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Learning from Japan’s nuclear disaster
A statement by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) arguing that the Fukushima nuclear disaster demonstrates the inherent dangers and economic obsolescence of nuclear power. Lovins contends that nuclear energy is uniquely risky, costly, and slow to deploy compared to renewable energy, cogeneration, and efficiency measures, which he presents as superior alternatives for climate protection.
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Document type: Statement
Reefs at Risk Revisited: Pacific
This WRI fact sheet summarizes the 'Reefs at Risk Revisited' analysis for the Pacific region, detailing the extent of coral reefs, the human populations dependent on them, current local threats, and projected impacts of climate change through 2050.
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Document type: Fact sheet
GHG_FinalSummary
This 2010 report by the World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzes the potential for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through existing federal regulatory authorities and announced state actions through 2030. The study evaluates three levels of regulatory ambition—'Lackluster', 'Middle-of-the-Road', and 'Go-Getter'—across various sectors including power plants, transportation, and industry. It concludes that while existing tools can drive significant reductions, they are insufficient on their own to meet the Obama Administration's Copenhagen pledge or the IPCC's recommended targets for limiting global temperature increases.
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Document type: Report
State Actions on Climate Change: A Focus on How Our Communities Grow
This report by the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) analyzes how state climate action plans in the United States incorporate land use, transportation, and green building policies as of July 2009. It finds that while transportation and green building are common, specific 'smart growth' land use practices are the least frequent component of these plans.
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Document type: Report
Energy Use in Mobile Homes
This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) examines the energy inefficiency and poor living conditions of approximately 2 million mobile homes built before 1976 in the United States. It argues that because these structures are in such disrepair, they cannot be weatherized and must be entirely replaced with energy-efficient units to reduce carbon footprints and utility costs for low-income residents.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Cellulosic Biofuels
This July 2008 fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) details the status of cellulosic biofuel production in the United States, highlighting the number of biorefineries in development, the technologies and feedstocks used, and the federal and state investments supporting the industry.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Feebates A Legislative Option to Encourage Continuous Improvements to Automobile Efficiency
This report by RMI proposes the 'feebate' as a legislative tool to increase automobile fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A feebate applies a surcharge (fee) to inefficient vehicles to fund rebates for efficient ones, creating a self-financing mechanism that encourages manufacturers to innovate across all vehicle size classes without restricting consumer choice.
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Document type: Report
Ocean Energy
This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute describes various technologies for generating electricity from the ocean's tides, waves, currents, and heat, detailing their technical requirements, existing global projects, and associated benefits and challenges.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Legislation to Implement the POPs, PIC, and LRTAP POPs Agreements
This written testimony by Glenn M. Wiser of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives on March 2, 2006, advocates for legislation to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the LRTAP POPs Protocol, and the Rotterdam PIC Convention. Wiser compares two proposed bills to amend the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)—H.R. 4800 (Solis bill) and H.R. 4591 (Gillmor bill)—arguing that only the Solis bill adequately implements the health and environmental protection goals of the Stockholm Convention.
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Document type: Statement
Legislation to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
A joint statement from numerous environmental and health organizations urging the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce to support the Solis bill (H.R. 4800) over the Gillmor bill (H.R. 4591) to implement the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) via amendments to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).
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Document type: Statement
Essential Elements of U.S. Leadership in Ratifying the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
A joint statement from a coalition of environmental and health organizations urging the U.S. Congress to ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) by passing implementing legislation that ensures timely action, respects state laws, and provides clear legal authority to the EPA.
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Document type: Statement
DETAILED STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF REQUEST FOR REEXAMINATION OF U.S. PLANT PATENT NO. 5,751
This document is a detailed statement submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) requesting the reexamination of U.S. Plant Patent No. 5,751. The patent, issued to Loren S. Miller for a cultivar of Banisteriopsis caapi named "Da Vine," is challenged on the grounds that the plant is neither new nor distinct, is found in an uncultivated state, and violates public policy and morality by appropriating sacred indigenous knowledge.
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Document type: Statement
Water Efficiency: The Next Generation
This 1998 report by the Rocky Mountain Institute examines water-saving technologies and practices for residential use, moving beyond the 1992 National Plumbing Standards to explore high-efficiency fixtures, graywater and rainwater systems, and sustainable landscaping.
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Document type: Report
pops_bills_28feb2006-95846d82e9477a0d.pdf
This report by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the status of the United States' ratification of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and evaluates proposed implementing legislation in the U.S. Congress. It argues that the Solis TSCA bill (H.R. 4800) is the only proposal that aligns with the treaty's health-based standards and supports state-level environmental protections.
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Document type: Report
Opportunities for a Green Bank in California
This fact sheet by the Climate Policy Initiative proposes the creation of a California Green Bank to leverage private capital for clean energy technologies. It suggests using revenues from carbon emissions allowance auctions to fund a quasi-public institution that would address financing gaps for homeowners, small businesses, and innovators, thereby accelerating the state's transition to a low-carbon economy.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Hawaii
This case study describes the Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) On-Bill Program in Hawaii, launched in April 2019 by the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA). The program provides no-upfront-cost financing for clean energy improvements—such as solar PV and water heaters—for renters, low-to-moderate income households, nonprofits, and small businesses, with repayments made through monthly utility bills.
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Document type: Case study
Federal Policy Recommendations for Coastal Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience in the United States
This fact sheet from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) outlines federal policy recommendations for coastal climate change adaptation and resilience in the United States. Based on a series of Congressional briefings held between June 2019 and April 2020, the document advocates for community-centered planning, the use of nature-based solutions, and the application of future-climate data to inform federal decision-making and funding.
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Document type: Fact sheet
COVID-19: Ten Priority Options for a Just, Green & Transformative Recovery
This briefing by the Green Economy Coalition outlines ten priority options for governments and stakeholders to ensure that economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is just, green, and transformative. It argues that recovery efforts should address systemic risks—including climate change, biodiversity loss, and inequality—by aligning stimulus packages with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.
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Document type: Briefing
Making Waves at The Atlantic: A Rebuttal to The Atlantic Magazine’s Contention That “We’re Going to Keep Burning Oil—and Lots of It”
This document is a rebuttal by Amory B. Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) to an article and subsequent response by Charles C. Mann in The Atlantic. Lovins argues that Mann ignores the role of efficiency and technological innovation in reducing oil demand and misrepresents the reliability and economic viability of renewable energy, specifically in Germany.
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Document type: Report
SENSE AND RESPONSE
The research paper "SENSE AND RESPONSE: A BIOCLIMATIC DIALOGUE OF PLACE" by Victor Olgyay explores the evolution of human interaction with the environment, from preindustrial symbiotic relationships to the ecological degradation caused by industrialization. The author advocates for a "performance based" regionalism in architecture that moves beyond reducing negative impacts toward a restorative approach, where buildings function as "ecological utilities" that actively provide ecosystem services and repair degraded landscapes.
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Document type: Research paper