http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm The Association of Young Americans Policy Issue of the day. en-us Fri, 10 Sep 2010 21:02:43 -0400 Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:06:00 -0400 BlogCFC http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss young_americans@hotmail.com young_americans@hotmail.com http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/4/23/Energy-Legislation-in-House Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Ca) and Edward Markey (D-Ma) have drafted an energey and climate change bill over 600 pages long. The New York Times reports "[o]ne central provision would establish a cap-and-trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Mr. Obama has repeatedly pushed the idea of a cap-and-trade plan as part of any eventual measure he did so again Wednesday at an Earth Day observance in Iowa but he and his senior aides have left the details to Congress. Mr. Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where Dr. Chu and Ms. Jackson testified Wednesday along with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, has begun a month of intensive work on the legislation with the announced goal of moving it through the committee by late May. The panel will hear from 67 witnesses this week and will begin subcommittee work next week." Learn more about energy policy and climate change in the Association of Young Americans' issue papers. Share your thoughts in our Forums on how, if at all, you think the U.S. should change policy related to these issues. Climate Change Energy Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:06:00 -0400 http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2009/4/23/Energy-Legislation-in-House http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/10/20/Top-Concern-4-Climate-Change The 4th ranked issue among the young Americans who took the National Issues Survey was Climate Change and the Environment. The Environmental Protection Agency website has the following explanation of global warming caused by climate change on their website:Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans."The United States accounts for a quarter of the worlds greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere, with emissions growing at the rate of 2 percent a year []." (23). Burning of fossil fuels such as gas, coal and oil, causes the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. Both presidential candidates have discussed the need to use more alternatives to these fossil fuels. Such alternatives include solar, wind, nuclear, and geothermal. The last few years have seen increased concern and attention paid to climate change. Former Vice President Al Gore won the nobel prize for his work calling attention to the issue and since has started an organization, WeCanSolveIt.org, to work towards a solution. Texas oilman, T. Boone Pickens has started his own efforts, which include creating wind farms across the Midwest of the United States. Such efforts tout not only the environmental impact of alternative energy but also the positive economic impact and job creation. You can learn about the Presidential candidates positions through the below links to their websites:Barack Obama (D)John McCain (R)Ralph Nader (I)Bob Barr (L) - Cong. Barr does not have an issue page on his website about Climate Change or the Environment. This is a link to his issue page on Energy policy. Environment Climate Change 2008 election Mon, 20 Oct 2008 11:05:00 -0400 http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/10/20/Top-Concern-4-Climate-Change http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/8/20/Court-Rejects-EPA-Regs The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit this week ruled recently enacted administrative rules regarding monitoring pollution were unconstitutional. "A federal appeals court yesterday struck down a Bush administration rule that prevented states and local governments from imposing stricter monitoring of pollution generated by power plants, factories and oil refineries than required by the federal government," reports the Washington Post. As always, please share your thoughts in the Association of Young Americans Forums. Climate Change Environment Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:27:00 -0400 http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/8/20/Court-Rejects-EPA-Regs http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/7/17/Gore-carbonfree-electricty-in-10-years In aspeech today in Washington, D.C. former Vice-President Al Gore issued a challenge: "Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years." In his speech Gore stated, "Of course the greatest obstacle to meeting the challenge of 100 percent renewable electricity in 10 years may be the deep dysfunction of our politics and our self-governing system as it exists today. In recent years, our politics has tended toward incremental proposals made up of small policies designed to avoid offending special interests, alternating with occasional baby steps in the right direction. Our democracy has become sclerotic at a time when these crises require boldness." A full text of the speech is available here. Climate Change Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:17:00 -0400 http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/7/17/Gore-carbonfree-electricty-in-10-years http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/6/6/International-Energy-Agency-on-Climate-Change The International Energy Agency (IEA) released today the current edition of Energy technology Perspectives (ETP), which stated that the nations of the world need to dramatically altern their current energy policies. A press release from the IEA stated:Our current path is not sustainable: If governments around the world continue with policies in place to date the underlying premise in the ETP Baseline scenario to 2050 CO2 emissions will rise by 130% and oil demand will rise by 70%. This expansion in oil equals five times today's production of Saudi Arabia. No single form of energy or technology can provide the full solution. Improving energy efficiency is the first step and is very attractive as it results in immediate cost savings. Significantly reducing emissions from power generation is also a key component of emissions stabilisation. But even this is not enough. CO2 capture and storage, renewables, nuclear energy and energy efficiency - all must play a much more important role. New insights from this study include recognition of the important role for CO2 capture in industry, the potential for electrification of end-use sectors in combination with CO2-free electricity, the need for further development of solar electricity, and the importance of second generation biodiesel. The report comes on the same day that the U.S. Senate failed to pass, or even vote on, the almost 500 page Climate bill which had been underconsideration. NPR reports today that "Senate backers of a sweeping climate change bill failed to win enough support on Friday to end debate on the measure, effectively killing the measure for the rest of the year. [...] The Senate debate focused on bitter disagreement over the expected economic costs of putting a price on carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas that comes from burning fossil fuels. Opponents said it would lead to higher energy costs."You can learn more about the issues in our Climate Change and Energy Issue Papers. Share your views in our Forums. Addicted to Oil Climate Change Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:29:00 -0400 http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/6/6/International-Energy-Agency-on-Climate-Change http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/5/28/New-Report-on-Climate-Change The United States Climate Change Science Program released a new report yesterday detailing the anticipated impact from increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A press release regarding the report stated "The report finds that climate change is already affecting U.S. water resources, agriculture, land resources, and biodiversity, and will continue to do so. Specific findings include: Grain and oilseed crops will mature more rapidly, but increasing temperatures will increase the risk of crop failures, particularly if precipitation decreases or becomes more variable. Higher temperatures will negatively affect livestock. Warmer winters will reduce mortality but this will be more than offset by greater mortality in hotter summers. Hotter temperatures will also result in reduced productivity of livestock and dairy animals. Forests in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska are already being affected by climate change with increases in the size and frequency of forest fires, insect outbreaks and tree mortality. These changes are expected to continue. Much of the United States has experienced higher precipitation and streamflow, with decreased drought severity and duration, over the 20th century. The West and Southwest, however, are notable exceptions, and increased drought conditions have occurred in these regions. [...]Horticultural crops (such as tomato, onion, and fruit) are more sensitive to climate change than grains and oilseed crops. Young forests on fertile soils will achieve higher productivity from elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Nitrogen deposition and warmer temperatures will increase productivity in other types of forests where water is available. Invasion by exotic grass species into arid lands will result from climate change, causing an increased fire frequency. Rivers and riparian systems in arid lands will be negatively impacted. A continuation of the trend toward increased water use efficiency could help mitigate the impacts of climate change on water resources. The growing season has increased by 10 to 14 days over the last 19 years across the temperate latitudes. Species' distributions have also shifted. The rapid rates of warming in the Arctic observed in recent decades, and projected for at least the next century, are dramatically reducing the snow and ice covers that provide denning and foraging habitat for polar bears." The entire report is available here. Learn more in the Association of Young Americans' Climate Change Issue paper. Share your questions, concerns and thoughts in our Forums. Climate Change Wed, 28 May 2008 13:50:00 -0400 http://associationofyoungamericans.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/5/28/New-Report-on-Climate-Change