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The report finds that beef production accounts for approximately 2.2% of total U.S. global warming emissions. While improving forage quality could reduce methane emissions from pasture beef by 15% to 30%, the overall impact on U.S. emissions would be less than 0.5%. However, well-managed pastures offer significant carbon sequestration potential, potentially offsetting 0.1% to 2% of annual U.S. heat-trapping emissions. The document compares pasture-finishing systems with confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), noting that while CAFOs often have higher feed efficiency, pastures generally sequester more carbon. The author recommends that the USDA expand research into nutritious pasture crops and provide incentive payments for best management practices.

The report advocates for Zero Net Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ZNDD) by 2020 to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change. Using the Living Forests Model developed with IIASA, it analyzes various scenarios, including a 'Do Nothing' baseline and a 'Target' scenario. The findings suggest that while ZNDD is technically possible in the short term, maintaining it beyond 2030 will require unprecedented increases in agricultural productivity and significant shifts in global consumption patterns, particularly regarding animal calories. The document highlights critical trade-offs, such as the risk of shifting environmental pressure to non-forest biomes like grasslands and the potential for increased agricultural pollution due to intensification.

The Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue (ShAD) has developed a comprehensive set of standards for responsible shrimp farming, organized into seven principles covering legal compliance, biodiversity conservation, community relations, labor practices, shrimp health, broodstock management, and resource efficiency. The standards emphasize performance-based benchmarks over prescriptive methods, requiring tools like Biodiversity-inclusive Environmental Impact Assessments (BEIA) and participatory Social Impact Assessments (p-SIA). Key environmental targets include the prohibition of farms in protected areas, a requirement to reforest 50% of affected mangrove areas for farms sited before May 1999, and strict limits on nitrogen and phosphorus effluent. Social standards align with ILO core principles, mandating a minimum employee age of 15 and fair wages based on national minimums or 50% of median country income. The document also outlines a transition toward 100% certified sustainable feed ingredients and the prohibition of transgenic shrimp.

The document outlines ten reasons why jatropha is an unsustainable investment, noting that yields are often lower than claimed and the crop requires significant water and fertile land rather than thriving on marginal soils. It highlights negative impacts including the displacement of local communities, loss of biodiversity, and competition with food production. The text concludes that large-scale plantations are not economically viable and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use change.

The document details three primary cooling methods for thermoelectric power plants in the US: once-through, wet-recirculating, and dry-cooling. It highlights that while once-through systems have high water withdrawals and wet-recirculating systems have higher consumption, dry-cooling can reduce water consumption by over 90% despite higher costs and lower efficiencies. As of 2008, recirculating systems were the most common in terms of both generator count (56%) and electricity generation (45%).

The document outlines the critical role of water in electricity generation, fuel extraction, refining, transportation, and emissions control. It distinguishes between water withdrawal and consumption, noting that electric power generation accounts for nearly 40 percent of US freshwater withdrawals. The text also highlights environmental risks, including thermal pollution, acid rock drainage, and toxic contamination from coal, while noting that wind and solar power have minimal water impacts.

The report investigates the reality of jatropha production in Mozambique, challenging the narrative that it is a sustainable 'miracle crop' for marginal lands. Through case studies and interviews, it finds that jatropha is typically grown on fertile land, displacing food crops and endangering food security for the 87% of Mozambicans who are subsistence farmers. The document highlights significant failures in industrial projects, including low yields, high pest vulnerability, and broken promises of community development. It also criticizes the Mozambican government for manipulating land laws to favor foreign investors, leading to land grabs and the marginalization of local communities.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) supports the EPA's proposed Transport Rule to replace the judicially invalidated Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) but argues it should be strengthened to further reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). CATF specifically advocates for the passage of S. 2995, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 2010 (CAAA of 2010), asserting it would deliver greater emissions reductions, save more lives, and provide more regulatory certainty than the Transport Rule alone. The testimony details the severe health and environmental impacts of power plant emissions, including premature death from fine particulate matter, acid rain damage to eastern ecosystems, and ozone-related crop losses.

The report argues that improving the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty trucks through advanced technologies would create significant net job growth, increase GDP, and reduce global warming emissions, provided that policy interventions overcome existing market barriers.

The document argues that improving the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. would create significant job growth, increase GDP, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provided that market barriers are overcome through performance standards and incentives.

The Union of Concerned Scientists argues that current U.S. biofuels policy is costly and ineffective, primarily supporting mature food-based industries while cellulosic biofuels remain stalled. The report proposes the 'Billion Gallon Challenge' to provide capital support for the first billion gallons of annual cellulosic capacity and a 'Biofuels Performance Tax Credit' to replace existing credits with incentives based on actual life-cycle emissions reductions.

The document asserts that biofuel production and transport lead to dangerous spills, leaks, and fires that pollute ecosystems and kill aquatic life. It highlights specific incidents in Missouri and Iowa and notes that cleanup procedures for water-soluble fuels like ethanol are underdeveloped. The text advocates for shifting taxpayer funding from corn ethanol toward energy conservation, public transportation, electric cars, and sustainable solar and wind technologies.

The report examines the environmental, social, and economic impacts of unconventional oil extraction, focusing on tar sands and oil shale. It highlights that these resources produce significantly higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oil and cause severe local ecological damage, such as boreal forest destruction in Canada. The document criticizes the EU's Fuel Quality Directive for potentially underestimating the carbon intensity of these fuels and urges the EU to discourage their import and investment. It also details the involvement of European companies in projects across Venezuela, Madagascar, Congo, Russia, Jordan, and Morocco, warning that such developments in countries with weak governance risk exacerbating the 'resource curse' and undermining Millennium Development Goals.

The report identifies 38 U.S. states as net importers of coal in 2008, with 11 states spending over $1 billion each on these imports. It highlights a growing dependence on coal from Wyoming and international sources, particularly in the Southeast and Midwest. The authors argue that states can mitigate these economic losses and environmental damages by investing in energy efficiency and homegrown renewables.

The study uses the SIMSDAIRY and LEGGRAZE models to project the impact of climate change on UK dairy systems across four time-slices (baseline, 2020s, 2050s, and 2080s). Findings indicate a general decrease in nitrous oxide (N2O) and overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per litre of milk, but an increase in ammonia (NH3) emissions and nitrate (NO3) concentrations in leachate. While farm profitability and soil quality are projected to improve due to increased land productivity and altered rainfall patterns, the study highlights a trade-off with increased acidifying gases and water pollution.

The document examines China's role in the bauxite mining sectors of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It highlights that while China is a dominant investor in Laos and involved in construction in Vietnam, the region faces significant challenges including bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of public information, and potential transboundary environmental impacts on river systems like the Sekong River. The brief also notes that the availability of cheap hydropower is a critical factor for establishing a full aluminum value chain in the region.

The statement opposes the PH Barro Blanco hydroelectric project by GENISA in Panama, arguing that the 258.67-hectare reservoir would destroy indigenous Ngöbe Buglé sacred sites, displace local economies based on agriculture and fishing, and increase greenhouse gas emissions through methane release from decomposing organic matter in the reservoir. It further claims the project would cause water shortages by reserving 90% of water for power generation and disrupt aquatic biodiversity and sediment flow to mangroves.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) urges Congress to implement a multi-pollutant policy to address the public health and environmental crises caused by power plant emissions. CATF proposes capping sulfur dioxide at 2 million tons per year and nitrogen oxides at 1.6 million tons per year, while requiring a 95% reduction in mercury emissions. The document highlights that current regulations are insufficient to prevent 30,000 annual premature deaths or allow ecosystem recovery from acid rain. It further argues that these pollution controls are necessary prerequisites for the effective operation of carbon capture technologies and should be linked to any free carbon allowances provided under climate legislation like the Waxman-Markey bill.

A national energy efficiency resource standard (EERS) in Georgia could save $6.3 billion and create nearly 9,000 jobs by 2020, while reducing electricity consumption by 13% by 2015.

A national energy efficiency resource standard (EERS) in Mississippi could save nearly $2 billion and create 2,700 new jobs by 2020, while reducing electricity consumption by 11% by 2015.