent Hurricane Research – Climate, Dynamics, and Societal Impacts

Hurricane Science

Advances in Hurricane Research – Modelling, Meteorology, Preparedness and Impacts

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Advances in Hurricane Research – Modelling, Meteorology, Preparedness and Impacts

Drinking water, Fresh water, Saltwater intrusion

Louisiana State-wide Perspective on Water Resources and Salt Water Intrusion

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Louisiana State-wide Perspective on Water Resources. Prepared for: Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Public Works and Water Resources Division April 2010. – Good discussion of freshwater resources in Louisiana.

Heywood, C.E., and Griffith, J.M., 2013, Simulation of groundwater flow in the “1,500-foot” sand and “2,000-foot” sand and movement of saltwater in the “2,000-foot” sand of the Baton Rouge area, Louisiana: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013-1153, 79 p., http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1153/. – Saltwater intrusion in the Baton Rouge area.

Managing Louisiana’s Groundwater Resources with Supplemental Information on Surface Water Resources. An Interim Report to the Louisiana Legislature Published March 15, 2012.

Environment and Conservation – East Baton Rouge Parish.  – Discusses saltwater intrusion.

Sources Of Salinization of the Baton Rouge Aquifer System: Southeastern Louisiana

Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District

Chamberlain, Elizabeth L, Jeffrey S Hanor, and Frank T-C Tsai. 2013. “Sequence Stratigraphic Characterization of the Baton Rouge Aquifer System, Southeastern Louisiana.” http://archives.datapages.com/data/gcags/data/063/063001/125_gcags630125.htm.

 

Geology, Historical documents, Mississippi River

An Historical and Topographical Description of Louisiana and West-Florida – 1784

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Hutchins, Thomas. An Historical Narrative and Topographical Description of Louisiana, and West-Florida Comprehending the River Mississippi with Its Principal Branches and Settlements, and the Rivers Pearl, Pascagoula, Mobille, Perdido, Escambia, Chacta-Hatcha, &C. : The Climate, Soil, and Produce Whether Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral : with Directions for Sailing into All the Bays, Lakes, Harbours and Rivers on the North Side of the Gulf of Mexico, and for Navigating between the Islands Situated Along That Coast, and Ascending the Mississippi River. Philadelphia: Printed for the author, and sold by Robert Aitken, near the Coffee-House, in Market-Street, 1784.

404, Army Corps of Engineers, Teaching Materials

Army Corps of Engineers 404 Permit Process

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Corps permits are also necessary for any work, including construction and dredging, in the Nation’s navigable waters. The Corps balances the reasonably foreseeable benefits and detriments of proposed projects, and makes permit decisions that recognize the essential values of the Nation’s aquatic ecosystems to the general public, as well as the property rights of private citizens who want to use their land. During the permit process, the Corps considers the views of other Federal, state and local agencies, interest groups, and the general public. The results of this careful public interest review are fair and equitable decisions that allow reasonable use of private property, infrastructure development, and growth of the economy, while offsetting the authorized impacts to the waters of the US. The adverse impacts to the aquatic environment are offset by mitigation requirements, which may include restoring, enhancing, creating and preserving aquatic functions and values. The Corps strives to make its permit decisions in a timely manner that minimizes impacts to the regulated public.

The original link.

Articles

What Wetlands Are Regulated? Jurisdiction of the §404 Program

A Citizen’s Guide to the Corps of Engineers: The Regulatory Program Clean Water Act Section 404 Permits

Cases

Hawkes Co. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 782 F.3d 994 (8th Cir. 2015) (Petition for rehearing – Hawkes Co. v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 782 F.3d 994 (8th Cir. 2015))

8th Cir finds that jurisdictional determinations are final agency act for purposes of standing. This creates a circuit split.

 

FEMA, National Flood Insurance Program, Stafford Act

EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS – Limiting Federal Fiscal Exposure

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EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS: Limiting Federal Fiscal Exposure and Increasing the Nation’s Resilience GAO-14-364T: Published: Feb 12, 2014. Publicly Released: Feb 12, 2014.

What GAO Found

The federal government has opportunities to limit its exposure and increase the nation’s resilience to extreme weather events. Since 1980, the U.S. has experienced 151 weather disasters with damages exceeding 1 billion dollars each. This testimony focuses on 4 areas where the government could limit its fiscal exposure.

  • Property and crop insurance. The financial risks from two federal insurance programs—the National Flood Insurance Program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC)—create a significant fiscal exposure. In 2012, the NFIP had property coverage of over $1.2 trillion and the FCIC had crop coverage of almost $120 billion. As of December 2013, FEMA’s debt from flood insurance payments totaled about $24 billion. For various reasons, FCIC’s costs more than doubled from $3.4 billion in fiscal year 2001 to $7.6 billion in fiscal year 2012. In 2007, GAO found that the agencies responsible for these programs needed to develop information on their long-term exposure to climate change. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 requires FEMA to use information on future changes in sea levels and other factors in updating flood maps used to set insurance rates. Private insurers are also studying how to include climate change in rate setting. GAO is currently examining the extent to which private and federal insurance programs address risks from climate change.
  • Disaster aid. The federal government does not fully budget for recovery activities after major disasters, thus creating a large fiscal exposure. GAO reported in 2012 that disaster declarations have increased to a record 98 in fiscal year 2011 compared with 65 in 2004. Over that period, FEMA obligated over $80 billion for disaster aid. GAO’s past work recommended that FEMA address the federal fiscal exposure from disaster assistance.
  • Owner and operator of infrastructure. The federal government owns and operates hundreds of thousands of facilities that a changing climate could affect. For example, in its 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Department of Defense (DOD) recognized the risk to its facilities posed by climate change, noting that the department must assess the potential impacts and adapt. GAO plans to report later this year on DOD’s management of climate change risks at over 500,000 defense facilities.
  • Provider of technical assistance to state and local governments. The federal government invests billions of dollars annually in infrastructure projects that state and local governments prioritize, such as roads and bridges. Total public spending on transportation and water infrastructure exceeds $300 billion annually, with about 25 percent coming from the federal government and the rest from state and local governments. GAO’s April 2013 report on infrastructure adaptation concluded that the federal government could help state and local efforts to increase their resilience by (1) improving access to and use of available climate-related information, (2) providing officials with improved access to local assistance, and (3) helping officials consider climate change in their planning processes.

Why GAO Did This Study

According to the United States Global Change Research Program, the costs and impacts of weather disasters resulting from floods, drought, and other events are expected to increase in significance as previously “rare” events become more common and intense. These impacts pose financial risks to the federal government. While it is not possible to link any individual weather event to climate change, these events provide insight into the potential climate-related vulnerabilities the United States faces.

GAO focuses particular attention on government operations it identifies as posing a “high risk” to the American taxpayer and, in February 2013, added to its High Risk List the area Limiting the Federal Government’s Fiscal Exposure by Better Managing Climate Change Risks . GAO’s past work identified a variety of fiscal exposures—responsibilities, programs, and activities that may either legally commit the federal government to future spending or create the expectation for future spending in response to extreme weather events. This testimony is based on reports GAO issued from March 2007 to November 2013 that address these issues.

GAO is not making new recommendations but made numerous recommendations in prior reports on these topics, which are in varying states of implementation by the Executive Office of the President and relevant federal agencies.

For more information, contact Mark Gaffigan at (202) 512-3841 or gaffiganm@gao.gov.