Search Climate Insights Directory

The report examines the systemic failure of the U.S. coastal insurance market, specifically the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which provides subsidized rates that encourage risky development and create massive taxpayer liability. It highlights how climate change—manifesting as sea level rise and stronger hurricanes—is exacerbating these risks, particularly along the East and Gulf Coasts. The author advocates for the full implementation of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and further measures, such as incorporating sea level rise projections into FEMA flood maps and providing targeted support for low-income homeowners.

The report identifies heating oil as a significant economic and environmental drain on the Northeast U.S., costing the region over $14 billion annually. It compares natural gas and heat pumps as alternatives, concluding that heat pumps offer superior long-term economic savings and emissions reductions, particularly when paired with a renewable grid. The author identifies high upfront costs, lack of technical knowledge, and retrofit difficulties as primary barriers and suggests incentives, third-party financing, and leasing as solutions to scale the market.

The Union of Concerned Scientists identifies a range of 16 to 32 coal-fired generating units in Michigan as economically uncompetitive compared to natural gas and renewable energy. The report highlights that 87 percent of the state's coal capacity exceeds its 30-year design lifetime, and many of these plants lack modern pollution controls, contributing significantly to public health issues and carbon emissions. The document advocates for retiring these plants in favor of wind, solar, and energy efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 18.7 million tons annually and stimulate the state's clean energy economy.

In 2008, New Hampshire spent $133 million on imported coal, primarily sourced from South America, to support approximately 15% of its in-state electricity generation. The Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH) was the sole purchaser of these imports, with the Merrimack Station plant spending $79 million. The document argues that investing in energy efficiency and homegrown renewables, such as the Northern Wood Power Project, can redirect these funds into the local economy. New Hampshire has a mandate for utilities to supply about 24% of power needs from renewable resources by 2025.

The document identifies approximately 2 million mobile homes built before 1976 as the "worst housing stock" in the U.S., noting they are energy-inefficient and often house low-income, elderly, or disabled residents. It highlights that these structures are often ineligible for traditional weatherization programs and proposes the Energy Efficient Manufactured Housing Act of 2009 to provide rebates for ENERGY STAR qualified homes. The text details the differences between mobile, manufactured, and modular homes, and provides demographic data on residents of pre-1980 manufactured housing.

The document argues that capturing biogas—primarily methane—from organic waste sources is a cost-effective method to mitigate climate change and displace fossil fuels. It details the technical and economic viability of landfill gas (LFG) projects, wastewater treatment anaerobic digestion, and agricultural manure digesters, while identifying policy barriers such as high capital costs and grid interconnection issues.

The report argues that RGGI's design, which caps emissions only for power plants within participating states, creates a price advantage for imported electricity from coal-heavy states like West Virginia and Pennsylvania. This 'leakage' is exacerbated by excess capacity in existing coal plants and planned transmission upgrades that facilitate power flow from west to east. The authors suggest that RGGI states should implement retail-level carbon caps, prohibit contracts with high-emission plants, and prioritize transmission projects aligned with climate goals to prevent the expansion of coal-based power.

The document outlines the potential for wind energy in New England, emphasizing that the region has "excellent wind resources, particularly on mountain ridges and along the coast." It details the criteria for optimal siting—primarily wind speed, topography, and proximity to transmission lines—and highlights economic benefits such as tax revenues for towns and lease payments for landowners. The text addresses environmental concerns, noting that modern turbines cause significantly fewer bird fatalities than other human structures and that wind power does not reduce property values. It also discusses human impacts, including visual aesthetics, noise, and aviation lighting, while noting that 81 percent of surveyed Vermont residents find turbines "beautiful or acceptable."

The testimony by the Clean Air Task Force (CATF) urges the U.S. Senate to oppose the Clear Skies Act (CSA), claiming its emission caps for sulfur, nitrogen, and mercury are too weak and implemented too late to protect public health and the environment. CATF presents modeling showing that alternative proposals, such as the Clean Power Act, would result in significantly fewer deaths by 2020 with negligible increases in retail electricity prices. The document further argues that CSA fails to address carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and would effectively repeal critical Clean Air Act provisions, including New Source Review and visibility protections for National Parks. It concludes that the EPA already possesses the authority to achieve greater gains through existing rules like the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and mercury MACT standards.

The study identifies two primary sources of in-cabin pollution in conventional school buses: the tailpipe and the engine crankcase. It finds that while diesel particulate filters (DPF) combined with ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) eliminate ultrafine particles, black carbon, and PAH, they do not reduce fine particulate matter (PM2.5) because that pollutant originates from the crankcase. The most effective solution for comprehensive elimination of all measured particles is the combination of a DPF, ULSD, and a Donaldson Spiracle closed-crankcase filtration device.

The report asserts that while the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and Canadian programs reduced sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, acid rain remains a major problem due to the cumulative acid burden from 150 years of industrial activity. It highlights ongoing threats to salmon in Nova Scotia, lakes in Canada, and aquatic life in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The document concludes that emissions cuts of up to 80 percent beyond the 1990 amendments are necessary for biological recovery to begin by mid-century, which can be achieved through energy efficiency, renewables, cleaner fuels, and pollution control.

The report asserts that while the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments reduced sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, ecosystems in North America remain damaged due to a 150-year accumulation of acidic compounds. It documents ongoing damage to aquatic life, forests, and wildlife, and argues that biological recovery requires emission cuts up to 80 percent beyond the 1990 mandates. The authors state that affordable technologies, such as scrubbers and renewable energy, are available to achieve these deeper reductions.

The Clean Air Task Force (CATF) contends that the EPA's proposed MACT standards for coal-fired utility units violate the Clean Air Act (CAA) by using arbitrary subcategories based on coal rank and flawed statistical methods to inflate emission floors. CATF argues that the EPA has ignored available, cost-effective technologies—such as activated carbon injection and fabric filters—that could achieve significantly higher mercury removal rates. The document further asserts that the EPA is legally obligated to regulate all HAPs emitted by these units, not just mercury and nickel, and that proposed compliance extensions are unauthorized and unnecessary given available labor and equipment resources.

The document consists of a collection of 45 figures mapping the FSEIS routes for nuclear waste transport through nearly every U.S. state and the District of Columbia.

Analysis shows that the weighted average cost of coal power in the U.S. rose from $36/MWh in 2021 to $46/MWh in 2024, a 28 percent increase that outpaced inflation. This rise is attributed to higher fuel, operations, and maintenance costs, as well as declining capacity factors. Despite these economics, some U.S. federal policies and state regulators have extended the lives of expensive plants, such as Plant Bowen in Georgia and the Hunter and Huntington plants in Utah, potentially increasing the financial burden on electricity consumers.

The report identifies 'coronavirus profiteers' across the meat, auto, airline, logging, and fossil fuel industries who lobbied for deregulation and subsidies during the pandemic. It contrasts these with 'climate heroes'—including certain European automakers, EU leadership, and specific palm oil companies—who continued to pursue emissions reductions and forest protection. The text emphasizes that weakening environmental protections, such as allowing deforestation and air pollution, increases public health vulnerability to respiratory diseases and future pandemics.

The document details the technical approach for estimating the economic and environmental impacts of fuel efficiency standards. It specifies the use of updated census data, regional energy projections, and specific emissions derivation methods for cities and states.

The report provides a state-by-state breakdown of progress toward 2020 Clean Power Plan benchmarks, noting that some states have exceeded 500% of their goals while others show 0% progress. It highlights the role of energy efficiency, renewable energy standards, and regional initiatives in achieving these targets.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) created a dataset of U.S. school bus fleets by submitting records requests to state governments between March and November 2022. The data includes details such as model year, fuel type, manufacturer, seating capacity, and ownership model, intended for use in estimating greenhouse gas emission reductions, planning grid upgrades for electrification, and identifying highly polluting buses. The dataset is limited by missing data from four states and all U.S. territories, as well as structural differences in how states report data.

The document analyzes the restoration of approximately 4 million hectares of forest in New England between 1880 and 2000, which occurred largely through the passive abandonment of agricultural land. It identifies market shifts toward Midwestern agriculture and the subsequent decline of small-scale regional farming as primary drivers. While ecological conditions and policy measures like the Weeks Act of 1911 supported this recovery, the report warns that current trends are reversing due to residential development, population growth, and ecological pressures such as deer browsing.