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The report finds that millions of Latinos in the US are disproportionately exposed to toxic air pollutants and ozone from oil and gas infrastructure, leading to significant health burdens. It highlights that 1.81 million Latinos live within a half-mile of such facilities and 1.78 million live in counties where cancer risks exceed EPA concern levels. The document argues that poverty and lack of health insurance exacerbate these risks, and calls for the EPA to regulate existing facilities, not just new ones, to protect public health and address climate change.

The report finds that millions of Latinos are exposed to toxic air pollutants and ozone smog from oil and gas facilities, leading to elevated cancer risks and childhood asthma attacks. These health threats are exacerbated by higher poverty rates and lower health insurance coverage within Latino populations. The authors argue for comprehensive EPA regulations covering both new and existing oil and gas infrastructure to reduce methane and toxic emissions.

The briefing provides a historical analysis of nuclear waste siting in the United States, asserting that the Department of Energy (DOE) has consistently failed to secure long-term consent for high-level waste (HLW) and spent nuclear fuel (SNF) repositories. The author highlights a pattern of broken promises, litigation, and the failure of both the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) and the 'volunteer' process managed by the Nuclear Waste Negotiator. Key examples include the legal battles over the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the non-consent of the Nevada state government regarding Yucca Mountain. The document concludes that the DOE's lack of reliability makes it unlikely that future consent agreements for consolidated storage or repositories will be trusted or successful.

A coalition of organizations encourages the Governor of Kansas to prioritize energy efficiency as the lowest-cost strategy for reducing emissions and meeting Clean Power Plan goals, noting that specific policies could meet 54 percent of the state's 2030 compliance target.

The document defines on-bill financing (OBF) as a mechanism where energy improvement costs are repaid via monthly utility bills. It argues that OBF reduces high up-front costs and expands access to financing by using utility payment history instead of traditional credit scores. The guide provides four case studies from Kansas, South Carolina, Florida, and Oregon, demonstrating that OBF can support a range of upgrades from weatherization to solar PV with very low default rates (typically under 3%).

The report argues that TTIP's regulatory cooperation provisions, primarily based on EU proposals, would institutionalize oversight of US state-level legislation and regulations by federal and international bodies. This framework would likely lead to 'regulatory chill' through onerous procedural requirements, such as early warning systems and trade impact assessments, which favor industry influence over public interest. The document highlights that US states often act as the primary regulators of toxic chemicals and pesticides when federal action is lax, and that TTIP's goal of 'regulatory compatibility' could effectively set federal or international standards as a ceiling, preventing states from adopting more protective measures. It specifically warns that such mechanisms could be used to challenge state-level bans on substances like Bisphenol A (BPA) or pesticide residue monitoring programs in California.

The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) identifies a significant opportunity for the United States to utilize agricultural residues and manure to reduce oil and coal dependence. By 2030, the U.S. could tap 155 million tons of residues and nearly 60 million tons of manure, which could generate over 10 billion gallons of ethanol or 166 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity. The document emphasizes that sustainable use requires balancing energy needs with soil health, suggesting that no-till farming and cover crops can mitigate erosion. Geographically, a small number of states, led by Iowa, hold the majority of this potential, with specific opportunities identified in Arkansas, Texas, and California based on their dominant crops and livestock.

The 'Half the Oil' plan proposes reducing U.S. oil use by 50% over 20 years, projecting annual oil spending cuts of $550 billion, the creation of over 1 million jobs, and the elimination of 2 billion metric tons of global warming emissions per year by 2035. The strategy focuses on improving fuel efficiency for passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks, expanding the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), and implementing 'smart growth' urban planning to reduce vehicle miles traveled.

The US experienced a nearly four-fold increase in electricity from wind and solar between 2007 and 2012, with nine states already generating 10 percent or more of their power from these sources. The document asserts that current grid tools can handle higher percentages of variable renewable energy and that a combination of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydropower could supply 80 percent of US electricity by 2050, with wind and solar alone contributing 50 percent.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that in 2012, the NRC oversaw 14 'near-misses'—events increasing core meltdown risk by at least 10-fold—at U.S. nuclear plants. The report argues that the NRC frequently fails to enforce existing regulations, such as allowing the Palisades Nuclear Plant to operate for nearly a month despite cooling water leaks that required shutdown within six hours. It also highlights a significant perception gap between NRC senior management and staff regarding the agency's internal safety culture, where half of the workforce reported negative reactions from supervisors after raising safety concerns.

The brief highlights the role of the 2008 Farm Bill in stimulating the U.S. biofuels industry and reducing oil dependence. It details specific programs like the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) and the Biorefinery Assistance Program, noting that while initial investments of less than $2 billion have shown promise, significant further investment is required to meet Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for 2022. The author emphasizes that shifting to biofuels can improve energy security, support rural economic development, and mitigate climate change.

The Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) is a proposed U.S. legislative initiative to provide low-interest loans to public and cooperative electric utilities, which in turn offer on-bill financing to rural homeowners for energy efficiency improvements. The program aims to reduce utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions while creating local jobs. The briefing outlines the program's operational requirements, compares House and Senate versions of the legislation, and highlights existing on-bill financing examples in Kansas, South Carolina, and New York.

The report analyzes 15 significant safety-related 'near-misses' at U.S. nuclear plants in 2011, arguing that many resulted from owners tolerating known safety problems. While it highlights successful NRC interventions at the Fort Calhoun, Hatch, and LaSalle plants, it criticizes the agency for allowing 47 reactors to operate in violation of fire-protection regulations and 27 reactors to operate with deficient seismic protection. The author contends that the NRC often focuses on fixing individual equipment failures rather than addressing the systemic weaknesses in owners' testing and inspection regimes.

In 2008, Kansas imported over 99 percent of the coal used by its power plants, primarily from Wyoming, resulting in a net outflow of $516 million. Coal provided 72.9 percent of the state's electricity mix. The document argues that investing in energy efficiency and leveraging the state's high technical potential for wind and bioenergy could reduce this dependence and boost the local economy.

The document reports that 55 cellulosic biorefineries were complete, under construction, or planned across 31 U.S. states by July 2008, with an expected capacity of 629.5 million gallons per year. It outlines various conversion technologies and feedstocks, including agricultural residues and energy crops, and details significant financial investments from the U.S. Department of Energy and various state governments to advance the industry.

The report argues that CAFOs are propped up by taxpayer subsidies and the externalization of costs related to pollution and public health. It highlights that these operations, while producing over 50% of U.S. food animals, create massive manure management problems and antibiotic resistance. The author suggests that medium-sized and pasture-based operations are cost-competitive alternatives that would be more viable if subsidies were redirected and antitrust laws were enforced.

The report analyzes the 'hidden costs' of CAFOs, including taxpayer-funded subsidies and externalized environmental and health damages. It argues that CAFOs are not more efficient than medium-sized or pasture-based alternatives but are favored by government policies and the market power of large meat processors. The document details the pollution caused by manure, the rise of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, and the economic decline of rural communities, while proposing policy reforms to level the playing field for sustainable alternatives.

The research demonstrates that geographically distributing wind farms reduces the variability of power output and drastically decreases the frequency of zero-production periods compared to individual sites. Using 2004 data from the U.S. Midwest and Texas, the analysis shows that optimizing portfolios based on negative covariance between sites improves capacity credit and system reliability. The authors argue that this approach, combined with demand-side resources like plug-in vehicles and real-time load response, is essential for the transition to a next-generation utility capable of integrating significantly higher levels of intermittent renewables.

The briefing examines the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), and the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. It argues that for cap-and-trade to be effective, the emissions cap must be sufficiently tight and the distribution of allowances should favor auctioning over free allocation to avoid windfall profits for firms.

The document explains how nuclear power plants use water to absorb waste heat and cool equipment, detailing once-through and closed-cycle cooling systems. It highlights the significant volumes of water required, the environmental impact on aquatic life, and the critical role of the Ultimate Heat Sink (UHS) during accidents. The author argues that the primary safety hazard is not radioactive leakage, but rather the failure of water to reach the plant or leaking into the plant.